Pine Box with French Lime Paint

I don't want to act all goofy and giddy, but Maison Blanche sent me a new paint to try out, and well, I LOVE IT!

Maybe some of you have painted things like the Sistine Chapel or Italian Frescoes but not me, I'm small pahtatas in the world of art.

Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello.   If you're like me those are Ninja Turtles.

In fact, I really don't know much about art other than I like what I like.

And I like La Chaux French Lime Paint from Maison Blanche.

It's like their regular paint but just a little thicker when it goes on, then it morphs into sort of a clay-ish consistency when you let it sit for 20 minutes (which I assume is the lime in the paint) and you work it, work it, move it, move it - all around your project with a plastic credit card and a plastic bag and the end result is this really vintage worn layered style.

Yes the new tools of the trade are an old credit card and plastic bag, see the video at the very bottom which will demonstrate this technique.

Over the weekend Brawn accompanied me to a couple garage sales after I received a tip about some "stuff" I would like.  At that sale I picked up a box of something that shall remain a mystery for now.

Down the road at another sale, he spotted this plain unfinished wooden box, and since I was planning on a box project, his keen eye basically got him out of making one for me.

And it was only three bucks.  I knew I could make it work at that price.  I scooped it up, threw $3.00 at the garage sale lady, and ran off with the bin.

Or maybe I paid politely, Brawn tossed the bin in his truck, then pinched me in the azz as he pushed me into his tall truck that I find hard to climb in to.  One of those scenarios for sure.

I stained it first because I wanted the lettering in wood shades, not painted.

With La Chaux first you need a base layer of something with a mineral base or alkaline  paint to build on.  The Maison Blanche line of Vintage Furniture Paint is perfect for that, so I used Spanish Moss for my base - it's a great color, but it wasn't meant to show this time.

Next up was a coat of White Pepper French Lime paint, which is like a cement color, a perfect under tone for the look I was after.

The last coat is Candied Yam and it's not a bright orange color, more like a orange clay color, or how I would describe it, a worn vintage orange.

Whatever, it is just the color I was wanting for this time of year without screaming HELLO I'M A PUMPKIN.

 Here is the front of the box while the paint is still wet.  Look at all that texture.

When I make signs or lettered items, I like them to have meaning to me, not just random words.

Everything on this wood box is true.

Half Moon Bay is a real town in Northern California.  My BFF lives there.

If you drive there from Pacifica you will drive along the coast over Devil's Slide on Highway 1, and if you do that in October you can attend the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival.

Devil's Slide was a crumbling stretch of Highway where if you blinked you might end up in the ocean.  They have new tunnels now and part of the old road has become a trail.

I don't really care, I'm still not someone who likes to drive over it tunnel or no tunnel.

The only thing worse than driving over it as a passenger in a car with my eyes shut, was driving over it as a passenger in a car with my eyes shut knowing I was in the fog.

The edge always felt like it was pulling the vehicle over with suction.

Anyway, the pumpkin festival is a huge deal in Half Moon Bay, and I like that my crate is a page out of my friends life.

HWY 1 VIA DEVIL'S SLIDE

For the next step on the wood box I used Maison Blanche Translucide furniture glaze.

This was the first time I ever used a glaze and of course now I wonder why I waited so long!  I tinted the clear glaze with a copper craft paint that gives areas of the box more color definition.

To finish this project I used dark wax which got in all the cracks and on the edge of the letters and enhances all that texture from the lime paint.

I think it's really awesome in person, the crate looks like a vintage bin and the letters almost look as though they are carved into the wood.

I'm typing this calmly, the lime paint is pretty cool to work with.  But inside I'm yelling about the worn look it creates and how fun this stuff is to work with.

I can't wait to use it again now that it's had a maiden voyage with me.

Wonder if the ceiling in our church needs something painted on it?

Here is the video from the company on the process.

I'm not alone in trying out this new lime paint.  

My cohorts are the very talented ladies who I have joined all summer long

who bring projects highlighting products from Maison Blanche.

Please stop by each of their blogs to see how they used the textural lime paint.

Doreen from Hymns & Verses

Debbie from ReFresh ReStyle

Karin from Art is Beauty

Shayna from Woodgrain Cottage

Bliss at Bliss Ranch

About French Lime Paint from Maison Blanche:
This is a traditional Lime Paint made with European Lime and natural pigments.
It has zero VOC, is eco-friendly.
Highly alkaline which means it is naturally resistant to mold and the fungus among us,
and it's anti-bacterial so it's great for bathrooms, kitchens and kids rooms.
The best part is that it gives the look of multiple layers with only one coat.
 

Subscribe, Bliss Ranch arrives magically!