CeCe Caldwell Paint Review and a Happy Announcement!

New Signs for a New Shop!

I'm super excited to share with everyone that my artwork will have a permanent home at Petticoat Junction, in Newport Washington.  I will be setting up my display starting next week.  I will be sure to take pics and post them as soon as it's all set.  In addition to this fun news, I've been testing some new (to me) paint and finishes.  It's CeCe Caldwell Chalk Paint. 

First, let me show you a sign I made using this FABULOUS paint:

The background color is Thomasville Teal.  It is so pretty!  I painted this over a cabinet door that had a previous (ugly) stain and varnish finish on it.  I really wanted to test the claims that you don't need to prime before painting with CeCe Caldwell.  When the base coat dried, I painted my saying with regular old white house paint.  Once the lettering was completely dry, I used a wet rag to distress the background.  This is one of my FAVORITE  parts of chalk paint.  You don't need to use sand paper to get a soft, worn look.  Here's a little close up:

I painted a base coat of Vintage White (also CeCe Caldwell paint) just on the inset portion of the door.  I wanted it to show through in some areas when I distressed it.

The final touch was a light coating of Clear Waxing Cream.  I have to say, I am in LOVE with this paint!!!  It is thick and creamy.  It goes on in one coat, and dries quickly.  The wax goes on smooth and buffs out nicely.  One really HUGE benefit of this wax - NO NASTY SMELL!!!!  I can't stress the importance of this enough.  Some waxes have such a strong odor, it makes for a miserable experience.  The CeCe Caldwell wax is completely odorless.

To test it further, I did a couple other projects:

I made a HUGE message board:

This door had a beautiful finish on it to begin with, and I really didn't want to paint over it completely.  In order for the lettering to stick to the cabinet door,  I used Vintage White chalk paint.  Once the lettering was dry, I used 2 coats of  Endurance to seal it.  The bottom panel was sanded to bare wood, and then painted with 3 coats of chalkboard paint that I purchased at the hardware store.  Like I said before, this door is huge.  It's about 3 feet tall!!!   There is a lot of space for writing notes, grocery lists, or whatever.

I was fortunate enough to find a similar door a few weeks after finding the first one.  It's much smaller, but still, it makes a great message center:

I had already sanded both panels on this door, so when I had gotten around to painting it, I chose to base both spots in Chalkboard Paint. 

This is another door I didn't want to paint over.  The finish was just so pretty!  This is what makes Chalk Paint so wonderful:

 I'm getting ready to do some major work in my house, and I want to make one wall near my kitchen a complete message center.  I think one of these chalkboards will end up there!  BTW, that was a little hint as to some of the posts you will be seeing in the near future.  

Here's the last sign I made to test one of the products sent to me to try:

The arrows show the spots I used Savannah Praline stain to even out the outer edges of this cabinet door.  Here are some pictures of the areas I'm talking about:

The arrows show the spots where the finish had worn away.  I was planning to just paint the entire door, but I really liked the finish that was on it.  When I opened the jar with the stain to see the color, I thought, what the heck, this looks pretty close.   The picture below shows what it looked like when I put the first coat of stain on the board.  I want to stress that I did not do any sort of prep work on this door.  I literally wiped the dust off and slapped some stain on it.  Again, NO SMELL!  

This close up picture shows that I need to add another coat of stain,  but other then that, I think the color will match up nicely.  

Here's another look at the finished piece:

So here are my thoughts so far on CeCe Caldwell products.  As I stated before, the paint is thick and creamy.  There is NO grit, often associated with chalk paints.  It is a truly luscious paint.  It goes on smoothly, and covers beautifully in one coat.  It can be easily distressed with a wet cloth, no sandpaper needed.   It is eco-friendly, and HAND MADE IN AMERICA!!!  

For someone like me, that loves to upcycle items that would otherwise head to a landfill, a paint like this is, at the very least, ethically, perfect.  

Now, on to the waxes, stains, and finishes.  They have no smell, which is wonderful.  They are all a pleasure to work with, and clean up couldn't be easier.  

I have worked with Annie Sloane Chalk Paint and waxes in the past.  I have always enjoyed the special qualities Chalk Paint provide.  The only real draw back (other then cost) is that the  Annie Sloane waxes are quite smelly.  I have worked with them quite a bit over the past 2 years, and was quite happy with them.  I'm just not a fan of the smell, or the fact that unless you use gloves, (which you should, but I never do) the smell stays with you for quite a while.

 Honestly, CeCe Caldwell paint is hands down my favorite (so far).  I am looking into testing Country Chic Paint in the future as well. 

I am seriously considering becoming a retailer for one of these lines of paint.  Therefore, I plan to put them through the paces and really test them out before making a decision.  I will be doing some projects shortly that will involve using the CeCe Caldwell paint on an old milk can I have sitting outside.  I've also started making some metal flowers for a fun wreath, so be sure to check back often!!!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me, or post them in the comments section.  I will do my best to answer any inquiries as quickly as I can.