Old door, Genealogy, and Annie Sloan?

Alrighty! I have been waiting for this moment for soooo long now. 

At LEAST a few weeks!

Do you remember when I posted about my office reveal?

I had not quite finished my Old Door Bookshelf... 

Well...Now...It's Done!

It started out looking like this:

Then I did a little of this with my table saw...

(had to have a little help with this part, 

it was a little long, and heavy!

THEN I put the sides up on the floor, used a nailer to nail my shelf board supports (which were 1x2's cut to fit) in through the sides of the door, followed by my actual shelves. When they were all in, I nailed the bead-board backing to the back-

this really helps in stabilizing the shelves.

I decided that the front of the shelves needed a lil'sumpthin' so I added a trim piece to the front-

Just nailed it on with finish nails. Easy peasy.

 I then decided that the top shelf really needed more pazzaz..

So I nailed a piece of crown molding, 

just across the front so as to avoid using bad potty words while trying to miter a crown to fit all around. 

I am many things, but, a carpenter, I am not. 

Hence..there is trim on only the front of the bookshelf.

I'm okay with that. 

No bad potty words were used in the making of this bookshelf.

 Without the crown...

 And then WITH the no-bad-potty-word-crown...

 Yes, it looks a little funny possibly, 

UNLESS you just decide that it was the plan all along, 

and I'm just super creative to do it a little different 

than anyone else would do it! 

Yeah..that's it..I'm just super creative ;)

Did you notice? Did you notice what COLOR it's going to be? 

See how the side is painted already?

Yes, Orange. Annie Sloan Barcelona Orange.

I tinted it a bit darker with a dark brown colorant,

I wanted more of a burnt orange.

***Random side note..It's cute how puppies snore...

I've got a snoring puppy next to me at the moment.

If you listen closely, maybe you can hear her.

No? Trust me, it's cute :)***

So here it is with the paint only...

 For those of you still debating on the chalk paint issue. This is one more of those projects that makes me fall more and more for using it. No sanding, no priming, a-maze-ing! Love using it! 

I would have been a bit hesitant to sand this door, it's really old, which means that it probably has lead paint on it. 

DON'T like sanding lead paint. Ick.

Chalk paint is a bit thicker than regular paint. Which makes it cover well once you figure out the mo-jo of how it works. 

My lovely assistant-daughter made the comment that it was like a liquid-solid some sort of science phenomenon! 

Hahaha, I thought that was funny :)

Alright on with the progress... I mixed my orange mixture one more shade darker and did a second 

"loose" coat-not covering 100%.

Then just for fun- and YES it was FUN...

I dry brushed some Red. Yeah. Red.

Next I decided to go off the wall with my next step.

Rather than wax as usual with Chalk Paint, I glazed it.

Yep. I'm a rebel.

I used my typical concoction of Aqua Creme and Stain and Seal.

Both products sold by Faux Effects.

(again my disclaimer that these are professional products, sold generally to professionals, but I believe these both are in their silver label line which is available to the general public.)

After slathering on my glaze with a wooly roller, I darkened the areas I wanted to with straight Antique Mahogany Stain and Seal. I proceeded to work it and play with it till I got the look I wanted.

I will say that I had a hunch that all the moisture in the glaze would do funny things to the chalk paint-

The only thing I noticed was that it did "soften" it a bit.

Bumping glazed areas with the end of my brush scratched right through easily. Now that it is dry, it's plenty tough and durable.

Not a big deal especially with this rustic piece, 

but good to know for future projects.

So here is the Final look:

I love the way the old chipped paint looks.

 Can I share a few of my favorite things on the shelves?? Thanks.

My mother in law is heavily involved in genealogy and finding out about those who's lives have helped to shape ours. 

She has made these picture collections for each of her kids with their family lines.

The first one is my cute husband as a youngster 

followed by 4 generations of James'.

 Next is My mother in law and her line...

 Followed by My father in law and his line...

Pretty cool eh?

Another of my favorites comes from one side of my family line...

This is a collection of tiny leather books

each book is a different Shakespeare play.

 Hard to tell, but the cover is imprinted with William Shakespeare

 Each book has a little label in it, stating that it is 

"from the library of A.B. Clements"

Who is my Great Grandfather. 

My grandpa gave me these a few years before he passed on.

Love my little Shakespeare family heirloom :)

If you haven't noticed my Office has a bit of a theme. It's a mix of the old and the new. A bit like our family history right? I am literally a mix of who they were, and myself. I love that.

This project has helped me decide something.

Mom, I know you are reading this :)

I want a few more pictures and relics to proudly display in my room of past and present. I know Grandma is with me often.

I'd like to see her smiling face in something other than a memory.

I've not done well in keeping those ties visible.

I want to do better.

After all, I am who I am, because they were who they were.

 So whaddya think? Do you like my old door now? I've got another 20 or so in my barn with other projects just waiting to happen! Yipee! 

Are any of you into Genealogy?

Who knows, maybe we are related.

I'm linking to:

 www.nominimalisthere.blogspot.com