Crackle Your Paint

Last week my mom, my mother in law and I traveled up to Augusta, GA for CeCe Caldwell's new retailer training.  We had so much fun meeting several new retailers and learning from CeCe herself!  While we were there we learned so many great painiting techniques and continued to fall in love with these amazing products.   Since the paints and finishes are all natural with NO VOC's we could do everything indoors...such a great perk to using these paints.  

Learning from CeCe

I spent mothers day in Augusta with two beautiful and special ladies

My favorite technique that we learned was how to cracke using Elmer's Glue.  Who knew??  I am not encouraging the crackle that was popular about 10 years ago.  In my opinion the crackle is best used in corners, or highly worn areas of furniture to give an aged look.  You can also vary the way the crackle looks by how much glue you apply.  Lots of glue = large crackle; thin glue = fine crackle.

A fellow retailer shared this great tutorial on how to use glue to crackle, and I love the way her chair turned out.    

via 

Come Learn More About CeCe Paints

This Saturday J. Kelly will be participating in the Outdoor Vintage Market, hosted by Rusted.  We would LOVE for you to stop by!  We will be selling CeCe Caldwell's Paints and can answer any questions you have about the products.  (We just might be doing live demos as well.)  In addition to the paint we will be selling unique lighting, chalkboards, painted furniture, and much more.  Follow me on Instagram to get a sneak peek at what we will be selling.  Hope to see you there!!

Lets Keep it Real Mondays

Happy Monday Everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  Sorry I have been MIA recently, but I have just had a little bit of bloggers block.

The quote above keeps running through my head, because so many times I find myself comparing my life to what everyone else is doing via blogs, Instagram, Facebook etc.  But lets be honest... social media always makes life look so much more perfect than it really is, right?  I have struggled posting on here, because I do not want you all to think my life is perfectly put together, and that I am juggling events, interior design, my etsy shop, our booth at the antique market, and painting furniture with a big grin and looking fabulous while doing it.  Truth is, most days I roll out of bed, throw on athletic clothes (that are usually covered in paint) and put my hair in a messy ponytail.  I make to-do lists, and loose them.  My desk is a disaster, and my Etsy shop has taken over my house.  Packing peanuts, boxes, tape, bubble wrap, wine glasses are EVERYWHERE!  I get overwhelmed with how much we have going on, yet I feel like I am accomplishing very little.  I doubt what I am doing at times, and wonder how I am making a difference in people's lives.      

So now that you know how crazy my life really is, I do not want this to be a blog that steals your joy, because there is a constant feeling of comparison.  I hope that you come to this blog seeking inspiration and encouragement.  

Here is a verse that I need to hang above my desk.  It is such a great reminder that the only approval we are seeking is from a God that loves us despite our imperfections.  

"For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."  Galatians 1:10

In efforts to keep things "real" around here I am planning to do a little segment called "Lets Keep it Real Mondays."  Let's start with my tomatoes that I put on Instagram a few weeks ago...

See these beautiful tomatoes that I grew.  Truth is they were already growing on the tomato plant that I bought.  All I did was water it, and ta-da.  I have a black thumb, and I am pretty sure my tomato plant is about to croak now.  Any tips on growing tomatoes? 

Rocker Redo

A few weeks ago I was commissioned to paint this rocking chair for a friend who is expecting a little girl.  I immediately knew that the lines of this chair would be perfect for chalk paint and some distressing.  The chair had a lacquered shiny finish, so I just wiped it down and began painting.

rocking chair before

rocking chair before

I finished this before we received our shipment of CeCe Caldwell's Paints, so I used ASCP in Old White and finished it with a clear wax.  I gave it a little bit of extra distressing on the arms, and places that would get more wear.  This rocker is super comfortable, but would be adorable with a seat cushion and patterned pillow.  Don't you think?

rocking chair after

rocker after

rocker after

I Linked up to :

Whipperberry Friday Flair Link Party

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

The Perfect Gift

For those that have been following along, you probably remember when I launched my Etsy shop back in October.  It has been such a fun little venture, and I love that people all over the US are receiving these personalized glasses as gifts.  When the shop first launched I was receiving a lot of orders for Christmas gifts and hostess gifts.  Now that it is officially "wedding season" I have been getting orders mostly for weddings or bridesmaid/groomsman gifts.  They are absolutely perfect for a bachelorette party, or for the day of the wedding.    

stemless monogrammed wine glass on J. Kelly Events

In addition to what I carry online, I am often asked to create custom orders.  I have had two unique and fun requests that I thought I would share with you.  The first was an anniversary gift for a wine loving wife and a beer loving husband.  My good friend had seen something similar on another website, but the turnaround time was several months.  I absolutely love the way these tree trunk glasses turned out.  I now carry them in the shop.

set of tree trunk beer and wine glasses available here

The second custom order was a wedding gift for a groom that loved whiskey.  The couple's new monogram would have been "SSS" so we chose to do just one single initial.  I love this decanter with the wooden ball stopper, and the stackable glasses.

If you are interested in a custom order I'd love to hear from you.  Email me at jac06r (at) gmail (dot) com or visit my Etsy shop.  

Hutch Makeover

I promised on Monday that I would start sharing more furniture makeovers, and I figured I would share the beautiful hutch that holds all of our paint in the booth first. 

Michael brought it home as a surprise a little over a month ago, and I knew that it had great potential. I had to look past the metallic silver (yuck) that the previous owner used in an attempt to refinish the piece.  I asked Michael "Who in their right mind would paint this hutch silver???"  He quickly responded, "If you saw the place I went to pick this up, you would understand that they didn't need a reason to paint it silver." HA. 

{top piece of the hutch before}

{bottom piece of hutch before}

 Last Thursday our CeCe Caldwell's paint arrived, and I began painting at 5:30pm.  By 4pm the next day the hutch had been painted, distressed, waxed and put into the booth as our paint display.  Now do you see why I love this paint?  If I would have sanded, primed and painted this piece with normal latex paint it would have taken me at least 3-4 days and a lot more elbow grease.  Instead it took less than 24 hours, and I have that beautiful finish that chalk and clay based paints give.  I painted the hutch in CeCe Caldwell's Antique White (the perfect creamy white) and used her clear wax to finish the piece.  

{the finished hutch...still missing a few knobs though}

So, what do you think?  Are there any pieces in your home that could use a quick facelift?  If, so stop by our booth at the Antique Market of San Jose and pick up some paint. 

We Sell Paint!

Happy Monday Everyone!

It has been quite a while since I have blogged, but things have been busy.  If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably been keeping up with what is going on, but for those who don't I thought I would share what has been happing.

Our exciting news is that we now sell CeCe Caldwell's Paint at the J. Kelly booth.  You all know how much I LOVE to transform furniture with paint, so it just seems fitting.

{just a few of the amazing colors via}

This paint is so fantastic, and there are so many reasons why I love it.  Instead of writing a short story here are some of my favorite things about it...

• It is chalk & clay based, which means that it has surperior adhesion and is self priming. If you are anything like me and hate sanding and priming, then this paint is for you.  
• It is "naturally green."  The paint AND waxes have no VOC's and no chemicals.  I am very sensitive to smells, and usually furniture wax gives me a headache.  I have not had any headaches since using this product.  CeCe Paints and waxes have no chemicals, so you can actually do all of your painting and waxing indoors!  A rainy day won't stop you from that paint project that needs to get done.  
• You have the option to "wet distress." For those that have never used a chalk/clay based paint before, distressing with sandpaper is a cinch.  If you want to avoid all of the dust that sandpaper produces (especially if you are refinishing indoors) then wet distressing is the way to go.  CeCe Paint allows you to take a wet rag while the paint is drying and lightly rub off the paint in areas that you want distresses.    
• There are TONS of colors.  35 amazing color options to be exact.
• Made in the USA.  This product is manufactured and produced in the good ol' USA.  
• Easy Clean-up.  Warm water and a little soap is all you need to get this paint out of your brushes, and if you are a messy painter like me, off your hands, hair, face, and arms.  

{our display}

{chalkboard display}

{using clothespins to display the colors}

Side Note: I mentioned above that the paint has no VOC's or chemicals, and this was a huge bonus for me.  With my mom's history with non-smoker's lung cancer she has not been able to do any painting projects with any of the other paint products I have used in the past.  CeCe Caldwell's Paint was designed so that people with respitory issues can use it.  How exciting is that?  I am thrilled to find a paint that my mom can use :) 

I am looking forward to revealing some before and after projects done with CeCe Paints.  Get ready for some amazing transformations.  If you are interested in purchasing the paint go visit our booth at the Antique Market of San Jose located at 1507 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207

We will also be offering paint classes beginning early June.  If you are interested leave a comment below, and I will get in touch with you once we have more information available.