A Workshop and a Lot of Fun

Artworks Spokane, home of our CHALK PAINT (TM) decorative paints by ANNIE SLOAN stockist and where we attended an intensive but fun 2 day  Train the Trainer workshop.

 Nancy Jones, owner of Artworks Spokane and a CHALK PAINT (TM) expert. We couldn't have asked for a more knowledgable or patient teacher.

Nancy demonstrates a paint technique while our own Nancy, Kristi, her adorable daughter and MaryJo observe.

Nancy, pondering which technique to try next.

Here we all are at the end of the workshop, tired but filled with all kinds of great ideas. We were lucky to have had such great classmates and such an amazing teacher.

Nancy has already painted a gorgeous mirror for the powder room at the store and has a vintage secretary in the works. It's going to be beautiful and I can't wait to show it to you.  She's taking pictures as she goes. I've been finishing up some pieces I had already started before the workshop using latex paint. The CHALK PAINT (TM) is so much quicker and easier I'll never go back!!

Under Foot

Don is installing the flooring in the office as the very helpful phone man installs our new phone lines. We'll be joining the high tech world of DSL which will be SO nice. We both live in the country and the only thing available is satellite internet. It will be so nice to work with higher speed internet.

The new flooring in the guest powder room is already installed as well as brand new fixtures.

The new flooring on the sales floor is being installed, too.

The last of the old flooring in the rear of the store.

Don's sons looked on as the last section of flooring, a 3" x 5" piece, goes down.

As Nancy supervises!

And it's finished! The whole building has new flooring and it looks so great. Don already has baseboards stained and ready to install.

A Done Deal; interior painting is finished!

A little touching up. Loving that beautiful archway Don created and the dark blue wall behind it.  You can peek into our office through the door on the right.



Notice who doesn't have any paint on their roller?

But the other end works great for pointing out spots that need more paint!

Oh, no! Another spot that needs a touch up. The boxes are the new flooring that Don will be installing now that the painting is finished.  Wise of him to wait until we were through. Not that we got any where it doesn't belong or anything!



Let the Painting Begin!

 Painting is underway in the new store and we are loving the colors,

The wall on the left has been painted in Only Yesterday, a soft creamy yellow. It looks brighter already!

  

                                           
                                   
   Nancy is painting our office in a pale duck egg blue.

  

The center and rear walls are painted in a darker shade of the office color.

ANNIE SLOAN, here we come!!

It's official!! We're now CHALK PAINT decorative paint by ANNIE SLOAN retailers! We are beyond excited. So many great things have happened for us in the past few weeks. We'll have a brand new home for our store as soon as the renovations are completed. Walls have come down and we've been painting the interior for the past 2 days and have the first coat finished. The flooring is there waiting to be installed as well as new bathroom fixtures. A brand new awning for the exterior is in the works as well as a paint job. We have a terriffic landlord full of great ideas and the talent to make them happen. We can't wait to reopen!

Adding Texture

All the walls were textured today. That means we can paint next week and then the flooring can go down. We have SO many great ideas we can't live long enough to finish them all! I'd hoped to get a picture of the process, but Don is so fast, he was finished before we could get there.

A Sign of the Times

                        The big sign is down and it makes a huge difference

  See what I mean? Can't wait for fresh, bright paint and the new awning!

Wide open spaces

 The view to the back. Walls are gone and it looks so much larger. Sheetrock is installed, doorway added as well as electrical outlets moved and added.

 Looking towards the front. That's Don, our landlord extraordinaire/remodeler/electrician/sheetrocker/all around great guy. We wanted an easy access from behind the sales counter to our office and powder room and Don suggested an arched doorway. Gotta love a landlord with great ideas not to mention the talent to make it happen!

So things are coming along nicely. We've FINALLY picked a paint color. For sure. We thought we had chosen one earlier. It looked perfect on the paint chip. It looked perfect on the sample board. On the walls, not so much. It's been sort of a Goldilocks story. The first color was too pale. The second color was too bright. The third color (or was it the 6th?!) was juuuust right! It's called Only Yesterday, which seems appropriate for a store like ours. There will be some accent walls in a duck egg blue color, too. Painting starts next week. Can't wait to see it finished!