Presenting: Annie’s Amazing Gift Guide!
This time of year the Sunday supplements and glossy magazines are awash with Gift Guides. I don’t know about you but I’ve noticed that the suggested presents tend to be stupidly expensive and not particularly thoughtful. A lot of present ideas for women seem to involve diamond encrusted jewellery...I think I speak for everyone when I say that the reason I don't buy diamonds for the women in my life at Christmas is not because I’ve forgotten diamonds exist and I need a gift guide to remind me! *Christmas eye roll*.I’ve pulled together a selection of my most giftable Chalk Paint® treats; all of which cost less than £30, and all of which will make for thoughtful presents for your loved ones. All diamonds, in their own right!
My Project Packs are the perfect gift because you tailor the contents to the recipient. You choose which two 120ml Chalk Paint® colours to include – enclosed in a beautifully designed box alongside two 120ml tins of Chalk Paint® Wax (again, in the colours of your choice) and one of my small Chalk Paint® Brushes.
Chalk Paint® Brushes are perfect for producing a textured, vintage finish. They’re high quality - strong, yet pliable, with natural split ends which pick up more paint and allow you to paint expressively. When you gift someone a Project Pack all they need to do is roll up their sleeves and start painting! It’s a new hobby, a new piece of furniture, and a new way for them to feel creatively fulfilled! All for under £30 – which is £4.80 less than it would cost to buy all the contents separately.
Detail Brushes. These are one of my top sellers and they’re a perfect gift for the confirmed Chalk Paint® connoisseur. If you’ve already painted everything in your house – well, why not paint it some more! The Detail Brushes are the perfect shape and size to take the fuss (and the years of art school!) out of perfecting your work. Adding design details is a fun, fashionable, frankly addictive way to refresh your existing painted furniture – graphic shapes will modernise, botanical references add major cool-points, or simply use the point of the brush to apply thin lines to emphasise furniture shape and details such as drawers, cornices or edges of flat surfaces. You’ll be surprised how much impact can be added with small touches of bright complementary colours, and once you start it’s impossible to stop. Many of my brushes cost less than £20 and all make great gifts.
Look. Three reasons to gift The Colourist this Christmas:
1) It’s £9.95.
2) It’s stunningly beautiful.
3) It’s got travel features, it’s got inspiring room makeovers, it’s got step by steps, it’s got history of art, and it’s going to be a joy to leaf through once the dust has settled on Boxing Day.
OK, so that was more than three. But it's hard to only give you three! Ban magazines which tell you to lose weight or buy make up, and buy a Bookazine that gives confidence, inspiration and creativity! I’ll be dishing these out to anybody who’s made me smile, or made my life a little bit easier this year and give them a reason to smile too.
Metallic Touches
Gilding Wax is my real secret weapon. Like the Detail Brushes this is a Chalk Paint® sidekick which requires virtually no technical ability to use. Also like the Detail Brushes you’ll get immediate impact, so if you’re looking to revitalise a room in ten minutes or less: look no further! Gilding Wax is available in five stunning metallic shades at only £6.95 each. Choose from Warm Gold, Bright Gold, Bright Silver, Dark Silver and Copper – or collect them all! Apply to foliage, pine cones and other natural found objects to create beautiful Christmas decorations.
Sanding Pads
Another superb stocking filler! “But Chalk Paint® can be applied to virtually every service with no sanding, and no priming, Annie” I hear you cry! And you’re right. These Sanding Pads have been designed not for the initial stages of your creative endeavours, but for further down the line. Use my Sanding Pads in three grades of abrasiveness to create stunning rustic looks. Paint your furniture and sand back to create an authentic French feel. Start with the coarsest pad all over, then use the finest Sanding Pad in focused sections for best results.
So concludes my Christmas Gift Guide. No diamonds here – but hopefully some helpful gems! All the prices listed are UK RRP, so I'm sorry if that's not the currency you use, but I hope this still helps with your shopping. For more festive furniture and creative inspiration, join me on Instagram and Facebook!
Yours,
Annie.