just add saltwash

Somewhere along the line my mind decided that worn objects are beautiful. To the bewilderment of my family, I have carted a painty old ladder, chippy shutters and more into our home as prized accents. It isn't always easy to find weathered furnishings in your personal colorway but what if you could mimic that rugged and rustic look yourself?

I'd seen the cans of SALTWASH at my friend Nancy's shop Sea Rose Cottage dozens of times but then a few days ago something must've been in the air -- or on Instagram -- and I had to try it myself!

My online order arrived quickly! Next I watched the how-to video and chose a wood craft frame from Michaels as my test subject. I poured some Devine Blossom paint from Target into a tall plastic cup followed by SALTWASH powder and stirred it all with a craft stick until I had a gloppy consistency.

With an always-loaded paint brush I covered the frame well and fairly level in pink goo. In about an hour, the frame was dry and seemed ready for a top coat.

Next came a thorough application using leftover white house paint, followed by dry-time.

Now for the fun part: Sanding away small areas of white paint in a deliberate way to reveal the color beneath. I would recommend doing this part outdoors and keeping a rag or paper towels handy to brush off debris. The rough base texture provided by the SALTWASH really renders an authentic result.

I so enjoyed the entire process that I grabbed another plastic cup and mixed up some aqua glop to spread on a rustic hook rack I'd purchased at Wrentham Country Store.

Once again, I covered the entire piece -- hardware and all -- with a batter of SALTWASH and paint, let it dry well, applied an overcoat of pure white paint, let it dry, and then sanded ever so artfully.

Here's my own little infographic. Click to enlarge. Please feel free to share or download if you find it helpful.

Try it out and I'm sure you'll be hooked on SALTWASH, too! #teehee

Thanks for reading!

xo
elyse