• Roxanne’s Old White Dining Room Set

    This is a customer project we did using Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint with a custom blended grey wash. We sealed it with a lacquer finish to give it a bit of shine and added durability. The table top and buffet top we stained using Old Master’s Espresso Gel Stain. What an amazing transformation this dining room set had. This was a splendid restyling from a formal dark, heavy finish to a light and unfussy formal dining room. The whimsical floral pattern on the chair seats just works in Roxanne’s house.

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  • Shutter & Brushes Offering Chalk Paint Techniques Classes

    You have been asking for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint classes and with great excitement, the we are ready to make that happen! The classes will inspire your creative side and give you skills to take on your first project. Classes include a light lunch and beverages. If you are interested, contact SHUTTER & BRUSHES at 574-524-6214, or email [email protected]. Better yet come and visit our store and sign up at the paint counter, located upstairs in our little nest at Birds Gotta Fly Vintage, 916 N. Michigan Street, Elkhart, IN. TECHNIQUES 1- BEGINNER CLASS Saturday, June 24, 2023 10:30-2:30 Saturday, July 15, 2023 10:30-2:30 TECHNIQUES – 2 CLASS Saturday, July…

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  • Easy IOD Transfer & Annie Sloan Paint Project

    This video shows your just how easy it is to turn a scrap board into a cute little picture for your home or for a gift. I simply painted a small board with Annie Sloan’s new paint color Coolabah Green, let it dry and for a few hours and applied this sweet transfer to that literally took 2 minutes to do and look gorgeous. The transfer came from the Iron Orchid Design Ephemeral Melange Transfer Set. The board needed a bit gold gilding that was easily applied to make it shine! https://youtu.be/YTBgSjc-_ZI

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  • Shutter & Brushes Store Opening!

    May 25, 2023 – Today we open our little Shutter & Brushes Paint Studio in our nest at the beautiful Birds Gotta Fly Vintage Store at 916 N. Michigan here in Elkhart! It has been a long time coming and I am forever grateful to Pamela K Hoffer. Pam has been a wonderful mentor and inspiration for me over the years. I am so excited to get started with my sister Heidi Bemiller and dear friend Ann Allyn on this journey. You will find them busy during the day in the shop painting customer projects and we will be selling Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and IOD Design elements. In the…

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  • Rita’s Dining Room Set Revival

    The minute I walked into Rita’s home and saw her dining set the thrill of possibility immediately engulfed me. I sincerely appreciate homeowners who invest in quality furniture and appreciate the value of restyling it. This set had so much potential and just needed to be infused with flair. Deciding on a finish with a customer is always a puzzle to put together as I distill their vision into the new finish. It did not take us long the select this glamorous rich finish. Pinterest is an amazing resource to study finishes and gather ideas. We started with a base layer of Annie Sloan Honfleur Brown chalk paint and very…

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  • Memorable Scandinavian Pink Dresser

    I admire a vibrant and lively color on furniture projects. When my fellow artist friend Janie asked me to update a dresser I knew it would be a creative project. We took some time selecting a color but Annie Sloan Scandinavian Pink with a dark brown wax finish fit the bill perfectly. While neutral colors are just fine, why not take it up a notch and add color to become an attention getter in your room and a true object of desire. The hardware was restyled to freshen up the look with gold and pewter gilding wax that gave the piece a nice highlight. The large piece was in good…

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  • Suellen’s Olive Bedroom Set

    Annie took on this project after we did a design consultation at Birds Gotta Fly in Elkhart. Suellen was not sure what color to paint the pieces for her guest room. When she saw the Annie Sloan Olive chalk paint with black wax she fell in love. So often people are overwhelmed when selecting a color and finish. Many people pick universal and basic colors that feel comfortable, safe and versatile. When you look at the wide range of colors available why not take the leap and pick a bold color like Suellen did? Allow the pieces to make a statement in you room. If you grow tired of the…

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  • Uncle Ray’s Chair

    My great uncle Ray Babcock was a pillar in our family. He was an extremely generous man and a very kind soul. I remember every holiday season we would get a Christmas card with a little something special from him. He lived in Galien Michigan and was a business owner and philanthropist. This arm chair belonged to him and was passed down to an aunt and then to my cousin Julie. I am so thankful she trusted me to restyle this chair to be used in her master bedroom sitting area. The poor seat was sagging and and it had seen a lot of use over the years. It was…

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  • Upscale Grey Chest of Drawers

    Heidi performed magic and updated this vintage chest of drawers. The designers at Miller-Grey Design selected the color and the transformation was very dramatic! This makes a stately appearance for the homeowner in their guest room!

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  • Barbara’s Writing Desk

    I knew when I saw this piece that it had good bones and could be something very feminine and delicate. The old finish was damaged over the years by excessive use. We had a few repairs to make and Barbara stressed she wanted it to be something special. Due to the condition of the top we use a bit of a stippled texture with the paint application to hide some the surface blemishes. The color combination is Dixie Belle Drop Cloth and French Linen with a very light whitewash accent. The something special for this piece was the IOD transfers. I incorporated transfers from a number of sets but the…

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  • Pati’s Perfectly Vintage Kitchen Set

    Pati had this vintage dining room set that belonged to a family member she adored. It has been passed on to her and she uses it in her lake house kitchen. The chairs and table were solid with a few cosmetic repairs necessary. This was the perfect project for Annie and her very handy husband Larry to work on together. After a good sanding and cleaning Dixie Belle Lemonade chalk paint was used as the base color for the table. Pati loves daisies and we were able to find a Re-Design Brand Transfer to add the flowers to bring this set to life. Annie recovered the seats in a complimentary…

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  • Glorious Grey Dining Set

    We have had a run on dining room sets lately, but this one certainly has a bright personality. It started as a very traditional table and chairs that was begging for an upgrade. The chairs were a little rough and worn but solid, and the table had a fair number of scratches. Heidi and I worked as a team on the set. She did an awesome job painting the chairs with Dixie Belle Gravel Road and the table was done in Dixie Belle Drop Cloth. I followed up with grey glaze to pull the deep color of the chairs to the table and added a durable sealer. We just love…

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  • Lake Michigan Rattan Chairs

    We are very fortunate to work with the designers at Miller-Gray who did an amazing job on this condo in St. Joe. These chairs were solid and sturdy but just did not quite fit in. We used a soft shade of Benjamin Moore gray for solid coverage on the base. To top it off we did a gray color wash on the rattan. In the light, the chairs are a stunning silver color. This was a joint project for Annie and I to work on! I imagine myself enjoying these chairs with a great cup of coffee watching the sunrise!

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  • Stylish China Cabinet

    Designer Stephanie Califar from Vida Event and Designs, Indianapolis, shared this great project with me to restyle. It began as a Facebook Marketplace find that we quickly turned into a stunning focal point for the owners as they renovate their home. The minute I opened the paint can and saw the color I knew this was going to be a showstopper. If you have an old china cabinet that needs a new purpose think creatively about what you can use it for. They do not just have to be in a dining room. Cabinets are great storage for craft and sewing rooms or remove the doors and use it to…

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  • Lisa’s Colada Dining Room Set

    Exceptional transformation with this dining room set. It went from the standard red cherrywood to a stunning warm creamy white color. The photos do not do this one justice. Painting this set gave the entire room a whole new vibe and much lighter look. The table has several leaves and 10 chairs. This was a big project and all the pieces were sanded, cleaned, primed and painted. To increase durability, three coats of Old Masters sealer completed the table top. I opted to use Benjamin Moore advance paint and my spraying set up to paint the pieces. The finish came out flawless. We had Rollie Williams Paint Spot custom blended…

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  • Sophisticated Bedside Chests

    Absolutely fabulous is how we describe the totally updated look of these lake house bedside tables. The pair came to us with lots of style and were very high quality that just needed a new and updated finish. These were painted in a stunning deep grey. The decision to leave the original hardware and gold tip legs was a good one. They add so much more to this piece. Heidi used Benjamin Moore paint and it went on just perfect for a flawless smooth finish. Her work is top notch!

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  • Charming Children’s Kitchen Set

    This very old vintage children’s kitchen set came us in bad repair. I knew immediately this project needed to go to Annie and her very handy husband Larry for the remake on this one. Together they were quite the team repairing the water damaged wood, polishing the stainless steel hinges, and putting a new finish on that makes these pieces look like new. The owner was delighted to see how fantastic they looked and are ready for use by her grandchildren. They were painted a clean white and the old broken laminate was replaced with a tomato red painted top.

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  • Jane’s Whimsical Chair

    A friend of mine had this old chair that belonged to her mother and she gifted it to me as a project chair. She was moving and while hard to part with, she just could not take everything. I started working on the chair adding a few touches here and there. When I completed the chair I offered it back to her and the special chair and memories are right back where they belong, in her home. I used Annie Sloan Athenian Black Chalk Paint as the base color. As I was painting it I noticed the interesting faces that appeared on the chair back and decided they needed some…

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  • Pati’s Cedar Chest

    S & B Artist Annie Slessman and her very helpful husband Larry, did repairs on this vintage cedar chest. The chest was refreshed with Dixie Belle White Fluff chalk paint and Annie Sloan clear wax. Pati has a lake house and wanted a light and airy feel for this chest. We could not just leave it all white, so we added some accents to the trim with some of the aqua blue wall paint from the room where the chest sits. It was a great edition to show the details on the trim work on this chest.

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  • Kathleen’s Sun Porch Tables

    This super cute set of round wooden coffee tables were refinished by S&B Artist Heidi Bemiller. The tables were painted with Dixie Belle White Cotton chalk paint. To add some softness and styling to the pieces, Heidi did some light distressing and finished it with wax for a velvety smooth protective finish. These will not doubt be eye-catching on Kathleen’s sun porch.

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  • Little Birdie Cabinet

    This country cabinet from the 1980’s is now a whimsical piece with a few sweet birds perching inside. The piece was painted with Dixie Belle Sawmill Gravy Chalk paint and a custom glaze was added to give it a more weathered look. I sealed the piece with clear wax to protect it. The IOD transfers of birds were added and just topped this off. Special thanks to my customer who gave me an idea and let me run with it.

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  • Lake House Hutch

    This very old hutch came from an estate and had been in storage for a very long time. It proved to be a big challenge to prep for painting after living in a damp and dusty place. After several rounds of cleaning and giving the piece a chance to completely dry, it was sealed in shellac. This allowed us to lock in any remaining musty odors and prevent any spots of bleed through from the old surface. The top had a large area of tile glued to it which required a lot of elbow grease to safely remove. We loved the warm honey color after the sealer was applied to…

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  • Nursery Rocking Chair

    This rocking chair is headed to a safari themed nursery and I am sure it will get a lot of use. The chair just needed a quick clean and seal refresh on the warm honey colored oak. I put my upholstery skills to work and got busy with my air staple gun and added this soft blue fabric. We made some custom pillows to with a sweet elephant print to give the back a bit of extra cushion. Every piece of upholstery work gets a bit easier but I will always just do simple projects for customers. It is a nice change from painting and I have always enjoyed sewing…

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  • Udderly Mad Chair

    This thrift store pink chair got a fancy makeover and now sports a bovine print and shiny black paint. I decided to be brave and take an upholstery bootcamp for 3 days with Shelly Miller at Home Room Upholstery School in Broadripple. It was 3 jam packed days of creativity and just a few little hiccups learning this trade. I had a fantastic weekend and made some new friends and you cannot ask for more than that! Shelly is an amazing and patient teacher. The chair started out as a $7 chair from the Fishers Restore and had very warn pink fabric. After stripping it down and painting it at…

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  • Annie Slessman

    Annie is a dear friend and fellow artist and a woman of many talents. Annie says she has always walked one step beyond her comfort level when approaching anything she has not attempted before.  To not try is the inconceivable to her. The fact that Annie is a former skydiver attests to that fact. Now retired from the legal field where she served as a bailiff, it wasn’t long before she sought out new things to learn and ways to express herself. An old bedroom suite would be the start of a new challenge and ultimately the trigger that instilled a love of furniture restoration in her heart.  It was founder and owner…

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