Introduction In this Retailer training, we will teach you several different techniques on how to use Country Chic Paint to create different looks, and we will also teach you several important tips and tricks so that you can help make your customers projects a success every time. Country Chic Paint was developed specifically to be used on all your furniture painting projects. It is an environmentally friendly product: our paint is water-based with virtually no odor and no VOCs, so it s great for the environment and your health. It is safe to be used indoors, although ventilation is always a good idea. Our paint is very durable and dries super quickly, so you can easily finish your project within a day or two if you d like. Our paint can be used on raw wood surfaces, previously painted surfaces, plastic, metal, glass and even fabric! Most surfaces can be painted without sanding or priming, BUT this isn t true all the time, so we will cover this in more detail in this class. Country Chic Paint is very easy to work with, and we believe that anyone can be a successful furniture painter! What you will learn In this video series we ll show you how to properly prepare the surface you are painting and what supplies you need for your projects. We will teach you distressing tehniques, including wet-distressing, drydistressing, and the resist method. We will go over drying times, as well as how to finish your piece with our wax or Tough Coat. We realize that most of this will not be new material for you, but we still think it s important to cover the basics just so we are all on the same page. We will also teach you how to run an Introduction to Furniture Painting workshop, so you can teach your customers how to use the products as well! We hope you will enjoy this class and pick up a few things here and there. We are planning on teaching more advanced techniques in future classes, which will also allow you to teach Advanced Furniture Painting classes at your store. Some techniques we want to cover in upcoming classes include dry-brushing, glazing, stenciling, and creating a weathered wood look. If there is anything YOU want to learn, make sure to let us know so we can incorporate it into the next video series!
2) Painting Supplies Before we get started, we want to quickly discuss the supplies and materials that we are going to be using: Paint brushes We are using the new Country Chic Paint brushes in this class. The bristles are a blend of synthetic bristles, and they allow you to paint a smooth surface without too many obvious brush strokes. We realize, that you might have heard from other sources that natural bristle - also called China bristle or hog hair - brushes are better, and there is certainly a place for these. Keep in mind though, that they were developed for oil-based paints, and they will leave brush strokes with water-based paint (like ours). So if you are going for this look, then great. If you don t want a lot of texture: use our synthetic brushes! Wax brushes These are great for applying wax and for getting it into all the nooks and crannies of your piece. We recommend dedicating your brushes to a specific wax color and storing them in a Ziploc bag so they won t dry out. Foam brushes These we ll use for applying Tough Coat as it allows you to create the smoothest finish. Sand paper Instead of sandpaper, we recommend using sanding sponges or sanding blocks: they are much easier to work with and will create a smoother sanded surface than plain sandpaper. Kitchen scrubbies (scouring pads) Instead of using wet painter s rags, you can use kitchen scrubbies (scouring pads) to wet-distress your piece. They are especially handy when your paint has had longer time to cure and is too tough to wetdistress with a wet rag. Paper towel Having some paper towel around is great for cleaning up spills when you accidentally make a mess. And don t forget to always clean off the rims of your paint cans before you close them. That way you make sure that the can will properly close and no contaminants can get into the can. It also means that your can will be easy to open again next time. Stir sticks Before you use any paint, or our Tough Coat, you will want to thoroughly stir, so that all contents are mixed well together. Water buckets We use some buckets with water to rinse out our brushes when we switch colors. The brushes can be rinsed with water alone, so it is super easy to clean up after you are done painting! Painter s rags For distressing and buffing your wax, you will need good quality lintfree rags. You could cut up old white t-shirts, or you can purchase painters rags in a hardware store. We like the canvas type ones as they are super strong and will last a long time.
Surface Preparation We all want to dive in right away, and dip our brush into the paint can to start painting; however, before you start, we recommend you to take a few extra steps so you will achieve great results every time. I am sure you know that painting over dirty, oily surfaces, will mean that your paint job isn t going to last very long. So go the extra mile and prep your piece properly. Step 1) Inspect your piece for mildew & mold. If any is present, we recommend cleaning it with rubbing alcohol, bleach, vinegar or a commercial mold removal product. Keep in mind that when you clean mold off a porous surface, the mold spores will still be present underneath the surface. Using a mold removal product might be your best bet if you want to make sure the mold won t come back. Step 2) If there are any previous paint layers that are chipping or peeling off, it s better to get rid of the pieces that are loose as it ll come off sooner or later anyway. Also make sure to sand the paint edges smooth. Step 3) Remove your hardware, if you want to replace it or leave it the same color. Don t forget to fill the holes with some wood filler and sand it down nice and smooth after it has dried. Alternatively, you could paint over the hardware and save yourself the trouble of removing and replacing it. Step 4) Clean off any dust, dirt and grime with a solution of dish soap and water. Step 5) You want to find out what kind of surface you are painting before you start, as the surface will determine if any other preparation is required. Let s go over some examples with recommendations on how to prep your piece before you start painting: Unpainted wood or MDF Normally you will just need to sand any rough areas to smooth them if desired, and you ll want to make sure your surface is clean and dry before you start painting! Previously painted wood If you know the previous paint is a waterbased paint (just like ours), and isn t glossy, then you can normally paint right over the painted surface. You can always test a small area first to check the adhesion. If your surface is glossy, it might have a solvent or oil-based paint on it. If you suspect the previous coat isn t waterbased, but solvent or oil-based, then you will need to make sure you thoroughly sand your surface with 120 grit sandpaper to remove any shine. You can test if the previous paint coat is oil-based by taking a q-tip with some nail polish remover (make sure it is NOT the acetone-free kind), and rub it on a small section of the painted surface. If the paint is water-based, you will notice a bit of the paint color on the q-tip; however when the previous paint layer is oil-based, then nothing will come off. Important safety note: before you do any sanding on an old piece of furniture, please make sure your paint doesn't contain lead. Find out more about how to deal with lead paint here: http://www2.epa.gov/lead Our paint is water-based, and in order for the glossy and/or oil-based surface to accept our paint, you will need to make sure to thoroughly sand before you paint. It is also smart to let the paint dry for 4-5 days in between coats and before distressing. This gives your paint time to cure and allows for better adhesion. If you want to be absolutely sure your paint doesn t come off, it is always a good idea to prime your piece first, especially if you suspect the previous paint was solvent based. Something to be aware of is that most kitchen cabinets will have an oil-based finish on them, since the majority of kitchen cabinet makers use oil-based finishes on their work. So for kitchen cabinets, we would highly recommend priming before
you start painting. Painting a kitchen is a lot of work and making sure that your paint job lasts a long time is totally worth the extra effort. Waxed surfaces Any surface that is waxed will need to have the wax removed before you paint over it. Wax is oily and paint doesn t stick well to oily surfaces. You can remove wax with a cloth and rubbing alcohol, or you can try sanding it off. Note: wax will slowly wear off the surface, so if your piece only has old wax on it, then it will be easier to paint over it. It may be best to do a test section as described in step 6 to see how well the paint sticks. Mahogany, knotted or stained wood These types of wood will very likely cause bleeding when you paint them with a light color. Therefore, you will need to apply a stain-blocking primer before painting. If you have started painting already and you notice any bleeding, simply stop painting and cover with a coat of stain-blocking primer. Once it is dried continue on with your project. Laminated wood Did you score a good deal at a garage sale, or pick up a bargain at the thrift store? Chances are that it s a laminated surface. A lot of kitchen or bathroom cabinets are laminated, as well. Any laminated / non-wood surface should definitely get a light sanding with 120 grit sandpaper before painting. This will ensure that your paint adheres better to this non-porous surface. After sanding, make sure to clean off any dust and ensure your surface is clean and dry. Using a primer on these types of surfaces is a good idea, especially when they will get a lot of usage, such as cabinet doors. Step 6) It is always a good idea to paint a small section to test how well your piece receives the paint. Let it dry overnight to see how well it sticks. The next morning, see if it rubs off when you run your fingernail across it. If it doesn t stick well, then you will need to do a bit more prep work for best results. Yes, I know, you want to get to painting right away However, let s be honest, it is better to spend an extra few minutes prepping your piece than to be unhappy with how your piece turned out! 3) Paint Application We have covered the important aspect of surface preparation, so we are now ready to start painting! It is best to pour off some paint into a plastic cup or mason jar and not to dip your paint brush into a full can of paint. If your paint brush wasn t properly cleaned, you will contaminate the entire can if you paint straight out of the can, so that is not the best idea. In this video class we are working with sample jars, and when you are teaching a class, we do recommend you have sample jars on the table of each of the Country Chic Paint colors. On our first practice board, we are going to apply a dark paint color. You will want to dip your brush into the paint so that you are covering about half way up the bristles. You may tap the brush against the rim of the can to distribute the paint better across your brush, but do NOT wipe it off as that will just remove the paint you just put on your brush. Hold the brush near the base with your thumb on the front and the rest of your fingers on the other side. Hold it at about a 45 degree angle and apply only little pressure when applying your paint to the surface. You don t want to bend the bristles too much. Apply a generous coat to get good coverage, but at the same time, try to avoid getting drips. You will want to spot drips right away and deal with them immediately. If your paint has already started to dry when you spot a drip, you could wipe it off gently with a wet cloth, or you can choose to remove it by sanding it after it has completely dried. For the second piece of practice board you can pick any light color that you like and for the third piece of practice board you can pick a fun color.
Avoiding brush marks Most people prefer a smoothly painted surface. So let s go over some tips on how to achieve that. First of all, you will want to use the right tools for the job. For a smooth finish you don t want to use a natural bristle brush. Instead, you will want to use a synthetic bristle brush for our paint. Also, make sure that once your paint has started to dry, to NOT go over the surface again. Always try keeping a wet-edge, meaning you overlap previous paint strokes before the paint has had a chance to dry. The key is to work in small sections. Another tip to avoid brush strokes, is to try working in one direction on your piece. If you want to get more texture, then you can use brush strokes in various directions with a natural bristle brush. We also recommend working from the top of your piece down towards the bottom. If you drip any paint, then at least you don t drip on the surface you just painted. Tip: When you are teaching an introductory class, we recommend you offer your students 1 or 2 small projects to paint. For this class, we have decided to offer our students a small picture frame and a small sign. However, you could also pick up some small pieces from the thrift store. You can usually find some wooden candlesticks, old picture frames or other knickknacks. Our students today will be painting the picture frame in any color they d like. And for the little plaque we recommend a dark or medium tone color as the base coat. Drying times When you are painting a piece of furniture, we recommend you allow your first coat to dry for at least 2 hours, and overnight is even better. The exception is for when you are painting an oil-based surface, then you want to let it cure for about 4-5 days. Unless, of course, you have primed first. When you are teaching a class with small pieces of practice board, like we re doing right now, you should be able to go over the first coat again after about 15-30 minutes, depending on the temperature you are working in. Layering colors After your first coat is completely dry, you can apply a second coat in the same color, or a different one. When you want to create a modern looking piece, without distressing, then you d want to add a second coat in the same color. But when you are going to create a distressed look, then we highly recommend you layer different colors together. Let s grab our first baseboard that we painted in a dark neutral color. We are going to layer that with a light neutral color. For our second baseboard we will pick a dark or medium neutral color to go over the light base coat. The students in the video class were all very much drawn to colors more so than neutrals. If they want to pick colors even if you ve planned to let them work with neutrals, we recommend giving them that creative freedom. We recommend you don t shy away from using color in your home. I know we are all drawn to neutrals, but adding some color into your interior can really make it pop! When working with colors you can combine them in several different ways. For example, you can work with analogous colors or complementary colors. v A complementary color combination is when you combine two colors opposite each other on the color wheel, which will create a high contrast and vibrant look. Some examples are: red + green / yellow + purple / blue + orange. Analogous colors are a group of colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, creating a harmonious and calm look. Some examples are: green + blue / red + orange / yellow + green / blue + purple. Another great way to pick two colors to layer together is to use a monochromatic color scheme. This means that you ll use two different tones of a single color.
Use your custom color together with the original for a monochromatic color scheme on your piece. Before you pick a color to go over the base color of your third practice board, you are going to apply a thin coat of our natural wax in the places where you d like the paint to chip off. Then you can pick a complementary, analogous or monochromatic color to go over top! For our picture frame, you can pick any color you would like to go over the base coat, and for the plaque we suggest picking a light color. If you want to create a lighter tint of one of the Country Chic Paint colors, you can mix it into some Simplicity. To darken a color, add some Liquorice to the color of your choice. It is also possible to dull down a color, by adding some Liquorice and Simplicity, which will gray it down. Distressing Techniques Now that we have completed painting our pieces, we are going to have to wait about 30 minutes for the last paint coat to dry. If it is cold or very humid, drying times may be a bit longer, but small projects generally dry in 15-30 minutes. When you are teaching a workshop, we recommend you take this time to create a color card with your students. We will cover that in more detail in our next section of this video series. We will now go ahead and work on the different distressing techniques, because our pieces have now fully dried. There are lots of different ways to distress your piece and everyone has their preference. To get you started, we will go over a few popular tools & methods in detail, and also give you some ideas of what other tools you could try. You will probably find that one of these distressing techniques will end up being your go-to for most of your projects. Keep in mind that you will likely get different results every time and the look you create might be very different from the examples. This is what makes it fun and interesting as you can truly create a unique look! Wet-distressing This is a popular technique for when you are layering colors, because you can use it to create a natural looking worn-effect. Remember: even though the paint feels dry it is still fresh and it hasn t reached its full hardness yet. That is what you are taking advantage off when you are using the wet-distress technique. For the first practice board we are going to use a wet cloth to distress it. Make sure that your cloth is nice and wet, but not so much that it drips. Wrap the rag around your fingers and use it to gently rub across the surface in a back & forth motion. Make sure to apply only a little pressure at first, because you do not want to take off more of the paint layer than you intend. You can always apply more pressure if you d like. You can choose to distress only the edges of your piece or to distress it on the flat surfaces as well. Play around and have fun. If you end up with a piece that you feel is too heavily distressed, you can always choose to cover with another coat of paint and start the distressing process again. If your paint has cured too hard to rub it off with a wet rag, we recommend you use a wet kitchen scrubby (scouring pad). It is a great way to distress your piece, and we are really liking the look we can get with this simple tool! When using a scouring pad, we recommend using a wet rag to frequently wipe the piece to make sure that you aren t taking off too much of the top paint layer.
sandpaper to see how you like the look, but feel free to experiment with other grits. Just make sure not to use sandpaper that is too coarse as it will leave visible marks on the undistressed parts of your piece! As with the wet-distressing method: please make sure to apply only a little pressure at first, because you do not want to take off more of the paint layer than you intend. You can always apply more pressure if you d like. 4) Finishing Products Our paint doesn t require a top coat, but we do recommend it as it ll make your project last longer. It will also be easier to wipe your piece clean. We are going to be using our wax, as well as Tough Coat and go over the differences. Dry-distressing This is a great technique to use when you are using a single color on a piece of furniture and want to expose the original wood layer. There are many different kinds of sandpaper, and it might take some time to find a kind that you like. We prefer using sanding sponges or blocks, because they are less harsh, they are easier to handle, and they are less likely to leave unwanted scratch marks on the surface. Just like with sandpaper, there are many different grits in sanding sponges. The higher the number, the finer the sandpaper and the smoother it will sand. For example, an 80 grit sandpaper is very rough and a 400 grit paper is very fine. You can start with 180 grit Instead of using sandpaper, you can also play around with a palmsander, and even a paint-scraper. The resist method We are now ready to move on to practice board #3: the one that we have used the resist medium on. Before we applied the second coat of paint, we applied a resist medium in the places that we wanted the second paint layer to come off. Our medium of choice is our natural wax, but you could also experiment with petroleum jelly and candle wax. We will use a wet kitchen scrubby (scouring pad) to distress the final practice board, so you have a chance to try this method too. For your project pieces, you can let your students pick their favorite distressing method. Natural Wax Our natural furniture wax is a clear wax finish and contains only natural beeswax and oils, it is 100% natural and there are no chemicals or solvents so it is very safe and pleasant to use. We are going to use a wax brush to apply a coat of natural wax to our first practice board. You simply push the bristles gently into the wax tin and then apply a somewhat thin coat of wax. If you have used other waxes before, you ll likely notice that ours is quite different than most others on the market. We are using a recipe that doesn t contain chemicals, whereas most other waxes on the market do contain them. Most people find our wax not only easier to use, they also like that it is a completely safe and non-toxic product. It actually smells really nice!
Once you have applied the wax, you will use a lint-free cloth to buff your surface until it no longer feels tacky. It should feel completely smooth once you are done buffing your piece. We also have some other fun waxes, with which you can create many different looks. Right now we have an antiquing wax, and a gold wax, but we are working on different ones which will be available in the near future. Antiquing Wax On our third practice board we will use the antiquing wax. Like the name says, you can use our dark brown antiquing wax to create an antique look. If you want to create a more subtle look, then we recommend using a coat of natural wax first, but you can also apply the antiquing wax straight on your painted surface. The antiquing wax will lightly stain your paint and make it look worn and old. If you think the look you created is too intense, you can always use a bit of natural wax to erase the antiquing wax. One thing to keep in mind with the antiquing wax is to not put it on a surface that will be used to sit on, because it might stain clothing if used on the seating surface of a chair, for example. Wax will slowly wear off the surface, so it is recommend you apply new wax about once or twice a year. Tough Coat For our second practice board we will use Tough Coat. While our waxes are more of a fine furniture finish, Tough Coat is an extremely high-end finish that can stand up to a beating. It is highly recommended you use this top coat on any kitchen cabinets or table tops you paint. It creates a waterproof barrier and is the best protection for pieces that get a lot of usage. It is scratch resistant, and won t discolor the paint. Before you apply it, you ll want to thoroughly stir it. Do NOT shake the can, as this will incorporate bubbles and they might show up on your paint coat. Tough Coat dries really quickly, so it is key to work in small sections and not to go over any sections that have started to dry already. You want to make sure that the temperature you are working in doesn t exceed 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius. If you find that the Tough Coat dries too quickly, you can thin it with up to 5% water. Important: you don't want to keep going back and forth over the same area. It is best to apply Tough Coat with a foam brush in long strokes and not go over the same section when it has started to dry. Also, make sure to apply a coat that is neither too thin nor too thick. Too thin will mean that it will look blotchy and too thick and you will get drips. Avoid bubbles in your finish by applying only little pressure on your foam brush: too much pressure and it might start getting a bit foamy and bubbly. We recommend using two coats of Tough Coat for optimal protection. Make sure to let your project dry for 24 hours before using the surface. For table tops, we recommend to allow a week of cure time to develop maximum scratch and moisture resistance. Please note: NO wax should be used underneath Tough Coat.
When you are teaching a workshop, we recommend you to let your students decide what colors & top coat they d like to try on their projects, so they can get hands-on experience with as many products as possible! Cleanup and Paint Storage Now that we have come to the end of the technical aspects of the retailer training, we do want to briefly cover clean-up and paint storage. Our paint is water-based, so you can simply wash your brushes with water to clean them. If you want to clean your wax brushes, then you can use lye soap. But in between uses, you can also store your wax brushes in a Ziploc bag to avoid the wax from drying. Before you close your paint cans, make sure to always clean the rims. That will make sure that no contaminants get into your paint and it will be easier to open them next time you use them. Store your paint in a place that doesn t get extremely cold. You want to avoid letting your paint freeze. If it is frozen for a long time, your paint will no longer be usable. If your paint does get really cold, make sure to let your paint come to room temperature slowly before using it. NEVER heat up the paint. First place it in a cool space, and THEN you can bring it up to room temperature. Do NOT use paint that is frozen or cold. Always use it at room temperature. You will also want to make sure your paint isn t stored in a very hot place either. Room temperature is always best. Your painter s rags can be washed in the washing machine, so you can reuse them many times! 5) Workshop Hosting Basics In this first video series for our Country Chic retailers we didn t just want to teach you how to use our products. We also want to teach you how to use what you know to teach an Intro to Furniture Painting class. In this section we would like to give you tips and tricks on how to host a workshop. Teaching classes is a great way to generate extra income, and to get people excited about using the products and get them started on their own projects. You could teach Introduction to Furniture Painting classes, or host Girl s Nights Out where your students paint a fun little project. There are so many different classes you can teach, and we would love to hear what kind of classes you organize, so make sure to share on our Facebook group! What to cover in basic workshop Let s start with which techniques are great to cover in an Intro workshop. 1) The wet-distress method 2) The dry-distress method 3) The resist method Aside from these techniques, you will also want to teach: 1) what makes Country Chic Paint unique 2) how to properly prep the surface of a piece of furniture 3) what supplies to use 4) paint application 5) how and when to use wax and Tough Coat We recommend you to do let your attendees practice the different techniques on pieces of practice board, just like we showed you in the training videos. But we would suggest that you also allow them to apply what they learned on one or two small projects. You could let them paint a picture frame, a small wooden box or some other project that can be a great reminder of their class with you. In addition, we believe it is a great idea to help your students paint their own personal color card. This will give your students something to do while the paint is drying, and it allows them to see the actual paint colors in their own space so they can more easily decide what colors they like and what paint to purchase. We offer blank color cards on the website, that you can order at cost, so that you have professional looking cards to use. Extras To make your workshop extra successful, we recommend thinking about a few little extra things you can offer your attendees. You want them to have a great experience and
come back to you for advanced classes and for more products. Here are some ideas that your students are sure to love: provide some snacks (think cupcakes, fresh fruit, etc.) and lemon or cucumber water include a one-time discount on their purchase on the day of the workshop (you can also show some flexibility and allow them to come back within a week to use the discount. It puts less pressure on them, than making it only available on the day of the workshop) include a small gift or a goodie bag for them to take home do a draw for a door prize, for example a basket with some paint, a brush & wax hold a little contest for the person that comes up with the most surprising layered color combination Class structure Your Introduction to Furniture Painting class will run for about 4 hours. You could do an afternoon class from 1pm - 5pm, or a class from 10am - 3pm with a lunch break in between. Another option is spreading the class out over 2 evenings from 7-9pm, for example. Allow for more time when you are just starting to teach workshops, because you don t want to feel like you have to rush through the class to get all projects done in time. Recommended structure for your class: 1. Get everyone comfortable with some snacks & drinks. Providing some snacks, such as cupcakes or fresh fruit, as well as some lemon or cucumber water will make your students so much more excited about your class, so it is worth the extra effort. 2. After they are settled in, ask the students to introduce themselves and let them share a little bit about why they are taking the class. Make sure to introduce yourself as well. 3. Continue by explaining what you wil teach in the class and go over what makes Country Chic Paint unique. 4. Show the different supplies that will be used in the class 5. Discuss surface preparation and feel free to refer them to the tutorial on the Country Chic Paint website if they need to find the information again. The surface preparation tutorial is located here: www.countrychicpaint.com/tutorials/surfaceprep. 6. Start with painting the first practice board while showing proper brush position. We recommend letting your students pick from any of the CCP colors, so you will want to have sample jars open on the table of all colors. [In warm weather, it is best to leave the lids on the jars, as a film might form from the heat, similar to the skin formed on the surface of warm milk.] 7. Let them pick a dark color for the first practice board, a light color for the second and a fun color for the third. 8. As mentioned earlier, we recommend you to do one or two small projects with your students. Let them decide what color combination they would like to use and let them paint their first coat once they have painted the three practice boards. 9. While the first paint coat is drying, we suggest creating color cards with them. Let them use their fingers to place a dot of paint on the card and let them pass the sample jars around. Having a personal color card allows them to more easily pick colors for their projects at home. 10. Next, it will be time to apply a second coat on the practice boards and projects. We recommend allowing them to pick a light color for the first practice board and a dark color for the second one. Another class you could host, aside from the Introduction to Furniture Painting Class, is a Paint-Your- Project Class. You can ask the students to bring their own small project, e.g. a side-table, a chair or a small dresser. We wouldn t recommend only teaching this kind of class, because it won t allow for enough time to teach all the different techniques. But, it is a great class for those that want to learn some basics and walk away with a piece that they haven t gotten around to painting.
11. Before painting the third practice board, explain the resist method and let them apply a bit of natural wax in a few places. Then follow up with painting the practice board with a complementary / analogous or monochromatic color for the third one. 12. If the paint on the project piece hasn t completely dried, we recommend letting your students experiment with mixing two colors together, just use a piece of paper or cardboard for them to use two drops of paint to create a new color. It will inspire them to try coming up with their own unique colors and shows them some of the possibilities. 13. Let your students put the second coat on their project pieces. 14. Next, you will show the wet-distressing technique on the first practice board, the dry-distressing technique on the second practice board, and wet-distressing with a kitchen scrubby (scouring pad) on the third practice board. 15. For the project pieces, let them decide what distressing method they d like to use. 16. After all practice boards and the projects have been distressed, it is time to go over finishing methods. We recommend you to allow them to use the natural wax on the first practice board, another wax on the thrid and Tough Coat on the second practice board. Let them decide what finishing product they d like to use on their project pieces. 17. At the end of the class, make sure that you get your students to ask you any questions they may still have, and explain to them how to clean the brushes and how to properly store the paint. 18. Once all questions have been answered they can shop for paint. We recommend offering your students a one-time discount on the paint they purchase on the day of the workshop. Sometimes, this may be too much pressure as people need to think about their projects first, so it might be best to allow them to come back within a week to get the discount. What supplies to have on hand Let s go over the supplies you will want to have on hand for your workshop: a few buckets of water to rinse out brushes painter s rags - lots of them small paint brushes small wax brushes sanding sponges in different grits kitchen scrubbies (scouring pads) a sample jar of each Country Chic Paint color jars of each of the waxes a pint of Tough Coat + stir sticks empty color cards drying racks What to charge Last, but not least, it is important to carefully consider what to charge for a paint class. For a 4 hour Introduction to Furniture Painting class, we recommend you to charge between $75 and $125. You are investing a lot of time into this class, and you want it to be worth your time. But at the same time, you will give people hands-on experience that makes them better equipped to tackle their projects at home. The better they are educated, the more likely they ll come back time and time again to shop for products. If they are successful in their projects, they will get addicted before they know it. To get more people excited about your classes, you can promote your first class with a small discount. Or you can offer a discount when they sign up with a friend. For example, you can give each of them $15 off. This will stimulate them to spread the word! We recommend you to have your students pay in advance. This will make sure they will actually show up for your class. You can promote the classes on your website and social media pages. Let them know that as soon as the class fee is paid, their spot is booked. To make it more manageable for you, we would recommend limiting the class size to about 4-6 participants. After you get more experience, you may be able to increase the class size, but make sure that you can continue to give everyone individualized attention when they need it. Don t forget that a great way to stimulate more sales is to offer your students a one-time discount. We would suggest a 10% discount on the day of their workshop, but be somewhat flexible and allow them to come back within a week if they can t make up their mind on colors, etc. The last thing you want is them to feel pressured into buying something they won t use. I am sure that they will all appreciate your customer service and flexibility and in the end that is a better business practice than anything else.
6) Using Image Transfer Medium We wanted to introduce you to Country Chic s newest product: Image Transfer Medium. With this fabulous product you can transfer printed images to your furniture pieces. Start with a color or black & white laser print or photo copy. Professional prints work well too. Make sure that anything with text is mirrored! Apply the Image Transfer Medium to the print and put it on the surface. Use a putty knife or a bank card to carefully smooth out any bubbles. Let it sit for at least 2 hours, but the longer the better. Then take a wet cloth and gently start rubbing away the paper. The ink of the print will stay behind on the surface. Follow up with a coat of Tough Coat for optimal protection. Think about the possibilities with this product You can now transfer any design to wood, as well as fabric! Paint www.countrychicpaint.com