I agree, halve everything, including the vinegar. I don't really drain the tomatoes, I peel them, scoop out the "goo" with my thumb and cut them into chunks, but I still end up with about half the tomato by the time they are peeled, cored and "de-goo-ed". Annie (yes, that Annie, LOL)

I also love her recipe and gotta share something with folks who will appreciate it. I went to the thrift store the other day and noticed 2 different pieces of something on 2 different shelves. Then I thought, oh that is one of those food mills. I'd never seen one in real life so had no idea something was missing when I put the two pieces together. When I got home is when I realized because I found it on Ebay. So I went back the next day and showed them the pic I had printed out and low and behold she went to the back and found it!!!! I paid $3.99 for the stainless steel food mill. I think it was meant for me to go back though because a homeless man was sitting on the sidewalk and told me a story if he got 20.00 a lady had told him she would rent him a motel for a month. I gave him what cash I had and told him I hope he got the rest. Anyway I was so mega excited over that food mill. It was the 2 disk that I went back for.

I'm NOT crafty and NOT a furniture painter. I skip all kinds of steps, can barely find a piece of sandpaper, and my DH is even worse than me. I've now painted 4 different things with Annie Sloan and all have come out nice. My first project was a nightstand I bought on CL for $5 so didn't care if it didn't work out well. I cleaned it up, removed the drawer pull and started painting. I had a good Purdy brush and brushed on Duck Egg Blue. Then, I brushed some Old White on the feet. I let it dry, did a 2nd coat. Then, I brushed on a coat of MinWax clear furniture wax, let that dry maybe 15 minutes, then, buffed it out. Whole thing was done in maybe 2 hours. No technique. The shelves I did, I experimented with rubbing on some of the AS Dark Wax and rubbing it right off with a cloth moistened with the Minwax. The finish on the nightstand was not as smooth as the shelves where I took more time, they were slick and smooth and pretty. If you google chalk paint dresser or check out Shaunna West's Perfectly Imperfect Blog, there are directions and videos for painting with AS Chalk Paint. That's how I came to be energized to try it. (I've included a link you may enjoy that I found helpful...She's a bit chatty but she gets her point across) Miss Mustard Seed Blog also has a video on buying the wax that is pretty long but it was interesting to me too and helped me to decide to just plunk down the change to buy the dark wax and wax brush. For my painting I use my own brushes and also a cheapy pack of foam brushes that nailed the new media console I just did. You simply cannot imagine HOW BAD I am at furniture painting and how much I don't want to try anything that requires sanding or stripping or technique. This paint works for me. See a pic of my first try at this paint below. No sanding/no distressing/no dark wax. Red Here is a link that might be useful: Perfectly Imperfect Chalk Paint FAQ's & Video Link

I've been experimenting with chalk paint in general and I have come up with 2 things. Annie Sloan paints IMO are better, better coverage, ease of use, colors stay saturated even when diluted with water to make a wash. I've had a quart of Old White that somehow even after several large projects is still 1/3rd full! CC Caldwell, while having a larger range of colors and are (in my area at least) substantially more economical in the sample jars than the ASCP paints. Just aren't quite as good. Not horrible mind you just not quite as good coverage wise. Now heres the kicker. I have waxed both paints and recently tried a water based polycrylic on them. ASCP- clear wax deepens the color poly does much the same but I don't find it to be a dramatic change CCC- the color changed considerably with both wax and poly! So much I'd have to account for that change in my finished piece. I have yet to try my hand at making my own custom paints, for my purposes the commercially available works great. I might have a different opinion if I were covering large areas like those beautiful grey cabs above.