disclaimer:
I am not a professional painter nor do I sell anything I make. I'm just an average person who loves to try things on her own and find alternatives to ignite my imagination!
Ok...with that said, I tried chalk paint...not the famous brand...a homemade batch. I don't have a stockist close to me, so I thought I'd give the "knock off" formulas a try. And do you know what? I think it worked! (I haven't used the "real" stuff and I'm sure it's amazing.)
I found my formula searching through the internet. You can find it here. It was very easy...I used paint I already had and bought Plaster of Paris at Home Depot. I did splurge on a new paint brush: Purdy. I must admit it was worth the price; if you haven't used them before, you might want to give this brand a try.
All this to say, I have a few large pieces that will soon need repainting and before I tackle the "big" jobs, I thought I'd give this paint a trial run:
I picked up this plant stand at GW for a few dollars...it was in need of some attention.
Following the above formula, I mixed the Plaster of Paris and water then added paint.
It looked like the examples on line...so far so good.
On the left is one coat...on the right is two coats.
After the final coat it looked better.
The finish is "chalky" due to the Plaster of Paris. You could stop at this point, that's what's so neat about this stuff...very versatile.
However,
I wanted to try distressing:
The paint worked very well...it stuck to the wood without any priming or sanding. And when I did sand, only the paint that was roughed up came off.
As I said before, I think it worked!
After distressing, I did add wax to seal everything...it was easy too and gave the piece a slight gloss.
(With the help of the salesperson at Home Depot, she suggested I use Johnson Paste Wax.
It was great and worked just fine.)
If you'd like to try this yourself and have any questions, just send a question via the comments.
I have another piece I'm going to experiment with...
I'll keep you posted!
I'm joining Metamorphosis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch. Be sure to drop by for loads of inspiration!
