I hope you had a good weekend.  Ours was pretty low-key hanging around the house and going to two of K’s lacrosse games.  I will have to say that Saturday was so stinking hot I don’t know how those boys handled all of that running in the middle of the afternoon, and on hot turf to boot.

I have to tell you that I am starting to go a little nuts not being able to do any household projects while my collarbone heals.  Most of you know that I am NOT patient……nor am I a good patient!  LOL!

The one thing that I am able to do is to get caught up on some looonnngggg over due posts. 

This Homemade Chalk Paint Recipe is at the top of that list.

I have been wanting to talk chalk paint with you for a while now!

It wasn’t until I ran into my friend Lisa at Hobby Lobby the other week that I realized I had never talked about it. 

Sorry!

I am taking that time right now……

Chalk paint is everywhere lately, as it is one of those gems of a paint that you really do not have to do any prep work before diving in.

Not a day goes by that I do not see some fabulous piece of furniture that has been “freshened” up with this paint.

The only thing better than zero prep work, is that you do not have to spend a fortune for it.

Now  I am not knocking the chalk paint that is on the market.  This stuff is so popular and gets wonderful reviews.  But it comes with a very high price tag……

……and I am all about doing things as cheaply as I possibly can.  Quality finish for pennies on the dollar.  That is what I strive for on a day to day basis.  Some items it just plain doesn’t work and I need to fork over the additional money.  But most of the time I can save those pennies for more important things!

Case in point, this homemade chalk paint recipe.  I know that you have seen it before.  Maybe there have been small variations on the measurements but the “bones” of the recipe is still the same.  Plaster of Paris, your choice of paint, and a little bit of water.

I will post some of the other furniture pieces that I have refinished with this homemade version soon, but for now I will quickly show you a little bench I completed before our trip overseas.

It was literally done in a couple of hours…….including 2 coats of paint, light sanding to achieve the distressed look that I was striving for, and wrapping it all up with a coat of dark wax to seal everything in.

This is a sturdy little bench that is stained a medium walnut brown, which sits in what I call our mudroom.  It has not had an update in over 13 years, and I thought it was starting to look a little tired.  I took off the cushion and the wicker seats and gave the wood a very quick dusting.

I mixed up the plaster of paris with some water and leftover black paint from the boys bathroom cabinet. 

The first coat was very grey, even though the paint I used was pitch black!  No worries….I knew that it would all work out.

After applying the second coat I brought out some sandpaper and got to work sanding the areas that I wanted to look distressed.  This paint will dry very fast, so you might be able to start the second coat as soon as you are finished with the first coat.  I would wait at least a half hour before you start sanding or rubbing the paint off.  Some friends of mine use a damp cloth to rub the paint off, but I still prefer using a sheet of high grit sandpaper.

Here is a shot just prior to working in some Minwax Dark Paste Wax.

Here is another shot after I screwed the seats back on and tied the cushion back on…..

Ignore the boot lace to the right.  B decided that his snowboarding boots needed to come out of his closet and just left them there.  For some reason I didn’t notice them.  What is wrong with my vision these days?? 😉

Here is the before…..

……and the after!!

I am loving the black tones with the cushion.  Even better is the fact that this very quick redo, achieved in just a couple of hours, did not cost me anything as I already had everything on hand. 

If you are needing to buy the items to get started, you can get a very large tub of plaster of paris for under $10 (will last you forever), and if you have a small paint job like this you can get away with purchasing the sample containers of paint that the large hardware stores sell for about $2. 

The wax was an add on that you really don’t need to do, but for this bench I wanted to deepen the color of the stain showing through.  If you want wax as well you should be able to buy a small container for under $5.  Remember, a little will go a long way, so that small container will see you through many painting projects.

Have you made your own chalk paint before?  What is your favorite recipe?

                                                          Shaunna