Black Top Cheat

For this hutch, I would have loved to have had the top a stained wood, but I was not ready to take on the sanding or stripping process yet.  The next best thing (I thought) was to paint the top black to cheat the look of a stained top.

I painted it using homemade chalk paint.  The base is the Valspar paint sample with no color added.  The top is Valspar Lincoln Cottage Black.

I distressed it lightly and sprayed the hardware with Oil Rubbed Bronze and finished it with ASCP clear wax.

Sometimes you just have to make due with what you can handle.  I think it came out beautiful and added interest rather than being just one color.

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Easy Peasy

I found an alphabet stencil at one of those bargain closeout stores for less than $1!  They are 3" letters that look like an Arial font.  They also came with numbers and symbols.  Total score!

I had a small dresser to paint and when I got the stencil I immediately knew I wanted to use the numbers on it. 

I started with a base coat of Paris Grey.  I then painted it with 2 coats of the homemade chalk paint in Valspar Deep Sea Diving.

For the stencil and knobs I used the Paris Grey again and then distressed slightly.  I finished with a coat of AS clear and dark wax.  

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

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My Version of DIY Chalk Paint

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint was definitely the reason I started to paint furniture, but it took a few months to start selling pieces and bring in money.  I had already invested quite a bit into the paint.  I bought five of the sample pots and 1 quart along with a can of clear and dark wax--almost $200!. 

While the quart of Paris Grey that I bought really went a long way, I don't want to paint everything Paris Grey.  I would like to have a variety of colors that I can afford to stock up on.

I had been checking other sites on what colors people have found to sell well (to potentially invest in another quart of ASCP) and what I found was more and more bloggers talking about DIY chalk paint. 

Elizabeth & Co.'s post about her recipe and her results is what gave me the confidence to try it.  Lowes has Valspar sample pots already mixed with colors and a bunch were on sale.  Along with the $6.78 box of plaster of paris, I picked up 3 pots of a color named Purple Stripe that was marked down to $1.47 each. 

I decided to try it on a small chair I picked up at a church sale. 

I followed Sharon's recipe and used a small Classico sauce jar that had ounce markings on the side so I could easily measure out one part plaster of paris to three parts paint.

I made sure I added the water to the plaster of paris first and then added the paint and shook it to mix.  I also added a little brown paint to tone down the color.

I started to paint the chair and I immediately noticed that the paint was thicker and covered much better in just one coat.   

After the second coat of paint I waxed it with clear and dark wax and added the crown stencil with ASCP Cream.  I slightly distressed it on the edges.  (I did notice it was harder to distress than ASCP.)  Not bad for my first try!

After some trial and error, I have perfected my recipe and love using it. 

• 1 Heaping tablespoon of plaster of paris
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of water
• Mix in a bowl with a popsicle stick to a sour cream consistency
• 8 ounces of paint
• Pour plaster of paris mix directly into into the sample pot of paint 
• Shake
• Paint    

I almost always paint two coats and then sand the entire surface with a medium sanding sponge to make it smooth as silk and distress the paint.  This table was painted with Behr Outback and finished with clear and dark wax.

I prefer to distress at the edges and areas where the paint would normally wear off.  Or on the details of the piece to highlight them.  I love to see the transformation from the fully painted piece to the distressed look.

I still have some ASCP left and I use it here and there, but if I want a specific color, I will buy the sample pot of latex paint.  The normal price is $2.95 for eight ounces of paint and Home Depot will mix them into any color.

The best value for your money will always be oops paint. Home Depot sells the sample pot oops for $.50, quart oops for $2-$3 and gallon oops for $5-$7.  But you have to hope you like the oops paint color.

If you have a Sherwin Williams store in your area, their Color To Go is a great value if you want to have a specific color mixed.  It is $6.49 for 31 ounces.  Even though you have to buy more paint up front, it comes out to be half the price per ounce than Behr paint.

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Quart of Paris Grey

I had finally taken the plunge to go from the sample pot size to buying a quart of ASCP.  It took me way too long to decide on the color, but I picked Paris Grey.

It is no lie when they say a quart goes a long way!  I painted:

One coat on this quilt rack.

Two coats over Old White on this little accent table.

One coat over Cream on this end table.

Two coats on this mirror.

One coat on this gold mirror. (My little cutie snuck in the pic)

Two coats on the top of this table (Provence is on the bottom).

I also used it for the base coat on two other projects and two coats on a twin headboard/foot board project and still have a little less than half the can left!

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Watered Down

My first little sample pot of ASCP was Versailles.  I mentioned in my post about the cabinet I painted that I filled the paint pot back up with the water I was dipping the paint brush in.  I made sure I got all the pigment that was at the bottom of my water cup thinking somehow I was getting more paint for my money.

This bright idea of mine did something to the paint.  I painted two coats on a shelf with the Versailles and then sanded it for a slightly distressed look.  When I started to wax it, the paint wiped off with the wax.  Taking if from slightly distressed to a whole different level of distressed!

This is how it came out.

I was freaking out because it really was not the look I was going for.  But I didn't want to paint it again.  I just kept going with the clear wax, added a coat of dark wax and brought it in to sell at the consignment shop.  The owner thought it was great and it sold a few weeks later.  Go figure!

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Glue as a Crackle Medium

For a while I found myself slightly addicted to Pinterest.  There were just so many interesting pins out there and I had to pin them all the time.  The bad thing was that I wasn't actually doing any of the pins. 

I made a point to try some of the pins and one of them was using Elmer's Glue as a crackle medium that I found on Make The Best of Things blog.  She did a lot of experiments of different materials and colors and paints and how she applied the glue that I was very inspired to try it out.

I had these 2 very modern looking shelves I got at GoodWill that I was willing to try this technique on.  I thought the modern mixed with the rustic crackle would be an interesting twist.

I gave them one coat of ASCP Versailles first.  When it was dry I applied the glue with a foam brush to all the tops of the shelf.  

The first coat of the painted glue area was done and I rested the shelf on a little bit of an angle and the glue and paint gravitated in the direction of how it was resting.  I wasn't really happy with the way that came out, but it did let a lot of the green show through.  If you are going to use this technique, make sure your piece is laid down flat so the glue and the paint can't run and make your crackle wavy.

I apologize for the terrible after photo, but I was really not happy with how they came out.  

I did work on another crackle project that I have a better photo of. I used orange craft paint for the base (about 5 coats) and black latex paint over the glue.  I didn't water down the glue, just painted it on kind of thick and painted the black on top after waiting maybe a minute.  This crackled really nicely and I was much happier.

I stocked up on glue at a recent flea market (5 bottles for $1), so I will have to try it out again soon.

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Drop Cloths for Slipcovers

When my father moved he gave me an awesome sleeper sofa that he couldn't take with him.  My parents bought it in 1997 when they first moved to Georgia and it has the BEST mattress. I had slept on it many times during my visits and it is as comfortable as a regular bed!

Here is the couch with my little cutie.  We were still in the middle of decorating the den when I got the couch.  I didn't love the fabric, but I was willing to live with it.

Then I found this amazing braided rug at a garage sale.  I love this rug!  I actually passed it up and left the sale and then drove back as fast as I could once I realized what a deal it was.

As you  can see, it does not go with the couch at all.  Pinterest to the rescue!  Once again I spent FOREVER researching how best to do this and I finally found a six part video tutorial on how to make drop cloth slip covers by Miss Mustard Seed. 

You will need the following supplies:

• A sewing machine
• Enough drop cloths to cover your couch
• I bought four 15'x4' 10 oz canvas drop cloths from Lowes (I had some leftover)
• Matching thread
• Fabric scissors
• A million pins (the ones with the big plastic heads) 
• A seam ripper

I washed the drop cloths at the laundromat before I started.  You don't want to make the cover and then wash it because the fabric shrinks and it won't fit.  

I just followed Miss Mustard Seed's tutorials (going back to them whenever I got stuck) and did it step by step, one section at a time.  It did take quite a while to get it done, but I wouldn't say it was hard.  It just required a lot of patience.  I probably spent more time pinning the fabric than sewing it. 

The trickiest part was attaching the arms to the back, front and the sides at the same time.  I kept trying to follow the exact shape of the couch, but it wasn't necessary.  The look of the drop cloth is supposed to be casual and not perfect.   

I think it came out AMAZING!  Now the rug goes with the couch and the whole look of the room is totally my and my husband's taste.  I am definitely a beginner at sewing and I would say as long as you have some experience with a sewing machine (even if it was from 10 years prior when you just hemmed a few pairs of pants) then you could totally do this too.

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Painting and Selling

I go to garage sales every weekend during the spring/summer.  I have been buying toys and clothes for the kids, various home decor and sometimes tools for my husband.  Since I discovered chalk paint, I now buy small furniture pieces that I have passed up all this time since I didn't know I could paint them (and eventually sell them).

My next furniture find that I painted were these two sorry looking chairs.

I found a really nice fabric from the remnant pile in Hobby Lobby and from there decided on Duck Egg Blue distressed with clear and dark wax.

As my 2 year old daughter would say: Ta Da!!!

The chair on the bottom is the one I took with me to the consignment store where I now sell my painted pieces.  I was beyond nervous to go in and ask if they would take the chair, but I was inspired by Miss Mustard Seed's story of how she started and I forced myself to go in and ask.  You can't fail if you don't even try!

I showed the owner the chair and she was so excited.  She had just opened that month and said this was exactly what she was looking for to add to her store.  She took the chair immediately and asked that I bring the other chair and cabinet in right away. 

I now bring her a piece every other week and so far things are selling pretty well.  I was able to sell the cabinet (the piece that started it all), but the two chairs are still waiting to find a home.  Hopefully they will soon.  They really are SO pretty in person.

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It all started with...

...a $5 cabinet from a garage sale!

It was in really great condition and I couldn't pass it up for that price although I didn't exactly need it.  I thought I could put it in my daughter's room to hold her stuffed animals or something.  I got the idea to paint it but I never painted furniture before. 

I spent an insane amount of time on Pinterest researching how best to paint it.  I came across Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Turns out there is a stockist not too far away and they were holding a class the next morning!  I just showed up and even though I gave them no notice, they let me take the class for the day.  It was a lot of fun and a wonderful learning experience.  I went home that day with a sample pot of Versailles and some clear soft wax.

That night I painted the cabinet.

I started with the first coat of paint out of the sample pot.  I had a cup of water that I kept dipping my brush in and I noticed the color had pooled to the bottom of the water.  I was down to half the sample pot and being the extremely cheap person that I am, I poured the colored water into the sample pot to give it the 2nd coat!  I don't know if that was a good thing to do, but my sample pot was now full and my cabinet had two coats of paint on it.

I waxed it with the clear soft wax and I distressed it with a sander that I think I went a little too crazy with.  I spray painted the hardware oil rubbed bronze.  I am very proud of this piece and will forever make me smile when I look at the photos of it.  I can't look at it in person any more because I SOLD IT!!!  I'll let you know how that came about in my next post.

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