Chalk paint recipe and before and after

I loved the final product of this chest.  It was an item that was always in our house growing up so when my mom gave it to me, I wanted to give it some new life. I love how chalk paint is a different texture than paint so it seems softer and the brush strokes don't show. See the recipe below.  On furniture it can be sanded on the edges to distress or just leave the full coverage.  It is good to cover it when it dries with a layer of wax and buff the surface. If you want to paint several items, you can save alot of pennies by making your own chalk paint.

Chalk Paint:
1 part plaster of Paris with water to mix
3 parts paint

The paint must be flat paint.  Other paints clump up and if they have a sheen in them it doesn't look like chalk paint anyway. I used plaster of Paris from Ace hardware (in a milk carton shaped box). Mix with water till it is smooth before adding the paint.  I used a whisk to combine.  You want to make sure there are no lumps.  I also used Olympic interior flat white paint from Lowes. It's best to only make as much as you are going to use to paint an item because it starts to clump up and change consistency.  I did save some overnight in a jar and it worked just fine. You may want to sand edges and then buff with a light coat of wax. On this item I didn't sand at all and just waxed it (Briwax from Ace) when dry.