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. 

Latest weekend projects...Pantry and Bathroom vanity

Before and afters around our house....I love before and after pictures!  They inspire me to get my own projects done one at at a time.  Here are a few of my latest weekend projects and since pictures inspire me maybe they can be an inspiration to start on something for you.  I actually tend to put these things off and then it feels so good when they are actually done.

The Pantry before and after:

This is what all four of the shelves looked like but I wanted to get a close up on their messiness here!  

Here is what all four shelves look like now.  Yay, I breath a sigh of relief when I walk through the pantry now and I have to walk through because the door to my garage is in this room.  I was feeling myself cringe when passing by....a sure time a change is needed!  Baskets seem to be super expensive even when on sale, but sometimes the cost is worth it!! Total cost-$66 for the baskets and $6 for the curtain and spring rod.

Last weekend I finished painting our bathroom cupboards.  I have to say, I wish that I would have used chalk paint, but I already had some white paint, so I used it instead.  Chalk paint with a sealer or wax just looks so finished and makes it hard to see brush strokes.  My recommendation after doing this would be to use at least 2 or 3 coats of primer (instead of the 1 that I used) when painting cupboards so that you only have to put on one coat of paint at the end (minimizing the visual brush strokes).  However, I love my cupboards white so much more than before's natural oak....that I am leaving them alone now.

Before....the floor boads aren't finished here either...still in progress!:

After:  Feels brighter in the whole room:

Total cost: $23 for the hardware...(but I already had the paint.)  Still, painting is one of the most economical ways to improve a room! 

Transforming Thrifted Treasures!

I'm having so much fun lately scouring the Goodwill and my local Thrift Rite store for items that need a little TLC.  Amazing what a layer of paint or fabric can do. I love to see pictures of things people have gotten for pennies and then changed to something different.  I haven't gotten too drastic in the transformations yet, but I recently saw a old dresser that had been painted and changed to be a bench with drawers on the bottom and sides on facebook.  It was super cool.  I am hoping that one day I have even more time for such things.  But for now, I am having fun with these little changes that make a big difference.  Covering something with a new layer of fabric is quick and easy if it is just a cushion that can be removed.  Upholstering a piece of furniture is a whole different story but a cushion that can be unscrewed makes a fun and easy project.  Here are the steps:

1: Unscrew the screws holding the cushion on the piece of furniture...save 'em out of little people's reach.  2: Use a staple remover from a  craft or teacher store to remove any staples holding fabric on.  This ottoman had a fabric backing and I needed to keep it in the same position in order to screw it back on in the right places. 3: Either remove the old fabric or just leave it on and put the new stuff over! 4: Wash and cut the new fabric and staple it on with a staple gun. Screw the parts all back together.

Yay, so much better and only 9.00 spent!  Here are a few other projects I've been up to.  My sewing room is finally getting color coordinated!

$4 table for displaying a sewing machine my mom gave me.

I forgot to take a "before" picture of this shelf:(, but it was a really dark wood, was scratched and looked like it needed refinishing, so I painted it my favorite color!

Finally a place for some fabric piles! The thread storage above the shelf was a little oak spice rack that I spent $3 on at Goodwilll and painted also. Getting a room coordinated and made into a space I like has always been a slow process for me...as in it takes years. But, I am often inspired by pictures or other people's resourcefulness. Man, working in small time increments does wonders too!  A revelation for me instead of trying to finish all at one time! If you love it too, Happy Thrifting!