Howdy!

So, I went home and didn't get all lazy yesterday!  Progress.  I bit the bullet and tried this awesome  Chalk Paint Recipe from Virginia over at Live Love DIY  using the following supplies:

• Plaster of Paris, which they have a our Home Depot but only in the 15 lb bags so I got this 4 lb container at Lowes.  
• Flat paint in color of your choice, I used white.
• water
• something to mix it all in 

 
The recipe is just 2 cups of paint, 2 tablespoons of water and 5 tablespoons of Plaster of Paris.  Then mix mix mix.  I used an oh-so-professional empty tub from Broccoli Cheddar Soup a la' Costco to mix mine in.  Worked like a charm, the tub and the recipe. ;) 

I just wanted to test it out so I used a brush.  Next coat I'll do a roller for the big sections and use the brush for the detail spots.

Here's a "before" pic

 Isn't it inspiring sitting there wedged between the weight bench and the boat?  I don't think so either.

 As you can see, there are a lot of brush strokes so I'll do a light sand with a fine grit sand paper before I tackle the second coat.


And yes, I wedged myself in between the headboard and the boat because, like I said, I just wanted to see how it worked.  I didn't have much time either because I did this before Back to School Night. 

Luckily I tried this really great crock pot roast beef recipe from Pinterest (natch) so I didn't have to make dinner.  Dinner was delish!  I highly recommend that recipe.  We put it over mashed potatoes.  Can't wait to eat my leftovers at lunch!  But I digress... I digress a lot. 

Anyhoo, the great thing about this chalk paint is that there is no prep to the surface involved.  I mean, I dusted the headboard off but that's all!  The paint dried really fast too.  I could have sanded it after dinner if we didn't have Back to School Night.  I plan on working on it some more tonight. 

Thoughts on the paint:  It's really thick and goopy so I wouldn't dare try it in my handy dandy sprayer.  Just in case.  Virgina at Live Love DIY doesn't even have a sprayer and she has done some really beautiful work, so I knew I could do it.  I have to play with the finish though.  With chalk paint you're really supposed to put soft wax on it afterwards but I heard that melts easily and our bedroom gets hot during the day so I'm afraid it would make a mess.  I have spray gloss but I dunno if that will look right with the finish of the chalk paint.  I don't want to lose the charm, you know?  So I'll be testing some spots, probably on the side of the nightstand, to see what looks and feels best.  Here is said nightstand:


Sorry about the crappy photos.  I took them before I left for work so I didn't have much time.  It's pretty good size and has 3 drawers.  The bottom "2" are actually one big drawer.  I plan on making chalk paint for this as well but in a different color.  Not 100% decided on the color yet.  Gonna change out the knobs too.

I'm really excited about this project because it's so simple and I think I'm gonna be able to have my headboard in the house by this weekend!   Yay!  *fingers crossed* 

Can't wait to finish so I can share the "after" pics!

Happy Hump Day y'all!

♥ Holly ♥