Annie Sloan Who?

Recently, I (along with the rest of the Pinterest-phere) have become obsessed with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. The colors are beautiful, the end result is the perfect amount of shabby chic, and it's evidently a dream to paint with. I personally have never actually used Annie Sloan's paint because, well, I have a hard time swallowing the price tag [anywhere from $30-$60 depending on where you purchase, how much paint you get, etc], but I have been dying over the Paris Grey color for months now.

After a friend of mine said "Hey, I bet you could make chalk paint", a lightbulb went off and I set to digging through Pinterest and the Internets to see if I could find a recipe. After reading a few different "Mommy blogs", I decided I had found my ideal combo and set about gathering my ingredients. This is what you'll need:

*furniture to paint // Cost=$0
*paint // Cost=$0
*Plaster of Paris// Cost=$6.78
*a sanding wedge// Cost=$3.97
*16 grit sandpaper// Cost=$0
*Paint stirrer// Cost=$0
*Bucket with measurements// Cost=$1.98
*Water//Cost=$0
TOTAL EXPENSES: $12.73

So I had these two Living Room end tables that I inherited from my former roommate when she moved out. They were in great condition and a nice shape, but were just a little to vintage for my personal taste. If you don't have an existing piece of furniture that you want to update, I recommend scouring Goodwill and Yard Sales.

I started out by lightly sanding the tables all over, just to give the paint a nice surface to stick to. Then I went to mixing my plaster of paris. It put in 16 oz of plaster in my measuring bucket and slowly added a half of cup of water while stirring [if you are using more or less plaster, just slowly add water until it gets to a smooth consistancy].

Then, I added 32 ounces of my paint color, which I had already stirred. I had LOTS of leftover paint from where my apartment had been painted a while back, and had a variety of colors to choose from. You could easily get just a pint of your desired color from Home Depot OR shop from the "mistake" paints. You might find a gem and a deal! However much paint you are going to need, it is VERY important that you keep the ratio as two parts paint to one part plaster of paris. It should also be noted that while you think you are going to need a lot of paint, you will not! I made way too much and am now looking for other things to paint [haha].

Stir until paint and plaster are combined, smooth and look like this:

Now you're all set to paint! I did one coat of paint one one table, did the second table, and then went back to the first table for a second coat. This stuff dries incredibly fast!

Notice how you can see my brush strokes on Coat 1. If you want a very shabby, very distressed look, then you could certainly leave it at 1 coat and go straight to the wax. I wanted more coverage with very light distressing, so I went ahead with the second coat. Just play around with it!

After the second coat was nice and dry, I did a little distressing on edges and corners with my 16 grit sandpaper. I will note that I originally attempted the distressing with my sandpaper wedge, but it was barely making a dent in the paint- this stuff is tough! Luckily, I had some heavy duty sandpaper on hand, and that really did the trick.

After you are done distressing, wipe your table down and make sure it's free of all dust/paint particles. Now it's time for the wax! Have 2 clean clothes on hand [or, if you're like me, the front and back of a clean old tee]. Wax on with one, shine with the other. I was surprised at how little wax I ended up needing. Now, with Annie Sloan chalk paint, you can use a dark wax and a clear wax in order to get more detail. I used ONLY clear wax on this table in order to 1) experiment and 2) save a few dollars on this project. You can do whatever combo you like, but note that if you do both waxes, you should do a coat of clear, then the dark, then another coat of clear.

And this is the finished product- pretty cute right?? I'm also not mad at the lamp I got at TJMaxx over the weekend.

If I were to do anything different on this project, I would definitely purchase a new, angled paint brush and make less paint! Otherwise, it was a quick project that was the perfect accompaniment to a Saturday afternoon movie.