If At First You Don't Succeed...

Try and try again.

It all started with this very old chest of drawers that kept calling me to her. 

Not really having an idea of how I wanted her to turn out didn't stop me from buying her.  I loved the details along the side and the fact that she had straight sides and drawers made me think I could actually do something with her.

The thought of painting something with the Annie Sloan paint was front and center in my head.  However, the idea of paying the price of Annie Sloan paint had me running a little scared plus there's no place within 50 miles of me that sells it.  So I happened to run across some recipes for homemade chalk paint and decided to give one a try.  I chose to follow Classy Clutter's  recipe.

 I followed the recipe and just like alot of other bloggers who have tried this, mine was lumpy too. And I mean way lumpy.  Not only was it lumpy, but in a split second it was as thick as I don't know what.  I was about ready to throw in the towel but I decided to go back and do a little more research to see how others had fixed their problem of lumpy thick paint. 

The solution was to just add water.  You first mix the un-sanded grout with a little water, then mix that mixture with the paint.  I was beside myself when I started seeing better results.

So my mixture was one cup of paint with one tbls. of unsanded grout. 

 Mix the one tbls. of unsanded grout with 1/2 cup of water and stir until smooth.  Pour grout mixture into one cup of paint and stir until well blended. 

The longer I painted the more I learned and enjoyed the process. 

I will say that I should have started  learned on a smaller piece. This was a bit overwhelming when things were not going smoothly.

 Once the paint was on and dried I just sanded the edges to get a time worn look.

The next step was to protect it using Minwax paste finishing wax and a soft cloth.  As soon as I started the process of waxing,  I immediately loved how it was turning out. 

In the beginning, I was sure that I was going to have to stick to painting with regular paint, but now I'm in love with chalk paint...and wax.  What a difference using wax instead of poly.  It's so quick and easy.

I decided to use the original handles.  I liked how they looked with the white and it kept the piece looking aged.

I will be doing this again.  I think I've found my new love.

I'm not sure where she will take up residency yet, but I'm sure I'll find the perfect spot.