The Secret to Making Homemade Chalk Paint

I was planning to share photos of the jewelry cabinets I painted Saturday.  But I think I bit off more than I could chew!  I painted all day Saturday & was going to finish on Sunday but it started raining so I don’t have good “after” shots taken yet.

I used several different paints for these.  When Room With a Past began selling CeCe Caldwell paints a few years ago I started using it so I could help answer customers questions.  I do love the paint.  It’s the easiest to paint and most fun to distress that I’ve ever used.  My only problem with it is the cost.  It’s $9.95 for the sample sizes that I buy for my jewelry boxes.  (Sorry, I don’t remember right now what a quart costs.)

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After meeting a dealer at Antique Alley last year that  made her own chalk paint I thought I’d try it. She said it was easy and she just put some plaster of Paris into regular latex paint.  She rattled off a recipe but I didn’t write it down so when I got home I started doing some research.   There are soooooo many recipes online it’s a little overwhelming.  And I was afraid I would mess up my paint if I measured wrong and put 1/2 cup plaster of Paris into 1 cup of paint instead of 1 1/2 cups.  But, here’s my homemade chalk paint secret…..  It’s really, REALLY hard to mess up homemade chalk paint.  (Don’t tell anyone.  We want them to be impressed when they see our latest project!)

Here’s the recipe I used Saturday:

• 1/2 cup plaster of Paris
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup latex paint
• Stir together the plaster & warm water with a fork until they’re well blended.  Pour paint and plaster/water mix into a glass jar and shake.  Unused paint can be stored in the jar.  (BTW, I’m pretty sure this is the recipe the dealer told me, too.)

BUT… I’ve found out that these measurements don’t need to be exact.  I had some little “paint pods” from Ace Hardware leftover from other projects that didn’t have a whole cup of paint in them.  I just mixed a few tablespoons of plaster & water together, poured them in, and shook it up.  That worked great, too.  So on the next “paint pod” I didn’t even measure.

Now, this homemade chalk paint isn’t “green”.  It’s not as good for you or the environment as CeCe Caldwell paints.  There is a still a smell.  And it doesn’t distress as easily.  But it is cheaper and you don’t have to prep the wood like with regular latex.  BTW, I’m still not too excited about the wax either.  I use Minwax Polycrylic to finish them.  I’ll give more step-by-step instructions when I post the before & after photos later.

I’ve also started a Pinterest board for all my cabinets I’ve painted and I’m pinning painting tips there, too.  Come join me!

‘Til the next project,

 Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim

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