Homemade Chalk Paint

I have been getting a lot of questions about the recipe I used for the homemade chalk paint that I recently used on the shutter. Most of the questions, however have come from Anonymous and/or no-reply commentors, so I haven't been able to reply to their questions.

So, here are the proportions I used...

2/3 latex paint to

1/3 Calcium Carbonate

 I got the calcium carbonate at a health food store.

If the paint seems too thick and chalky, add a little water. As the paint sits, it gets thicker so you may need to add more water from time to time.

I have also bought some of the sample sizes of Valspar paint at Lowe's. To that size, I add about 2 tablespoons of the calcium carbonate. You have to play around with it until it "feels" right. I love the sample sizes...they will mix up any color you want!

I hope this answers any questions you have. If not, feel free to contact me. Please turn off the no-reply so that I can respond. It is frustrating to want to reply to a comment and have no way of doing so!

I'd love to hear how your projects turn out using homemade chalk paint!!!

Tri Color Chair

I have had this chair in my attic for years and couldn't decide what I wanted to do with it.

It was in desperate need of a facelift. The wood seemed to have never had any stain or wax on it...just bare wood.

I couldn't decide on a color, so I picked three! 

 Since the wood was bare, I just picked 3 colors out of my supply of acrylic paints.

 Once I had the chair painted, 

I sanded the "you-know-what" out of it.

Then I waxed it with Fiddes dark wax.

 I'm so glad I couldn't decide on a color...

this chair is much happier with three!

Linking To:

Savvy Southern Style,  Someday Crafts, Sew Much A Do, Yesterday On Tuesday, Fabric Bows & More, Ginger Snap Crafts, Beyond The Picket Fence, Primitive & Proper, Creations By Kara,  Primp, Rae Gun Ramblings, Adventures In Dinner, Ivy & Elephants, Seven Thirty Three, Southern Lovely, Delightful Order, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Seven Alive,  Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts, Made In A Day, Katherine's Corner, Redoux, Happy Hour Projects, Joyful Stamper, Chic On a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Blissful Bucket List, Ladybird Lane, Simply Sweet Home, One Artsy Mama, The Shabby Nest, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, The Vintage Farmhouse, House of Hepworths, Momnivore's Dilema, Somewhat Simple,   Live Laugh Rowe, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, Simply Designing, Truly Lovely, Create Craft Love, The Cottage Market, Country Momma Cooks, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bowdabra, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Young & Crafty, Sassy Sites, Blissful & Domestic, Nap Time Crafters, Love Notes By Lauryn, Cherished Treasures, A Vision To Remember, Craft Envy, Petite Hermine, To Sew With Love, Boogieboard Cottage, Lovely Crafty Home, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Etcetorize, DIY Home Sweet Home, Under The Table and Dreaming, Keeping It Simple, Homemaker On A Dime, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House, Pinkapotamus, Lines Across, Coastal Charm, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts, Chef In Training, The Farmhouse Porch, Nifty Thrifty Things, Cherished Bliss, Natural Mothers Network, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Me & My Boys, Mad In Crafts, Alderberry Hill, Flour Me With Love, Not Just A Housewife, Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, Lil' Luna, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, The Trendy Treehouse, Homework, Kammy's Korner, 

Shabby Apple Emerging Designers

Shabby Apple values design artistry and designers and has developed their Emerging Designers Program in order to support start-up fashion designers.
If you are a fashion designer and would like to apply for the program, go HERE.

Applicants who are accepted into the program will have their designs featured on the Shabby Apple website and will receive 40% of the revenue from the sales of their designs. Emerging Designers will be in charge of the designing, funding and manufacturing of all of their own designs. If the designer has never manufactured before, Shabby Apple will provide assistance with this process.

 

Shutter Caddy

I finally tried my hand at making my own chalk paint!

There are recipes available online using calcium carbonate or plaster of paris. I tried the one using calcium carbonate.

I used latex paint and mixed my "ingredients" in an empty whipped topping container. 

So, for my first project with homemade chalk paint...

My shutter started off looking like this...

I gave it a coat of the chalk paint I mixed up...

When the first coat of paint was dry, I used acrylic paint in another shade of blue and randomly painted some on the shutter...

Once that was dry, I added another coat of the chalk paint. While the paint was still wet, I used a hotel room key card and scraped over the paint to give it a distressed look.

I covered the shutter with clear wax and then added a little dark wax in some places to "dirty" it up a little.

I added 3 hooks across the bottom of the shutter.

I added a metal basket (I think it was actually a planter) to the center of the shutter.

The basket can be used to hold washcloths, lotions, etc.

 This would be a great caddy to have in a bathroom or out by the pool!

Linking To: 
Savvy Southern Style, Boogieboard Cottage,Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just A Housewife, Coastal Charm,To Sew With Love, Under The Table & Dreaming,Cherished Treasures,The Graphics Fairy,Polly Want A Crafter,Funky Junk Interiors,Addicted 2 Decorating,Domestically Speaking,Tales of a Trophy Wife,DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou,Mommy By Day... Crafter By Night,Miss Mustard Seed,All Things Heart and Home,The Shabby Nest,Someday Crafts,Sew Much Ado,Lil' Luna,Sugar and Dots,House of Hepworths,Yesterday on Tuesday,Thrifty Decorating,Remodelaholic,Fingerprints on the Fridge,Lovely Crafty Home,Ladybird LN Craft Envy,Dittle Dattle,Craft-O-Maniac,Keeping It Simple,Mad In Crafts,Making The World Cuter,Sisters of the Wild West,Sarahndipities,Today's Creative Blog,Tip Junkie,Sassy Sites,The Thrifty Home,seven thirty three,Sisters Stuff,Fabric Bows and More,Sew Woodsy,Tea Rose Home,Ginger Snap Crafts,The Shabby Creek Cottage,What Allie's Making Now,Thrifty 101,Momnivore's Dilemma,It's Sew Stinkin Cute,Beyond The Picket Fence,Finding Fabulous,Trendy Treehouse,A Little Knick Knack,Chic on a Shoestring Decorating,Simply Sweet Home, Creation Corner,Truly Lovely with the Laney Sisters,Mommaskindacrafty,Simply Designing,Joyful Stamper,Tatertots and Jello,Along For The Ride,Young and Crafty,While He Was Napping,A Vision To Remember,Stay At Home Nation,LambAround,Nifty Thrifty Things,Petite Hermine,A Bowl Full Of Lemons,The Foley Fam,Type A,Reasons To Skip The Housework,DIY Club Inc,Primitive and Proper,Creations by Kara,Elle Belle CreativeTales from Bloggeritaville,Delightful Order,Gluesticks,Somewhat Simple,Frugalicious Me,All Things Fee,Cherished Bliss,Homework,Me and My Boys,Homemaker on a Dime,Primp,Craft Junkie Too,Home Savvy,Lines Across My Face,Bear Rabbit Bear,The Kurtz Corner,Chef In Training,The Sasse Life,Project Queen,Crafty Scrappy Happy,Raising 4 Princesses,DIY Home Sweet Home,Passionately Artistic,Redoux,Pocket Full Of Pink,Kammy's Korner,I Can't Stop Crafting,Sassafras Salvation,The Artsy Girl Connection,The Shady Porch,Rae Gun Ramblings,Six Sisters Stuff,Sew Crafty Tuesday,Adventures In Dinner,Knick Of Time,Five Days 5 Ways,Some Good Stuff,Seven Alive,Ivy and Elephants,Creating Home,Alderberry Hill,
The Cottage Market ,  Fine Craft Guild, I should be mopping the floor, CRAFT.,  Happy Hour Projects, Natural Mothers Network, Cowgirl Up, It's A Cinch,  Country Momma Cooks, Goings On In Texas,  At Home With K,  Mushki Loves, Grateful Belly, Etcetorize, Bowdabra, Dotted Line Crafts, Made In A Day, Southern Lovely,Fishtail Cottage, Have a Daily Cup Of Mrs. Olson,Blissful Bucket List,

Hello Cupcake

Earlier this week I posted pictures of some whimsical watercolors that I recently painted.

Keeping with the "whimsical" theme, I thought I'd share another of my paintings...

This one is done using acrylic paint.

I achieved the textured background by dipping a wet paper towel in 3 colors and dabbing. I covered the entire canvas with the texture, painted the cupcake, and then added a light wash over the texture at the bottom.

Just like in my watercolors, I added some loose outlines with a fine tip Sharpie.

Go HERE to see my whimsical watercolors.

Linking To: 
Savvy Southern Style, Boogieboard Cottage,Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just A Housewife, Coastal Charm,To Sew With Love, Under The Table & Dreaming,Cherished Treasures,The Graphics Fairy,Polly Want A Crafter,Funky Junk Interiors,Addicted 2 Decorating,Domestically Speaking,Tales of a Trophy Wife,DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou,Mommy By Day... Crafter By Night,Miss Mustard Seed,All Things Heart and Home,The Shabby Nest,Someday Crafts,Sew Much Ado,Lil' Luna,Sugar and Dots,House of Hepworths,Yesterday on Tuesday,Thrifty Decorating,Remodelaholic,Fingerprints on the Fridge,Lovely Crafty Home,Ladybird LN Craft Envy,Dittle Dattle,Craft-O-Maniac,Keeping It Simple,Mad In Crafts,Making The World Cuter,Sisters of the Wild West,Sarahndipities,Today's Creative Blog,Tip Junkie,Sassy Sites,The Thrifty Home,seven thirty three,Sisters Stuff,Fabric Bows and More,Sew Woodsy,Tea Rose Home,Ginger Snap Crafts,The Shabby Creek Cottage,What Allie's Making Now,Thrifty 101,Momnivore's Dilemma,It's Sew Stinkin Cute,Beyond The Picket Fence,Finding Fabulous,Trendy Treehouse,A Little Knick Knack,Chic on a Shoestring Decorating,Simply Sweet Home, Creation Corner,Truly Lovely with the Laney Sisters,Mommaskindacrafty,Simply Designing,Joyful Stamper,Tatertots and Jello,Along For The Ride,Young and Crafty,While He Was Napping,A Vision To Remember,Stay At Home Nation,LambAround,Nifty Thrifty Things,Petite Hermine,A Bowl Full Of Lemons,The Foley Fam,Type A,Reasons To Skip The Housework,DIY Club Inc,Primitive and Proper,Creations by Kara,Elle Belle CreativeTales from Bloggeritaville,Delightful Order,Gluesticks,Somewhat Simple,Frugalicious Me,All Things Fee,Cherished Bliss,Homework,Me and My Boys,Homemaker on a Dime,Primp,Craft Junkie Too,Home Savvy,Lines Across My Face,Bear Rabbit Bear,The Kurtz Corner,Chef In Training,The Sasse Life,Project Queen,Crafty Scrappy Happy,Raising 4 Princesses,DIY Home Sweet Home,Passionately Artistic,Redoux,Pocket Full Of Pink,Kammy's Korner,I Can't Stop Crafting,Sassafras Salvation,The Artsy Girl Connection,The Shady Porch,Rae Gun Ramblings,Six Sisters Stuff,Sew Crafty Tuesday,Adventures In Dinner,Knick Of Time,Five Days 5 Ways,Some Good Stuff,Seven Alive,Ivy and Elephants,Creating Home,Alderberry Hill,
The Cottage Market ,  Fine Craft Guild, I should be mopping the floor, CRAFT.,  Happy Hour Projects, Natural Mothers Network, Cowgirl Up, It's A Cinch,  Country Momma Cooks, Goings On In Texas,  At Home With K,  Mushki Loves, Grateful Belly, Etcetorize, Bowdabra, Dotted Line Crafts, Made In A Day, Southern Lovely,Fishtail Cottage, Have a Daily Cup Of Mrs. Olson,Blissful Bucket List,The Dedicated House,Pinkapotamus,

Whimsical Watercolors

I've been playing around lately with watercolor and fine tip  Sharpie markers.

Here are a few of my whimsical paintings...

 I think I'll turn them into greeting cards!

 I get a little obsessed with projects, so I'm sure I'll have enough for a box set before long!!!

Linking To: 
Savvy Southern Style, Boogieboard Cottage,Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just A Housewife, Coastal Charm,To Sew With Love, Under The Table & Dreaming,Cherished Treasures,The Graphics Fairy,Polly Want A Crafter,Funky Junk Interiors,Addicted 2 Decorating,Domestically Speaking,Tales of a Trophy Wife,DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou,Mommy By Day... Crafter By Night,Miss Mustard Seed,All Things Heart and Home,The Shabby Nest,Someday Crafts,Sew Much Ado,Lil' Luna,Sugar and Dots,House of Hepworths,Yesterday on Tuesday,Thrifty Decorating,Remodelaholic,Fingerprints on the Fridge,Lovely Crafty Home,Ladybird LN Craft Envy,Dittle Dattle,Craft-O-Maniac,Keeping It Simple,Mad In Crafts,Making The World Cuter,Sisters of the Wild West,Sarahndipities,Today's Creative Blog,Tip Junkie,Sassy Sites,The Thrifty Home,seven thirty three,Sisters Stuff,Fabric Bows and More,Sew Woodsy,Tea Rose Home,Ginger Snap Crafts,The Shabby Creek Cottage,What Allie's Making Now,Thrifty 101,Momnivore's Dilemma,It's Sew Stinkin Cute,Beyond The Picket Fence,Finding Fabulous,Trendy Treehouse,A Little Knick Knack,Chic on a Shoestring Decorating,Simply Sweet Home, Creation Corner,Truly Lovely with the Laney Sisters,Mommaskindacrafty,Simply Designing,Joyful Stamper,Tatertots and Jello,Along For The Ride,Young and Crafty,While He Was Napping,A Vision To Remember,Stay At Home Nation,LambAround,Nifty Thrifty Things,Petite Hermine,A Bowl Full Of Lemons,The Foley Fam,Type A,Reasons To Skip The Housework,DIY Club Inc,Primitive and Proper,Creations by Kara,Elle Belle CreativeTales from Bloggeritaville,Delightful Order,Gluesticks,Somewhat Simple,Frugalicious Me,All Things Fee,Cherished Bliss,Homework,Me and My Boys,Homemaker on a Dime,Primp,Craft Junkie Too,Home Savvy,Lines Across My Face,Bear Rabbit Bear,The Kurtz Corner,Chef In Training,The Sasse Life,Project Queen,Crafty Scrappy Happy,Raising 4 Princesses,DIY Home Sweet Home,Passionately Artistic,Redoux,Pocket Full Of Pink,Kammy's Korner,I Can't Stop Crafting,Sassafras Salvation,The Artsy Girl Connection,The Shady Porch,Rae Gun Ramblings,Six Sisters Stuff,Sew Crafty Tuesday,Adventures In Dinner,Knick Of Time,Five Days 5 Ways,Some Good Stuff,Seven Alive,Ivy and Elephants,Creating Home,Alderberry Hill,
The Cottage Market ,  Fine Craft Guild, I should be mopping the floor, CRAFT.,  Happy Hour Projects, Natural Mothers Network, Cowgirl Up, It's A Cinch,  Country Momma Cooks, Goings On In Texas,  At Home With K,  Mushki Loves, Grateful Belly, Etcetorize, Bowdabra, Dotted Line Crafts, Made In A Day, Southern Lovely,Fishtail Cottage, Have a Daily Cup Of Mrs. Olson,Blissful Bucket List,

A Sign From Goodwill

Shopping the aisles of Goodwill, you never know what you'll come across.

I recently found this...

It was just a nice little piece of wood, perfectly painted and distressed. with holes drilled in it and twine tied into a cute little bow.

What was it for? Was someone just playing around with painting techniques? Did they have a purpose for the little block of wood and changed their mind? 
And, best of all... the price....

For $1.21 I can do something with it!


I had some little starfish that I got at Michael's 3 for $2.
I thought the color and the twine made the block a little beachy feeling, so I painted a phrase on the block and added the starfish...

I triple loaded my round paint brush with acrylic paint in white, tan, and dark brown...

Thank you Goodwill for providing me with a canvas for an easy sign for under $2!

Linking To: 
Savvy Southern Style, Boogieboard Cottage,Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just A Housewife, Coastal Charm,To Sew With Love, Under The Table & Dreaming,Cherished Treasures,The Graphics Fairy,Polly Want A Crafter,Funky Junk Interiors,Addicted 2 Decorating,Domestically Speaking,Tales of a Trophy Wife,DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou,Mommy By Day... Crafter By Night,Miss Mustard Seed,All Things Heart and Home,The Shabby Nest,Someday Crafts,Sew Much Ado,Lil' Luna,Sugar and Dots,House of Hepworths,Yesterday on Tuesday,Thrifty Decorating,Remodelaholic,Fingerprints on the Fridge,Lovely Crafty Home,Ladybird LN Craft Envy,Dittle Dattle,Craft-O-Maniac,Keeping It Simple,Mad In Crafts,Making The World Cuter,Sisters of the Wild West,Sarahndipities,Today's Creative Blog,Tip Junkie,Sassy Sites,The Thrifty Home,seven thirty three,Sisters Stuff,Fabric Bows and More,Sew Woodsy,Tea Rose Home,Ginger Snap Crafts,The Shabby Creek Cottage,What Allie's Making Now,Thrifty 101,Momnivore's Dilemma,It's Sew Stinkin Cute,Beyond The Picket Fence,Finding Fabulous,Trendy Treehouse,A Little Knick Knack,Chic on a Shoestring Decorating,Simply Sweet Home, Creation Corner,Truly Lovely with the Laney Sisters,Mommaskindacrafty,Simply Designing,Joyful Stamper,Tatertots and Jello,Along For The Ride,Young and Crafty,While He Was Napping,A Vision To Remember,Stay At Home Nation,LambAround,Nifty Thrifty Things,Petite Hermine,A Bowl Full Of Lemons,The Foley Fam,Type A,Reasons To Skip The Housework,DIY Club Inc,Primitive and Proper,Creations by Kara,Elle Belle CreativeTales from Bloggeritaville,Delightful Order,Gluesticks,Somewhat Simple,Frugalicious Me,All Things Fee,Cherished Bliss,Homework,Me and My Boys,Homemaker on a Dime,Primp,Craft Junkie Too,Home Savvy,Lines Across My Face,Bear Rabbit Bear,The Kurtz Corner,Chef In Training,The Sasse Life,Project Queen,Crafty Scrappy Happy,Raising 4 Princesses,DIY Home Sweet Home,Passionately Artistic,Redoux,Pocket Full Of Pink,Kammy's Korner,I Can't Stop Crafting,Sassafras Salvation,The Artsy Girl Connection,The Shady Porch,Rae Gun Ramblings,Six Sisters Stuff,Sew Crafty Tuesday,Adventures In Dinner,Knick Of Time,Five Days 5 Ways,Some Good Stuff,Seven Alive,Ivy and Elephants,Creating Home,Alderberry Hill,
The Cottage Market ,  Fine Craft Guild, I should be mopping the floor, CRAFT.,  Happy Hour Projects, Natural Mothers Network, Cowgirl Up, It's A Cinch,  Country Momma Cooks, Goings On In Texas,  At Home With K,  Mushki Loves, Grateful Belly, Etcetorize, Bowdabra, Dotted Line Crafts, Made In A Day, Southern Lovely,Fishtail Cottage, Have a Daily Cup Of Mrs. Olson,Blissful Bucket List,