As mentioned in this previous post, I talked about how I knew that I needed to change out my decorating style. My house was full of dark furniture, stained wood furniture and lots of rich, jewel toned decor. It was time to update my style, but I knew I couldn’t afford to go out and buy all new decorations. So what’s a girl to do?

Amazing Grace

I knew that I couldn’t afford to change out every piece of decor or buy any new furniture so I did the next best thing…learned how to use chalk paint!  Before I got brave enough to paint furniture, I started with a picture frame. It was originally a gold, ugly frame that I bought at a garage sale. I watched a few YouTube videos on how to use chalk paint and then I set out to change the frame. One of my favorites to watch is Christen Bensten and you can find her link here.

Chalk paint supplies

I bought the Annie Sloan chalk paint because everything I read told me it was the best. I’ve heard of other good paints and I think companies are better than they used to be, but I’ve only used Annie Sloan. Anyway, I grabbed my old picture frame, a few newspapers to spread on the kitchen table, my chalk paint, wax and brushes and started on my first project. Here are the products that I used:

Easy project for a non-crafty person

I’m seriously the most non-creative person that I know and I’ve never been good at “crafty”-type projects.  Yall, I’m telling you, anyone can chalk paint! It’s the easiest thing you will ever do. You can’t mess it up! All I did was wipe off the frame (there may have been a few cobwebs on it) and slapped on a couple of coats of paint. After the paint dried, I grabbed a paper plate, put a tablespoon of clear wax and a dab of dark wax, mixed them together and applied the wax to the frame with the brush. I wiped it off with an old t-shirt. Then, I tried to get in the grooves with some of the dark wax and just played with it until I got the look I wanted. You can’t mess it up, I promise!  If you watch the youtube videos, you will understand why you have to add the wax to the finish. That’s what protects your piece and adds a smoothness to it. It’s no longer chalky feeling.

What else can I paint?

So, after I completed my first project, I was feeling pretty proud of myself and could almost call myself an expert (just kidding). I then moved onto some black candlesticks that I wanted to lighten up (remember, I’m trying to add some lightness to my dark decor). They turned out really good, too, and now I was on a roll! Should I make my own youtube video? I’m sure that I would have at least 3 views (my mom, my sister and my aunt!)  Haha!  A girl can dream, right???

I was ready to move on to a piece of furniture.  Should I chalk paint an end table? How about a bench? Maybe even a larger piece?  Oh my, that was scary to think about….

Tune in for part 2 of Amazing Grace in the next few days…..I’m heading over to watch a youtube video.  Maybe I’ll become an expert in something…..

Be Blessed,