Bookspiration 2020
07/01/2020
The Indigo Bookbinding Challenge
11/08/2020
Sitting at home and wondering what else you can do? Stay active, stay creative with #indigocraftroom!
I have prepared a DIY Chalk Paint tutorial to show you step-by-step how to transform your old furniture and give your home décor an amazing makeover. Are you ready? Let’s go!
- What’s Chalk Paint?
Just in case you haven’t heard about Chalk Paint before… this kind of paint with a chalky, matt effect has been in trend for longer than a decade. But it’s true that the boom came a couple of years ago, especially since the popularity of upcycling projects. So I found out about it!
Nowadays there are so many different brands of Chalk Paint. I like to work with the Spanish brand La Pajarita. They have beautiful, bright and modern colours and the paint is easy to use, especially when working on small upcycling or decoration projects at home. This paint is water-based, so it’s children-friendly and perfect to give the furniture of your kid’s room a quick makeover.
- What do I need for my first Chalk Paint project?
You probably already have many tools and materials at home. Be creative, look around and check what you can reuse. Here is a list of the basics you will need for making a small makeover project like the one described in this tutorial:
- Chalk Paint La Pajarita in different colours – I like to use 2 or 3 colours to create contrast.
- Brushes – alternatively you can use a sponge.
- Wax – highly recommendable to protect the object once is finished. There are special waxes like white wax or dark wax, which will help you to create vintage patinas.
- Sandpaper – not always necessary, but handy if you want to create vintage effects.
- Nice to have: old newspapers to protect your working area, old clothes or a piece of fabric to apply and retire the wax, a glass with water to clean your brushes between layers, tape to create geometrical structures or to protect areas you don’t want to paint over.
- What kind of surfaces can I paint with Chalk Paint?
Chalk Paint La Pajarita is a multi-surface paint. You can use it on wood, glass, metal, cork, paper… It’s perfect to transform old pieces of furniture or home décor objects and give them a second life!
- Step-by-Step Furniture Makeover
I will take you with me through this small makeover project and show you my favourite techniques, like the dry brush or distressing technique. For this project, I chose an old wine box I had in my craft room. I wanted to paint it in my brand colours (pink, yellow and blue) to match the rest of my craft room decoration. I used Chalk Paint La Pajarita in Pink Caprice, Midnight Blue and Ochre Sahara, and combined with dark wax to create an industrial vintage look.
- My favourite Chalk Paint techniques
As I always say, #creativitymakesyouhappy. And when working on a DIY project, the most important thing is to have fun, enjoy the process and experiment! Same when you are working with Chalk Paint. Playing with colours, creating contrast and patinas is just part of the fun. In this step-by-step tutorial, I show you two of my favourite techniques: Dry Brush and Distressing techniques. Both are perfect for creating vintage patinas, shabby or industrial looks. Check the video tutorials and discover which one of these techniques is your favourite!
Once you have finished painting your furniture or home décor with Chalk Paint, make sure you apply a coat of clear wax. This helps to protect the colour, especially on objects that will be used regularly, like for instance a table or chair. However, wax can do much more than just protect the colour. You can create awesome vintage patinas using white or dark wax. If you want to get a shabby look, I recommend to use White Wax La Pajarita. If you prefer an industrial look, go for the Dark Wax La Pajarita. In the video below I show you how to apply the wax to create all these vintage patinas.
Let me show you what the wine box looks like now – I love it! I can use it to store books and notebooks in my craft room. If you are ready to start your own Chalk Paint project at home, you can now order any Chalk Paint products in my shop for 25€ or more and get a free copy of my ebook How-To: Chalk Paint. Creating, Refinishing, Upcycling. This ebook contains step-by-step instructions, tips & tricks, project inspiration and a worksheet for brainstorming and planning your projects.
I would love to see your projects! Share them on Instagram and tag @indigo_craftroom so I can check them out.
Happy crafting,
Karen
