Can you stand it?

Can you stand ANOTHER chalk paint testimonial?  I've read them all!  I soak up all of the tips from seasoned chalk paint aficionados!  We all know that this paint is a little pricey and I wanted to know EVERYTHING about it before I plunked down that kind of cash.

Well, how lucky was I to WIN a can of chalk paint!  Kim from Truly Tattered and Debbie from 'Round the Coop (fantabulous blogs and I INSIST you visit them ASAP) co-sponsored a giveaway and I was the winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The day I received the paint I IMMEDIATELY grabbed my paint brush, my super ugly brass lamp, my paint can opener and I was off and running to the workshop to make some chalk paint magic.  Well, imagine my surprise to discover that chalk paint is worth every penny of that high price because my 'ready to be thrown in the garage sale box' lamp turned into 'why was I looking for a new lamp when the one I already have is beautiful' lamp!   

My button shade (remember when I posted about that?) now looks even better on a lamp that is worthy of the shade's uniqueness.

The paint color is Country Grey.  

From studying all the tips and instructions, this is how I painted the lamp.

  I just wiped the lamp down with a baby wipe (great tip BTW).  I barely dipped my paint brush into the paint because I didn't want to waste a single drop.  It covers very nicely but I've NEVER painted anything that didn't need a second coat so a second coat I did paint.  I found that the chalk paint dries VERY quickly (maybe because I was working in 95 degree heat!) so this project didn't take me long at all.  I then lightly sanded the lamp (oh, my gosh does this distress wonderfully and yes, it is a little messy).  Working in small sections, I used a brush (again dipping very little) to apply clear wax and immediately brushed on (dipping even LESS) some dark wax and wiped off (again with the baby wipes) the amount of dark wax until I was satisfied.  When I was finished with the whole lamp, I applied a light coat of clear wax and buffed to a shine.

And voila!  I think my lamp turned out as beautiful as the painted tin that Debbie also sent!

I have jumped on the chalk paint bandwagon and I'm NEVER getting off!

I was so in love with the results of my lamp, I drug my grandmother's vanity out to the workshop and continued chalk painting away! 

Yup, lovin it!

Here are a couple of other observations from an unskilled but going to get better painter --

The dark wax is VERY dark.  Use VERY sparingly!  The wax also dries VERY quickly so wipe off what you don't want immediately!

Don't try to clear wax the whole thing and then go back to apply the dark wax.  Works much better when working in sections.

One of those fancy schmancy round brushes would be ideal!  I found that my cheap, flat bristle brush was more or less ruined trying to get into the details of the wood and I didn't have that many details on either piece.  I'm sure there is a sure fire way to clean the wax brushes but needless to say, the brushes I used will only be used for wax from now on.

I can't stress enough how little of the paint needs to be on the brush to get good coverage.  After 2 coats on the lamp and 2 coats on the vanity, I probably didn't use more than 3/4" of the paint.

The wax is the trick to make any piece look and feel like a professional did it.  All of the furniture I have previously painted with latex paint will be getting a coat of clear wax in the future.  

If you have hesitated about chalk paint and couldn't quite believe how wonderful every one says it is, I encourage you to bite the bullet, buy some and try it for yourself.  It just so happens that you can get it from Debbie!  Just my opinion, but all of blogdom can't be all wrong, right?

Now, go out and paint something pretty!

ps - since this is kinda white, I'm linking to Faded Charm's White Wednesday