Homemade Chalk Paint Dresser

There are so many great furniture makeovers using chalk paint.  However, I'm bit too cheap to shell out over $50 for a quart.  I've been thinking about trying to make my own chalk paint, but haven't had the right piece to try it on.

Enter this dresser.  It's perfect for my chalk paint experiment AND my daughter Chloe needs a new dresser.  Double score!!

This is probably the nicest piece of furniture I've picked up at a yard sale.  It's made by Drexel, solid wood (super heavy!), dovetail joints, etc. etc.  It's also in near-perfect condition.

Chloe wanted yellow.  So, I picked up a free quart of Ice Cream Sundae at Ace Hardware in a flat finish.  I had seen different techniques on making chalk paint.  At first I was going to use unsanded grout mixed in with the paint because I had a container of it sitting in my garage.

Luckily, my friend Ange from the Blooming Hydrangea commented that this would make the paint a "chalkboard" - type paint rather than the coveted "chalk" paint.  Instead, I mixed Plaster of Paris with the paint and thinned it with a little water.

I don't have an exact recipe or tutorial for you because I didn't measure anything.  I started by putting a few tablespoons of plaster of paris into a container.  I mixed this with about a tablespoon of water and then added a cup or so of paint and mixed well.  The consistency was similar to yogurt...fairly thick.

As I painted it on, there were glops and bumps.  The paint dries VERY quickly....maybe in twenty minutes or so.  There is no need to wait for the paint to cure.  You can go right ahead and sand as soon as the paint is dry.  Just like everyone says, the paint sanded beautifully into a chalk dust.

I used two coats of Minwax paste wax, which buffed to a subtle shine.

I added some new hardware from Hobby Lobby.

And I have a cute new dresser for my cute little Chloe.

Before:

After:

This is my "After" project for Lisa's Before and After party, which I wasn't supposed to share until the end of the month.  But, I finished it so quickly and was so excited by it that I had to share it now!

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