My first chalk paint project!

Hi y'all!  It has been forever and a day since I've had time to get crafty around the house!  I'm finally getting back to working on things around here.  I've started painting the hallway, and the kitchen will be next. Then David's room will get a major overhaul.  Oh, and I have an AWESOME product to share with you - I will use it to replace my faux painted kitchen counters early in June.  But for now I want to show you my first chalk paint makeover!

It's a tiny little table that we got as a hand-me-down from family.  Our foyer is very small, so the table is a perfect fit for the little area right next to the front door.   I always have several candles on it, because you will almost always find candles lit in my house!  Right now there is also a set of mini prim houses I got all together in a bag at Goodwill for 99 cents.  One of my favorite thrift finds!  The table came to us with a few stains and water marks on the top, but the candles and mini houses kind of covered them up.

But, the table was the same color as the floors and that was starting to drive me crazy. The walls are brown, the floors are brown, the table.....you get the point! I'm trying to brighten things up here.  The current wall color - Sherwin Williams Library Pewter - used to be so cozy to me.  Now, it's cave-like and depressing! So we definitely need some color in this house.

David and I were at Countryside Antiques in Hoschton last month and I saw a display with this chalk paint, the soft wax and the brushes.  I figured it was a good time to makeover my table, so we bought them all.  I got the small (8 oz) container of paint because I've heard it doesn't take much chalk paint to complete projects. (Turns out this is true - I barely made a dent in this container after finishing the table.)

I know I am late getting on the chalk paint bandwagon.  I'd heard it was expensive.  I'd heard the wax was expensive and a lot of work.  But I also heard that it was so easy to work with - there was no prep work! Just clean the item and paint.  No sanding, no priming, no stripping the stain or paint already on your furniture. My sweet sister-in-law, Lia had used chalk paint with beautiful results and gave me her tips on using it, too.   So.....

When I got home, I brought the table upstairs, and cleaned it from top to bottom with soapy water and let it dry. And I took the before picture, too!  Using the new paint brush, I applied a light layer of the chalk paint.  (the color I used is Toile)   After it dried for about 30 minutes,  I added a second coat.   Next, I lightly distressed it in a few places with a sanding block I got at Dollar Tree.

I let it dry for a few minutes before I began the final step of waxing.  I got a little wax on the round wax brush, and pushed it onto the table and into all of its nooks and crannies -  top, legs, and sides included.  Then I just buffed it with a dry rag and voila - all done! I waxed, then buffed a small area before moving on to the next area. It took a while, but it was so worth the time I put into this project! I absolutely adore my "new" table!! It's like a little bit of the beach in my foyer - the light aqua color reminds me of Florida and the ocean.

I was pretty nervous to try my hand at chalk paint, but found that it is actually one of the easiest paints I've ever used, and the wax was simple to apply, too.  The finish on my table is soft and pretty. You don't see the brush marks, just a velvety look that is really lovely.  I can't wait to use these products again!

Next up, I will be making over a paper towel holder for D's bathroom. Paper towels are easier than a hand towel in a kiddo's bathroom! It is a dark, ugly wooden one from Goodwill.  I'm thinking of using Faux Real Mineral Paint in Bianca, a beige color, for it.  I want to use the dark wax on it, too. Stay tuned - I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I am including links to similar products on amazon if you are itching to get started on your own chalk paint projects! (affiliate links)  I especially love the bundle of three waxes - I spent $10 on just one color for mine - this is a much better deal and you get three colors!  They don't carry the same brand of chalk paint but this one in the Biloxi Shores color is very similar to the Toile color I used for my table.








If you've used chalk paint, share your favorite project in the comments below, or a link - I'd love to check them out!!

Thanks for stopping by!

How to organize your pantry!

About a month ago I found this organizer on pinterest.   I decided that Amy from Then She Made is a genius!! I have a cabinet-style pantry in the kitchen and it can get heavy on the cans - so I loved her idea of repurposing a carton from a 12 pack of soda into a can holder!  She used scrapbooking papers, which looks gorgeous, but I had a different idea.

You know I'm a chalkboard spray paint addict, right?!  See where this is going? First, I cut a small rectangle on the back of the top - to reload the cans. 

Then I gave each container a light coat of CB paint all over (I went a little heavier on the top - not so much on the sides, since noone will see them).  The front of each container got 3 coats of CB paint.  After they dried, I brought them inside and emptied my shelves, lol!

you can see the logo through the one coat of paint this got.  I don't care - it will be front-side out in my pantry, so no one will see it!  Cut a rectangle on the top back to drop more cans in as you buy them...

Next time I'll write on the front of them while empty, standing them on their ends.  It's alot harder to write on them from the front side when they are full! I have one for my soups (but my larger cans of soup don't fit in these), one for tomatoes (crushed, puree, small cans of sauce), and one for fruits.  I'll add more for veggies as I gather more of the cartons!   This project took less than 30 minutes and used items I already had on hand, so it was easy-peasy and super cheap!  If you try my version or Amy's please link back with a picture - I love to see what other crafty mamas out there make!

These fit my third pantry shelf perfectly and I think there is room for one more!

And while I'm at it - I am going to show off some of my recycled pantry helpers I got at Goodwill & cheap containers from Dollar Tree!   My Goodwill store has a whole aisle of kitchen helpers & gadgets, which often includes little wire shelves, plastic bins, lazy susans and more.  I stock up whenever I find them!

I've donated to D's school, my husband's food drive, plus taken things to my Nana so I have let my stockpile get low.  I'll be restocking it soon so I took advantage of my almost-empty pantry shelves to move things around today to organize a bit.  I pulled out two of my Goodwill three-tier shelves and a lazy susan (all 3 cost me under $5) and put them to work!   Double click on the pics for up close look...

This shelf holds items for baking.  Three tier shelf in back corner holds smaller baking ingredients, plus extracts and an extra salt grinder.  The container holding my cornmeal mix is from the dollar store - they come in a three pack and I love them!!

Next shelf down holds large soup cans, pasta sauces, olives, dressings, canned pasta, baby food purees (I add these to everything to give us extra veggies!) , bread crumbs and olive oil .  It also keeps my large mason jar that holds all of my cupcake liners! (It's too tall for my baking shelf, so I keep it on the one below). The lazy susan lets me find pizza sauce, dressings, canned chicken or condiments easily. 

Being organized doesn't have to cost a fortune, and you can recycle/repurpose a variety of things or use items from the thrift store or Goodwill to keep them out of the landfill!  I'm back on my Flylady routines starting this week, so getting my pantry back together ROCKS!