Chalk Paint: Taking the plunge

Well, I did it - I took the plunge today and ordered some of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint to try on my crib project.

Why spend the money on the chalk paint? Because I really wasn't looking forward to sanding down each individual crib slat, and with chalk paint there is said to be no sanding or priming necessary! And, I haven't spent much of my baby things/baby room nest egg, so that's how I justified the price tag, which is steep.

The color I ordered is Emperor's Silk. Yes, it looks somewhat florescent in this paint can, which is the image on the site I ordered from, but I'm confident that once I get it and once it's dry it won't be so pink. :-)

Also, another trick to adapt and manipulate the colors of chalk paint is through wax.

Every coat of chalk paint should be sealed with wax, according to all the instructions I can find, to protect it and bring out a nice sheen, if that's what you want and you choose to buff it.

The owners of Shades of Amber, which is based on Colorado Springs, kindly gave me a call after I placed my order to clarify some order details, and to make sure that I knew every coat of chalk paint has to be first sealed with clear wax, and then dark wax added, if desired. I did not know that, and had not come across that in my research, so I was glad they called. I changed my order from dark to clear wax, and he said he's go ahead and send along a sample of the dark for me to try, which I appreciated.

So, the paint and wax should arrive on Saturday, just in time for my DIY weekend list! I just have Saturday this weekend, as we plan on going to brand at Kaycee on Sunday, but hopefully I can at least get a start on it.

Visit Shades of Amber's blog to see a few samples of what chalk paint can do, and view Miss Mustard Seed's post about the finer points of using wax on furniture.