If you are the type of person who loves the idea of painting old furniture but hates the idea of scraping, sanding, priming, and painting, then you need chalk paint in your life.  Chalk paint is wonderful because you don’t need to sand or prime your piece, you just slap it on and go to town.  The downside, however, is that it can be a bit pricey.  Annie Sloan (the most popular brand) clocks in at $35 per quart.  

The good news is, you can easily and inexpensively make your own that works just as well!  There are a lot of recipes floating around on the web, but after trying 90% of them, this is the only DIY chalk paint recipe I use and recommend!   Let’s get started, shall we?

You will need…

• Latex Paint-This is your regular, run of the mill paint that you would use to paint walls.  I’m rather fond of Valspar’s Signature line and the color I used for this project was Delicate Frost.
• Calcium Bicarbonate– This is the mineral name for chalk, and it is a white powder that we will be mixing in.  You can find it in health food stores, and this is the exact kind I use: NOW Foods Calcium Carbonate, 12 Ounces  Since Calcium Bicarbonate is exactly what is found in commercial chalk paints, I find that it has the most comparable texture, as opposed to Plaster of Paris or baking soda.
• Brush, Roller Drop cloth, etc– Be sure to gather up all the essential painting supplies!

DIY Chalk Paint Recipe

• 1 cup latex paint
• 2 tablespoons Calcium Bicarbonate
• 1 tablespoon water

In a small dish, mix the Calcium powder and water together and swirl till smooth and chunks are gone. Then, add this mixture to 1 cup of latex paint and stir well.  Ta da!  That is seriously all you have to do and you have your own DIY chalk paint!

When I was pregnant and in full nursery-supply-buying mode, I really wanted to convert an old dresser into a changing table, so I didn’t have to worry about what to do with the changing table once it was no longer needed.  Long story short, I never ended up finding a dresser, and ended up with a $30 IKEA changing table that I hated.  And that might be the first time I ever used the words “IKEA” and “hate” in the same sentence…

Anyway, when Elise was about a year old, my mom came across this dresser in a thrift store for $20 and scooped it up for me.  She knows me so well…

Even though Elise is too big to use it as a changing table anymore, we love having it in her nursery as an adorable way to organize her changing table necessities. It is the perfect pop of mint green in her room!

With a little DIY and some elbow grease, I think it cleaned up nicely, don’t you?

Have you ever made over a piece of furniture with chalk paint?! Did you like working with it?!