Stop with the fancy chalk paint

Lets get down to business. 

First things first. 

STOP using expensive chalk paints. 

These will completely break your redo budget. And if your husband is anything like mine...
30 bux on paint is like, "The dumbest thing ever."

Here is the best option I have found. 

1 sample sized eggshell finish paint in your color of choice

1/4 c plaster of paris

1/4 c water

.... seriously, thats it. And it gives you the same result as all the high priced name brands. 

Mix the PP with water until smooth. Add in paint. Needs to look like pancake batter. Start painting.
(If its too thick- add water. If its too thin- add plaster.)

A few tips:

1. I don't believe in 1 hour drying time. I paint it and let it half dry then go over it with the second coat. I am almost making circles around the piece until its done. After the second coat dries a bit go in with a wet towel in the places you want to distress. Doing this allows for the paint not to completely stick to the wood in order to wipe off and look naturally distressed. No sand paper needed.

2. Dont be afraid to distress all of it. If you want a real old look you will have to dig in a wipe the thing until it looks old as dirt. I promise you will love the finished product.
3. The beauty of chalk paint is that you can paint in any direction and it will still look cool. Perfect strokes just aren't necessary so don't freak out of if its kind messy looking. It will all even out.

4. A thicker paint is great if you are looking to not do a big distress. If it is too thick to wipe off just add more water or dip the brush in water before each stroke. 

5. Use Minwax Finishing Paste to protect your work. I love this stuff. Wipe on a buff off. 

You can also use Polycrillic but it has a bigger shine then the wax. If you do this I use a rag so it wipes on nice and smooth.

Next post will be a glazing formula that will work just as well as the expensive ones. 

One day when I get a nice camera I will post some pics of the process.
Until then... Heres this one.

Try it and let me know how this goes for you!