Chalk Paint: 1st Project Experience

Chalk paint has been taking the creative community by storm. It claims to be easy to use; not a lot of prep work involved, no sanding of furniture, etc... For my first experiment with chalk paint I thought I would do something easy so if it didn't work out the way I had hoped I wouldn't be out much. I bought the Americana Decor chalky finish paint in "Yesteryear" from Michaels, regular price is $8.99 so if you can use one of their 40% coupons you could get it for pretty cheap. I found a mason jar I had on hand and also decided to try painting my spaghetti noodle jar. My thought was to try and replicate the antique mason jar projects I have seen all over the internet.

I used a flat sponge paint brush since that is what I had, the application went on easy. The below photo is after the first coat while still a little wet.

 This photo was taken after both coats were applied and dried, prior to any sanding.

I used a fine grit sanding paper to remove some of the chalk in certain areas on the jars and here is the final product.

My experiences with this project:
1. A little goes a long way, I hardly used any paint for the two jars that had double coats.
2. Once dried and sanded the paint brush streaks are not very noticeable.
3. When sanding go easy on the edges, it doesn't take much for more paint to come off than you may want.

I think the imperfections in this project is what makes it great, I love craft projects where you don't have to be perfect!

I would definitely recommend this application. I am already trying to figure out what to paint next, I have read that it can become an addiction!

Happy Painting!

Toni