Domestic Diva: First time Using Chalk Paint!!

I have this really awesome chest of drawers and changing table/dresser that were mine in 1990 - and I used them all the way from birth through....until the day I got married. Then I upgraded to Eric's furniture.

However, those two pieces are good solid pieces and so we saved them for our future child. Now with Ellie coming in 5 months, it is time to give them a not so late 80's early 90's look!

Eric had begun to sand the pieces to stain them with a beautiful espresso wood stain. But, much to our surprise, all of the pieces are solid wood with the exception of the top main surface....which is some cray cray vinyl or something that even the toughest grain on the sander could NOT touch! Soooo.....what were the options? We have this furniture, we have already saved hundreds of dollars by owning these....we did not want to buy or register for something new or even used. That money could be put towards/ saved for better things.

So, we looked into Chalk Paint. I was hesitant at first. While I love the vintage, distressed look...this would not match the espresso modern crib my sister is giving us. But it was the best option.

My faith in Chalk Paint grew when we paid a visit to "Vintage Now Modern" in downtown Greenville. A shop that specializes in restoring old furniture especially via Chalk Paint. In fact, they hold fun classes on how to revive your special piece!

Vintage Now Modern showed us how to obtain a modern (less distressed) espresso finish and gave us a lot of tips and advice for the process. Overall it is really simple. Which is why this Domestic Diva decided to take on the project while hubby works!!

Here is the BEFORE:

FIRST: It is suggested to do a light sanding of the furniture. Eric went to town on one piece's top, but mama here is gonna finish the dirty work. This called for a picture obviously,,, 4 months pregnant using a power tool wearing my pearls of course. It doesn't get more Domestic than this!!

Please note: Sanding is NOT necessary for every piece you may decide to chalk paint- only those you wish to obtain a modern look versus the distressed look. The Chalk Paint would have gone over even the vinyl surface with no problem without the sanding. Again- this is a step necessary only for a modern look. 

SECOND: Sanding is finished-any dust has settled- It is now time to use some Dawn dish soap and water and wash the furniture. This helps get any old grease, oil,and residue off the furniture- helping the paint to adhere at its best. I also vacuumed the space to suck up any residual dust. Then, I laid my old paint sheets under the furniture and drawers (painting in the nursery, not outside or in the garage).

THIRD: Begin to paint! You will need a special Chalk Paint Brush. These can be bought at Vintage Now Modern for the Greenville townie local supporter OR your local Lowe's, Home Depot, or even ordered online. What makes these special are the soft bristles. Here is a photo:

The Chalk Paint we selected to obtain our desired Espresso modern finish was the Annie Sloan, Honfleur. This color was coated with Annie Sloan Black Wax to give it the darker finish. 

Blondie of course wanted to help ;) My constant sidekick!

To obtain the "modern" look versus the "Distressed/vintage" look, I lightly watered down the paint with some lukewarm water as was suggested. It helped the paint to spread smoothly.

Blondie, my sidekick- ready to get started!

When painting, you will want to do two coats. One 32 oz. jar of Chalk Paint covers roughly 150 sq. ft. which easily covered the two pieces. I had over half the jar left at the end. The second coat may be applied 20 minutes after the first is completed, or once all is dry- use common sense! Allow your brush strokes to be easy, even, and to flow with the grain of the wood.

First coat almost completely dried.

Once the second coat is completed, and roughly 50 mins. to an hour has been allowed for drying (again use common sense and make sure it is completely dry), it is time for the next step!

FOURTH: Wax time! The wax is an essential step in completing that perfect look for your "new" furniture. I again, used the Black wax to obtain the Espresso look. There are different wax finishes contingent upon the look you desire to achieve! The application of the wax is different than the paint. Apply the wax with a fresh brush. You will see above I have two of the same soft hair brushes pictured. Use the clean one now, for the wax. 

Apply the wax firmly with a bit of a push. Don't force it, but don't be delicate- just a firm swiping of your brush. Apply the wax in small amounts and surfaces as it dries almost instantly!

 Remember Mr. Miyagi from "The Karate Kid"? "Wax on, Wax off". Wise words! Channel your inner Mr. Miyagi when Waxing- just don't chop your furniture with one fell sweep of the hand!! 

So to do this, have a lint free cloth. I used one of Eric's old beat up white T-shirts. Again, apply wax in small surface amounts, then wipe the wax with your lint free cloth. This should be instantly dry. 

Here are some "During" photos to show how the black wax really brings out the espresso color over the Chalk Paint. It was a very easy and quick process. I just turned on my '90s Pandora station and got to work!

 The application in process

You can easily see the comparison in the drawers as the two on the right are finished and the left has not been waxed yet.

The very LAST step I took in the waxing process was to top the black wax with a finishing wax creme coat. It's a clear creamy consistency wax that seals the black wax and the chalk paint for a more durable, long lasting finish. It was even easier to apply than the black wax! It was truly like putting on body lotion! See Below:

The wax will need 5-21 days of "curing" before it can truly be used. I will wait to decorate the surfaces with baby things!

And then we have the FINISHED PRODUCT!!

AFTER:  

Top: Before; Bottom: After

I am very pleased with how these turned out! The project took me one afternoon and one morning. A very good weekend project! Now, this is the way to save hundreds of dollars! All of this cost a total of $72. Much better than paying hundreds for new furniture or losing out on even greater hundreds of dollars from friends who would have bought us new items off the registry!!

Thank You, God, for providing even the little things- as they really add up! And thanks to my Mama and Daddy who gave their baby girl great furniture that can be passed down and trusted to stay sturdy!

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps with any Chalk Paint projects you may get into!!

Domestic Diva: Creating a Girly Flower Baby Mobile

In my new found role as Domestic Diva, I do many things. Besides the normal house keeping and cooking, I also use my crafting talents to create pretty things and save my family money!

Today, I made a Floral Baby Mobile for Ellie's Nursery! I had seen some on Etsy that I adored, yet, I'm not paying $82 before shipping and tax for something sweet baby girl will not use forever. Just not a smart financial choice. So I made my own!


I started with these supplies:
-The flowers that I needed: Rose Bud stems for the frame, and small little flower buds to hang from the frame.
-A touch of greenery to accent in between the rose buds
-A Styrofoam frame measured at desired diameter
-Fish-wire
-Large width white ribbon to cover Styrofoam frame
-Decorative ribbon for hanging the frame

Not pictured:
-Hot glue gun and sticks
-Wire cutters

Blondie wanted to pose with the supplies ;)

Once everything was gathered, I proceeded to create the little beauty for my beauty by starting with using the wire clippers on the delicate flower buds to separate buds from stem. Once I had my desired amount to hang, (which was 3-4 buds per fish-wire, and I used 5 strands of fish-wire. To each their own desired look...) I then wrapped and tied fish-wire around the buds, spacing them out. To secure the fish-wire better to the buds, I lightly coated my knots on the buds with a dab of hot glue. 

As stated before, I made 5 strands, each filled with 3-4 buds.

Once this was completed, I attached them to the Styrofoam ring frame BEFORE wrapping the ring in the ribbon covering. I wanted to conceal the tied strands to the ring. 

After all were attached, I then took the ribbon and wrapped it in medieval fashion around the ring- securing with hot glue. As the ribbon approached an attached strand of fish-wire, I cut a small slit in the ribbon to slide the fish-wire strand through, then continued wrapping the ribbon and securing with hot glue.

Once all the ribbon was wrapped around the ring and secured, It was time to take the rosebuds and attach them to the ring frame. These large rose buds did not require the wire clippers, as I was able to "pop" the roses off the stems. I did, however, use wire cutters to shorten the buds so the buds would be able to snuggle in closer to the ring.

Then, I began applying the rose buds in a pattern of my desire via hot glue. 

Nearing the end now!

The last touch I added for aesthetic pleasure were the little sprigs of greenery. I added these in after every pair of roses on the frame. 

The very last thing to do was to add the decorative ribbon to the frame by which the mobile will hang! I added four long strands positioning at top, bottom, left, and right. 

And Voila!! It is finished! (And tons of money was saved!)

It's A Girl!!

Ellie Clardy Gladden!! That is our baby girl!!

Eric and I had of course primarily wanted this baby to be healthy before we cared about the gender. Still do! But we would be lying if we didn't admit that back years ago before we were quite ready to grow our family, we would dream about a baby girl named Ellie. I don't even know how we both mutually came up with the name- it just sort of came to us and we both loved it and we talked about "Ellie" and all our dreams and aspirations and goals for our child. Our little Ellie who we had not even begun to try for yet!

Eric had dreams of father daughter dances and dates, and I had dreams of hair bows, dresses, glitter, tea parties, and all things girly!

We chose my maiden name for a middle name because, I am the very last Clardy in my entire family line. My dad was the last man born to carry on the name, and I was the last Clardy given the name. But when I got married it got scrubbed. So, I always knew if I had a little girl, I would do my part to carry on the name by giving "Clardy" as a middle name.

I also wanted Eric to decide how we revealed the baby's gender to the world! So, he decided on FIREWORKS!! I was in love with it. But did they make such? Turns out, there are now gender reveal fireworks! Strictly pink or blue. And a little shop in Easley called Carolina Fireworks carries them. They were wonderful by the way- gave us free pink smoke bombs to add to the effect!

Here are some photos: