Chalk, chalk, chalk.  It’s everywhere.

 

Between having a teacher as a mother, and being in school myself, I grew up breathing in chalk dust.

 

So it’s funny to me that all things chalk have been the “it” thing for a while, especially when chalkboards in schools everywhere have been totally replaced by dry erase boards.  (Maybe it’s the retro factor!?)

 

Whatever the reason, I’ve totally jumped on the bandwagon.

 

I’ve got two chalky projects to share.  One is using chalkboard paint (which I’ll share in a separate post) and the other is my test project with Annie Sloan chalk paint.

 

For the uninitiated (me, up until about six months ago), all this chalk and paint can be very confusing.  So here’s the deal:  chalkboard paint (which is everywhere on Pinterest, blogs and etc.) is simply a paint (you can get it as a spray paint or in a good old can) that creates a chalkboard-like surface you can write and erase on with chalk or chalk markers.

 

Annie Sloan chalk paint is a trademarked product line that generally allows you to apply paint without sanding first.  So cool.

 

I’ve been wanting to try this too-good-to-be-true no sanding concept for a while.  Then a friend asked me to stop by a new shop that just opened near us.  They offer Annie Sloan products and workshops on using them, plus some really gorgeous upstyled furniture and accessories.

 

 

Restyled on Rangeline in Carmel

 

We went, I bought a little sample container of the paint and the finishing wax, and decided to test it out on a stool I picked up years ago ($3 at an estate sale) and always meant to paint.

 

 

The paint went on beautifully with a natural brush, and cleaned up really easily with water.  Once my two coats were dry, I just applied the Annie Sloan clear wax with a clean cloth (it’s like using shoe polish), and I had this:

 

 

I love the green, but I thought it needed a little something else, just for fun.  So I did this:

 

 

A bit of funky ribbon glued on, some craft store nail heads hammered in, and voila:

 

 

If my kitchen stool can’t be a little cute and funky, then what can? And I’m soo excited about this paint.  Because now I can redo the dresser in my guest room without having to do the yucky sanding part!!

 

By the way, did you happen to notice the wall behind the stool in the last picture?  That’s the teaser for my next post about my other chalky project:  my new chalkboard wall.

 

I linked up to the Thrift It Link Party at Our Fifth House!