How to Make Your Own Chalky Paint.

I've been a painting fiend as of late. Moving into my new house, I've been up to my ears in home decor projects. One small way that I've saved some cash is by making my own chalky finish furniture paint, instead of buying the expensive brands found at most home improvement stores. And I've discovered that this is even better than the store-bought stuff! I want to share a few tips for how to make your own paint and save cash on your furniture renovations.

In case some of you are wondering what is the allure of chalky finish paint is, I'm here to help. The beauty of this type of paint is that you don't have to sand or prime the furniture before you you paint. It simply takes care of those steps for you, which saves hours of time. Here is the method I used and a few tips for making your own batch :)

Chalky Paint Ingredients:
- Any shade of any kind of paint you like to use. The sky is the limit.
- 1 box of Paris of Plaster
- 1 Paint stirrer
- 1 plastic bucket
- A few tablespoons of water

Method:
1. Combine 2 tbsp. of water with 2 heaping tbsp. of Paris of Plaster.

2. Using the paint stirrer, mix well until the combination is a smooth, liquid consistency. This batch can be combined with 8 oz. of paint. If you want to make a larger batch, you can double or triple this recipe. Just remember that for every 8 oz. of paint, add another 2 tbsp. of both water and Paris of Plaster. *I like to keep my batches small by using only 8 oz. of paint at a time, see the tips below for my reasoning.

3. Once the paint is combined, you are ready to paint! It's that easy. Seriously. Get your paint on, my friend.

A Few Tips:
1. Choose a shade slightly more vivid than you intend.
When you make your own Chalky finish paint, there will be a slight lightening of the color because of the water and plaster additions. They thin out the paint a bit. Go ahead and choose one shade darker/more vivid than you prefer, so that the color will balance out correctly.

2. Use the entire batch at once.
Because of the ingredients in this mixture, you cannot save any leftover paint for later. The plaster eventually settles and becomes chunky, and you cannot remix it to the exact same consistency. So when you're ready to paint, go ahead and use the entire batch. Then if you want to paint additional coats, you will have to remix another batch. For this reason, I like to make small batches and use up what I have.

3. Sanding and Finishing will add more texture.
Chalky paint dries to a very matte finish. If you want a little more contrast, depth and texture, I would follow up with some light sanding, perhaps some antiquing (you can see how I distressed and antiqued this Living Room Toy Cabinet), and a finishing coat for protection. If you like a high gloss, you can go with a polyurethane, or if you like something more satin-y, I like this Valspar Chalky Finish Sealing Wax.

As you can see above, this is my recent homemade chalky paint labor of love. And I am certainly in love with it! Especially the price tag, which was about $15 total, for all the gear and ingredients. Can't beat that!

Let me know if you try this recipe out and how it works for you. Happy painting, friends!

Intentional October Update: Week 1.

It's time for an update and a check-in with you! How's your Intentional October going, friends? I'm going to be honest with you - mine has been hard. Harder than I thought it would be! I was so jazzed about this - but actually putting it into practice everyday has been really really challenging. I don't want to wake up early. And I really miss zoning out and watching TV at night. Discipline is hard!

I'll give you a rough overview of where I'm at:

My Tactics:
1. Wake up early.
5:30 AM to be exact. - Um, this has been challenging. Really really really.

2. Drink a Nalgene of water.
Right when I wake up, before consuming anything else. - This has been great. I actually crave my enormous Nalgene of lemon water when I wake up. It's hard to drink the whole thing so early, but I'm really trying to force myself to get it done within the first hour of the day. I feel so much better all morning long.

3. Have 10-20ish minutes of quiet time.
Reading, praying, journaling. - This has, surprisingly, been my favorite! I have paired it with some early morning stretches, and I am loving this time. I'm no yogi, but I feel exhilarated, stretching in the quiet morning hour. Making this action a part of my morning prayers seriously makes me feel like I am moving mountains here!

4. Exercise in the morning.
For the most part, getting myself outside to run has just been awful - I am wheezing and crampy and I feel like my lungs are going to explode. I guess that's what they call being out of shape, huh? But yesterday I finally had a break through run with my sis-in-law Lauren and I actually enjoyed the run. So, progress! But I've been at the gym a few times this week, too, and I am feeling good about getting back into some light weight lifting.

5. Eat a healthy breakfast.
This has been good. I'm still trying to figure out the best time to eat in conjunction with feeding my kid and exercising in the morning, but I am really enjoying a half a banana, sliced, on a buttered waffle in the mornings. Have you tried Kerrygold butter? I am obsessed. People are way too down on butter - this butter is so gooooood.

6. Tackle the biggest item on my to-do list.
This has been great. I feel so much more productive and accomplished by midday! My mornings are pretty full, especially with a baby in tow, but when lunch time rolls around I feel like I have tackled a TON. But I also feel like I need a nap, haha. I get jealous when I put Everett down for his nap and I have half a mind to just jump in the crib with him. Babies are so lucky.

7. Read in the evenings.
I am officially sucking at this one. I want to read, I SO DO, but I am not getting in bed early enough to read before I want the lights to go out. I read a few times this week, but a few times I also dropped into bed so exhausted, and later than planned. Which nixed the reading. I'm currently reading The Happiness Project, which is giving me some good tips for this intentional journey I am on.

8. Go to bed early.
Lights out at 9:30pm. - This has been really hard to do. Why is it so hard? Why are there so many bedtime activities that MUST BE DONE? I find myself at 9:15 folding laundry, picking up Everett's shoes that he has thrown in the bathtub, and decluttering my bedroom. 9:30 just comes around SO EARLY.

The consensus? I've still got my work cut out for me. I am not as disciplined as I would like. I mentioned here that the focus this past week would be on ourselves, and then we would expand from there. However, I am going to take another week to really hone in on the discipline aspect for myself. It's another self-focused week, to tweak the things that haven't gone right, and create a rhythm for these activities to thrive in my life.

How are you doing with your intentions? Have you hit any roadblocks this week? What activities are working for you? Any advice for the class?

My 28th Birthday at Serenbe.

I am loved.

I am overwhelmingly thankful for my kinfolk. They love me well and let me in on their feelings. This year on my birthday, I felt vastly different from a year ago, when I turned 27. I was so mixed up after Everett was born - I was processing his birth and feeling super hormonal and kind of, I don't know, crazed. Sleep-deprived. Void of identity. This year I feel like a completely new woman. I feel strong. Confident. Full. I am working on me and I am poised to give more love than ever, and I am celebrating that feeling. 28 is going to be so so good.

My birthday has come and gone in waves of fun, as I celebrated with Stevie and Everett, then with my parents and sister, and I will keep celebrating into next week with my in-laws and extended family! See what I mean about being a lucky girl? Gosh I could pinch myself. I had such a wonderful dinner date out with Stevie on my actual birthday. We drank wine in the cold September rain at an outdoor restaurant in the city, with just a tiny little canvas umbrella protecting us from the bucketing monsoon, and we laughed and talked and stayed out late and IT WAS THE BEST. I am so grateful for that man, who supports my dreams and lets me talk in loopy circles around him. Who listens to my unedited rants without judgement. Who challenges me, convicts me, laughs with me and gives sound advice, and doesn't question when I order all the desserts. Who sends champagne to the table because he knows its my favorite, and drinks it with me even though it's definitely not his favorite. He's the one guys. After 8 years, I still know that he is SO THE ONE.

I took no pictures from that date. Because I was on a date.

But Serenbe! My parents took us out to The Farmhouse at Serenbe for a birthday lunch, and that place is so picturesque and darling and we really couldn't resist snapping a few shots, especially because Everett was frolicking all over like he owned the place. Friends, Serenbe's southern fried chicken and chocolate brownies are irresistible. But the company of my family, taking turns going around the table and expressing to me the reasons why they loved me? That is the memory, knitted and knotted into the permanent fibers of my heart. My spirits were lifted high on this encouragement, this cornerstone of beautiful souls. These gemstones are my people and I couldn't love them more.

Photos!

This little one is fiercely protective of his Nana.

Ugh, could my sister be MORE of a babe?? I think not. I'm so lucky because I get all her hand me downs! #shesthestylishone #imthecopycat

I met this butterfly. The caterpillar that it used to be is the type that currently feasts on my garden's cauliflower. I almost slapped this thing across the face. If I could find it's face. Does a butterfly have a face? They might be pretty, but these critters are FIERCE when it comes to roughage.

Note my dad's biker tan. He's so rad.

We are weird people. There's nothing else to really say.

Oh, but these boots. They were my gift to myself :)

Aren't they just the sweetest?

Oh heeeeeeyyyyy Everett.

Keeper.

These throwing shots never ever get old. I should frame a whole roundup of them, since I've taken so many.

My mother. Yep.

Everett LOVES my dad's Indian motorcycle. He makes the noises. And he always wants to sit on it. But when my dad fires the thing up, he cries.

This little sequence just KILLS ME.

Wait!

Don't go without me!

There you have it. 28 is going to be so good!

P.S. - If you think I hang out at Serenbe a lot, you might be right. You can check out our blustery getaway there last year here and here, and our magical day when Everett was followed by a butterfly. Oh Serenbe.

The 15 MUSTS on My Fall Bucket List.

Happy Monday to you, friends! I hope your weekend was sweet and cool with that fall breeze we've been having over here. I wanted to share my little fall bucket list today and see if you had any great ideas to add to this. Have you made a bucket list of autumn things you would like to do this season? I am extra excited about this season because I am so satisfied with the stage our family is in. I am really really loving the age Everett is because I feel like we can really do some fun things with him this fall and he is experiencing them fully. He might not remember these things, but the joy, excitement, adventure and love are surely making a life-long impact on him. I am so lucky to be a part of creating that for him.

The 15 MUSTS on My Fall Bucket List:
1. Pick a Pumpkin.
I seriously can't wait to see Everett toddling around a pumpkin patch. I MEAN. He needs a flannel vest. And maybe some boots. Ahhh PUMPKINS.

2. Enjoy some seriously colorful foliage.
Man, these are the times when I miss my New England days. The foliage up there is so painted and pretty it's just silly. SILLY.

3. Apple Pick.
I always want to bring home two bushels, and every time Stevie says no. Then buys me a cider donut to cheer me up. It's our routine.

4. Visit the Mountains.
Any mountains will do. It just feels like the right time to GO. And take to the mountains. Like Frodo did.

5. Enjoy Mulled Wine.
Oh gosh, this stuff is my Achilles heel. Made some this weekend! Checkedy check!

6. Make something with pumpkin and apples.
I usually make both of these pies around Thanksgiving time, but I'd like to get more out of the box with my recipes this fall and makes something different!

7. Read a good book.
As part of my Intentional October, I am reading a few right now. I feel so alive!

8. Sit by the fire.
We have a fire place in our new home! While it's not wood-burning (which is my favorite), I guess I will enjoy the cleanliness of this gas fireplace. Although I can feel that Stevie will be monitoring my use of it due to the expense... He's not always Scrooge. But sometimes. And sometimes I am an excessive fire starter. What's wrong with every day? Why NOT every day???

9. Decorate outdoors with some good mums.
Now this was just a lead into another one that I've already done and feel so right about. I love mums so much. Don't you just feel like you're talking about a British mother AND Fall's most famous flower?! Two for one, those mums.

10. Drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Okay, so I also did this one this weekend, and I don't know WHAT I WAS THINKING by telling my mother as I drove the the Starbucks drive-through, because then she just gave me a talking-to about how bad those are for our health. I mean, mom! It's my first and last one of the season, I promise. Just let me have my chemically-induced pumpkin spice latte and let me TRY to enjoy it! Also - I think they've raised the price by like, a dollar since last fall. Am I right?

11. Unearth my Fall Clothes.
The closet space in my new pad isn't great, but in some ways, I think that's a really good thing! It's making me really careful about what I add to my closet and I'm finding new uses for old things. However, my fall boots are my favorite thing about my entire wardrobe. And they are out to play!

12. Make stew. Any will do.
I've got so many stew recipes. I will share a few of my favorites next week!

13. Make a wreath.
I've never done a craft like this before. I'm thinking that it's time :)

14. Go Camping.
Just planned a camping trip! I'm not the most rugged girl on Earth, but I can enjoy one night under the stars every once in a while and not moan about it. Just give me smores.

15. Run in the crispy morning air.
We've gotten a hint of fall here in Georgia, but in a few more weeks, I know that morning air is going to get crispy. And I am waking up early these days, so I will seize it! My favorite running is in the fall.

That's my list! What's yours? Anything you would add?

Also, I wanted to encourage everyone that has joined me for Intentional October - you are doing awesome! The feedback has been stellar, so just know that you are in this with a lot of others who are going after some intentional change in their lives this month! If you're new to Intentional October, check out my post on what it is, how you can make this month intentional for yourself, and hone in on your focus. I'll check in with everyone here on the blog on Thursday to give an update on how it's going! Remember to tag your Instagram photos with the hashtag #intentionaloctober so you can encourage others, have a conversation and experience the accountability of this pursuit. You can follow my Instagram feed here.

Happiest of Mondays to you, friends!

Upcycled Living Room Toy Cabinet.

This is perhaps my favorite upcycled piece I've ever done. I was given an old TV cabinet in the slew of free furniture we were given when we moved, and I knew I wanted to turn it into a storage space for Everett's toys in our entertainment room. This actually belonged to my elementary school librarian, Ms. Olham, and was given to someone else, who then gave it to us, so this particular piece of furniture actually has a bit of sentimental value. I was kind of a book nerd, and spent a lot of time in the library as a kid, so I knew I wanted to keep this piece and make it something special. Because of it's largeness and depth, Stevie wasn't sure it would work in the entertainment room, but I knew I had to find a way to make it work. Because, Mrs. Oldham! As I brainstormed about what I wanted for this piece, I was feeling so inspired by the rich shade of Kelly green. I couldn't shake it. So I went with it! Our entertainment room has taken on a vivid, bohemian vibe, and I can't wait to share photos of the entire space once I'm finally finished with it. This piece is one of the centerpieces of the room and I am so so thrilled with how it turned out.

Here is the before:

As you can see, the piece was a lovely mohaghany cabinet with brassy hardware, but it felt a bit bulky and dated. Since I had some success with chalky paint on my bedroom furniture, I decided to tackle this one with the same approach. But this time - I made my own chalky paint! I will share how incredibly easy it is next week on the blog. But trust me - you will never want to pay high dollar for chalk paint again.

It's a little challenging to capture the exact color, but I chose Behr Balsam, a flat interior/exterior paint. And I managed to cover this entire cabinet with just one sample size! Hello, savings. I love you.

After the first coat, things were looking a bit streaky and turquoise-y. I chose not to be fearful.

After the second coat, things were looking extremely matte and, well, bright. Like Sesame Street bright. Much brighter than I had expected. Again, I chose not to question the color choice. I knew I could tone it down in the steps to come.

The inside remained mahogany. Isn't it sort of sad looking? We will get to that in a minute.

Next I sanded the furniture using an extremely course sand paper, 80 grit. I focused on all the edges, crevices, and hardware. Then I just kept going and sanded the surfaces as well, wearing it down to expose the brown underneath in some areas. Just for fun. Because who doesn't like beating stuff up?

Then I decided to get a little crazy. Okay, crazier than painting a cabinet green. I grabbed another paint sample that I had chosen on a whim while I was at Home Depot, one that I had literally no plan for and just bought because I thought it was so pretty... and decided, what the heck? I'll coat the inside of the cabinet with this sapphire-esque blue! Because apparently I am turning my entertainment room into an arabian bazaar. So Behr Indigo Batik coated the inside of the cabinet. And my soul rejoiced.

Rejoice, oh soul. Rejoice.

Then things got really crafty. I used this Varathane Wood Stain in Kona to tone down the shade of the green and give the furniture an antique effect. There are a lot of antiquing waxes on the market, but this was by far the least expensive way to achieve the same effect. I used an old cut up tee shirt to rub on the stain in small sections, then I immediately wiped it off. The stain really soaked into the edges and crevices that I had sanded down, and made the whole piece look like it had been living in the dark corner of an a genie's lair for like a thousand years. Mission, accomplished.

Yum. I couldn't be happier with the finished product.

After the stain dried, I coated the entire piece with Valspar's Chalky Finish Sealing Wax. This protects the paint, so that it doesn't further chip, and also gives it a nice matte sheen.

And there you have it! Everett's toy mecca in our entertainment room. I love the piece so much. I'll admit that my original plan was for the piece to look a bit darker and more Kelly green, but you never quite know how a color is going to turn out until you just go for it. I still love this shade and it's the perfect pop of color for the room. The total cost for this DIY? About $7 for the two paint samples. And that's rounding up. I had the wood stain and sealing wax already, and paid nothing for the furniture itself.

This has become the place to store all of Everett's toys and keeps them out of sight when we want the room to look clean. And he loves toddling over to his cabinet, throwing open both of the doors, and seeing all his stuffed animals and balls and trucks. I'll try to capture his expression soon so you can see it - it's so stinking darling. He loves and I love it and we are all happy in our bohemian living space.

So what do you think? Have you tried using chalky paint to refresh a piece of furniture before?