Let's have a Vintage Labor Day BBQ

Chalk Paint, My First Project

Well, I finally jumped on the chalk paint bandwagon. I have a old cedar chest that has been in the garage for years just waiting to be refinished. So that is my test project. After much online research and asking some friends what they have used, I chose CeCe Caldwell Chalk + Clay paint in Santa Fe Turquoise.

I painted this cedar chest white many years ago (the old fashioned way with primer, latex paint and varnish) I got tired of the white so I thought I would strip it and stain it but I never got that far. I started on the lid of the chest and then I quit and it has been in the garage for years. Here is the cedar chest before:

BEFORE

Painting with chalk paint was very easy, no prep work, just start painting. I like that!
Here is the first coat on the lid, you can see where the paint is starting to dry.

I painted one coat all over and let it dry a couple of hours then I painted a second coat. I was having so much fun and it was so quick and easy I decided to paint some old wood candlesticks too. Here is everything after two coats of paint and after it has dried.

Before waxing

Now I am ready to put the wax on. I was a little nervous because I read so many posts on on how hard using soft wax was. Now I realize it is all true! The waxing was the hardest part. I waxed the entire cedar chest but it looked terrible and felt tacky to the touch. So I needed to get the wax off and start over. I used mineral spirits and a lint free rag and went over the entire cedar chest with the mineral spirits to get off the too thick wax job that I did. I sanded it to get all remaining wax off  and smooth it out. I then needed to put on another coat of paint. What a mess. It is very hard to figure out the right amount of wax. So....

After all that and reading much more online about how to wax over chalk paint I geared up and was ready to try it again. I ran out and bought a wax brush. They are pretty expensive so I didn't get one initially thinking I could just use a paint brush. Silly me. I do believe it helped.

I moved my project inside the house because it was really starting to get hot outside. I turned on my record player, put on some old tunes and went to work.

Old vinyl, Some of my recent garage sale finds!

This time I scooped out some wax onto a paper plate, used a wax brush (that I didn't use the first time) and once I got some wax on my brush wiped off excess onto the paper plate then coated the wood with the wax. Another thing I didn't do the first time around was go back over the wax and wipe off any excess with a rag. That made all the difference. This go around I used an old T shirt rag and wiped off the excess wax from the wood. I really rubbed the wax into the wood with the brush and then again when I wiped of the excess. I still feel like I have a lot to learn but the more I worked with the soft waxed the more comfortable I got with it.

Ready to buff

Now onto to the buffing part. I purchased a buffing brush that goes onto the end of a drill. I knew I could buff by hand with a soft rag but using the drill buffing brush just seemed easier.

Drill Buffing Brush

Finished!

AFTER

It's not perfect but I think I learned a lot and I am ready to tackle another chalk painting project! Perhaps something in a really awesome Mid-Century Modern orange color!!

Vintage Upcycled Hair Pins listed

Vintage upcycled hair pins now listed in my shop. I've already sold a couple, keep checking back for new listings.



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Vintage Hair Pins coming soon!

I have started to upcycle some of my vintage jewelry into vintage hair pins and vintage rings. I plan to list some of them in my shop this week. Please keep checking back for more upcycled vintage as I rework some of the vintage pieces I have. Here is a preview of some of the upcycled vintage hair pins I will be listing.