This paint is for the project I'm working on, but it deserves a whole post of it's own. If you've been around the right sections of Pinterest (or some other site, I'm sure) you'll notice that people are getting crazy with chalkboard paint.
But what is a girl like me supposed to do when she doesn't want boring black chalkboard paint?
Luckily I had found the answer to this dilemma beforehand. I thought I had seen something on Pinterest about just colouring chalkboard paint, but I went to look at it turned out that I was supposed to just make my own.
Uh-oh, I thought. I don't have time for this right now.
But then I read the directions:
Mix unsanded grout with whatever colour acrylic or latex paint you want in a 1:8 ratio. Paint your intended object. Done.
Alright, I got my excitement back! So I rushed off to my local building supply shop the next day. I expected I would have to buy a huge tub of grout, but actually I got a little thing of it for only $3! And by little, I mean will last me through about 2000+ batches of chalkboard paint.
My paint destination was Michael's, as I did not want to buy giant cans of latex paint from the building supply store. People online seemed to have enough success with acrylic paint, so I went straight to the Martha Stewart section. She actually makes chalkboard paint of her own, and it comes in 4 different colours, but I had decided I wasn't going to cheat. Besides, I wanted a purple, which she didn't offer to me.
After a flurry of grabbing bottles and enduring massive indecision, a bored-to-death boyfriend, and a second and third trip back to the store, I ended up with the colours I wanted. Finally!
Now I won't bore you with the accounts of my paint jobs, but let me just give you a few photos and tips:
- Mix the grout you are using with a little water to remove the clumps, before mixing with the paint.
- Even if you only need a tiny batch, I would suggest using at least 1/4 tsp. grout to 2 tsp. paint.
Any less, and my paint was drying and clumping quicker than I could use it.
- Don't get too much paint on your brush when you are painting small objects... should be a given,
but I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Multiple times.
- I was able to use Martha Stewart's acrylic paint with satin, pearl, and metallic finishes with no
detrimental effects (although I'm not thrilled about how pearl turned out) Oh, the possibilities!
Any of you been doing anything with chalkboards? Let me know!
Love this idea! I saw something on HGTV and did a search and found your page. Thanks for the great tips also.
ReplyDeleteHello there Sue! Always nice to hear that a search actually turns up my blog. ;)
DeleteI hope you did something really fun with your chalkboard paint! There are so many great projects out there that use this.