Mirror painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

[lizcommotion]

I do a lot of knitting crafts, but I decided to dabble in Chalk Paint after some blog articles I'd read about it finally got to me.

Advantages:

• No sanding/priming necessary - just slap it on there
• Pretty colors!
• You can do cool things with distressing it and making it look "old"/antique
• It is supposed to dry quickly (this is debatable when you really want to get to the next step like me. I was literally waiting for paint to dry and it takes so long when you are waiting by it omg.)
• Easy clean up - it's water based so it washes right off
• It is fun

Disadvantages

• The Annie Sloan kind is rather expensive, especially if you're also getting the wax and the brushes, etc. I managed to split the costs with my mom, as she has plans for a table. (I also have plans for a chest of drawers, honestly the mirror was really to test it. And because I couldn't wait to open that paint can.)
• If you're painting furniture from the 1930s or 1940s there can be a bleed through effect, which I thankfully didn't have. The remedy for this is on the manufacturer's website (scroll down), you use shellac to cover up the bleed through.

( Glorious photographs )

There are a ton of step-by-step how-tos for chalk paint on the internet. I didn't use just one, kind of a conglomeration of all of them, so you're best of looking on your own if you want to try. There's also some instructions for "DIY chalk paint" if you want to try that (cheaper but more labor intensive, peoples' results look pretty but no guarantees.)