Refurnish and Chalking

Since Cameron's birth, I have been itching to find something I can do and be proud of. I used to really pride myself in fitness and running. Since her birth, my priorities changed greatly. I would rather spend my days with her than leaving her somewhere while I selfishly work out or whatever. Some people can do it and more power to them.

Anyways, I needed to find something to make me feel good about myself. Then through one of the blogs I follow, I stumbled across "All Things Thrifty". She refurnishes furniture and up-cycles pieces with spray paint and glaze. I LOVE that look. Once you look at her blog, you will read it from start to finish because of how fantastic her projects are.

So I bought a pretty sweet coffee table off my local "classifieds" (a.k.a. KSL.com). I wish I took a picture before (Sorry, I  was far too excited to pause for a picture--plus it was ugly). I only paid $10.  

I did a combination of all the refurnishing ideas I've read. Mostly out of laziness and ease of finding items. If I couldn't find someone to ask where something was, I just got the best thing I could find...it's the way I roll in everything I do....

Don't mind the mess and awful lighting....it's still in the basement.

The legs are the best part of this table! I love that look!

See all the glorious chalky-ness.

Quick sum-up. Sanded the big parts, primed it (took two cans, but the spray stuck to the glossy parts better than the paint would),  used a liquid paint I had around the house. The best part is the darker blue on the details.

I am proud of the detail element. I originally tried glazing it. The "antique" look made my coffee table look dirty. I wanted to highlight the details not make them brown/black. It turned out so pretty. I used children's sidewalk chalk. Now that's the look I wanted! Fixative spray helped stick it to the paint on the table (it's what artists use to preserve charcoal drawings). Then two coats of sealer to hold it all together. The spray kind wasn't very smooth though. I definitely recommend a liquid sealer.

For my first effort, it worked out pretty awesome! I am really proud of this piece. I can't wait to put in our house...when we get it...later this month!