Chalk painting is my new passion! I love painting things like kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, vintage finds and more with chalk paint. Paint, in general, gives objects and rooms that may be dingy or old looking, a fresh new look. Chalk paint though, is easy to use, needs zero priming and makes many projects look super professional, in my opinion.

I have experimented with the Behr brand of chalk paint as well as the Annie Sloan chalk paint brands and I’ve picked my favorite. While the Behr paint did a good job of giving me the chalk paint look I was going for, the Annie Sloan chalk paint is much more versatile. It’s thick which helps it cover items in less coats but it can also be thinned with water. It comes in many colors, but I especially love the Old White and Pure White colors. I’ve also used Chicago Grey and it was very pretty as well.

This is not a sponsored post. I am simply sharing the love I have of the Annie Sloan chalk paint brand and all the successes I’ve had when using it!

Take a look at these five amazing chalk paint project DIY’s I’ve created over the years.

1- Vintage Find: Chalk Painted Seashell Filled Cloche

The Best 5 Chalk Paint Projects + Chalk Painted Vintage Finds, Cabinets and Seashell DisplayGraphic and Photography by Carolyn J. Braden and CanvaPin me! carolynsbloomingcreations.com — The Best 5 Chalk Paint Projects + Chalk Painted Vintage Finds, Cabinets and Seashell Display
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I needed a way to display some seashells I found in our new home, Sanibel Island, Florida. I often collect the seashells, but never find a good way to display them. After doing some unpacking after our move, I found a cloche my grandmother gave to me. It was exactly what I needed to display the shells in a beautiful and special way.

Don’t have a vintage cloche? Check out this smaller one I like on Amazon by clicking this link!

I didn’t love the brown base, so I added some chalk paint, distressed it, and it was the perfect fit for my needs. Read on to see how I transformed it with the chalk paint.

First, I cleaned it up. I scraped away anything sticky and removed all the dust and debris with a damp cloth.

Next, I used a basic paint brush (one like you would use for trim painting) to paint on about 4 layers of chalk paint. You don’t always need so many layers of paint, but because I was painting over such a dark brown, I needed more layers to completely cover it.

I did not prime or sand the cloche base, as you don’t need to do so when chalk painting a smooth surface.

You can alternately roll on the chalk paint, but if using the Annie Sloan brand, I suggest thinning it out just a little if rolling it on. Rolling it on can solve dilemmas of visible brush strokes if you don’t want to see any.

When the paint was fully dry, I lightly sanded it with a fine grit sanding brick. You do not have to sand chalk painted items, but I’ve found a light sanding can create a smoother surface.

I sanded a bit harder in some areas to expose the brown underneath because I wanted it to look a bit distressed. Once I sanded it to the level of distressed smoothness I was wanting, I used a dry cotton cloth to remove sanding dust.

Annie Sloan waxes come in a variety of colors, but I prefer clear wax.

I used a boar bristle brush (I purchased mine via Amazon in a brush kit), to spread a thin layer of wax over both sides of the cloche base. I waxed one side, allowed it to dry overnight, then waxed the other side.

No matter how careful I am, I still seem to find the random floating dog hair attaching itself to my projects. I use a pair of tweezers to remove any hairs or debris from the wax before it dries.

After the wax dried (I gave mine 24 hours to dry), I used an old cotton sock to wipe off the excess wax. Doing this shines your project right up!

I attached some self-sticking felt pads to the bottom of my cloche base to prevent it from scratching any surfaces and to help preserve the bottom.

Special Tip About Chalk Painting Wood: Some woods have some oils that may rise to the surface of your object. This is a natural occurrence and you will generally only see it if using a light paint color. I was able to successfully cover any oils that bothered me by using more coats of paint.

To cushion the seashells, I ordered some pink reindeer moss from Amazon.

I spread the moss out onto the base of the cloche.

I topped the moss with a variety of seashells.

Please note: The starfish is made out of resin (I purchased it via Amazon) and I found the sea biscuit/sand dollar in the garage of the house we purchased (the previous owner left behind many shells that she too collected and used to create things with).

IT IS ILLEGAL remove live sea creatures from Florida oceans and I NEVER collect any shells that contain live animals. I highly encourage others to let sea animals live out their best life in the ocean…not in their homes as decor. If a shell is empty though, you are free to take it home as a souvenir.

I throughly cleaned the glass dome and placed it back on the base to finish the project.

It looks gorgeous as a centerpiece on my dining room table!

2- Vintage Find: Chalk Painted Bird Wall Hangings

I did my next project at the same time as my cloche. I found these really cool vintage bird wall hangings while doing some unpacking.

While they are beautiful in the original design, the colors did not fit in with our new home. So, I used Pure White Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan to give them a new look.

I thought about getting an opposing color to use on some of the birds, but the light, airy decor of our new home suggested that I needed to paint them all one color.

The Best 5 Chalk Paint Projects + Chalk Painted Vintage Finds, Cabinets and Seashell DisplayGraphic and Photography by Carolyn J. Braden and Carolyn J. Braden and CanvaPin me! carolynsbloomingcreations.com — The Best 5 Chalk Paint Projects + Chalk Painted Vintage Finds, Cabinets and Seashell Display
Graphic and Photography by Carolyn J. Braden and Canva
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Just like the cloche, I cleaned off the items and brushed on about 4 coats of paint.

I used a small craft brush to reach tiny corners and crevices on the wood wall hangings.

I took my time and ensured each coat fully dried before applying the next one. The first coat always dries quickly, but as you layer more on top, it takes a little longer for each coat to dry.

I applied one coat of the Annie Sloan clear wax to the sides I painted.

Then I used the old cotton sock again to remove the excess wax after it dried for 24 hours.

3- Chalk Painted Antique Cedar Chest

For this next chalk paint project, I followed all the steps you’ve read about in the other two projects BUT I added some Annie Sloan GOLD WAX to this antique cedar chest. I used Old White for this project. This chest was my grandmother’s and it either needed to be refinished OR painted.

I decided to chalk paint it because I knew if I didn’t like it, I could always refinish it. That’s the cool about real wood furniture. You can always refinish it, sand it, stain it and more if you don’t like it.

Watch the short tutorial video I created (below or click this link) to see the full project. This is the project that I tested out the Behr brand of chalk paint, but then switched over to the Annie Sloan.

VIDEO INFORMATION: Carolyn (BFA and MAEd), Owner and Creator of Carolyn's Blooming Creations, a creative lifestyle brand dedicated to making the world a li...

4- Chalk Painted Kitchen Cabinets

This chalk paint project is what started my love of chalk paint! We were about to sell our home but our dark cabinets needed a refresh and chalk paint came to the rescue! We used Annie Sloan Chicago Grey for this project and it turned out beautiful.

See all of our cabinet chalk painting tips and tricks in the YouTube video I created for my channel “Carolyn Braden” (see it below or click this link!):

Follow Carolyn and all her fun creations: My website: http://www.carolynsbloomingcreations.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolynsbloomingcreatio...

5- Chalk Painted Vintage Door

This was a chalk paint project I did in my previous home. We had a second stairwell (it was an 1800’s home) that we turned into a pantry. See the full project by clicking here.

We found the door on Facebook Marketplace, which was necessary because we needed a door that fit the aesthetic of the house AND that was a certain size. Facebook Marketplace is a great spot to look for hard to find house renovation items.

When we saw it, we knew it was perfect! It was in need of some TLC, so I cleaned it up and used Old White chalk paint by Annie Sloan to paint it.

I followed all the same steps as I did with the other projects listed above. I love how it turned out! We were able to find a door knob that matched the other door knobs within the house to make it fit in even more!

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This is not a sponsored post. I am simply sharing the love I have of the Annie Sloan chalk paint brand and all the successes I’ve had when using it!

1- Vintage Find: Chalk Painted Seashell Filled Cloche

2- Vintage Find: Chalk Painted Bird Wall Hangings

3- Chalk Painted Antique Cedar Chest

4- Chalk Painted Kitchen Cabinets

5- Chalk Painted Vintage Door

Have you tried chalk painting anything? If so, leave me a comment below and let me know how it turned out!

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