Stay Home & DIY (Part 2)
As you #stayhome safe and healthy, allow your imagination to run wild - with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®
We are sharing our favourite Chalk Paint® DIY projects that are perfect for everyone - ages 3 to 99! Each of these makes for a fun activity with the kids, a weekend family bonding project or a relaxing creative outlet just for you.
We hope you enjoy the read and that you try your hand at some of these projects in the coming weeks.
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SHIBORI FUN
Did you know that you can use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® to dye fabric? Well, now you do - Shibori with Chalk Paint is one of our most favourite activities. It's free-flowing, creative, easy and fun. My 3 year old daughter and I pulled out a couple of her old white tops that had greyed from washing and use, dip dip dipped in Chalk Paint dye and ta-da - as good as new!
If you don't have an old top or t-shirt to try it on, don't fret - you can use it on napkins, pillowcases or any scrap fabric to make into a scarf.
Our tip - Use a natural fabric like cotton or linen, and always remember to heat set the paint after dyeing, either with a hot iron or pop it into the tumble-dryer.
What You’ll Need
- White or any other light coloured fabric
- 120ml Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in your colours of choice
- A couple of large bowls or pails filled with 1L of water
- Spoons to mix the dye
- Rubber bands
- 2 MDF or Cardboard square templates 2"x 2"
- Hair dryer
- Optional - small items such as seeds, coins or lego bricks to create patterns
How-To
- Accordion fold the fabric
- Place the MDF/cardboard square templates on either side of the folded fabric
- Securely tie rubber bands at intervals - either in a geometric pattern or random
- Mix your dyes by using the ratio 1L water to 1 Tablespoon paint
- Stir the dye well to make sure all the paint has dissolved in the water
- Immediately dip your fabric into the dye for a few seconds - for example opposite sides of the squares can be different colours, or you can to all in one colour
- One you have dipped the fabric as you like, blow dry the square as it is without opening
- In a couple of minutes, undo the rubber bands, remove templates and surprise yourself with a beautiful creation!
- Leave to dry and then iron on high heat or pop in the tumble dryer before hand-washing
You can experiment with the folds and the shapes of the cardboard/MDF templates - diamonds, triangles. Or use just the rubber bands at different points of the fabric, as well as tie in the small items such as coins to create patterns. Head over to our Instagram stories to see how much fun we had with Shibori!
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W(H)INE NO MORE
The one thing we have in plenty during these Lockdown times are empty wine bottles - am I right? God knows we need it, what with homeschooling, trying to work from home, making sure the kids don't go hungry or kill each other. I know these are difficult days, but w(h)ine no more! Here's a fun, easy and beautiful DIY project for you. Go on, try it - might keep the kids busy for a bit and give you some down time to actually enjoy that wine too.
What You’ll Need
- Clean Wine or Champagne or any Alcohol bottles
- 120ml Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in your colours of choice, recommended to use Old White as base coat
- Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Brush Small
- Annie Sloan Pearlescent Glaze
How-To
- Clean your bottles - wash, dry and wipe down with alcohol before painting (we know its tempting, but don't drink the alcohol)
- Apply a base coat of Old White Chalk Paint with the Chalk Paint Brush on your bottle and leave it to dry
- Mix a smidge of the selected Chalk Paint colour into the Pearlescent Glaze. Remember to use only small amounts of Chalk Paint in order to retain the shimmery translucent finish of the Glaze.
- The image above from left to right has Old White, Florence, Aubusson Blue, Antibes Green and English Yellow, to create these soft and pretty shimmering shades.
- Apply one or two coats of the mixed shades and leave to dry.
- Pearlescent Glaze is a durable finish in itself, so no further finish is required to seal these.
- Use these as decor, as candles holders or for flowers.
Watch this video to see how to mix Chalk Paint colours into Pearlescent Glaze to create shimmery hues.
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CHALKBOARD DOODLES
That's right - you can use chalk to doodle on Chalk Painted surfaces from walls to table-tops to fridge doors. And your Chalkboard surface doesn't have to be black! Any of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colours can be used to create a Chalkboard surface. Create a mood wall for your little one like our customer did in the image above, a vision board on top of your desk or a Chalkboard table top for hours of doodling fun.
What You’ll Need
- A surface to paint on - Fridge door, Wall, Table-top
- Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in your colours of choice, we recommend darker colour for a Chalk Board surface so writing is clearly visible
- Annie Sloan Flat Brush
How-To
- Dilute the paint slightly with some water and mix well
- Apply 2 - 3 thin coats on the area that you want to make a Chalk Board surface. Give 30 minutes drying time between each coat.
- Allow it to rest for a couple of days
- Start doodling away with regular Chalk
- Watch this video before you start on your project
Our tip is to only use a dry cloth to wipe off your chalk doodles for the first week, after which you can start using a damp cloth. Do not use a wet cloth to wipe, as you may end up taking off some paint.
We'll share 3 DIY projects each week until the end of May. We hope you try some of these - nothing like some painting to brighten up your days!