Sewing Stool Redo & Chalk Paint Recipe Revealed (2024)

Hello beautiful friends! This is a SUPER OLD post, but the information is just as relevant today as it was when I wrote this!

This little stool was my guinea pig for DIY chalk paint way back when I first started using it. Forgive the small awkward photos. I’ve learned a thing or two about photography since then!

I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I use.

I found this little stool at an estate sale for $10:

I thought it would be the perfect project to try out DIY chalk paint since if I ruined it, it would be no big loss.

It ended up turning out pretty cute:

It was really gross before…

So anything would have been an improvement!

Here you can see how smooth the paint is…

Aww Brennan was so little and cute! He really did like that little bench!

This is a stool for a sewing table, but you could use it anywhere. The lid lifts off for a little bit of extra storage:

Ok so where were we? Oh yes! Chalk paint!

Here are my not-so-secret ingredients:

I searched far and wide before settling on this combination.

Calcium Carbonate seemed to be a favorite in my searches. I found a lot of 1/3 this to 2/3 that, but I wanted an exact measurement so I played with it a bit and this is the final result.

If you can’t find Calcium Carbonate at your mega vitamin store, you can easily order it on Amazon like I do. I started out using the 12 Ounce size you see pictured above for $9.99. One 12oz container will yield about three quarts of paint. Now I purchase Calcium Carbonate Powder (5lbs) for only a couple dollars more. Follow that link to see where I purchased it from on Amazon. I can use that same bag for almost a year!

Behr by Home Depot is my go-to for paint. The price is great as is the coverage. The stool above is “Cottage White” in a flat finish. Annie Sloan’s Old White is a tiny bit yellow in comparison. This is more creamy white.

UPDATE: Behr no longer carries the paint pictured above, so now (as of 2017) I use the one in the red and white can labeled: “Interior Flat Ultra Pure White, Paint and Primer in One”.

If you’re a visual learner like me, I made a video (2/2017) to show how I make a quart of chalk paint:

If this video gives you any trouble, see it on YouTube HERE. 🙂

If you’d rather read about the simple process, here ya go…

To make a quart of DIY chalk paint:

• Dissolve 3/4 cup (or 12 TBSP) of calcium carbonate powder in just enough water to reach a smooth consistency. (Like ranch dressing.)

• Add to 3 cups (24 oz) of paint. (Or to an empty quart can…about 2/3 full of paint.)

This will make a little less than a quart, so that you have room in your can to add the calcium carbonate mixture and stir without making a big mess.

• Mix well. I stir in one direction for about a minute, then the other direction for another minute. After you mix it well, top off the quart can to make a full quart and give it another quick stir.

It works just like the expensive chalk paints; no prior sanding required, no priming. The total cost to make a quart is easily less than a third of the cost of the fancy brands.

If your chalk paint mixture has been sitting for more than a couple of days, give it a quick stir with a paint stick before using.

And if you only need a very small amount…

To make one cup of DIY chalk paint:

• Add one cup of paint to a container.
• In a separate container, dissolve 4 tbsp calcium carbonate in just enough water to dissolve the powder to a smooth consistency (like ranch dressing).
• Stir it into the paint.

That’s it! So simple! It is still smooth when I remove the lid.

I finish most pieces off with Annie Sloan’s clear soft wax.

UPDATE: I have used this chalk paint recipe on hundreds of other projects since I first wrote this post and I still love it!

Visit my DIY Project Gallery to see them all!

If you have any questions about how to chalk paint furniture, check out my chalk painting tutorial:

How to Paint Furniture Using Chalk Paint

Hopefully you’ll be inspired to try this recipe. Now go out there and paint something!

XO,

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