Drift Wood - Chalk Paint

My friend and I went walking on the beach last week when I came across driftwood from a coconut tree.

Of course, being at sea for a while it had darkened

     FRONT

     BACK

My friend thought I was crazy, seeing as how we're surrounded by coconut trees, but it was something about this piece that caught my eye and I just had to have it.

To be honest, I didn't know what I wanted to do with it, but I knew I wanted to keep it as natural looking as possible.   I first became familiar with chalk paint when I read  Begin Again Furniture  blog where Allie talked about her experiment making her own chalk paint; she painted a beautiful chair.  I had also did some reading on Anne Sloan Chalk Paint and I liked the natural soft look it gave to furniture.  Of course, ASCP isn't sold here in the Bahamas so as usual I had to improvise.

There were several variations of making your own chalk paint but I found on No Minimalist Here blog where Sherry talked about using Calcium Carbonate, Whiting Powder or Plaster of Paris mixed with your paint.  I couldn't find the Calcium Carbonate or Whiting Powder but I did find some Plaster of Paris.  But before purchasing the Plaster of Paris I remembered I had some Lime at home, and because its suppose to be high in calcium and/or magnesium carbonate I decided to give it a try.  I figured, it's a piece of wood and not furniture, so what was there to lose?  I went with Sherry's formula 1/3 lime, 2/3 paint. 

Here are the end results

I initially painted it red in spots before applying my chalk paint.  I wanted an aged look, so I decided to go with crackle - (can you see the red peeking through?)

I then started distressing

The final results (BACK)

Why does this remind me of a baby's bottom????

Final results (FRONT)

I used a glaze to seal it and added a tint of color

Displayed on my Kitchen Counter

Not only did the chalk paint keep it natural looking, it allowed a beautiful flow of color formations.  The next time you go strolling on the beach LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!