Today's the day I share with you my first DecoArt project, made with awesome swag I received at the recent Midwest DIY Blogger Round-Up held at Randolph Street Market in Chicago back in August. It wasn't enough that there were great speakers and DIY demos ~ we had to get fabulous DIY swag, too! (I was not paid for writing this, I just wanted to share my thoughts. All opinions are my own.)



Here's a picture of some DecoArt Americana DECOR products I received at the event. I was absolutely thrilled to try their Chalky Finish paint (they call it an ultra matte paint for home décor),and it was in a color I've been crushing on for a while now: Escape. I've been toying with adding some color to our family room, and this shade of blue just keeps coming back into my head. Then I get this paint to try. Kismet, I think.

I still wasn't quite ready to commit, though, so I started small. It's a quick and easy project you can certainly do in an afternoon. Here's an old sign I picked up at Goodwill for $2.99. While the sentiment is sweet, it just doesn't go with our current décor. So what better way to change it up than to paint it?


Here it is close-up before I began painting. Yes, it's sitting on a chipper in the garage. Don't ask.


You can see that it was already worn away in just the right places so I didn't even have to distress it after I painted it! (Although this particular brand of paint is supposed to distress well.) I knew I wanted it to be a chalkboard for inspirational quotes, so after using painter's tape to cover up the parts I wanted to be blue, I painted it with chalkboard paint first (two coats with a paint brush). Then it was ready for that awesome blue.


While I did paint some of the edges, I left the worn spots, well, worn down to the wood. I basically dry brushed it, and ended up with exactly what I wanted ~ a worn and vintage looking piece! I absolutely love the chalky, matte finish!


   


Before using a new chalkboard you have to season it by rubbing it down with the side of a piece of chalk.


Mission accomplished. Despite the two coats of chalkboard paint I could still kind of see the first few letters of the original saying when I rubbed it down with the chalk. Luckily, once I erased the mess, the letters didn't seem as noticeable.



And even less so when I wrote over them!


This is one of my absolute favorite Bible quotes.