Repurposing a Plant Stand and making Chalk-Like paint!

I am giving new life to a plant stand that I purchased at a garage sale for $2. I love stopping at garage sales to see what great bargains and great trash to treasure pieces I can find. I have to admit, many days I find nothing. I like the days that I just happen to drive past one and stop on a whim. These are usually the ones that I find the great treasures. Here is the plant stand before turning it into a treasure.

I thought about sanding and re-staining this plant stand but decided it was best just to paint over the wood. The legs are showing pretty heavy water damaged marks and thought I would save me the aggravation and just paint it. I thought the plant stand could use more than just paint, so I decided to mosaic the top part of the stand. In order to mosaic I needed to place a piece of wood to hold in the grout. I cut and adhered a piece of brown pressed wood on to the top of the plant stand.

I have read many blog posts about chalk paint and how easy it is to use. Since you do not need to sand and prime with chalk paint I decided I would finally give chalk paint a try. I know I am probably the last DIY blogger to use this paint. After reading the many posts on how to use this paint I also read from “In my own Style”how to make your own chalk paint. “In my own Style” gave this great step by step tutorial and testing 3 versions of chalk paint. After reading this blog I definitely was going to make my chalk paint.

I used this recipe to make my chalk paint:

3 parts paint

1 part plaster of paris

In a mixing container, I used a disposable glad ware bowl; mix plaster of paris with water. Add a small amount of water until you get a smooth consistency. Once the plaster is smooth, add the paint and mix well. Now you are ready to paint.

I loved using the chalk paint. It was easy to use and loved the fact that you do not have to prep the item before painting. Saves time and money. I than used furniture wax to seal the chalk paint.

I used grey opaque stained glass to make a random mosaic pattern. I cut the square pieces of stained glass by hand and used the copper foil method to solder the square pieces of glass. I love how the solder pieces give the mosaic a modern twist. I used the liquid nails to glue all the glass pieces into place. .

Once the adhesive is dry (I like to let my glass pieces dry over night), I was ready to grout. I used a pewter color grout. I mix my grout in the same matter that I mixed the plaster of paris. In a mixing container add grout and than slowly add water until you have a smooth consistency(like pancake batter).

Remove all the grout off the glass surface, allow to dry over night. Clean any left over residue than your mosaic is ready to seal.