Chalk Painting Tutorial for Miniatures

Chalk paint has a velvety, dull finish that gives the appearance of old, painted furniture. You may have seen chalk paint used on full size furniture found on Pinterest and on blogs. Here is a tutorial for mixing your own chalk paint and adding a finish to create that perfect, vintage look!

This is a great way to enhance the look of manufactured dollhouse furniture!

Tools and supplies

• sifter
• various grits of sandpaper
• small whisk to use in paint
• stain in your choice of colors
• X-ACTO knife with extra blades
• airtight plastic container for paint
• soft rags for wiping stain and buffing wax
• paintbrushes: 3/4” wide flat brush, approx. 1/4” wide flat brush, small detail brushes
• paints: off-white latex/household emulsion; acrylic colors of your choice to tint the off-white paint
• calcium carbonate (available in small quantities from wine making shops)
• paste wax (I like the American Paint Company brand because it is not harmful to breathe or to work with)

Mixing
Mix 2 parts latex/household emulsion paint and 1 part sifted calcium carbonate into a small, airtight container. Whisk together until the paint is completely smooth (this takes a while).

Add a VERY TINY amount of the acrylic paint to the latex mixture and whisk. Keep adding acrylic paint and mixing until the desired color is achieved. Remember: the paint will dry darker than the color of the wet paint.

Creating samples
Make sample chips using scrap pieces. This is a great time to learn about chalk paint and using it with stain and wax finishes, so don’t skip this step! You may wish to try various combinations of finishes, for example:

• stain, paint, wax
• paint, sand some areas bare, stain bare areas, wax
• paint, wax
• how about stain, paint, gold marker, wax?

Have fun and be creative! Don’t forget to write your recipes on the back of your sample chips!

Applying finishes
When you’ve chosen a look that you like and the color, proceed to sanding your piece and applying the finishes. Sand between each coat of stain/paint.

Finish the piece with several coats of wax, buffing between coats (following instructions on the container). 

Used in the photos 
BLUE CABINET: A tiny amount of green and yellow acrylic paints were mixed into the off-white latex paint (mixed with calcium carbonate) to achieve the color of this cabinet. The cabinet was sanded between coats of paint. Clear and dark wax was applied. Pink Chintz and Blue Chintz Decals and Dish Blanks are available from true2scale.com. Doll by Marcella Cupello, Cutie Mini Dolls.

WHITE CABINET: This cabinet was painted with the off-white latex/household emulsion paint mixed with calcium carbonate, sanded, stained in the bare wood areas with dark walnut, and waxed.

A Retreat into Quarter Scale

I was fortunate to be invited to an annual retreat for miniaturists. Last weekend, thirteen talented ladies gathered in a lovely house in the countryside for four days. We laughed, ate well, and shared our passion for miniatures while working on individual projects.

I took the opportunity to try a 1:48 scale Corner Shop from Petite Properties. Even though I have been hesitant to work in this small scale, I've really enjoyed it so far. I'm using the basic shell pieces that were provided, and creating the rest from bits and pieces of paper and wire. I think it will become a French flower shop. I hope to post more pics of it as it progresses.

The flooring is made from individual pieces of painted paper.

Ceiling of the first floor.

The Stove Reveal

The stove "before" photo.

The stove revamp took a bit longer than I had planned. But I am satisfied with the results. I added feet (pieces that I had salvaged from the laser pointer our kitty played with until she grew too large), painted on a few coats of white and added a couple of "rust" spots. I didn't think that the wire hinges and door pulls were appropriate for the look I wanted, so I pulled them out of the wood. Instead of filling the holes flush and sanding them down nicely to make a good patch, I painted the low spots that I had filled with a bit of black paint. Then I touched up the edges of the black with some brown iron oxide color paint. It worked nicely to simulate a chipped enamel appearance. And... I didn't have to try to make a flawless patch!

My version of a vintage stove.
A little lantern with a red LED light is tucked inside.

I debated over replacing the hardware with something more functional looking. However in the end, I decided that this was going to be a display piece – like on the decorating shows where a young decorator pulls an old stove out of a barn and gives it a new life as a showpiece – in other words, I decided that I could take some liberties. So, I repeated the pattern I had made for the kits on the doors of the stove and added a bit of silver paint to the "trim". A wash of brown iron oxide color paint and water went over the stove top, paper, and silver trim pieces.

I'm so looking forward to cleaning up the mess I made with this project and getting back to an organized house. And now for the big reveal... the kitchen table!

The new Valentine's Day kits may be found on my website and in my Etsy shop.

Inkjet printing on Aluminum and More

Here is a good tutorial for inkjet printing on aluminum. The writer suggests using inkAID to prepare the surface for printing. Apparently this product can be used on many different substrates - papers, fabrics and more - to prepare the surfaces for inkjet printing. Has anyone tried this product?

Glazes and Other Finishes

In my previous post about the putz village, I mentioned a "lacquer" that I had heard about. The product creates a ceramic appearance to whatever it is applied to. I couldn't recall the name, so I had to do a bit of research and came up with Triple Thick brush-on gloss glaze. I'll post my findings after I get around to making the next village.

What kinds of glazes, paints, varnishes, etc. have you found useful in achieving the "right look" for your mini projects?