Haunted Ghost, Dragon's Desk

As if I don't embarrass my kids enough with my treasure hunting antics, today I had to step it up a notch and score a treasure right outside Rat's school. He was a pretty good sport and only grumbled under his breath as I slyly pulled up to the curb directly across from the park where all the kids congregate. I nonchalantly got out of my van and circled the cutest little school desk you ever did see. Okay, well maybe it isn't the cutest school desk yet, but I could see it in my head; bright new paint and a chalk board top! Perfect for my four year old to learn his letters! Currently, it is a little crooked and cracked and just a tad rusty, but I was inspired. Well, once I saw it up close I knew I had to have it.

I started to pick it up and realized it was really darn heavy for such a cute little thing. I started to drag it but soon realized that wasn't going to work either. All this pulling and dragging was weighing on Rat and he started getting antsy. Sooner or later people were gonna notice his mom wrestling with this desk. Dragon loves a good treasure hunt and often points things out for me on our travels. There was no way he was letting this go. I quickly sent NoFace a text and begged him to grab the desk on his way home from work. He may moan and groan a little about our lack of space and the other projects I have underway, but he always comes through. Fingers crossed we waited until he got home! Sure enough he had some how wrangled the cute and heavy, little desk into his sedan!

Now for the fun part. I mentioned my 4 year old is my treasure hunting partner in crime. He loves spotting treasure and helping me select paint colors. His color of choice is always blue. Blue is nice, blue is great, people love blue, but for some reason it's just not my jam. I love teal, and aqua, and all those green blues but true blue I tend to shy away from. Maybe it is because I am surround by boys and all the blueness that goes along with them. Although Rat loves red which I also struggle with. However, this desk was all for Dragon and of course he wanted it BLUE and he wanted to name it “Haunted Ghost.” Alright, little buddy, this ones for you!

Haunted Ghost's seat was pretty messed up. The veneer was cracked and peeling. I placed a wet washcloth over the top of it to loosen it up. Then I peeled it away. I had to use the pliers to get a few pieces out but it turned out pretty well.'

Next I filled in a few cracks with wood filler. I wasn't too concerned with filling every crack. This desk is never going to look new so I am embracing it's character. I let the wood filler dry and then sanded it with sand paper until pretty smooth. Dragon helped me wipe it down and we were ready to paint.

I decided to try homemade chalk paint on this one! This desk is made of three different materials. The seat is wood, the base it metal, and the actual desk top is laminated. I need a paint that would stick to anything and chalk paint pretty much does that. I found the recipe for this paint on the Lowes website. It is 1/3 of a cup of Plaster of Paris, 1/3 cup water. Mix and then pour in a cup of paint. Stir and paint! Well, first I needed to pick the perfect shade of blue!

This website offers Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color matches to Behr paint. Annie Sloan is the creator of chalk paint. I have actually never used it and I can't find it around here, but I am trusting that she has some pretty paint colors. I selected Velvet Rope which is supposed to match up to Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue. I also selected a few other blue paint chips to give Dragon a choice. I randomly handed him the paint chips and he immediately selected Velvet Rope. This is where Dragon and I differ. I take hours, days, weeks to make decisions. Dragon knows immediately. I really respect his trust in himself. We had Home Depot mix up a sample pot of Velvet Rope and I purchased a box of Plaster of Paris and we were set.

Dragon was so excited to help paint his desk! Thankfully, he didn't want to do too much and I was able to smooth out some of the brush strokes. I forgot how thick chalk paint is and how well it covers. I was actually hoping for more of a distressed look with some of the original finishes showing through. Oops. That did not happen.

I ended up with a blue desk and NO CHARACTER. A part of me wanted to cry. I tried distressing the edges with sand paper but it looked awful. NoFace suggested adding another color. Dragon wanted more blue. Back to home depot I went. I selected a lighter shade of blue called Snowboard and I painted that on the seat and seat back.

Yuck! It looks okay, but this color scheme was just not working for me. Dragon loved it but I just could not see this desk in my living room or kitchen which is probably where it will end up. I went back to Home Depot and spotted a cream color in their mis-tint section for 50 cents. BOOM. It was meant to be. I scooped that up and turned it into chalk paint and painted away.

The cream paint was the perfect addition to the blue paint. I added two thin stripes and a stencil. The stencil smeared and I had to repaint part of the blue. I gave up with the stencil because I think the desk looks pretty cute the way it is.

Next, I used FolkArt clear wax to seal it. I really wish I had used a tough coat or poly to seal it. I'm not sure how the wax will hold up to three boys crawling all over it. I will let you know.

My original plan was to make the desk top a chalk board. I had read online that you can actually use chalk paint to make a chalk board. It works! Instead of waxing the desk top I just ran a piece of chalk length wise over the entire top and then erased it. It is now functioning as a chalk board. I think I should have waited a week or so to let the paint cure before allowing the boys to use it, but I didn't. The paint is scratched on the top already. I might touch it up and try again or I might not. =)

A note regarding the DIY chalk paint. The blue color mixed up really smoothly and covered really well. The lighter colors were a bit gritty when mixed. I am thinking I didn't mix the Plaster of Paris and water enough before adding the paint. The coverage was amazing. It was really neat to have so many colors to choose from. I will definitely use it again.