Chalk Painting A Fabric Mat

 

Nothing against gold.  I know it's up and coming but the velvet mat on my flowers was why this framed piece has been sitting in my closet for years.

For Christmas but brother in law got me a box of chalk paint by Folk Art.  I've always been intrigued by chalk paint but I haven't had a lot of experience with it.  Since this frame I have also painted my daughter's desk with a home made chalk paint and finished it off with wax.  It looks amazing and I will share it with you soon.

Accompanying my box o' paint was an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint DIY book where she shows photos of fabric chairs that have been painted.  I imagine them to be a bit stiff but they sure look a whole lot better then the before pictures.  Reading about painting the fabric inspired me to try to up cycle this frame.

Instructions suggest watering down the paint in a separate container before painting fabric.  I skipped this step and instead sprayed the velvet with water.  This way I could paint the frame and the velvet at the same time, with the paint watering down on it's own as it was applied to the fabric.

The process was very simple and I could tell I was going to be pleased with the results.

In addition to a velvet mat, this frame has strips of wood that border the glass.  I decided to paint these in a contrasting white.

Close up you can see some varying tones in the velvet.  I could have chosen to do another coat of the water and green chalk paint but I found this look to be appealing as it was well balanced across the whole mat.

Before:

 After:

Stay tuned for photos and a tutorial of the chalk painted desk in my daughter's room!