Have you ever found the perfect accent pieces for your home, but wished there was an easy way to make them feel more like "you"? That happens to me all the time! I used to pass pieces up because they didn't fit with my home decor.

That was before I found Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint! 

Since I was introduced to Dixie Belle products I have turned many thrift store finds into one of a kind pieces that suit my personality and my home!

And now Dixie Belle has made it even EASIER with the release of their Silk line. 

Dixie Belle Silk All-In-One Chalk Mineral paint is a three layer product. With Silk you get your base coat, paint, AND top coat all in one!

This eliminates the need to use a primer before you paint, and a top coat to seal your beautiful handy work!

How To Paint Using Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint

Find The Right Color For Your Project

I found a pair of cute side tables at a thrift store, and loved them immediately. However, after getting them home I quickly realized they just didn't have enough personality for me. 

My home decor tends to follow a mid-century modern theme, and these end tables were just a little too drab for that era. So I thought to myself, "How can I spruce these up a bit and make them more fun?"

I browsed Dixie Belle's Silk color palette to see if anything jumped out at me. Immediately their color Tide Pool caught my eye. With it's minty hue, it was just perfect for making these side tables fit in with my mid-century furniture.

Prepping Pieces to Paint

Because my side tables had a glossy finish on them, I gave them each a light sanding by hand using 80-grit sand paper. This was just to roughen up the surface and help the paint stick a little better. 

Before I remembered that Silk does not require a primer, I covered one of my side tables with Dixie Belle Slick Stick. Doing this didn't mess up the process, it just provided an extra layer of foundation for the paint to adhere to. I decided that I would paint the other piece without using the Slick Stick to see if it made a huge difference. 

As far as adherence, Slick Stick was not necessary. Both pieces I painted held the paint wonderfully. I will say, however, the Silk did seem to spread more evenly on the piece with Slick Stick than the piece without. 

Let The Painting Begin!

A friend of mine who is a Dixie Belle Paint expert advised me to use thicker coats while using Silk than I do with the regular Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk Paint. She also recommended that I used the Dixie Belle Scarlet Brush for great coverage. And she was right!

I love how smoothly Silk glides on, making it easy to use; and quick, too!

Because one of the tables had a coat of Slick Stick, I only used one coat of Silk on that one, and two coats on the other. 

After I covered both side tables in Tide Pool, I felt like something was missing. I remembered that I had some leftover Dixie Belle Lemonade from a previous project and decided to use that for the inset on the doors and sides of the tables. 

What NOT To Do When Painting

If you learn anything from this blog post, let this little piece of advice stick in your mind. DO NOT PAINT FURNITURE WITH A CAT IN THE SAME ROOM! My furry friend Kash just couldn't resist the beauty of the Tide Pool, and he jumped right on top of my wet paint! The great thing about Dixie Belle, though, is that it's so easy to fix mishaps like this!

I simply waited for the paint to dry (it was already drying and I didn't want to smear it), then I did a quick sanding of that spot, and repainted with another coat. Simple fix!

The Finished Product

After two coats of paint on one table, and one coat of slick stick plus one coat of paint on the other table, I was thrilled with the finished product! The side tables are a bright, fun addition to my home without being in-your-face colorful.

 

 

Time Will Tell

I will be watching how the top coat in the Silk line compares to other products. Normally I would do at least one coat of Dixie Belle Clear Coat to protect my furniture, but I really want to test out the durability of the Silk line and see how well it holds up. I will update down the road and let you know!

Thank you for coming along on this painting journey with me! I hope you found it useful