Have you ever wanted to try dark wax but can't find it anywhere? Or you just can't see paying a ton of money for it? Well that was me. So I researched to see if you could make your own. Indeed you can! I found a great video tutorial on tinting wax on YouTube.
So I gathered my supplies, Minwax Paste Finishing Wax and Rust-Oleum wood stain in a very dark color called Kona. I scooped out a bit of wax, as shown in the video tutorial, and melted it down on the stove on medium heat. Remember to add a bit of water in the pot.
Once the wax is melted remove from heat. I added 2 Tbs of wood stain to the wax and stirred thoroughly. Let it sit until it hardens once again. You're done! You can add a little less or a little more stain, depending on how dark you want your wax. I've also read you can use a black oil based paint to tint your wax as well. Just be sure to use oil based products. I used my dark wax on a nightstand to age it. Below you can see before and after applying dark wax. Check out how beautiful the nightstand came out here!
I keep my dark wax stored in a mini mason jar. I can't wait to use it again on another project! *UPDATED TIP: After months of storage I found my wax to be very hard and almost impossible to work with. I thought all was lost until I tried this...Scoop out a dollop of your dark wax and a dollop of soft clear wax (I used my SC Johnson paste wax). Smash it together and mix really well. It will blend together nicely and your dark wax will be just as smooth as it was originally. I was so glad this worked for my Faux Fireplace project!
To start off, this nightstand was the first piece of furniture specifically redesigned for someone else. All my other furniture pieces have been for my home. Melanie, my good friend and colleague saw the post I did on my daughter's nightstand and said "I want one too!" How honored I felt that someone would request a furniture piece redesigned for them! So the search began for the perfect small chest to turn into a nightstand with shelves. This is what we found :) Perfect right?
We discussed her style and wants; dark top, light colored bottom, loves the distressed look and 2 bottom shelves. She pretty much gave me free reign over her piece and said have at it! What trust!! I thought long and hard about what to do...the pressure was on. I decided to attempt a couple things I haven't done before. Apparently I like a challenge. My husband could not understand why on earth I'd attempt new techniques on someone else's furniture. Well, that's easy. If I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't :)
Well most of us know there is a craze about chalk paint. I really wanted to try this out as well. For those that don't know, chalk paint is very different from "chalkboard paint". Do not confuse the two. Chalk paint is supposed to be very versatile, no priming or sanding is required and can be used on almost any surface. It has a nice velvety matte finish that you can add a soft wax to for protection and durability. The original Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is quite expensive and I'm sure it's worth it. I've personally never tried it since it costs over $30 for just a quart. So, like many other budget friendly folks, I decided to make my own! There are many tutorials on Pinterest or Google for how to make your own chalk paint. Some recipes differ. I chose to make mine as described on the Lowes website. What you'll need:
1) Measuring cup 2) 1/3 cup Plaster of Paris 3) 1/3 cup water (some say warm, some say cool) I used cool 4) 1 cup latex paint 5) Stir stick or something cool like a plastic knife leftover from a Frozen party :) I read many tutorials on how to make chalk paint. Most seemed to use Plaster of Paris, which I already had so I went that route. The sample paint at Lowes is exactly a cup so perfect for small projects like this! Mix 1/3 cup of Plaster of Paris and 1/3 cup of water. Stir until smooth. Mix in 1 cup of latex paint and stir thoroughly.
