~Melbourne~

~I have just returned from 6 wonderful days spent in Melbourne getting to know my birth family. It is a scary and somewhat overwhelming experience travelling to another state to pretty much stay with strangers and hope that you click....but def worth the risk...if it didnt work then I would have returned home , put it down to experience, and had no regrets.
     The trip was one I will remember for a lifetime.......I am very, very lucky to have the most amazing bunch of people to call my brothers and sisters.  They showed me more love in those 6 days than I have ever had in a lifetime.    I stayed with one of my brothers and his beautiful family, and my sister in law is one in a million.  She instantly made me feel at home and part of the family.   I even got to meet extended family at a birthday party and was treated to some wonderful entertaining family stories.
     All my life I never felt like I belonged anywhere....I always felt out of sync with everyone around me....never making friends easily...always the loner...always alone.  But spending those 6 days changed everything.......I finally FIT somewhere....and that is the best feeling in the whole world.  No words can describe the happinest I feel inside... a sense of belonging.....a sense of family.
     Leaving them to fly home, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life.  I never wanted it to end.
     Luckily with all the technology available to us these days ...keeping in touch will never be a problem....and while its not the same as a face to face ...it is def better than nothing~

~Homemade Chalk Paint...& a Pair of Louvre Doors~

~Louvre doors...who thought they would be so hard to find.....I had decided I needed some to make a freestanding divider, photo backdrop etc........when I finally found a pair ......unfortunately they came attatched too, a rather seen better days kind of cupboard.  So in order to get the doors I had to buy this huge cupboard as well.....but a quick stop to hubby's work on the way home soon fixed that.......what I didnt realise that inside the cupboard was a nice little set of free standing drawers......bonus!....def explains the weight...and no I didnt think to look inside ...all I saw were louvres....pretty sure I sometimes suffer from tunnel vision.    Next step was colour choice and I have gone for a grey blue by Dulux called Sky Bus Quater which I will be using as the base for my Chalk paint.   I have made quite a few different mixes of chalk paint over time and the mixture I prefer is made using Calcium Carbonate.  Plaster of Paris tends to get thick fairly quick....I find some of the grouts a bit gritty....and Calcium Carbonate is a fine powder that mixes lovely and smooth.~ (apparently it can even be used in spray guns so I have been told)~

I am going to let you in on a secret that makers and sellers of chalk based paints don't want you to know.  Calcium carbonate is the secret ingredient in alot of very expensive chalk paints.  By using this mineral which by the way is very very cheap to buy you can mix and make your own chalk paint in whatever colour you want (No longer limited to only a dozen or so colours)


Now as to where to buy the powder.......yes its on ebay......at some very inflated prices......but is is also readily available from  Fodder stores for a fraction of the cost.  It is a mineral that is used for animals as well as gardening.  Fodder stores are great as they buy in bulk so you only have to buy what you need (usually by the kilo) and for less than a few dollars per kilo it is great value.
Here is the recipe I use:

DIY CHALK PAINT RECIPE

2 Tablespoons of Calcium Carbonate Powder
1 Tablespoon of water
Mix together to form a smooth paste before adding to 
1 cup low sheen water based paint 
                                    Stir well before use.                                 


To make a litre of Chalk Paint:
8 Tablespoons Of Calcium Carbonate Powder
4 Tablespoons of Water
Mix as above and store in an airtight container between using making sure to stir well before use.

☆.¨´¸☆¨¸.¸.☆¨

As with all chalk paints....
you will still need to finish your piece with a soft wax for durability.

~Before~