Something entirely different….my chalk paint experiment

 

We are in the process of revamping our living room.

New furniture.  Check

New paint.  Check

Money for accessories.  Um, not so much.  🙂

Our new wall color is Sherwin Williams Requisite Gray.  It’s a fabulous warm gray that goes with almost everything…EXCEPT all of the decor items that I already have.  Since I’m cheap frugal, I’m going to do my best to find a way to make what I have work for the least amount of money possible.

Here begins my experiment.  I’ve read lots and lots of posts about making your own chalk paint and since I have TONS of paint testers I decided to give it a go.  I went with the Plaster of Paris option.

• 3 parts paint
• 1 part Plaster of Paris
• water

 

This little guy volunteered to be my guinea pig.  Isn’t he a cutie?  I so hated to experiment with him but if I didn’t give him a makeover I would have had to give him away.  😦  So I took a chance.

 

Now, I have to say I’ve never used Annie Sloan paint so I have no way to compare my concoction to the real thing.  I can say that it was truly one coat coverage even though I was going over a much darker color.  It also provided the rustic, aged look I wanted after I did a little sanding on his wings and tail.

I’m very, very happy with the result….and ecstatic that my little birdie can stay in the living room. 🙂

Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting…RECIPE!

 

I’m a bit overdue posting the recipe.  🙂  We spent most of yesterday recuperating from Easter.

Believe me, though, it’s worth the wait.

First of all, for the cupcakes I used this recipe from Dishing the Divine:

http://www.dishingthedivine.com/2011/08/09/insanely-moist-and-decadent-chocolate-cupcakes-with-delicious-chocolate-icing/

This is my go to chocolate cupcake recipe.  To say these are insanely moist is certainly no overstatement….very delicate but rich at the same time.  Plus, these have turned out perfectly every time and I’ve probably baked them at least 20 times. 🙂

I used this frosting from Cooking Classy:

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/02/chocolate-cupcakes-with-salted-caramel-frosting/

A few notes on the frosting:

• When making the caramel sauce I found that waiting until the sugar mixture is dark amber was a bit too much for me.  I think next time I will stop at golden. :)’
• I did need to add a bit of milk when incorporating the powdered sugar.  Had I added the sugar more gradually I probably wouldn’t have had this problem…bit impatient of me. 😉

I am quite sure the cupcake recipe from Cooking Classy is fabulous as well…I’m just a bit in love with the one above.

Happy baking!!!