DIY Chalk Paint Recipe & How To Tint It

Want to make your own chalk paint? I have an easy chalk paint recipe that uses just two ingredients!

DIY Chalk Paint Recipe:

You’ll need plaster of paris and water. Of course you’ll also need paint!

My rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of water & 1 tablespoon of Plaster of Paris to one cup of paint.

I personally love picking up the small “sample” size paints at Home Depot because they seem to be the perfect size for my projects. I always look for the “oops” paints at only $.50 cents each! When I can’t find the color I am looking for, I make my own! More on that below.

First thing is to take the plaster of paris and dissolve it in the water. It is very important that you do this first before adding it to the paint or else your paint will curdle. Take about 60 seconds of swift stirring to ensure that the plaster of paris has dissolved.

Next, stir it into the paint for about 30 seconds and then you are done!

You may be asking, why tint it when Home Depot will tint it for free? Well the key here is I only want enough for each project I am doing. For example, if I am painting one mason jar a light pink color, and others another color, I don’t need a whole thing of paint that is pink. Instead since these are about $3, I buy one and split it up into different containers to make different colors. Also, you can get that exact color you want! It’s easy and economical I promise, stay with me.

What you’ll need to create your tinted chalk paint:

Rit Dye
Pure white paint (with chalk mixture already in it)

How to create tinted paint:

Separate the white paint into the containers you want to store them in. You can keep them in the original jar but it may be hard to stir if it’s full.
For a lighter color, add a few drops of the dye. For a deeper color, add more drops of the dye.
Stir or about 30 seconds and you are done!

The color does not seem to rub off! I used red to create the following colors: