Anyway, back to chalk paints. Here are the rest I tested in no particular order:
1. Soft Matte Fabric Paint by Tulip
I really wanted to like this paint. It comes in a variety of colors and is affordable if you don't need a lot of paint ( $1.79 for a 1 fl oz bottle). It is a fabric paint and whether that makes a difference for paper uses, I don't know. I tested the color periwinkle. Unfortunately, when I created a swatch, the coverage was a little thin and when the swatch dried it was matte but had a slight sheen. There is nothing wrong with this but since I was looking for a true matte finish, I was a little disappointed. It goes on smoothly and is pretty when applied, but not the best choice for me as a chalk paint for paper.
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The Tulip swatch is on the left. The photo is not great but you can see the black paper showing through the paint and the slight sheen in parts of it. |
2. Folk Art Home Depot Chalk
This is a matte acrylic paint that appears to be marketed for furniture painting and other crafty projects. The coverage is a little thin. In the photo it is the paint swatch on the lower right and you can see the black paper showing through slightly. However, it dried to a nice soft truly matte finish. The color I tested was "lilac" and it is a beautiful soft dusky purple with a tint of rose. The paints are sold for $7.99 for an 8 oz jar and are at Joanns and AC Moore and probably other craft retailers as well.
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The Folk Art Chalk Home Decor paint is on the lower right. |
3. Buttercream Luxe Craft Chalk Paint- Matte Finish
This is a new craft paint line and is being sold at Joann's. It is marketed for home decor products and the product line also included stencils, wood-carved stamps, home decor items, embellishments, fabric and miscellaneous doo-dads.
The color i test is "Lavender Fields", which is a nice soft lavender purple color. I don't really understand the "why" behind the buttercream line, but I like this paint. It goes on smoothly, without streaking and gets good coverage. With one coat, there is very little peek-through from the black paper. The paint dries to a nice, smooth matte finish, with no sheen. The color dries to the barest purple, with rose undertones. It is likely that with more than one coat ( and over a white surface), the purple color will deepen in intensity.
Here is the official color swatch from Joann.com:
Here is my swatch. The buttercream paint is the swatch in the middle on the right.:
The paint is retailing for $8.99 for a 8 oz jar at Joann. I think the price is a little steep but it is good paint with good one coat coverage, which means you will need to use less of it, so it could be worth it.
I have some other paints to report on so will post again on this topic and include my final findings.
Thanks for reading!