9 of 10: Orange bench

Michaels sells a couple brands of chalk paint, so I decided to give them a try to see how they stack up against the Annie Sloan stuff. I took a little unfinished wooden bench that we've had forever and gave it one red coat followed by two burnt orange coats.

The paint went on easily and dried quickly. I can't report much difference between brands. I did use my Annie Sloan soft wax to seal it, and wow, what a difference that makes to the richness of the color.

I'm starting to wonder if you can get good results with any paint at all, as long as you seal it with the magic wax.

The detail shot above makes it look much more yellow, but in real life, it's orange. The Texas Longhorns fans that live with me are impressed. Theo is too young to know team colors, but he thinks it's a good place for stuffed animals to sit.