DIY Chalk Paint Dresser Makeover

I'm heading back to work this week and my mom and I are trying to make the most of the time we have left. I've wanted to paint the dresser in our bedroom since the day we bought it (5 or so years ago), but I've never made a decision and actually done anything about it. Until yesterday ;)

My mom has a home decor business (Prairie Rain Designs - go check it out and come back. I don't mind) and uses chalk paint all the time. She loves it and I would buy it, but since I'm not doing this professionally just yet and I need to start paying for childcare soon, $40 a quart just isn't happening. I did some googling and found this post with some recipe suggestions. It was worth a shot, right?  

I buckled down and spent a good half hour looking at painted dressers on the internet trying to make a decision about the color.  

Since I already had a ton of paint I've scavenged from the local Household Hazardous Waste Facility including the color I finally decided on we only needed to buy some plaster of Paris. (You really should check out your county's HHWF if you haven't already. You'll be amazed what you can get for free there). We went with a 2/3 paint, 1/3 plaster of Paris mix.  It worked out beautifully.

Here's the before. There was nothing really wrong with it. It was just a little beat up and a little boring.

After we finished painting and my mom distressed it I used a coffee stain to further age it. I forgot to take pictures in between so you'll just have to trust me about how much it improved the look.