How to Paint Anything to Look Like Concrete

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit with that title. I mean, don’t paint your dog to look like concrete or something crazy. Ha!

Buuuut if you have a bunch of decor items lying around that maybe could use a modern refresh or just a fun craft idea that is simple to do (because this girl right here is so not crafty), I’ve discovered my new favorite thing, concrete craft paint.

The other week I found these simple ceramic magnolia figurines at the thrift store for a dollar each, and I just couldn’t leave them because hellooooo, magnolias! (Joanna Gaines, it’s all your fault.)

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They were chipped and dusty but I wondered how cute they would look as concrete statuettes. I love finding little accent pieces like these to put on top of book stacks or on a tray or wherever a small something pretty could fit in as a finishing touch.

And then I found this craft paint kit for creating a textured concrete effect. I really wasn’t going to post about this one, but sometimes the quick and simple projects are my favorite. And you could use this stuff on soooo many things you typically find at the thrift store.

Supplies Used:

• Medium sized craft brush
• FolkArt Painted Finishes Concrete Set
• Plastic drop cloth or a rag to protect your surface

It was literally just 2 steps. (Former English teacher me takes the word “literally” very seriously, just so you know.)

1. Using a medium sized craft brush, paint your piece all over with the light colored paint first in a dabbing motion. The paint has this gritty consistency to make it have texture.

2. While the light paint color is still wet, dab on the dark paint color in places where you want more depth or just randomly dab to subtly blend for an uneven concrete look.

Done!

There are so many ceramic and metal accents I see all the time at the thrift store that could look totally new and different using this stuff. So I thought I’d pass it along, if you’re like me and love concrete everything.

I ended up putting one of these little guys on our foyer chest where I’ve been working almost all weekend to hang our gallery wall. And we finally have some progress in the dining room I’ll be sharing tomorrow! Woo to the hoo! (And the outside of our house is halfway finished with the limewashed brick. I can’t even stand how amazing it’s going to look.) Big things are a-comin’.

Until then, friends!