Colouring-in is not just for children anymore as chalk paint has changed the way crafters do, well, everything! Nadine Vosloo, the brains behind Tjhoko Paint in Randfontein, shares a few easy DIY projects you can try at home this holiday.
She is very creative and also a people person, says the vibrant Nadine. She combined her love of the two and came up with Tjhoko Paint – a proudly South African chalk paint with its own story.
‘I’ve always been creative but I have come a long way to be where I am today. I used to be an interior designer before I studied psychology to understand my husband better. That didn’t work, haha … so I tried being a stay-at-home mom and later ended up in the education sector where I got to use my creativity a lot in the classroom. When the opportunity to start Tjhoko Paint crossed my path, I found my true calling.’
The product is like a child to her. She even calls herself Mama Tjhoko, although her official job title is Creative Director. When she’s not busy with a project or coming up with new
creative concepts, she spends time with her husband, two teenagers, and three dogs.
The 39-year-old Nadine gets excited easily over small things and says that her friends would describe her as being grateful and positive.
‘Inspiring yourself is very important. If everything around you is beautiful, even the worst days can be better and brighter. Painting is one of my hobbies and I like to relax by creating a masterpiece on a canvas. I really love what I do and I will never get tired of it. There have been so many highlights in my career but my proudest moment was when I realised that Tjhoko makes a difference in people’s lives. ’
Tjhoko Paint has been manufactured by Paint Master since 2017, and what makes it different is that it can be used on almost any surface, it’s safe for children and pets, and you only have to seal the product when used in the bathroom, kitchen and outdoors. What makes Tjhoko even more special is that it’s packaged by hand, and because every employee is unique and makes such a big contribution to the company, each one has a colour named after him or her.
‘Tjhoko originated from a vision to establish a job-creation programme as well as an empowerment programme. Our story is one of success, starting with a team of two in 2017 and building it up to be an immaculate business with 300 distributors in South Africa and even as far as Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.’
Their product and projects have been featured in Via!, kykNET, Home Channel as well as Home and Ideas magazines.
‘I attribute our success to involving everyone actively. It’s a family business. My husband, my brother and his wife, and my other sister-in-law are all part of the team. Those who aren’t family are very close friends.’
She is extremely excited about the future. Tjhoko will be launching three new colours as well as a texture paint, wallpaper, and a material range.
‘We will be doing a step-by-step makeover of a property in the North West on our YouTube channel in 2020. We want to show how different spaces can be transformed upward with a bit of paint, we want to inspire people and send the message that you can do a lot with very little money. In between everything, I’m also writing a book about the people behind the names of our colours.’
Details: 011 708 3166 or follow her on Facebook, ‘Tjhoko Paint’
Text: JACO-MARI HAASBROEK. Image: HANNERI DE WET.
Tips for using chalk paint for the first time:
• Trust yourself and don’t be scared to try something. We are all creative and we just need a bit of inspiration.
• Play with colours – go bright and bold.
• Make sure the surface is clean and oil-free before you start to paint. Thinners does the job every time.
• Make sure you use a good-quality brush that doesn’t lose any hairs while you paint.
• There is little to no prepping necessary. Chalk paint sticks to just about any surface without any problems.
• Chalk paint gives a very rustic feel and that means that you don’t have to be a pro to use it. You don’t have to worry about getting even layers of paint or the perfect technique if you’re
a beginner.
• You can distress any piece of furniture with light sanding.
• Create a two-tone distressed look by painting two colours over each other, followed by sanding the top layer.
• Use wax to seal the product
if necessary, or just to
create texture.
• You can use chalk paint on just about everything, including exterior walls, garden furniture, metal, concrete, matte plastic, terracotta, indoor walls, wooden floors, tiles, wood furniture and couches (yes, you can paint on damp material with chalk paint!).
• You can paint one piece of furniture or focus wall, or you can transform an entire room with chalk paint.
• Start with something old, cheap and insignificant – don’t start with a set of drawers that has been in your family for generations. Take it easy and start off with something simple until you feel confident enough to move onto more significant pieces of furniture.
• Stencilling can be tricky, so
don’t use this technique on your first try.
Projects to try at home this holiday
Chalk-painting your picnic theme
You will need:
tree rounds (stepping stones), available at nurseries; a stencil in the design of your choice; Stencil of Paris; paint scraper (50mm wide); Tjhoko Paint (Jane’s Jade, Simon Says and Cloud White); paintbrush (50mm wide); Antique Brown Glaze; mutton cloth the size of a tea towel
Method:
Place the stencil on top of the tree round. Apply some of the Stencil of Paris evenly over the stencil with the paint scraper.
Remove the stencil while the paste is still wet (take care not to smudge the paste) and rinse the stencil with water.
Wait about two hours for the Stencil of Paris to dry completely, then paint it with the Tjhoko Paint colour of your choice. We painted some of the tree rounds with Jane’s Jade and others with Simon Says.
Allow at least four hours to dry.
Stir the Antique Brown Glaze well and pour 100ml into another container; dilute with 30ml water. Carefully apply the glaze over the paint with a paintbrush.
Wipe off with a damp cloth immediately until you’re satisfied with the weathered effect.
Wait about 30 minutes, then apply Cloud White paint over the Antique Brown Glaze. Use a dry brush (wet just the tip of the brush with a tiny bit of paint) to brush lightly over the glaze.
As seen in Tuis/ Home. Photos by ER Lombard.
Transform your kitchen
You will need:
Tjhoko Paint (Sherif’s Stone, Olivia’s Pale), Glaze Clear; sponge roller (160mm); embellishments; Alcolin Super Glue; paintbrush (50mm wide); artist’s brush; damp cloth; wax.
Method:
Clean the cabinets with a rag dipped in paint thinners and allow to dry completely – wait at least 20 minutes.
Mask off any sections you don’t want to paint.
Apply the base colour paint with a sponge roller, making sure the paint is evenly distributed; wait another 20 minutes before applying the second coat.
Paint the embellishments you wish to apply in the same colour; allow them to dry completely and then position them using Alcolin Super Glue.
Wait for the glue to dry and apply an accent colour to small sections of the embellishments with an artist’s brush. Using a damp cloth, wipe with circular movements over the painted areas to blend the paint on the embellishment with that of the cupboard door.
Wait about four hours after you’ve painted before sealing the cupboard with wax.
As seen in Tuis/ Home. Photos by ER Lombard.
Chalk-painting your inspirational sapce
Jazzing up a room is as easy as one, two, three! By adding a bit of colour to a wall or making your own rustic furniture, you can transform any area into an inspiration space.
The wall:
Paint the wall using Simon Says, a stimulating mustard-yellow colour.
Drawers for shelves:
Paint each drawer a different colour (Nade, Karema, Cloud White, True Blue, Sherif’s Stone); Stencil patterns on drawers using Stencil of Paris (it can be painted over when it’s dry); Create a ‘distressed’ look for the drawers by painting them in Cloud White and sanding them.
Table:
Use an old door as a tabletop.
Paint the door using Simon Says and True Blue; Afterward, lightly sand it to allow the yellow to show through here and there, and to create a weathered effect; Use two old crates to support the tabletop; Whitewash the crates with a mixture of equal amounts of Antique Brown Glaze and Vinia Stone rubbed on with a damp cloth.
Chair:
Make a seat from an old petrol drum by cutting it in half, adding wheels and painting the drum in Karema; Cover a cushion in a natural, woven, cream-coloured fabric and paint it with Nade, True Blue, and Karema, creating the stripes with masking tape.
Lighting:
Convert a few baskets into lampshades and paint them different shades of blues.
As seen in Idees/Ideas. Photo’s by Hanneri de Wet.
Bathroom revamp
You will need:
Tjhoko Paint (Lorain’s Cream, Coral Stone, Cloud White, Comfort’s Blue, Elvis Mix; masking tape; stencil paint roller; paintbrush (50mm wide); Stencil of Paris; paint scraper.
Method:
Paint the wall with the base colour (Lorain’s Cream). Apply two coats of paint; wait for the first layer to dry completely before applying the second layer (about 30–40 minutes between coats). Then leave overnight before doing the stenciling, as the masking tape used for keeping the stencils in place might pull off the fresh paint.
Paint the squares with your first stencil – the stencil has square cut-outs that create the tile effect. Position the stencil with masking tape. Using a sponge roller, paint the squares with the Coral Stone. The roller must not be dripping wet, and the paint must be spread evenly over the roller.
When the squares are dry, take a dry 50mm paintbrush or a stencil brush and apply a dry-brush technique in Cloud White to each alternate square. Wait until dry, then remove the stencil. Repeat across the entire wall until every alternate square is painted a lighter background colour.
Position the patterned stencil with masking tape on the exact spot where the ‘squares’ stencil was placed.
Tip: Make small pencil marks at the end of step 2 so that you know where the second stencil must be placed.
Using a stencil brush, apply Comfort’s Blue to each alternate square (those with the Cloud White background).
Mix 5ml Elvis Mix with a pot of Stencil of Paris. This paint will tint the Stencil of Paris to a soft beige.
Using a paint scraper, spread the Stencil of Paris evenly over all the open squares painted with Coral Stone in step 1. Lift the stencil carefully from left to right after each application.
Make sure the stencil is clean before repeating the pattern (rinse it in lukewarm water and dry well) across the entire wall. The Stencil of Paris takes 2–3 hours to dry completely.
WIN! You could be the lucky winner of a hamper of Tjhoko Paint’s three new colours in 500ml quantity. Simply fill in the form below to enter. Closing date: 15 December.
Tjhoko Paint competition
The winner will be notified via email. The prize can only be collected at our office in Roodepoort.
