Move Mountains In Your Home
About three years ago, I walked into my local paint store and noticed a display for a bright green painter's tape - Frog Tape. I trust my guys at the paint store, so I asked, "Does this stuff really work?" I have never been a fan of painter's tape. I always, ALWAYS had problems with bleeding and finally decided to just trust my own steady hand. I was about to work on a custom piece for a client … [Read more...]
I get a lot of questions about wax and other topcoats. A furniture makeover happens peacefully until the polycrylic looks streaky or the wax is blotchy and won't dry or the poly is yellowing. If you've been there, you know that agony of spending hours on a piece only to have to sand it and start over after a topcoat gone wrong. After a few years of painting professionally, I've learned that … [Read more...]
As I shared in my post yesterday, I've been feeling drained lately. I usually feel that way after any big creative endeavor. I'm always toast after the Lucketts Antique Market, the Christmas Open House left me in a creative coma for a couple of days and I'm usually useless after I finish a large round of freelance projects. I was in serious need of a creative jolt today, so I decided to … [Read more...]
I'm often asked how I grew my blog to where it is today and, while I can throw out some tips and ideas and things I *think* contributed to the growth, I haven't been able to come up with one concise answer. Well, I was inspired last night and now I have that answer. We have a weekly movie night with our boys. My husband and I pick a movie they haven't seen and we snuggle on the couch, eating … [Read more...]
The winner of the nest painting is Debbie Thompson, who said she would decorate her entire master bedroom around it (that's what I did with mine!) Enjoy the gorgeous painting. Thanks so much to Laura for offering it up as a giveaway. If you'd like to purchase a painting from Laura, you can contact her through her Etsy shop. After my whirlwind trip to New York City, there is so much … [Read more...]
Believe it or not, my very first blog was started in WordPress. Had I just stayed there, I would've saved myself a lot of trouble, but I think it was a good thing for me at the time. I was on WordPress and felt pretty alone. I didn't understand how to plug into the blog community and get my blog "out there." I was writing to myself and my mom and we both already knew what I was … [Read more...]
Thanks so much to everyone for suggesting I do something special with the WWI mail pouch I found at a yard sale last weekend. I called the National WWI Museum to see if they would be interested and they're going to get back to me. My mom then sent me a link with information about an Albert Lufkin Crombie from Beverly, Mass. The dates worked with the dates on the bag and the first … [Read more...]
AKA...when the husband/wife/significant other/roomie says, "No."I get a lot of labor intensive, kinda crazy ideas that I would like to do to our house. I informed my husband a few years ago that if I'm ever sitting quietly, looking around a room, he didn't need to wonder what I was thinking about. 99% of the time, I'm thinking about what I could do to that space. My … [Read more...]
I get a lot of e-mail from people wanting to know which paint they should use for their project...Milk Paint or Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. So, for the benefit of everyone, here's my opinion... First, let's look at examples of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint (ASCP)... ...and some examples of Milk Paint (MP)... So, let's now put them side-by-side... What does the paint look … [Read more...]
This post does is not about pretty pictures. I am tearing my home apart to paint my kitchen cabinets and family room walls and ceiling after all. I bought some pears today for my next Cottages and Bungalows photo shoot, lined them up on the window sill and snapped some photos. I just couldn't help myself.Now that I've gotten the pretty picture show-and-tell out of my system, … [Read more...]
I received a few comments about the farm table in my kitchen. You could see peeks of it in my kitchen accessories post, so here is a full view. (Ugh...excuse the floor!) I bought it a few months ago at an antique store with every intention of selling it. I even put a tag on it at one point. I set it in my living room. It was totally the wrong size and scale for the space, but I really … [Read more...]
If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed I kinda like grain sacks. I know some people are so over them and it's not every one's "thing", but it's my thing. I love the look. I love the idea of repurposing something that was used in a utilitarian way years and years ago. I love that they were patched and monogrammed and dated and lasted all of these … [Read more...]
So sorry! I planned to have this video to you last week and I even filmed one, but I was tired and it was half-heartedly done. You deserve better than that, so I made a new one yesterday morning in my very best painting outfit. Believe it or not, I actually go out in that ratty, paint splattered sweatshirt. Someone call "What Not To Wear" on my behalf, please. I wanted to post this … [Read more...]
Jane, Lee Gamble and a few others guessed it right! Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint is the mystery paint. I received an e-mail from a reader a few weeks ago, telling me I should try chalk paint. My first thought was, "Duh. I know what chalk board paint is." I was being a little high and mighty at that moment and then I clicked the link she kindly sent me. I was an idiot. A high and mighty … [Read more...]
Today the lovely Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect and I are taking the floor on each other's blogs. We're not talking about just anything, though. We're sharing some of our best painting tips with you, so you can see how we do things the same or different. You're going to get a lot of information in both of these posts, so get ready! Here's Shaunna!Well, I can't believe I'm … [Read more...]
I have had a boat load of questions lately about top coats, so I thought I would dedicate a post to them. First of all, let me say that there are dozens, maybe thousands of techniques and products out there, so I'm just sharing the ones I use and like. It's also pure coincidence that all of the products I am sharing are by Minwax. Those are just the images I found easily. Paste Wax - … [Read more...]
There's a lot of good information and inspiration in this post, so get ready! First of all, the beauty shot. Now, the before shot. I'm so happy with how these turned out. I'm taking the pair of arm chairs (only one is pictured in the before shot) to the Ground Hog Day Sale at Lucketts (Feb 4-6). If you'd like to read about the paint technique … [Read more...]
I'm picking up where we left off yesterday with my newly acquired French arm chairs. So, the upholstery was removed and the frames were painted Georgian Revivial Blue by Sherwin Williams. This color is a little shocking at the moment, but just wait. Before moving on to the next step, I want to point out the texture I left on the frame. I did not sand this piece before … [Read more...]
Those of us who have the collecting/thrifting/junking gene know that it's hard not to buy something we love, especially when it has a great price tag. Then, we all end up at the same place...too much stuff, not enough space, but we still want to buy more. Right? So, what is one with this dilemma to do? Here are some good principles to follow...First of all, clear things out … [Read more...]
