Some of my favorite projects are the ones that I do for children. I thought I would share some of them with you! This mural was the first one I ever worked on. It was a collaboration with my dear friend and talented artist, Laura Dreyer. I was going to use a projector for the hares, but she painted them freehand! This was in my son’s nursery, which is now my office. This toy chest was my grandmothers, but it was painted a very unappealing yellow. I painted it out in a creamy white and my friend, Laura, painted the car. I love the simple and classic look of this toy chest, now.(Well, I offended my mom. She saw this post and let me know SHE was the one who painted it the unappealing yellow! Sorry mom!) This is in my upstairs bathroom. I thought it was a fun and

One of my pet peeves when I carefully tape something off and then paint seeps under it. I watch the commercials where people pull the tape off and expose this crisp clean line. When I pull it off, there’s bleeding. Last week when I was in Sherwin Williams I saw a display for Frog Tape. “Does this really work? Because I’ve given up on painter’s tape.” They told me it does and I trust my boys at SW, so I bought it. And it worked! Hallelujah! (and the good people over at Frog Tape have not paid me a cent for saying this!) I bought it just in time to do the stripes on a Steelers desk I’m working on for a client. (Decorative Painting is not just for chicks!) Make sure the paint your taping on is fully dry and push the tape down to ensure there are no

When the woman who owns Accessories (the shop that sells my furniture) brought this piece to me it had a glossy pine finish and she had paid a quarter for it. I really didn’t like it. I like furniture with curvy lines or detailed legs, not a piece like this. I did not have a vision for what it could be, so it sat in my workshop for a long time. One day at Sherwin Williams when I asked if there were any mistints, they brought out this crazy orange called Naval. For $.25 I could hardly turn it down. I figured I could mix it and make a rich pumpkin color out of it. When I finally had to face this piece and make something out of it that I would be proud to sign my name to, I went for the can of Naval. My thinking behind that

When I first got into decorative painting about 9 years ago, I went out and dropped about $150 on all kinds of brushes, most of which I have never used. I really didn’t know what to buy and I went on recommendations from books and what I thought I might use. I wanted to share which brushes have become my favorite and what you should spend your money on if you’d like to get started. The three places I buy my brushes are Dick Blick Art Materials, Wal-Mart, and sometimes a craft store like JoAnn, Michael’s or AC Moore. I purchase my nicer artist brushes from Dick Blick (http://www.dickblick.com/.) I prefer the Windsor Newton Monarch or Dick Blick Masterstroke brushes. My favorite place to buy brushes, however, is Wal-Mart. I love these cheap-o Loew-Cornell brush sets for under $5.00. I only use about 4 of the brushes from the set,

I have a ton of projects that are in the works, but none of them are completed for me to show you. I should have new before & after pics in a couple of days. Until then, I wanted to share some pictures of some of my painted furniture with you. I did most of these pieces around the same time and, as you can clearly see, I was in a blue/green/aqua mood. I hope you enjoy… This was a $5.oo thrift store find. It was dark and dated, but came out lovely in a watery blue with simple white detail. This cabinet was $17 at a “going out of business” antique booth. It sold the first day I put it in our shop. This vanity was $35.00 at an antique shop and was rough! It looked like someone had been using it to store cans of paint on…what a

You don’t always need to paint a piece of furniture…sometimes it just needs a little love. This chair was a $4.00 auction buy that looked like it had been stored in a shed or barn. It was rough and dirty, but you see what a pretty chair it could be. So, I sanded it with a sanding sponge (wonderful product!) Now, I’ve always known that I have freakish joints in my fingers, but it was a riot trying to take a picture where my hand looked normal. It wasn’t possible, so I am resigned to the fact that I will never be a hand model. And I wiped on some Minwax stain in dark walnut (my favorite.) One tip…always wear gloves when staining. Stain is really hard to wash out of the groves in your skin and your hands will look dirty for days if you don’t. Trust me. I

I am so excited to announce that I was just featured on Better After! Please go and check it out!http://betterafter.blogspot.com/2009/09/red-desk-more.html