Chalk Paint

Ever since I first laid eyes on a piece that had been painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I fell in love.  I read blogs and scoured Pinterest for tutorials and galleries.  I finally decided to take the plunge into the world of chalk paint.

This is not to be confused with chalkboard paint.  This is not chalk board paint.  This is a calcium based paint.  The biggest and best feature of Annie Sloan's chalk paint is that you don't have to sand, prime, or do anything else really to prepare your piece to paint.  Clean off the dust and dirt and that is about it.

 The paint comes in 1 quart containers but it is thick and covers just over 140 sq. feet.  My house looks like an oak tree threw up in it.  All the cabinets are oak and my crazy fireplace has an oak mantel, among other ugly elements!   I have lived with the oak for almost 9 years now and I am sick to death of it.

I have done other painting and distressing methods so I wasn't too scared to try the chalk paint.

Here is the ugly oak mantel.  While we're on the subject of ugly, note the chair rail and the token pieces of ugly ceramic tile.  Not my favorite but in time...it will all go away.

As I mentioned, the paint is really thick so it goes on easy and has good coverage.  I did water mine down just hair.  I should mention here that the longer the paint sits out, the thicker it becomes so I poured a little into a small pie tin so I wouldn't waste the whole quart.  To that, I added about 2 Tablespoons of water.  

The beauty of this paint is that it is so easy to distress.  Unlike latex or oil base, you don't have to use Vaseline or sandpaper to start distressing.  Once I had it painted, I rubbed off the areas where I wanted the wood grain to show through with cheese cloth or a blue scrubbie.  It was easy! 

 When I painted it, I left some of the areas with the wood showing through since I knew I would be rubbing it off anyways.  I also ignored the areas where I didn't get 100% coverage; it added to the distressed look I was trying to achieve. You remove the paint from areas you want distressed, after you paint and before the waxing.

The paint dries super fast so you hardly waste any time before moving on to the next step, the waxing.  The clear wax goes on first and seals the paint and hardens it.  It also adds the most beautiful depth and patina you don't get with other paints.  I was so happy with the wax and it was quick and easy to apply.  This little dab did the entire mantel.

 This is the brush that you apply the wax with. You apply it in circular motions, pressing hard into the painted surface.

 After the clear wax has been applied, I added the dark brown wax.  This is where you really push it into the grain and crevices, giving it the aged look.  You can apply this as heavy or as light as you wish.

 Here is the mantel all finished!!  I absolutely love it!  I can't wait to get the kitchen done.
The finish has a softness that I love and it is velvety to the touch.

There was a part on the mantel where I took too much paint off and realized after I waxed it all that I really didn't like that much distressing.  It was no big deal!  NO sanding out the mistake, I just painted over it, waxed it again and it blended right in.  You can't even tell!!

The mantel was a good place to start.  I think I have the technique figured out so the cabinets should be a snap.  The color I used was called Old White.  I also bought Paris Grey because I wanted to do the island in a deep grey but after experimenting with that, I have decided to do it all white.

Once the cabinets are done, I am painting the whole house and wonderful greige that is really going to set my new cabinets off in a beautiful way!

Custom Home Plans

I've been working hard in a partnership with a brand new company, My Own Floor Plans!  My Own Floor Plans is an online library of custom home plans.  We are different from other floor plan companies out there.  We don't stock plans from 25 years ago, we design current and relevant plans for today's  busy family.

Since the great recession, our culture has changed for the average, middle class family.  People in general have a more realistic view of what they can live in and live with.  Homes are getting smaller and more efficient in size.  

Just because this country has had to downsize in some areas, doesn't mean you have to dial down design.  Each of our homes has been designed by an expert in space planning who understands the importance of family.  Each plan is functional and well designed so you never have to worry about awkward spaces and cramped corners.

My Own Floor Plans also offers complete drafting and design services.  If you find a plan that you like but need some adjustments before you can call it love...no problem, let us fit it to your family.  Have some ideas of your own?  We love a good napkin sketch and can bring your dream alive with a full set of architectural drawings and colored renderings at a fraction of the cost you would pay an Architect.

Head on over to our new website and take a look around.  Pin your favorites and if you have questions, drop us a line.  We can't wait to meet you!

A little artsy

Sorry for the latest absence.  I've been working like a dog but lately, I've missed being creative so when the weekend comes, despite my work schedule, I try to fit in a few DIY's.

I've been de-cluttering my house.
  In the process, I found some pieces I had collected a few years ago.  I have lots of old windows, old doors, old cabinet doors and a bookshelf and the sweetest little table.  I have been tackling them little by little.

Today's post is the piece of art I created from an old cupboard door.  I love it!

You probably can't see what I wrote at the bottom but it say, 'Never had an ordinary day'

Okay, so here's how I did it. 

Start with a handy dandy  notebook, sketchbook, scrap of paper...whatever.  It's always best to practice your design first on something other than the piece you will be using. 

Once you are happy with the sketch, draw it on the cupboard or canvas or whatever you choose to use.

Then, start adding your paint.  I am not a great artist so if I can do this, anyone can.  I used a short square brush.  It helped me get a darker line on the edges of the flowers.

Once the flowers are painted on and dried, I used a fine Sharpie pen to draw the stems and center of each flower. I love the movement in the stems as opposed to straight stiff lines.

Finally, I wrote the words at the bottom.  I had thoughts of sanding over it lightly to give it an aged look but I thought I would live with this for awhile and then decide if I really want to do it.  It looks so great hanging above the bookshelf  I finished a couple of weeks ago too!  That project is coming soon!  

Furniture Painting

Everyone's doing it!  Painting furniture.  I decided to get on the bandwagon this past weekend and tackle a sofa table in need of some new color.  Painting furniture has always scared me a bit.  There are so many nooks and crannies and so many things that can mess up a project like drips you don't notice until it's too late!  I figured, who cares, worse case scenario, I have to sand it all down again and start over so I jumped right in!

 As usual, I forgot to take pictures before I even started the work!  So, here is the table after hours of sanding, seriously...lots of sanding.  The top has the first coat of the color Composed, from Sherwin Williams.

 After 3 coats of paint, I finally deemed it finished.

So, here's the deal...I wasn't sure I would love this color but I love this color!!!. It was hard to settle on this color.  When I work with clients who are changing paint colors, they typically show me something that inspires them or an art piece they love.  We draw colors out of their inspiring piece.  The problem with my house is that there is nothing colorful nor inspiring but not for long.  I am determined to change things up a bit.   I am picturing this with some bright, celery green and coral accessories!

  I am notorious for changing my mind on color as much as I change my socks.  I have lived in this house for 8 years and it still looks the same way it did when I moved in.  In my mind, this wasn't my dream home, it was just a home to get us by.  

That's all changed now, it's still not my dream home but I am going to declare this "home" and start making it feel like one or at least a home that reflects something inspiring.  This piece marks the beginning of change for us.  You can see from my very lousy photography that everything in my house is yellow or some tone of yellow.  

Slowly but surely all that is about to change...Next up on the DIY circuit...grey walls!  Maybe even this weekend if all goes well...What do you think of the color?

Spring Cleaning!

I love how Spring has become synonymous with cleaning!  De-cluttering is my all time favorite thing to do and I've been doing a lot of it lately. I started with a couple of kitchen cabinets.

It's always frightening to see the random things that find themselves a home over time.  It felt so good to throw all of this away!  All of it!

The kitchen is an easy place to start because you don't have to have an immense amount of time to de-junk.  You can easily do one cabinet in just a few minutes, even seconds if it's something you stay on top of.  A couple a day and before long, the kitchen is done!

I have been working hard on the garage, the basement and the living room!  It's coming slowly but surely.

What is your favorite thing to clean?

Color Theory

You may not think you really need to worry about color theory but it when you have a basic understanding of color, you will find that it really does come in handy.  You can use it in the colors you choose to wear and mix and match, the color you decide to paint the walls, even the color you decide to put on your hair. Color is light so it's everywhere!

Color wheel from   http://cs.nyu.edu/courses/fall02/V22.0380-001/color_theory.htm

Whenever I start any project using color, even frosting a cake that I am mixing colors for, I draw out the color wheel.  I don't get as fancy as the chart above, I simple write out the color names, beginning with the primary colors, red, yellow and blue.  I then add in the secondary colors, orange, green and purple.  

You can not make a primary color very easily but using just the three primary colors, you can create any color you want!  Really!  You don't have orange food coloring for the cupcakes?  No problem, mix equal parts Yellow and Red and you have a perfectly, pure orange color.   If you want a coral color, add a little more red than yellow or vice versa depending on what you are trying to achieve.

In my previous post when I was dyeing the coverlet grey, I was trying to get rid of the purple base.  If you want to neutralize a color, such as the purple tint the black dye was giving off, simply add the opposite of purple or the opposite of whatever color you are trying to get rid of.  That's why I added yellow to the black.    It killed the purple just enough.  

Here are a few more tips when it comes to color.  

Tints are when you add white to any color.  Take for instance pink.  Pink is simply white added to red.  You decide the intensity of the pink by how much white you add.  Even just adding water will dilute a color.  

Tones are when you add black to any color.  Burgandy is simply Red with a touch of black added to it and there you have a tone.

Using the color wheel takes the guess work out of mixing colors.  Not only that, there is so much information out there on the web.  Don't be scared by color.  If you don't like it, change it!

I'm dyeing...

You will love the possibilities with this week's diy post.  Fabric Dye!  A few years ago, I did a lot of tea dyeing but then I sort of forgot about it.  Well, I'm back on the kick of dyeing things.

I love to bargain shop.  I found some jersey sheets on sale for $15 but they were not my color.  I figured I could learn to love it.  I didn't.  A few months later, I found a coverlet which I loved but again, not keen on the color.  It too was bargain priced at $20 for the Queen size cover and two shams.   I figured I would learn to love the yellow color.

The sheets and coverlet look awful together so I decided to change the color of them.  I started by bleaching the sheets.  Now, keep in mind that bleaching and dyeing works best with natural fabrics.  Synthetics will not bleach and do not accept color well.  In the picture below, you can see that the colored thread is still blue even after bleaching.  But, it doesn't show on the outside of the fabric so I kept going with the project.

I wanted a deep coral color.  I bought two Rit dye colors because I couldn't find the color I wanted.  The Scarlet was too red.  I have studied the science of color so I was all up for mixing some colors to get to closer to what I wanted.  I mixed half scarlet and half sunshine orange. 

 I filled up my washer with hot water and dissolved the color in the tub and then added the sheets, wet.

 After 30 min of agitating, I washed them in soap and water then dried normally.  Below is the finished color.
Way better than the blue but still not as dark as I wanted.  I will be doing this again only adding a little black to get a darker tone from this.

Next was the coverlet.  The yellow was pale but had this fluorescent tint to it that was hard to blend with any other color, especially the grey-blue sheets.  I love grey.  I can never get enough grey so I really wanted to dye it grey.  That's a hard color because basically, you are watering down black.  Black is a combination of every color in equal proportions.  So...

 I messed around with some test colors.  The Rit black has a purple base.  Too cool for what I wanted so I added some yellow to neutralize the purple.  My next post, I will talk more about mixing colors. I also tested a black with red added and a black with tan added.  I tried each color out on some paper towel.

 You can see here, that all three are grey colors but one has a warm base, the other cool and the last one, very purple.  I was avoiding the purple look and wanted the top color.

 The other trick to using dye is that the water naturally turns any color to it's tint so it's hard to get, say for instance, a true black.  The same holds true for grey.  I like the grey but it could stand to be a little bit warmer so I may play around with it again.  For now, it is so much better than the weird yellow.  I love how the thread remained an ivory color.  In this case, it actually enhances the pattern.

So, what's next?  I have a pair of old converse that are faded, dirty and need a pick me up.  I am going to bleach them to white then dye them a fun, bright color for Spring!  This brings DIY to a whole new level!

Dollar Store Craft

It's simple, but I love it.  I found this soap dispenser at the dollar store.  I love the lines and the shape of it. 

I was getting tired of the old deal of the week soap bottles.  When you're single and old like me, people love buying you soap!  Soap for Christmas, soap for your birthday, soap for Mother's day.  I have lots of soap and some of it comes in fun packaging and some of it was definitely retrieved off a discount rack somewhere.  I like a clean look, even in the soaps and lotions I use.  

So, taking this plain white dispenser, I simply hand wrote on the side, with a fine tipped Sharpie marker the simple words, 'Wash Up'. 

At first I practiced on some paper but after 20 min of trying to get it just right...I said, enough of that and just did it.  I love how it turned out!  So simple but makes just the right amount of statement!

Light it up

I have a floor lamp that I love.  It was a cheap find from Target about 8 years ago.  Well, two years ago, it gave up the ghost.  I turned it on one night and sparks were flying and the circuit blew.

It's been sitting in the corner just looking pretty but pretty much useless.  I decided I either needed to dump it or fix it.  Dumping it seemed like a waste because I really like it.

Thanks to You Tube, I got up the courage to rewire the light.  Forgive me for not taking pictures of every step, I was really into it and when it was done, it was then that I realized I hadn't taken a single picture.  I will walk you through the steps anyways. So, here's the lamp.  Nice lines and shape. The shape is tricky because it was so hard to pull the old wire through all those curves and even harder to squeeze the wire back in and around the curves. Removing the old wire and getting the new wire in was so hardest part.

 The original lamp had a very special kind of socket that I couldn't find anywhere so I had to improvise with one I found at ACE Hardware.  It works, a little bulky but the shade covers it up.

 Along with all the wiring, I had to change the switch as well.  Again, I had to choose a different style than the original.

 Finally, I cut the plug off the original cord and spliced it together with the new wire.  It looks a little bulky but since it is typically plugged in behind the couch, it's not a big deal.

 When it was done, Voila...Light!  I am so happy to have a working lamp once again!

So, here are some of the tools you will need for rewiring and some tips. 

2 Wire lamp wire

Lamp socket

Plug

Switch

Screwdriver

It's really easy if you keep in mind a few things.  On a 2 wire cord, one of the wires is hot and the other is neutral.  So, how do you know which one is which? Well, if you look closely at the wire, you will see that one side of the wire has small ribs  on it and the other side is smooth.  The side with the ribs is the neutral side, the smooth side is hot.  Once you have that figured out, it's a piece of cake.

First, remove the old wire and replace with the new wire.  Separate the two wires from the housing about 2 " up and strip each wire about 1".  I then wired the socket, wrapping each wire around the screws on the socket and tightening the screw down around the wire.

The switch came next.  My switch is about 2 feet from the plug and it came with really easy instructions.

If you buy a wire with the plug attached, you are done.  If not, you will then need to wire on the plug.  Again, just remember to attach the hot wires to each other and the neutral wires to each other.  I wrapped this connection in electrical tape.

I have always been scared of any thing involving electricity but this was such an easy project, I'm fired up!  I have a lamp in my room that keeps shorting out so that is my next project!  Next time around, I will take step by step, this was just a warm up!  So, stay tuned.

Mercury Glass

I love the look of Mercury Glass but, it's expensive and hard to find. It adds just the right amount of sparkle and it's classy looking. 

  I'm sure you've seen or heard of this product, Krylon's Looking Glass spray paint. 

You can work wonders with a few dollar store pieces.  I bought some round, glass rose bud vases.  They were just a dollar.  I started with spraying the inside of the vase with the Looking Glass paint.  It dries fairly quickly.  Once dry, I sprayed it with a little watered down black paint and vinegar.  The vinegar is an acid and takes off some of the paint which is what you want to have happen. After it sits and runs for 5 minutes, blot it out with a paper towel.  It will take off parts of the paint.  Here is where you can move the paint to customize the darkened areas.  Don't worry if you take too much off, you can always repaint it.  I actually ended up spraying about three layers of the Looking Glass paint on it with vinegar spritzes in between the dried layers.  It adds a little more depth than just one layer.

Once I had the negative space just the way I wanted, I then lightly rubbed black acrylic paint on the inside then let it dry. 

This was the finished project!  I love the way it turned out. 

Below is the location for my new project- the kitchen window.  It felt cluttered with random quart jars filled with change, gum and other random items the kids drop in them.  There was also a tin box where I stashed lotion, sink scrubbers and dish soap.  Then, there was a jar of dishwasher detergent. Too much randomness.

Here's the windowsill with the new mercury glass on it.  I love the clean look!! Just love it. 

Office Chair Remodel

Finally, a little DIY!!!  I loved this project and it's one I've been planning to do for a year at least.  I have this little black office chair.  It's pretty much ugly and I am pretty much sick of looking at it. 

So...I decided to do something about it.  I rummaged through my fabric scraps and found my favorite fabric of all time!  Well, at least it's been a favorite for the past year or so!  The problem is, I didn't have enough of it to cover the chair.  Being the creative gal that I try to be, I decided that piecing it together could work.  

We'll get back to the piecing part.  First of all, I had to disassemble the chair.  Not hard at all and only consisted of a few screws. 

I left the original upholstery on just because.  Okay, honestly, because I was too lazy to rip it off.  I only had about 30 min to fit this project in so I was racing against the clock.   I laid the chair seat down on the fabric and pulled the sides to the back.  I like to put one staple in the center of all four sides, pulling tight.  This way, as you start to staple around the edges, things stay straight and in line.

 Start on one side and start pulling up the fabric until it's tight and staple about an inch from the edge of the seat.  Just work your way around the edges and use the very same technique for the chair back.

 Assemble all the parts and pieces and Voila!! It's like a brand new chair!  Oh ya, you can see on the seat cushion how there is a strip of fabric coming down the center.  That is the detail to hide the parts that I had to piece together.  Obviously, it's not ideal but it works for me and goes well in my little loft office.

I know it's been awhile since I posted a sweet DIY but I have lots coming up such as...Mercury glass!  I finally tried it and loved it!!!  I also did a little ceramic project that only cost me a dollar, bringing a broken lamp back to life with a little re-wiring and re-finishing some old Mall furniture!  Stay tuned!