Save yourself a lot of hassle with this spray painting tip

05/20/2012 9:48 pm by 10 Comments

As most of you know, I love spray paint. I will spray paint anything and everything! Nothing is safe in my home from a can of good ‘ol spray paint. :)

With summer almost here I want to share a spray painting tip with you. Hopefully it will help you to not make the same mistake I made last summer.

I decided I wanted a bunch of picture frames painted white for my gallery wall.

It was August in Texas at about high noon which translates into at least 100 degrees outside with bright blue skies and lots of direct UV rays. Pretty much hotter than hell outside. ;)

Perfect time to spray paint a few frames, am I right?!

The Primer went on fine. Things started getting ugly real quick though when I busted out the spray paint.

You see, it was SO HOT outside that the sun dried the paint too quickly causing the paint to snap, crackle, and pop.


It was a total mess! Definitely not the look I was going for on my gallery wall.

After lots of sanding I was able to start fresh, but it was a huge inconvenience for me!

The moral here? Now that it’s summer again, be aware of where you are spray painting. If possible work in your garage or wait until closer to dusk to bust out that can of paint. Don’t be a victim to unnecessary crackling.

Of course, if this is the look you are going for then by all means, paint in 100 degree weather in direct sunlight. You’ll have the perfect crackle effect.


     

Filed Under: DIY, Outdoor, Painting, Spray Paint, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: ,

make your own storage boxes

10/27/2010 5:00 am by 9 Comments

Many of you know I just moved into my house.

And with a new move comes lots of additional expenses including all the accessories you need just to get settled – drawers, baskets, organizers, etc.

I’ve waaay over spent lately on trying to get this house livable (and not even decorated!). I wanted some open storage boxes for the shelves in my garage but I just am sick of spending money! So I improvised.

And I’m happy to say that I’m actually quite happy with the outcome and plan on making at least 4 more storage boxes.

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What do you end up with that’s free when you move and unpack?

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Moving Boxes. Lots and lots of moving boxes.

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I took a square moving box and cut it in half with a box cutter.

It makes the perfect open storage box for a garage!

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Not only does it hold all my spray paint, but it actually pulls in and out from the shelf quite easily and is very sturdy (after all, it is made to hold lots of heavy stuff!)

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I took the other half of the box and taped the ends together to create another open storage box.

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I’m obviously AWESOME at eyeballing exactly where the middle of the box is to create two equal halves.

So, um ya… anyway… I put all my little random stuff in the 2nd box. You know, the things that I use all.the.time. and want right there next to me in an easy to find location…

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I’ve got stuff like caulk, utility blades, WD40, wood glue, paint stirrers, liquid nails, Gorilla glue, steel wool…

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Am I the only person that thinks these items are a “must have” and keep them close to me?

In case you are tying to get a glimpse of what is on the shelf next to my homemade storage boxes, here it is.

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Mainly cans of paint, a tarp (mainly for painting), saws that I borrowed from my dad, and of course random pieces of broken tile, because why wouldn’t I have a pile of random pieces of broken tile?!

And just to keep it totally here, I’m NOT as organized as I try to lead you to believe…

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Lets see… piles of tools not put away, piles of boxes of nails and screws, trash from when I cleaned out my car, cans of spray paint, a drop cloth, piles of broken tile that I found on the side of the road, small wooden drawers I found on the side of another road, more piles of crap… But hey…

at least the spray paint is organized!

How do you organize your garage? Or how do you NOT organize your garage? haha.

Do you keep your garage clean enough to park your car, or is it stuffed with so much crap you can’t even walk through it?


     

Filed Under: Organization Tagged With: , , , , ,

Evolution of the mantle

09/28/2010 8:49 pm by 28 Comments

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My fireplace mantle has gone through several transformations since we moved in.

First we had this…

…which isn’t even decorated at.all.

I set the Rodney White artwork on the mantle while we were moving in so it didn’t get ruined and it just kinda ended up staying there.

I hung the artwork and added a few accessories, but the overall look just wasn’t working.

This setup is a FAIL!

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I LOVE my art and I LOVE bright bold color, but after a month or so it just started to hurt my eyes.

I need my family room to be more subtle and relaxing so I took down the art and added a mirror that I’ve had for at least 15 years.

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I also swapped out some of the accessories for a more Fall look.

In addition I took the candlesticks and gave them a new coat of spray paint and added gourds on top.

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The colors are Rustoleum Nutmeg and Heirloom White.

But the black frame was still too harsh for me. I want this room bright, white, and soothing.

So I painted the frame white.

I’m already loving it so.much.more.

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This is my “almost finished” decorated Fall mantle.

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I’m going to add some fall leaves and maybe a few nuts to give it more texture, but I think so far it’s coming together nicely.

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The ceramic pumpkins are from Dollar Tree. I can’t believe I found something ceramic at Dollar Tree that I don’t want to spray paint.

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The pumpkins and gourds are real. I purchased them from the grocery store.

Also, the glass hurricane I bought in Los Angeles at Goodwill. You might recognize it from this post:


(New Life for an Old Shelf)

I like it much better with bright orange pumpkins and gourds in it!

So, in the past two months my mantle has morphed from this:

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to this:

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Now I just need to PAINT already!

Oh, and did you notice the crappy newel on the left of the fireplace hearth?

I got it free from a guy who was throwing it away while we were snowboarding last winter in California.

(Yes, the same trip that I broke my rib on…)

Anyway, this newel is eventually going to turn into a candlestick. Eventually.

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Happy Fall, y’all!


     
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