Chalk Paint

So, I have admitted (quite often, actually) that I am a Pinterest addict. Any Pinterest fan has heard of "Chalk Paint." I've pinned hundreds of pins detailing why to use it, how to use it, when to use it and even how to make it. 

According to the hundreds of pins, the reasons to use chalk paint is as follows:

1) No prep (other tan cleaning the surface) is required. No more sanding, deglossing, stripping or even scuffing. No priming - just use it!

2) Adheres to most any surface - wood, metal, glass, painted, varnished - you name it!

3) Most streak-free paint available

4) Smoothest, factory-like finish

5) Goes 3-4X farther than regular paint

Trust me, I have read all the write-ups and even though we sell Plaster-of-Paris in my department, I was a bit hesitant to try to make my own. Heck, I had just developed a love interest in liquid deglosser and it was working for my & my customers' needs just fine. Then, a few weeks ago, I received these small boxes marked, "New Product." Hmmmm. I left them alone for four whole days! I should receive an award. Protocol has it that I have to wait for our MET team to unpack new products in their new "home." Well, after four days, I couldn't wait. I ripped open a box and guess what! Home Depot now has Chalk Paint! Seriously! We have had it available on-line for months; however, here it was, sitting in my hands! It took me about two minutes to open one up and begin trying it out! I found some old cabinet doors and a heavily-used paint brush and tried it out.

 Guess what?

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It was just as awesome as all the pins had stated! Beautiful finish (even with the wrong brush), clung to the beat-up, varnished door without primer or sanding, and the finish was BEAUTIFUL! I put the door on display and everyone that passed the door had to reach out and touch it! Every. Single. Person. I scheduled a class for that weekend to educate the public about our new product!

The turn-out was amazing and even though we only have seven colors, we are selling out! I even tried a glaze/paint mixture over the top to age it and guess what? Perfection!

A little 8 oz jar is $8.48. People are always shocked - for that little jar? But that little jar does almost as much as a big quart! I tried it on a glass jar, a metal display stand - it does work on all of the surfaces! We completed one entire door and scuffed to to apply an aging glaze, but was so pretty that we left it as is. 

Americana Decora is the company and I have had numerous customers come in and clean us out because they said they have been purchasing another brand on-line and pay up to $35 for a little 8 oz jar! There is a wax that you can put over the top as a protective coat and even that is pretty cool! Most furniture waxes are heavy & STINKY & require a lot of elbow grease. This wax is actually a liquid that you can brush or rub on and has no smell. Pretty awesome. 

Now, I just have educate our employees that it is not "Chalkboard" paint...

Turn a Crate into Something Great!

 Every so often, my store gets in a shipment of storage crates. I snagged one and decided to try an idea I saw on Pinterest. Using a medium grit sanding sponge, I gently sanded all the rough edges. Then I decided to try a product that we sell called Polyshades by MinWax. Instead of staining 2-4 times, then applying a clear coat over top, it claims to have it all in one can. I chose Bombay Mahogany with a Gloss finish. I used a Wooster brush made for oil stains. When I began applying the PolyShades, the crate began to change immediately! I let it dry over night, gently rubbed it with 0000 steel wool. I removed the excess shavings with tack cloth and then applied the second coat. I let it dry over night and it was perfect! I chose some decorative shelf brackets and attached them to the shelf and the wall. The finished product is shown below and looks AMAZING! Needless to say, we sold out of our crates within two weeks and are patiently awaiting more!

Easter 2013

My plate is quite full between being a mom, daughter, full time retail manager, owner of a rental property, not to mention a daily battle with fibromyalgia & chronic fatigue syndrome. Needless to say, I don't have much left to host holidays and parties. I did, however, find that hosting Easter each year for my children & parents (and sometimes siblings), is the one holiday I can manage to host. First of all, it is usually brunch. Breakfast & lunch foods are soooo much easier to manage than full dinners & hors d'ouvres. I also find the decorating fairly simple as well. Most of the decorations can double as brunch treats! Also, it is usually short, church, a nice meal and an egg hunt (weather permitting).  In 2012, we did it on our own, without the help of Pinterest and I knew this would be my holiday! Last year, I looked to Pinterest for inspiration, and it was small, quiant but adorable!

 A tulip plant made a great centerpiece and then my mom was able to take it with her as an Easter gift!

In the lower left hand corner of the picture above, you can see one Pinterest failure. I tried tinting white chocolate orange and then dipping strawberries in it to resemble a carrot. So cute on Pinterest, not so cute in real life. They ended up pink. Pink blobs of strawberries stuck to the plate!

My favorite Pinterest idea was the carrots in the planting pot. I bought little pots from the dollare store, then put cellophane inside (they didn't say food grade), and filled them with veggie dip. I then placed 6 baby carrots standing up in each pot. They were so adorable! Plus, I added a spring of parsley in the ends to really resemble home grown carrots!

The food (other then than strawberries) was delicious! We used a number of recipes from Pinterest, the two BEST were:

  

Cheese and Cream Baked Potatoes

Found on heatherchristo.com 

Easter Brunch: Baked French 

Found on dwellonjoy.comToast

We also had ham, rolls, green bean casserole, hard boiled eggs & Easter chocolates. Again, simple & sweet! I gave up cheese this year for Lent so I have a feeling that this year will be all about the CHEESE! Check back and see...

Pennies & Letters

I created this idea by combining a number of different pins. I wanted to create an easy project to teach our customers, but I wasn't sure what to do. I looked around and saw PAINT STICKS! Then my brain began to search for ideas I had seen. While I was concocting a plan, I stopped at Hobby Lobby on my way home where I found a giant hard cardboard letter "L" on sale for less than two dollars! I bought it and then I spray painted it with spray paint I had at home (Rustoleum's Universal Oil Rubbed Bronze). I then glued copper pennies to cover the letter. At first I used a hot glue gun, but there was so much gluing to be done! I then used Liquid Nails Multi-Projects Glue, and found it worked perfectly! Once the "L" was covered I set a heavy object of them and turned to the paint sticks. I measured the sticks so they were all the same size and used a utlity knife to score them, then cracked them. I used heavy duty scissors to tidy them up and a sanding sponge to smooth out the edges. I then stained the sticks, using various colors of Minwax. Again, I pulled out my new favorite glue, and glued the sticks together, and then the letter to the sticks. Once they were dry, I attached a picture hanger and viola! It was done and not only did I have any easy project to teach my customers, but I had a great addition to my family's home!

Garden Markers

GARDEN MARKERS

Even though the weather is still nasty, I have decided to think about spring! I began planting seeds indoors, creating a mini-greenhouse in our sunroom. I (of course) referenced numerous pins for tips of when to start each plant, and tips for seedling care. After a few weeks, I tossed all that date out the window and started them all, MY WAY. Oops. Well, with an eight foot deep frost line, I truly don't believe any helpful tips apply to me. By the time the ground thaws, I will be lucky if I get two months of outdoor growing. SO, I started THEM ALL. So, three weeks later, I have awesome little seedlings and my sunroom smells like spring (even if they are calling for more snow this week). I then realized, that if I am planting, others probably are, too. I was thinking about what paint class I should teach at work, when I realized I would incorporate the two! I pinned 6 or 7 garden marker ideas, then I made them my own!

First, I bought cheap wooden spoons at Walmart. A 5-pack was .88! I bought a (ahem!) few packages and brought them into work. 

Then, I began thinking about what would hold up the best to daily sun & watering (still trying to stay positive, here). I taped the bottoms of the spoons with Scotch Blue Painter's Tape. I then sprayed the rest of the spoon with red Plasti-Dip. It is used for tools & wheel rims, so why not garden markers? Two coats and I had some awesome, durable red garden markers.

I then had fun! I used Paint Markers & Behr Paint samples (only $2.94 and I could pick my color) to decorate, label & embellish the markers!

Once they were done, I loved them so much, I sealed them with a clear enamel spray just to add even more durability.

Now, I not only have seedling sprouting, but I have awesome garden markers. When it finally thaws, I will be ready to move my ready-made garden into the great outdoors!