Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Posted July 2, 2010 by deb under Holiday

Happy 4th of July weekend!  It’s one of my favorites because it’s filled with family time and a day or so off work.  It’s also filled with red, white and blue food.  And what’s not to love about that?  Luckily Martha has an entire display of pretty food, like the one pictured above with recipes on her site.

And speaking of blue, I’ll be getting rid of some around the house this weekend.    We had an incident a little while back where paint was knocked off our stair ledge (who would ever think to put it there I wonder???).

The carpet was easily replaced because we had a remnant left over from the install.  But see that little splash up on the stairs?  It’s still there and we’ll be painting over it this weekend.  And after I’m done with that, I’m going to keep painting.  I hope to get everything touched up around the house, and maybe even paint the laundry room if time allows.

How about you?  What are you up to this weekend?

Tags: 4th of July, painting

Monday Tutorial: DIY Painting Techniques

Posted April 12, 2010 by deb under DIY

Happy Monday everyone!  We are switching things up on Fresh Nest today and giving you a little DIY inspiration.

We are in the process of redoing our bedroom and while I was at the CHA winter show, I saw a great presentation by EcoGreen Crafts about their paints and different ways to texturize while using their paints.  They gave me a few products to play with at home, and I had about an hour to play the other day so I figured I’d give it a try on blank canvases I purchased.

Using Glue as Texture

Note: I used their wonderful glue that is eco-friendly {and edible!}, but you can use any glue you’d like when doing this technique.

Supplies:

• Painting Surface {I used canvas, but their paints work on any surface– even wood!}
• Glue
• Paint Brush
• Cloth or Napkin
• Sealer {like this}

I started by painted my entire canvas with the bronze paint.  Look at that color!  Amazing, huh?

Then I took the glue and spread it around the canvas on top of the bronze coat.

Then I painted a layer of New Grass over the glue.

I wasn’t patient enough to let it dry so I pushed the drying time along with my hair dyer.

After it appeared dry, I took my cloth and wiped away areas of the paint.  It should appear a little crackled.

I like the antique and worn look that it gives the painting.  However, I wish there wasn’t as much white showing through.  I think next time I need to be more patient and let it dry a little more.

Once you are happy with the final result, spray some sealer on the painting and you will be good to go!

Using Vaseline as Texture

You will use the same supplies as above, but trade out the glue for Vaseline.

This time I painted the canvas with New Grass and Gourde.  Beautiful colors right?

Then I took the Vaseline and spread it around the canvas.

I painted the top layer Bronze.

I let it dry for a little bit, and pushed it along with the hair dryer again.  In the areas with a lot of Vaseline, it will never fully dry as those are the areas that you work at with your cloth.  {Like in the Glue example}.

Then seal the painting and it’s ready to be hung on your walls!

This was one of the easiest DIY paintings I have ever done and it only took me about 30 minutes to do both of these.  I love the colors of the painting, but too bad the colors don’t quite work with our bedroom so I will have to think of somewhere else to put them.

So what do you think?

Tags: art, Eco Green, glue, painting, vaseline, wall

Make Your Own Canvas Rug

Posted May 28, 2009 by erin under DIY

This is a project that I’ve had on my to-do list for a while!  Try making your own canvas rug!  I think my next place with all hardwood floors will be the perfect place to try it out.

See the full set of supplies and instructions from Martha Stewart.

Tags: DIY, DIY design, How to, paint, Painted, painting, rug, Tutorial

Color is In!

Posted April 29, 2009 by erin under Pretty Stuff

This winter there were lots of neutral color schemes floating around.  Which I love!  But what about trying a little more color for the summer?  When I was in Chicago this weekend I took this picture of a display at Macy’s.  Isn’t it beautiful?  I love the crisp black wall with the splash of color on the background coordinating with the different colors of the KitchenAid mixer.

I’d love to paint a few stripes on a board to put up on the wall in some summery colors just like the background of the display.  It would make an easy, quick DIY project!

Have you seen any displays recently that you like?

Tags: color palette, DIY, paint, Painted, painting

How to Paint- Using a Brush & Roller

Posted March 31, 2009 by deb under How to, Pretty Stuff

Now that we have all of our supplies and have done all the prep work to our space, we are ready to paint.  Do you have trouble painting with a brush and making sure your lines are straight?  I will be giving some pointers on what works for me and how I keep my lines straight.

Steps 8 & 9: Open paint & stir.  You want to be sure to stir the paint really good so it is consistent throughout.

Steps 10 & 11: Pour the paint into two different paint pans.  I use a large paint pan for the roller and a small container for the brush- just make sure it’s wider than the brush.

Step 12: Start with your paint brush in one corner.  Notice how I’m holding the brush and it’s at an angle.  Angle the brush so it comes to a point and slowly work your way to the top of the corner where the ceiling and walls meet.

Step 13: Most ceilings have a slight lip which makes for slightly easier painting with your brush.  Use this lip to guide you.  Again, look how I am holding the brush.  I angle it to make my way toward the ceiling lip.

Step 14: One I have the paint brush where I want it, I start dragging it along (but under) the ceiling lip.  I usually drag the brush for about 12″-18″ depending on how loaded my brush is with paint.

Step 15: I go back over the section I painted in the previous steps to make sure my paint coverage is good and there aren’t any places I missed.  I usually leave about a 2.5″-3″ paint line on the top and bottom of the wall to provide sufficient clearance for the roller.

Step 16: Paint along the baseboards in the same section that you painted the ceiling.  The baseboards are a little more simple as there is tape there protecting the wood.  However, don’t overload your brush with paint.  If you have too much paint, it will start to bleed underneath the tape.

After you have gone along the wall with the paint brush for about 4′-5′, the roller can start rolling.

Steps 17 & 18: Start about half way down the wall with short rolling strokes in the letter of a N or M.  Then start to straighten and lengthen your rolling strides.  Be sure to watch for ridges that are coming from your paint roller and flatten them as you go.  Get as close to the corners and ceilings as you can without scraping them.

Step 19: Remove all masking tape from the trim as soon as you are done painting.

Enjoy your new paint job, now it’s time to decorate!

Paint is by Behr and is called Mediterranean Blue.

Tags: DIY, How to, painting, Tutorial, Using a brush, Using a roller