Tag Archives: paint

07.11.13

We have a whole new house....sort of

Posted by Christina // 18 Replies

So maybe you haven’t been a “homie” for very long and have never seen our home. Or maybe you were so enamoured by our backyard BBQ that you missed it. Or maybe you just don’t notice things like a whole house changing colors. But it happened.

Our home went from peely, faded yellow…. to sweet, smoky gray. It’s sort of funny because looking at the photos above, the before doesn’t look that terrible. Don’t be fooled though, it was quite terrible.

We really thought long and hard about siding, but decided it is just not in the budget now. Any “exterior” money we have saved is going towards a roof that we are in dire need of. So paint we must.

Gray was the obvious choice, since it will soon be my last name.

We spent four weekends cursing the rain for hindering our progress, then spent the next week thanking my dad for all of his hard work painting our house while we were at work. Someone get that guy an award. He busted his hump because I had originally said I wanted to have it done by the Fourth. What a guy.

He was even sweet enough to leave our little birdie friends in their home. Now do you see the drastic difference in color?

Apparently our house brings all the birds to the yard, and they are like…I’ll poop on your car. I feel like I should be in our back yard singing so that they can land on my fingers and tweet along, then I can put those birds to work. Ala Snow White and all her “helpers”. I have plenty of dishes for them to do, trust.

Have you ever painted a whole house?
Have any bird babies at your house?
Do you have an incredible dad too?

06.13.13

Bring on summer...mantles

Posted by Christina // 9 Replies

I love decorating our mantle for the holidays and seasons, mainly because it’s small enough to not feel overwhelmed but in a spot that makes the whole house feel festive. In other words, it’s my lazy way of decking the halls.

Thanks to Danielle’s Craft with What Ya Got Challenge, I was challenged and inspired to make lots of bright DIY’s with the help of paint chips and this tutorial.

Now my mantel looks like our own little lemonade stand! My favorite is the little quote that says, “If life hands you lemons make lemonade, if that doesn’t work add vodka”. I think I will make that my summer mantra. Just like every time I do a mantle post I have to apologize for our crazy fish tank lighting and awesome shadows. One day my photography skills will be good enough to compensate, I promise.

Have you been doing any summer decorating?
Have you made any fun paint chip crafts?
Want some tasty lemonade? With vodka?

05.30.13

DIY some feisty bedroom art....

Posted by Christina // 10 Replies

Earlier this week, Danielle from Framed Frosting invited us to take part in her Craft With What Ya Got Challenge.

A challenge where I don’t have to buy any new supplies, absolutely. The theme this week is craft paints. I have an arsenal of paint, count me in.

I had seen these painted quote canvases all over the web and Pinterest (if you have made one yourself, link to it in the comments) and I was dying to make one of my own. If you don’t remember our DIY jars, I will remind you that Tim and I are a little feisty. We like sarcasm, and funny puns, and downright inappropriateness. So instead of a sweet “I love you to the moon and back” or “you had me at hello” we wound up with this little flirtmeister. There are lots of tutorials to show you a step by step. Try here, here, and here. I will just give you the basics, like what you need to succeed… and a syllabi for crafting class…. …as well as a golden nugget of advice. Use tweezers to pull the letters off, and be patient because they are gonna rip. Remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect, those imperfections are called charm.

What have you made with craft paints?
Are you a fan of flirty art?
Are you craving watermelon like I am?

05.28.13

DIY Kate Spade kicks....

Posted by Christina // 13 Replies

I have been oogling the Kate Spade Keds for quite some time now.

There is one problem….I am cheap. If I pay a pretty penny for shoes that cute then they are going on a shelf, not on my feet. So I did what any cheap girl lusting after shoes does, I got another credit card.

Just kidding, I made my own. In my favorite colors. I stayed on the lookout for a cute (and cheap) pair of white shoes. Finally found a pair at Old Navy that were calling my name, in show tunes form. How can I resist that? Then I came home and got out Pantone’s color of the year paint, you may remember some handsome pots that got a makeover with the same paint. The hardest part was finding something to make the polka dots with. I ended up using a set of foam ear plugs that Tim keeps around so he can ignore my snoring. What as if I actually snore, c’mon.

After about twenty minutes of dotting, I busted out the gold paint pen and glitzed up the toes. Say ello to my new favorite shoes. I think they are fun and funky and perfect for all our summer shenanigans.

Even Asti approves. Have you ever made your own shoes? When I was in eigth grade I took sharpies to a white backless pair, they were my favorite shoes for at least two months.

05.21.13

DIY pretty polka dot planters...

Posted by Christina // 20 Replies

We have been planting fools lately… Every chance we get we are throwing some plants in the ground. New bushes in the front, herbs and flowers in the back like a landscaping mullet. I am really cautious about flowers in the backyard, because I have this thing with bees. I am not afraid of them or anything, but if there is one within a twenty-foot radius…they feel the need to call my body their stomping grounds. I have avoided planting anything that blooms until this year.

This year I am making a change, but a small one. I am planting blooming flowers in pots, just in case they start calling all of their buzzing buddies. Easily relocated, so they don’t wind up squished under a shovel later.

When I saw my friend Janelle’s cute terracotta planters, I started dreaming of a yard covered in overflowing pots full of sweet blooms. Then I started dreaming of painted pots. Then I bought pots, duh. Painting them was unbelievably fast. The terracotta soaked up that paint quicker than Lindsay checks out of rehab. After just two coats of Pantone’s color of the year, these pots were ready for some spunk. I wanted these pots to be free-spirited since they would be outside getting filthy. In other words, I didn’t want perfect polka dots that I would have to “spruce up” every time they got a little dirty. To get that worn look I used the end of a foam roller. You can find these in the paint section of your hardware stores, they usually say “for doors and cabinets” on them. Soon they will say “for perfectly-imperfect polka dots”.

I let them dry overnight and then had a photo shoot of course. After my exhausting shoot with Giselle and Marissa, I told the pool boy to grab me a lemonade and got to planting. Ahhhh sweet dreams, but I did plant. Thankfully, Tim de-wormed all the plants for me. Kidding, but I didn’t find any so I’ll just tuck that panic attack away for later.

Once I had both plants comfy in their new little home I found a spot far, far away from anywhere I sit. Come at me bees. Just kidding, please stay away…save yourself. Aren’t they just the cutest? I am so happy to be bringing oodles of bright summery color into our backyard.

Speaking of additions to our backyard, we got to dogsit this weekend.
Meet Whiskey. True Story: When my dad “retired” he decided to go back to school, to dog school. He spent a few months living away from home while training dogs to do things like track narcotics and run agility. I’m super proud of him, and even prouder of that pup up there for being the most well-behaved dog in history. I guess that’s what happens when you train a dog for hours upon hours. Tim wants to steal him, and I wouldn’t be mad about it but my dad knows where we live.

Want to know what Whiskey was gawking at…. What a little prissy pants.

Have you been planting lately?
Deathly afraid of worms too?
Want to go to dog school?

05.08.13

DIY Painted Wooden Windchimes...

Posted by Christina // 17 Replies

Have you entered to win? Get on that.

You know that lately I have been backyard dreaming. Longing for days of margarita sipping and sun soaking. So obviously when Sherry, Katie, Renee, and Emily announced the Spring Pinterest Challenge my attention went straight out the window.

My original plans were to build a grotto ala Mr. Hefner but Tim put his foot down when I said the only bunnies making an appearance would be furry.

So I turned my attention to a few of my favorite pins. We already have a welcome mat surplus, so I started making plans to bring color into our backyard oasis in other ways. Enter stage left, the wooden wind chimes. I have a weak spot in my heart for the tink tink of a wooden chime. You too? Well, here let’s make them together. Go put your patience pants on, and bring a pair for me too. I began by painting one little chime while sitting on the floor. Then it dawned on me, I would be painting one chime at a time and holding it until it was fully dry so that I didn’t get paint everywhere and ruin my project. Then I put on my thinking cap.

I grabbed some yarn and hung the chimes from a hook in our ceiling. My smartest move to date, thank goodness for thinking caps.

I used my thumb to pull the chime out and give it a quick thin coat, then let it dry for a hot minute. On to the next one. I will not lie to you and tell you this project is incredibly easy and you can finish it in ten minutes. These windchimes took over my life for seven hours.

It was as close as I have been to throwing in the proverbial towel, especially when I decided that you couldn’t see the orange and red paint well enough.

So those chimes needed to be sanded and repainted in the “cool” colors. There may have been a nervous breakdown, or at least a lot of ice cream consumed. Luckily, the result was marvelous and I couldn’t be happier.

I have already hung them up and forced Tim to sit outside with me admiring their cheery disposition. I just can’t get enough. Are you a fan of windchimes?
DIY anything neato lately?
Need a gallon of ice cream?