I actually tend to use whatever I have on hand when it comes to paint. We have used plenty of the custom mixed barn red/burgundy paint that we used on our back door and stepback cupboard. I have also used the color we painted our dining room (because we had it on hand). But usually when I sit down to work on a crafting project, I pull out the little bottles of craft paint that you can purchase in Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and even Walmart. Personally, I tend to find more colors I like in the Americana or Folk Art Brand, but I also use some of the Apple Barrel ones too. Most of these are about $1.00 a bottle (but this is a small bottle).
Someone asked about the color I used on this bowl. I used Americana brand called Heritage Brick.
I use a combination of two different brushes. I use a regular brush and then the sponge type brush. If I want to see brush strokes or go lightly over something, I use the bristle type brush. Most often, I use the sponge type. I find I can control how heavy or light I want with it fairly easily.
This bowl, after having about 3 coats of paint (because I was painting over that fruit, remember?), was distressed with antiquing glaze. I love this glaze. It tones down colors and makes them more muted, which I think makes them look even richer, yet prim.
We buy it at Lowes and if I remember correctly, it is only about $6 to $8 a bottle. And believe me, this stuff goes a long ways! We have done many projects that include many pieces of furniture, walls, and small crafts and this is only the second bottle (maybe third) that we've used. It is made by Valspar and called Antiquing Glaze:
To apply it, use the bristle type brush shown above. You may dilute it half and half water to glaze. If I'm working on a small craft project, I just get out a couple of Tbsp. and then add that same amount of water. However, if I am working with a dark color, I don't dilute it at all. I use it full strength, or if I want a really distressed look, I do the same.
The trick to this is to put it on the very tip of your brush and use light strokes of the wrist, back and forth.
This is a surprise project that I'll show you in a couple of days when I can bring it in. Jason was working on this one and I was photographing.
Here he even let Joy do it. See how simple it is? I hope this helps. If I didn't make something clear or you have more questions, email me or leave it on a comment and I'll try to make it clearer!
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Another project I tackled yesterday was this old window frame that hangs above my couch. Here's what it looked like. You may remember seeing it from a previous post. (Remember you can click on the picture to view it up closer...you can see just how white it seems when you look closer).
It was really "bugging" me that it was so white, even though it had a little dark distressing here and there. So....again, I used what I had on hand. I didn't want to use the antiquing glaze here because I didn't want it to still look white distressed. I really wanted to alter the color a little. So, I pulled out all of our stains and ended up deciding on the Mini Wax Red Oak. I rubbed it on with a rag over the entire frame...giving it two coats. This is how it looks now!
I just love it so much better! It doesn't look so stark against my walls. It seemed to instantly cozy up that spot behind the couch. It coordinates much better with my couch now, toning down the white and making the muted color that fits in much better! If I could just add some things that are in my mind's eye now and make some prim changes, it will look even better. But until then, this did help out. I love that stain!
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Just to show you a sneak peek at something else I'm working on.....here's what I found at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago. I forgot to take a picture then. It's a great pineapple cutting board. As I'm still working on it, I'll show you the outcome in another post real soon!
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And one more thing.......Patty over at Blessed Beyond, posted this wonderful Creamy Cheesey Potatoes recipe on her blog and I made it last night for supper. I have to tell you that we loved it! We had enough left over to go with our meal tonight! It is a crockpot recipe! Thanks for sharing, Patty!
And that is it for today! We're off to a field trip (during our Spring Break)! Thanks to you all for honoring me with your visits and comments! I appreciate them all! Have a great Thursday! :)
~ Tammy ~