I Finally Tried the Milk Paint

I know what you're thinking... "You did what?  You are just now trying milk paint, Nicole?  Have you been hiding under a rock or something?" Look people, this is probably one of the first projects I have gotten my hands on in 2 years. I have had two precious babes in 14 months, so sure, I've had projects. Most of which have consisted of brushing my teeth before bedtime, applying makeup, fixing my hair, and by fixing my hair I mean taking it out of the top knot from the day before and putting it back into a new, fresh top knot, and preparing PB&J's or Pimento Cheese sandwiches 3 out of 5 days of the week for lunches.  These count as projects, right?  

Pour it Out...

It's that time of the year...

...for endings and new beginnings...

I was recently contacted to make a custom canvas for a sweet girl graduating from college.  Her mama wanted something special, something she could hold on to, and something in her school colors {ie... Appalachain State University...Go Mountaineers!!!}

She requested Erma L Bombeck's quote,

"When I stand before God at the end of my life,

I would hope that I would not have a single bit

of talent left and could say,
"I used everything You gave me.""

chair + paint + burlap

 

I found these two chairs at Habitat for $10 a piece.  A little more than I would have liked to spend on chairs but I am sure happy I did.

 

I love painting furniture...or what I like to call, giving it a face lift.. and my favorite color to paint is usually WHITE.  I'm sure my husband probably thinks I'm lacking in the creativity department because every time I bring home a piece of furniture to paint, he's like, "Let me guess, you're gonna paint it white?"  My response..."Yes sir!"

The Cookin Nook Renovation

I am super excited to show y'all what I've been working on lately. 

With a new house, ideas are filling up my mind and my Pinterest boards but the projects are kinda stop and go.  I work on things as I have a chance, when I'm not working or cleaning or doing laundry or cooking or working on special orders. 

It's sort of sad, I feel like a lot of my projects start out with a bang and then just end up with my left-overs. 

But, oh the feeling of accomplishment once they are complete.

What Makes My Heart Go Thump...

Well for starters, this little beauty...

This is how I brought her home... so full of potential...

All she needed was a little TLC and, well, some elbow grease...

First...I spray painted the cabinet white.  Once she was dry, I sanded her around the edges and I brought her inside and then out onto the deck where the real work was about to begin...

Second...I decided to sand the top before painting the design...I almost wanted to leave it halfway complete....so pretty!!

Third...I found a design that I couldn't live without from The Graphics Fairy website...If you have never checked out her site, you need to!  It will make your life a little easier...promise!! 

I blew the print up to a size that was as big as I needed, laid a piece of carbon copy behind the print, taped that sucker in place, and traced the print.  The picture below is really hard to see...but if you look good and close, you can see the transferred image.

Fourth...I painted the transferred image black and let the paint dry.

Fifth...Once the paint was dry, I sanded the image a bit, and then put a few coats of clear coat on top.  

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this piece.  I have to include several pictures of this beauty... Enjoy!

Doesn't she make your heart go thump?!?

"And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new...”" 

-Revelation 21:5

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...A Hand Painted Welcome Tutorial...

We are trying to sell our house and I've been working really hard to clean and straighten things up, to get organized and throw away, while trying to add little touches here and there of, well, me. I know, the less there is in a home, the easier it is for the buyer to envision what it would look like with their belongings in place, but who wouldn't love a home with a sweet little comment painted on the front door?

I've been looking for a decal for some time now to place on my front door....and I never could find the right one. Then crazy me realized, silly girl, the search is over... you can paint exactly what you want, all by yourself! It's probably been about 2 months since I did this, so I apologize for waiting until now to show it to you.

It was super easy and I wanted to share it with you. This will be my first tutorial..and hopefully the first of LOTS to come...so bare* with me (*is it bare, or is it bear...oh well, I'm not a English major, I'm a crafter!)

Ok, first you will need a few items...

paint color of your choice

tape

a pen

a fine tipped paint brush

carbon paper

whatever word you would like to paint printed onto a sheet of paper

(***If you would like for your door to look exactly like mine, then use Antique White paint by Plaid Paint. My door is painted dark brown so I used white carbon paper, but if you have a light colored door, it would be best to use the black carbon paper. I chose to use the word "Welcome" in Scriptina font, and I made the font size 175.)

Next you will place the sheet of paper on your door, decide where you would like it to be, and once you find that perfect spot, tape the word with one or two pieces of tape to your door.


Then, place your piece of carbon paper under the word, so it will be sandwiched between the door and the sheet of paper, like so. Make sure you have the correct side facing the door, or your word will not transfer. If you're not sure which is the right side, trace a little then peek under the carbon paper.


Grab your pen and while holding the paper and carbon in place, begin to trace the word. Don't worry if the carbon moves, since you have taped your word in place. (You can use your other hand to hold the carbon paper. Since I have only two hands, I had to use the other to take this picture!)



Once you have finished tracing the word, move the carbon and remove the tape and word from the door. The word will be transferred to your door now. Yes, yes...you're thinking, "Mrs. SashToTreasure, this is NOT your front door!" I know, I'm really sorry!!! I told you this was my first tutorial...I got so excited to paint that I forgot to take a picture to show you what the transfer looked like. So I did it for you again, but onto a painted block of wood...which I will show you later. This is just to give you an idea of what your transfer will look like!



Now, just squirt your paint in a plate and with your fine tipped brush, just paint over the transferred word. It would probably be smart to leave your door open for a while, once you have finished, to let it dry....and Voila!! You have a hand-painted Welcome!!



*~*Back to that extra block of wood I used to show you what the transfer would look like. You know me, nothing goes to waste!! Well, I took the block of wood and painted it white. I traced the word onto it again with carbon paper, and painted "Welcome" in burnt umber. Once it was dry, using my sander, I sanded the edges and lightly over the top of the wording, to make it look a lil distressed. And now I have a cute little word block to sit somewhere and look pretty!!.. Ta-Daa!!


Here is a close up of the block...isn't it just precious!!



Hope you enjoyed my first tutorial, and let me know how it turns out if you decide to give it a try!!