For the love of Chrome

Dear friends! I have found a new spray paint love!! I know, I know- Heirloom White ROCKS. But this! this stuff is awesome! Its made by Rusteloum- and its CHROME.



Im sure its not new to many of you spray paint-aholics out there-but I have just discovered it. WOW! All those ugly plastic red ornaments from last year- yea there getting a coat of this. How Pottery-Barn-ish. You've seen these brass candlesticks many times over at GoodWill.



Well- look at it now with a fresh coat of Chrome.


And my brass $5 garage sale lamp- look how expensive it looks now.

Im also spray painting my gold-purchased from Michaels a million years ago-paper-mache deer. He looks AMAZING in Chrome.



For more fun bye-bye brass projects head over to 320 Sycamore

Urn makeover

I have been wanting one of those huge iron or stone urns for my front yard. But the prices were WAY outta my pocketbook range- some were over $200!! So did I let that stop me- heck-no tech-no! I found these orange (I call them orange-they are suppose to look like clay) plastic urns at Garden Ridge- they were still a little steep for me $60. So I waited-and waited, well guess what?, they went on clearance and I got them for $14. I bought two and headed home to gather my spray paint. Cuz what else are you gonna do with orangey-fake-plastic urns? I loved the lines and the raised motif on these. The black spray paint really make them pop- at a distance they almost look like those old iron pots you see the Charleston area. Tip:fill the bottom of your large pots with foam peanuts-it will make the pot easy to move AND you use less dirt.

I then filled them with mums for the fall and will change them out for Christmas. I also plan on planting white tulips in them for the spring.

Painting the Pumpkins White

*THIS IS A REPOST FROM LAST YEAR*
I only wish I already had my fall decor out!! But I am working on it. This is just for some fall inspiration! Im linking up with Thrifty Decor Chic for some more fall-fallie-ness.

You know the song in Alice in Wonderland- Painting the Roses Red? Well if Alice can paint the roses red- I can paint the pumpkins white. Dont get me wrong- I still adore the warm yummy oranges and russet colored pumpkins-but there is something about the creamy vanilla white that just makes me happy AND it goes with any decor. So with a little Primer


and a can of that oh so wonderful Heirloom White that EVERYONE is talking about in blog-land (if you dont have a can-run-dont walk and get you one).


In my excitement I forgot to take the before pictures but you get the idea.













So now instead of buying the "white" funkin-faux pumpkins- I think Im just going to spray paint my old orange ones instead- they have faded since being out in the sun anyway.

My $1 chalkboard

Out on one of my garage sale hunts I came across this magnolia tin tray for $1. Im sure in a former life it was "in style".


I was about to pass it up but my friend from WeAreTHATFamily- reminded me it would make a great chalkboard- there were two, so we each got one. I decided to use it as a Welcome sign for the front porch. I drilled two holes in the top & added ribbon. You could even change out the ribbon for the seasons. The black knob-thing its hanging from is an old door knob- I spray painted it black- filled it will floral foam and stuck it over a nail head- cute eh?

Dining Table Make Over

Kimba over at A Soft Place to Land is having a DIY Day!

Also today go visit Melissia at The Inspired Room for more fun & inspiring things and also Julia from Hooked On Houses.

The long awaited Dining room table makeover! Well its not COMPLETELY done- it still sits in the garage while the Poly-Eur ethane dries-that stuff is S-T-I-N-K-Y. I first tried staining with a dark espresso stain-well honey that DID not work-the wood on this table would not soak it in dark enough-unless I applied like 8 bazillion coats! So I went for option 2- painting! Spray painting that is. I found a nice Espresso Brown from Rusteloeum.

Step 1:
Liquid Sander- also known as Deglosser- this stuff is HIGHLY toxic. Apparently you have to dispose of the rags and gloves in water before you toss or it could automatically combust! and with our Texas temps being in the triple digits lately I knew I could end up on the 5 o'clock news!

Step 2:
I also hand sanded- most furniture you would only need to use the Liquid Sander and move on to painting- but this table had such a thick layer of gloss it took sanding too.

Step 3:
Wipe down with tack cloth and apply spray paint

Step 4:
Apply 2-3 coats of Min-wax Wipe on Poly in gloss finish. Allow it to dry 3 hours or more between coats. I also lightly sanded with steel wool between the coats.

Then there was the lesson learned part of this project. Spray painting a large surface area (i.e. the top of the table) causes huge, ugly, over spray marks-so the I-want-it-now side of me was going to just "live with it" but I decided to take the high road (meaning the long one). I re-sanded the newly painted and Poly'd top and hand painted it with Rusteloum's paint in a can. I didnt realize they carry both paint in spray form and in quart size. I am so glad I did-what a difference!

Before:





After: (unfortunately I dont have it all set up in the house with all the fun summer tablescape yet) I am practicing patience and letting it fully cure before I dress it up.

Poor Pitiful Porch

I have this screened in porch off my kitchen. I hate it! 1st off- we live in Texas-its too hot to really enjoy a porch, 2nd the way it is situated there are no cool breezes- its hot, stuffy & humid in there. 3rd- its a catch-all for the yard toys, spider webs and dust. *sigh* that being said I knew it needed some sprucing up so at least when I let the dog out I wouldn't cringe every time. I have future plans to tear it down, enclose it with french doors & glass and make it my sunroom- one day,....someday......hey a girl can dream.....

Ok so here is my before. Actually this is partway through the clean up- I didnt have the heart to show you the "real" before...paint cans, spray paint, a bike, blow up pool, sand box toys....I told you it was a catch all.




The white plastic chairs have been with us for over 10 years and they showed it-mold, dirt, grime...but once again spray paint came to the rescue. Krylon makes this wonderful plastic spray paint. No sanding, no priming, my kinda stuff. Just dont use it on laminate- I have a dear friend who has a horror story about THAT. Maybe she will blog about THAT. I will have to ask her about THAT. I wont reveal her name in case she doesn't want you to know about THAT. :-)

Anyway- on to the makeover. The chairs....


I also bought a Walmart can of Red spray paint & painted some items to add a punch of red.








This plate was already hanging on the porch but was green, gold & red. So I primed it with gray primer then painted it with my 2nd love- Chalkboard paint *sigh* That stuff makes me happy.


AFTER:




Now if only we could get rid of this 97 degree, 100% humidity I could actually sit out there and enjoy my work.

Hammered metal

Ok people you HAVE got to try this stuff! Its called Hammered by Rust-Oleum in Black. They have it in silver and bronze too.



I picked up this chandelier at Home Depot for $30 loved it- but hated the finish- it was a bronzy/brass color. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture- I know I know shame on me!! But here it is installed above my kitchen table. This spray paint totally changed the look. I have seen similar ones in Pottery Barn & Ballard Designs for over $200.

Mirror, Mirror

Remember this amazing mirror I got from a garage sale for $15?




I sanded it down- spray painted some gray primer (love that stuff.)





Then I spray painted two coats of Satin black.

Here she is in her new home on my NEWLY painted walls (that post to come soon!). Unfortunately the cute little black table is totally dwarfed by the mirror- no worries! I will just have to be on the hunt for a larger table at a garage sale.

Another spray paint story

This is a story about an ugly vase- a really ugly vase.





This vase was once purchased 9 years ago and the purchaser of this vase thought it was a lovely vase (what was I thinking). Well this purchaser has since come into a new light. The light & knowledge of spray painting. This purchaser use to toss unwanted, ugly, or wrong colored items- but not anymore. I have been set free- free from the thinking of "this does not go" or "this does not work". So back to the said vase- this vase has been given a new life and a new home- this vase that once sat out on a dusty shelf in the dark, damp garage-is now proudly displayed upon the 100 year old antique China Hutch. And if one day this said vase starts to look ugly or unlovely to the purchaser again- he will carefully be bathed in a new coat of color.