Worn out old wood can be upgraded to a fabulous finish with Rust-Oleum's 2X - we went Grape to give the front yard a huge splash of color and vibrance!   We lightly sanded this fold up bench, wiped it down with paint thinner and allowed it to fully dry.  Once dry, I applied the 2X  black primer.   With only ONE can of 2x in Grape we completed this bench for way under $20!  Keep color in mind as well.... Add that splash and give your yard the "WOW" factor! 

These freebees from garbage night sure paid off!   Fold up metal chairs with white vinyl seats can fit basically anywhere...in a shed or garage for winter storage!  I lightly wiped them down with a degreaser, allowed them to dry.  Decided on Painter's Touch 2X French Lilac!   I covered the vinyl seats - later to discover that I was going to freshen them up with Rust-Oleum's Vinyl Spray in White.  Two light coats of the French Lilac gave these rusted old chairs new life!  I removed the seats and layed them on cardboard - sprayed them with the white vinyl and gave them a bright new look.  Rust-Oleum's Vinyl spray is made with actual vinyl paint resins making it as flexible as the vinyl being painted.  The seats look brand new.   One can of each paint was plenty. For added protection I added the Stops Rust Crystal Clear finish.   For under $30 I have two new colorful chairs to deck out my patio, dining room or family room!  Enjoy!

For years I have been reading about vinegar as a natural cleaning solution but have always hesitated.  My hesitation was that it will not be strong enough to cut through any grease or grime.  I picked up this tip from my Aunt who is well into her 80's and has never purchased a cleaning solution her whole life.  She has always used natural and organic solutions.  The trick with cleaning a microwave....you mix 2 cups of water and 1 cup of vinegar into a microwave safe bowl, uncovered  and turn on the microwave on for 4 minutes.  What happens is the solution steams the micovwave clean and leaves and unbelieveable shine.  After years of basic use, microwaves generally get a greasey film or a build up of sorts.  Once the microwave buzzed she waited another minute or so then opened the door - let me tell you the steam that came out of the microwave was very apparent !!  She then took a clean cloth and simply wiped out the entire microwave - what a shine and then I gently ran my fingers on the interior and no greasey film.  She further took the boiling solution and poured it down the bathroom sink - she let me know that it helps break up hair and build up in your plumbing pipes.  There is something to be said about age and wisdom!  Great Reduce, Reuse & Recycle cleaning solution! 

With school right around the corner and summer coming to it's bitter end - parents are getting organized for the upcoming school year.  Not only are we organizing school supplies into bins but we are preparing our kids for "time awareness" looking at a schedule/calendar and preparing for your day.  One easy way to graph out the hectic life of a ****aager is with a basic calendar be it weekly, monthly or bi-monthly.   With Rust-Oleum's Chalkboard Paint you can create your very own calendar on basically any surface!  We have our back entry door painted with chalkboard paint - with the Chalkboard Paint available in over 10 tintable colors, you can not only create a visible calendar but you can do it with a decorative flair - the colors vary from raspberry, garnet, coffee, peapod to school house green.  Various colors allow this product to be decorating tool instead of just a functioning one!  If you use your garage as your entry/exit to your home, consider a quarter of the wall in the garage as your new calendar wall - hang organizational bins, shoe racks and sports bags as well.  Helping keep your kid organized and stayed organized is one way to ensure a successful school year! 

As I was invited to many parties, picnics and celebrations over the summer I discovered one fancy fish tank at a friend's house - who is an avid fish maniac!  He collects varioius types of fish and thus found that fish tanks can be pretty hum drum and decided to spray the back outside of the fish tank with Rust-Oleum's American Accents Stone Finish.  This particular tank he sprayed with Black Granite which when illuminated with the lights looks like sparkling crystals in the water.  Chris cleaned off the glass surface with alcohol allowed it to fully dry.  Taped off the remainder of the tank with blue painter's tape and newspaper.  Closed off the top of the tank as well.  He did spray the American Accents Stone Finish in very light coats allowing each coat to fully cure 48 hours.  The process is long but beyond well worth it!  He estimates two cans per average sized table top tank.  Be sure to spray the tank on a level surface so that the Stone Finish does not slide down on the glass surface.  As I coasted through his garage, I found two more tanks he was working on...these he sprayed with Rust-Oleum's Stone Finish in Pebble.  He co-ordinates the stone finishes with the types of fish in each tank.  Who knew...color co-ordination in fish tanks?  Great way to add color and texture to jazz up any surface!  Fantasy Fish Tanks with American Accents Stone Finishes!

Color can change any piece of furniture from pretty plain jane to Wow! These two pieces I found through the "Free" Ad section in our local paper and all I had to do was pick them up!  Initially the wrought iron chair was questionable...but with a bit of sandpaper, Rust-Oleum's Stops Rust Rusty Metal Primer and two light coats of Painter's Touch 2X in Colonial Red - the chair was not only salvaged but restored to wonderful and colorful seat!  I customized the foam padding by purchasing thick 3 inch padding through JoAnn's Fabrics and on 1 inch for the back.  Stapled the foam to a piece of MDF board which I did cut with my scroll saw.  Picked out fabric to co-ordinate both pieces and then pulled and stapled on the fabric to the MDF board.  Sounds complicated, but was easy and took under 20 minutes to re-upholster the chair!  You can place these pieces into a country kitchen nook or your daughter's room for her own customized desk!  The desk was lightly sanded and then sprayed with Painter's Touch 2X in Wildflower Blue.  Color is the craze! 

Here is a great example of customizing any type of furniture piece into your home.  This chair was purchased through an auction recently for $8.  I simply loved the bones of the chair but it needed a bit of glueing, sanding and basic TLC.  The seat bottom was rattan so I removed that first.  I cut mdf board to fit the exact seat, screwed it in and now I had a sturdy seat!  With a bit of Gorilla Glue I fastened all of the legs.  Since the dark cherry was going to be hard to cover, I applied Zinsser BIN Sealer to the entire chair.  The chair was in good shape and did not even require much sanding prior.  With Zinsser BIN Sealer, no sanding is necessary after application.  My friend Lori saw the unfinished chair and convinced me to refinish it for her home.  She lives in an old victorian - rounded porch in our local downtown.  She needed hints of pink so I added Rust-Oleum's Ultra Cover 2X in Heirloom White - two solid coats and sprayed out the Sweet Pea into a coffee can and brushed the middle scroll.  Added a new seat cover in pink paisley print and came up with around $48 for the total project.  Not bad for an eye catching Parlor Piece - Welcome's guest right as they walk in!  My initial thought for this chair was to turn it retro by spryaing it with Ultra 2X in Espresso and a large funky polka dot pattern for the fabric - This is where you can take any basic piece and customize it to fit into your style. 

I have been diligently sanding down this antique chair I was lucky to grab at a yard sale for $5.  Yes, $5 big bucks!  It needed a bit of work but thought that I would be able to refinish the entire chair for under $30.  I used various grades of sandpaper and everytime I thought I had the perfect smooth finish - I found another spot that needed just a bit more sanding.  My Dad was a bit of a handyman and he gave me this tip - he asked me if I had done the pantyhose test?  Wrap a long piece of pantyhose around the palm of your hand and rub it over the wood.  If the pantyhose snags onto any spots, sand them until you're able to freely move the nylon over the surface without any catches.  It saves the palm of your hand will give you an ultra smooth finish!  He further shared that he applies stain into wood cervices with pantyhose as well.  At times paint brushes just do not fit into those small crevices or give them an even coating.  Just cut a strip of pantyhose from an old pair, fold it over a few times, use a rubber band to wrap it to the tip of a wooden popsicle stick or any type of long stick - dip your clever applicator into the stain or varnish - dab away and you'll have no trouble getting into those hard-to-reach areas!

In this project we got around paying for custom built in shelves around the fireplace wall.  We went searching for two cabinets that would almost fit right into each side of the fireplace and hit the jackpot at Ikea.  The only short term problem with the cabinet is that it was the wrong color.  I immediately put my friend at ease and told her we will paint them.  As you know cabinets from Ikea come in a box - perfect for spray painting small pieces of wood.  We layed out the pieces primed them with Painter's Touch 2X and then sprayed them with two coats of Painter's Touch 2X in Ivory.  Once we were done I advised that we allow them to fully cure for 24 hours before be put them together - the harder the paint cures the better - just in case we scratch it while putting it together.  Each cabinet came with two clear glass doors which she did not want and wanted to remove the glass and cut custom pieces of mdf board and spray those as well...good idea but then I asked her if she liked the frosted glass appearance - and yes, we sprayed one for her to check out....she loved it - Applied three light coats of Rust-Oleum Frosted Glass.  This truly  finished off the cabinets.  Estimates for custom built in cabinets ranged from $800 to $1,000.  We came in just under $300. The cabinets were $120 each and the spray paint came in under $50. 

I've blogged a few times about repurposing those plastic planter pots - once you've planted your flowers in the spring I encouraged you to keep a few of those mid sized pots and recycle the use.  Tomatoes are just starting the harvest season and you can grab those plastic pots and use them as a veggie/fruit strainer while harvesting.  You can also simply leave them in the garden, harvest and rinse - place them right back for the next week's harvest as well.  A few additional uses for those plastic pots- organize cables & cords - wrap & bundle them - when cords are in use, pull the needed length through the bottom hole - you can cut the hole to size.  If you are painting a flat item like a cabinet drawer - place four pots underneath to allow you to paint the lip of the surface.  In the winter - throw one in your ice melt and it will evenly distribute while you shake.   When the season is over, you can recycle them or keep for next year. 

The before and after pictures tell it all in this project.  The original finish on this fence was finally on it's last leg and was clearly time for the overhaul!  We started by power washing the entire fence with a power washer and Wolman's Deck & Fence Brightener.  Deck & Fence Brightener is a universal cleaner and can be used on all types of wood, removes old finishes well and leaves the wood prepped for the new coating.

Here is a picture of the "before" fence which has been weathered well and the original finish faded off.  Once dried I was determined to have the fence look basically new and applied Wolman's DuraStain - which does come in a semi-transparent stain but I needed a solid stain that would give the fence an even look.  DuraStain Solid Color Stain in Chestnut Brown worked like magic-application was smooth  and had a puddling like consistency which made the application quite easy.   Check out my results!

Grab any old wooden chair- be it from your shed or an in expensive one from a thrift store and show your patriotism by painting them RED, WHITE & BLUE!  You can display them in your front yard with pride along with your American Flag hung at bay!   With Rust-Oleum's 2X Ultra you can spray two coats per can -  Here I used Satin Paprika, Satin Blossom White and Gloss Brillian Blue!  Flourish your chairs with flowers and grab a seat to soak in your 4TH of July fireworks!  Happy Fourth to All!

One savvy friend turned an out-dated bike into a trendy peg bike with two simple cans of spray paint!  Kids today are determined and once they put their minds to anything, they go full force and accomplish great things! Our pal Danny had a bike with great bones but out grew the bright orange finish and decided to rip apart the bike and give it a makeover!  He started by removing the wheels, brakes then cleaned off the bike with a mild degreaser.  He fully dried off the bike with a cloth and applied Rust-Oleum's Stops Rust Primer in Smoke Gray on the entire cage.  The wheels were in great shape but the bike required new tires.  He found these funky blue tires and decided that he wanted to spray with two colors - the funky blue of the tires and a muted gray - He went with Rust-Oleum's Engine Enamel in Ford Blue to match the rubber wheel color - check out his new bike for under his Mom's budget of $50! 

We just battled a bathroom makeover and found that new appliances and vanities will basically run you a small fortune.  I try to help the environment by recycling just about everything, as well as making wise purchases such as restored appliances or scratch and dent purchases.  My Handy Man Dean tipped me off on ReStore - which is an architectural recycling warehouse where you can pick up anything from appliances to bathtubs to window for 50 to 75 percent off.   He managed to score us a basic white tub with a tiny scratch on the underside (which will not even been seen!) for way under budget - saved us over $120!  Once you jump on the website, you just enter in your preferred state and click on the facility which suits you best.  After discovering this great find - I did some more investigation and found that The Habitat for Humanity also runs restore facility that you can purchase from at a discounted price - the basic outlet is habitat.org and the other great find - redo.org.  Also great unique pieces at bargain prices!   For all of you DIYer's be sure to click around before you shop ..I also managed to grab an ultra quiet Whirpool dishwasher with a side scratch - which butted up against the kitchen cabinets for under $400.  Great steal!

I like to check and double check color trends for your home which include wall colors all the way to accessories.  I hit many home and hardward centers to check on color samples and swatches and found that Gray is the new White.  Gray is clearly very regal and takes on a soothing tone when combined with soft colors or pale wood tones.  When adding doses of modern, consider a touch of grass green,  bold almost electric blue or a vibrant yellow.  Since many of us to tend to have some type of beige as a base - which is still a warm neutral but they are now simply incorporating that beige as an accent with the grays.  With the gray family you can add your classic beiges, nautical colors, and so called "blast from the past" earth tones.  Gray helps keep the room in balance and will take over a cool, relaxing atmosphere!  If you can't decided, try one room with the classic gray base and accessorize with trend colors in turquoise, yellows and deep reds!  Go Gray!

I came across this old beat  up dresser which had great elongated mirrors on the side. I removed the mirrors and did away with the dresser!  I must admint that the mirrors sat around for awhile until it came to me - I was turning these old mirrors into a horizontal mirror with new antiqued hooks.  After investigating the wood, I realized that it had been stained with a black stain.  Since stain does bleed through I knew I needed to seal in the wood from bleeding through my final finish.  I grabbed a can of Zinsser BIN Primer - covered the mirror with tape and newspaper and simply sprayed away.  Zinsser BIN sealed in the old stain and avoided any type of knot bleeding.  I love the spray can - no fuss or mess nececssary.   The recoat time is fabulous as well - 45 quick minutes!  I next sprayed two light coats of Rust-Oleum's Satin in Shell White Satin.  The satin finish was perfect for that antiquefaux  finish!  I pre-drilled holes for the two antique bow hooks I found at a local craft store.   From almost trash to terrific with a couple of cans of spray paint!

It's been about a month since I planted my sweet basil and have been clipping off small sections.  I did notice that the plant was struggling a bit after I clipped a few leaves.  After a little on line research and a very helpful "Annie" at my local Lowes - I was basically mis-clipping the plant - Rule of Thumb - You should cut a third to a half of the volume leaving at least three pairs of leaves on the lower portion of each major stem and then water your basil.  I have done so this morning and I'll give it a few days and check to see if the clipping magic worked!  The basil is terrific and sweet this time of the year and I do manage to freeze chopped basil in ice cube trays for use all winter long!  Chop the basil and gently push it into each ice cube tray - once frozen, pop it out and toss into a freezer bag! Exicted for those tomatoes to come to life!  Enjoy Summer!

Customize any tool caddy for Father's Day and you'll be sure to please your Pop!  The best part of a generic tool caddy is that you can turn it into any "special" type of caddy.  If your Dad is a golfer, you have an instant golf caddy - add golf balls, tees and fresh new pair of golfing gloves - even a day at his favorite course! If he loves to tinker on his car, add oil, a car wash gift certificate and car fresheners.  The BBQ King will be thrilled with new grill tools, mesquite coals and a few bottles of BBQ sauce!  For the wood working Dad - add pencils, wood glue and spray paints and varnishes!  We made a special "Can Organizer" out of soup cans and then glued them together with Gorilla Glue which we then added in as a special gift!  For our Tool Caddy we used Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch 2 X in Gloss Deep Blue, the soup can organizer in GlossMeadow Green and the handle in Aluminum.  The high end decorations on the front are simple nuts and washers from your local home/hardware center.  They were about 30 cents a piece!  We glued them together first with the Gorilla Glue and then once the tool caddy was fully cured, we glued them directly onto the front!  What a great impact and it looks sharp!   Happy Father's Day - sit back, enjoy and relax!

I just wanted to share a bit of detail - the washers and bolts look rough and the organizer caddy was decorated with electrical cover jacks which range from 8 to 10 cents each!  Fill your organizer with paintbrushes, pencils and glue! 

Show Dad exactly how "Nuts" you are about him!   The kids actually put thought into what their Dad truly enjoys and that was pretty simple, golf, trailmix and of course a cold brew!  I grabbed an empty pickle jar from the recycle bin (so this project is RRR friendly!) cleaned and dried it out.  Purchased a bag of roasted peanuts and had the kids hot glue them to the lid of the jar.  Once fully dried, we spray painted the lid with Rust-Oleum's Specialty Metallic in Gold.  Two light coats turned our RRR jar into a dust of Gold!  Fill with your favorite treat for Dad, we filled ours with trailmix, trimmed the rim with co-ordinating ribbon and tied on a special note "Nuts About You Dad"!  If your fab Dad loves coffee, glue on coffee beans,  candy lover -fill with M&M's or gum balls.  

I browse through tons and tons of magazines, decorating, self motiviating, food and do it yourself types!  I found this dresser and thought that these colors were pretty limiting when it comes to spray paints....but I was wrong -Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch Ulta 2x not only has the double coverage factor but the color palette is simply incredible.  From your basic Flat Black all the way to Key Lime Gloss.  This is where a bit of color inspiration can push you to purchase that piece of wicker furniture from a garage sale for less then $10 - hose it down very well, allow it to fully dry - if necessary spray with a basic primer such as ZInsser BIN Primer - since wicker is wood - this primer will seal and not allow the wood spots to bleed through.  Once fully cured, you can replicate this wonderful, colorful "Island" like dresser by spraying with Ultra Cover 2X in Key Lime Gloss, Satin Blossom White, Gloss Brilliant Blue and Gloss Spa Blue or even Satin Aqua.  Grab a Comfort Grip and spray away with ease! 

This was a must share recipe which turns a rainy summer day into a cast of sunshine!   I simply used a "boxed" chocolate cake mix - added this creamy, rich filling and tantalized my family's tastebuds like never before!  Follow the cake mix directions -Bake cupcakes as directed.  In another bowl mix 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter, 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter - softened works best - 1 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar (a/k/a powder sugar)  and 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk. Mix for a good minute until fluffy.  Spoon the peanut butter filling into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip.  Take your completely cooled cupcake and insert the tip into the top of each cupcake; squeeze as much filling as possible until you see the top of the cupcake bulge slightly!  Frost with chocolate frosting or even skim a bit of the peanut butter filling on top and sprinkle with crushed nuts or crushed oreo peanut butter cookies - yes, they finally make peanut butter Oreos!!  Enjoy!

You can recycle your trash by taking it out into your backyard and creating your very own compost pile.  You can build your own compost bin with 2 X 2's or 2 X 4's and chicken wire.  Customize your size to fit behind a shed or by the corner of your home.  Better yet, call your local Waste Management and ask them how much are the recylceable compost bins - generally just around $20.  Start by using a pail inside that you can put your "Green" materials in such as coffee grinds, fruit and veggie s****s, eggshells as well as plant clippings.  You can "heap" layers about 4 to 6 inches deep of the green materials - alternating with the "Brown" materials such as newspaper, dry leaves, straw,  chopped wood, and untreated sawdust.   Now you need to let both of these materials just sit and they will naturally create nitrogen and certain brown materials will create carbon.   Add water directly into the compost - dampen only do not saturate.  This creates heat which the compost requires in order to break down.  About once a week turn the pile with a shovel or fork - just about when the compost reaches 140' F.  Then allow the compost to sit- flipping, stirring and turning every week until the pile no longer radiates heat and turns dry and crumbly -this takes about 3 months.  The compost "dirt" will then be a very dark brown - you can start to shovel out the compost and turn into your vegetable or flower garden which is a natural fertilizer.  Sounds like a lot, but it's an easy process which just takes a weekly commitment!  Sit back and watch your tomatos, peppers and herb garden jump into full bloom!

Spray painting your planters and tomato cages with vibrant colors is like adding art to your yard!  After spray painting last years planters - basically upcycling them, I have decided to spray paint those old $3 tomato cages which are just not that attractive!  Take a look on how great the colors are and how they dress up the small, but bountiful garden!  Go from generic cages to WOW!

I had a few cans of  Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch 2X laying around so I used basically what I had in color.  Pretty happy about that because the Marigold looks great against the green leaves and the Berry Pink out shines the brown fence!  If the cages are in real bad shapes, you can spray Rust-Oleum's Rusty Metal Primer on first - in my case, I did not - they looked pretty good and decided not to spend too much time - I would have to say that I made a huge color impact in my garden with minimal time & money!  Spray Paint Away!

Here it is - a plain white planter that has great bones but I wanted to jazz up the color and with Rust-Oleum's Universal in Gloss Sunset Orange - I chose the Universal brand because you can just spray anyway - literally at a 360 degree angle!  Basically spray upside down and you lose no pressure - just like spraying right side up!   Universal is great for grated iron pieces that are not solid - you can attain better coverage if you continue to spray one coat at a time.  This planter took two coats - I still have almost a full can left! 

 You can add color to your garden by simply spray painting your planters, bird feeders, bird baths as well as quickly update your mailbox with with a fresh new color.        I may even add color to my metal, rusty tomato cages! Go from plain Jane to Sassy in just minutes!                        

Here just some general information regarding how many gallons of paint you will need to paint a room.  Keep in mind that these are just guidelines that will help you determine the amount.  One gallon of paint roughly cover 375 to 400 square feet.  Take your room perimeter multiply it by the wall height which gives you the total square footage.   To play it safe, divide your room's square footage by 375 to get the number of gallons.  Chances are you will need two coats, in that case, double that number!    From all of my painting experiences, buying a decent brush does make the difference.  I am a huge fan of the Purdy lines of brushes, they do not loose their bristles or shape...even after repeated uses.  They dry quick and I usually rewrap them in the original packaging they come in.  Helps keep their shape.  Consider spending a bit more up front on supplies and the project will go without a glitch!

Curb appeal is important to any home and what better way then to apply a coat of paint to your front door.  My front door lacked lustre.  My metal front door just needed a fresh coat of paint and I decided to stick with the same color - black.  I wiped off the door with a mild degreaser and dried same.  I took the lazy route and did not remove the door knob or lock because I was basically freshening up the color and would hand paint around those areas.  I purchased a quart of Rust-Oleum's Stops Rust in Semi-Gloss Black and rolled the door with a four inch foam roller.  I did apply three thin coats, allowing each to fully cure about five hours.  The Stops Rust paint gave my door a fresh glow and then I decided to stencil on my house numbers.   As I finished the project, I'm now thinking I should have sprayed the door knobs and lock with Rust-Oleum's Metallic in Burnished Copper.  I may just tackle that next weekend!   The front door looks crisp and welcoming!

Since I love to update and  repurpose my home constantly, I'm always thinking of quick ways to change picture frames, lamp shades and any other accessories.  My office has a mild beach theme along with a series of  books relating to beaches and southern living - of course, they are stacked up and I was hoping to find decorative book ends within a reasonable range.  No such luck thus far and have made my own.  I grabbed large ball jelly jars filled them with layers of beach sand which I purchased at your local craft & hobby store - and shells that my family has been collecting for years.  The weight of the sand gives the jars the stability and the shells in between gives a natural free flow to the jar.  I was also considering using straight vases from the dollar store to give a more contempo feel - which looks nice as well.  My neighor was over and loved the idea - she filled her jelly jars with colorful marbles and gave me the idea of vintage buttons as well.  For more of a masculine look for your den, consider filling the jars with shiny copper pennies or silver shiny washers from your guy's toolbox!  Great 1 2 3 fix for all under a few bucks each! 

Planting season is here!  I have dug and replaced soil, turned over my vegetable garden and being that I live in the mid-west have not yet planted any delicate vegetable due to the "frost" that does come around mid May.  I did conquer my flower pots, especially the large ones in front of the house.  When repotting a plant, turn a smaller sized plastic pot upside down in the larger container and continue to add soil all around it.  When you're finished placing in the soil, gently pull out the plastic pot and there will be plenty of room inside the larger container to place your fresh plant or your plant's root ball.  Just another great way to RRR and reuse a plastic pot from last year.   Just remember to save a few of the plastic pots for the fall as well....great way to group and plant all sorts of beautiful bulbs!

For those of us who are tight on time here is a quick Mother's Day gift that is right in your backyard.  Take a few larger sized rocks, simply spray paint them with Painter's Touch 2X in Green Apple, Aqua and Sweet Pea.  Two light coats did the trick.  Allow the paint to fully cure.  I added my special message with the American Accents Decorative Paint Pens which have the perfect chisel tip for either broad or narrow lines.  Safe for kids too!  Be sure to have your kids special signature on the back along with the date.  For added protection, you can spray the final project with Rust-Oleum's Clear Polyurethane.  "Rock On" all you Mom's and enjoy your day!

Wow Mom this year with a super cute chalk board planter.  Grab a new one gallon paint bucket at your local Home Depot or Lowes for under $4 along with Rust-Oleum's tintable Chalk Board paint which is available in over 12 vibrant colors such as Raspberry, Grape Fizz, Peapod and Deep Teal.  I sprayed a quick coat of Painter's Touch primer in white and then applied 3 light coats of the Deep Teal Chalk Board paint with a small four inch dense foam roller over the bucket.  You need to allow the paint to fully cure for 3 days and then you can condition the painted surface which is basically taking the flat end of the chalk and marking up the entire surface, wipe clean and then you can write on the surface.   Once dry, fill the bucket with decorative, colorful flowers or you can even plant a real pot of geraniums, pansies or impatients - Simple easy and the kids love to get their hands dirty!   

Design your own perfect message or have the kids even make one for Grandma - The quart of chalk board paint will be able to cover plenty of planters as well as many other small projects - Since school is almost out, this project also makes a great "Thank You" teacher's gift.  Attach a card with a decorative ribbon for your teacher and let her know how much you enjoyed her class and suggest a few ideas on how to recycle the chalk board planter for her classroom - a crayon bucket, candy bin or a used pencil bucket!   Happy Mother's Day to all of you great crafty and clever Moms!

Dazzle your Mom this Mother's Day by baking a batch of warm, delicious chocolate chip cookies and your very own handmade recipe card holder.  Using three inch terra cotta pots, Rust-Oleum's 2X spray paint, reindeer moss and a simple fork from the dollar store you have created a project she will hold on to for many years to come!  If she loves flowers, simply spray paint the terra cotta pot and add glass beads along with a fabric gerbera daisy!  I loved the colors of the Painter's Touch 2X in Summer Squash, Green Apple and Berry PInk.  To further customize your pots, add decorative ribbon around the upper lip of the pot or add your special message with a sharpie marker.  Just remember Grandma as well - she may even turn the recipe card holder into a picture holder for her kitchen! 

When it comes to savvy and finding a good deal - I'm all over it!  I have been struggling for years with my family room windows due to the fact that they are not standard sized windows and any type of window treatment would cost me a small fortune.  After the annual spring cleaning of the windows, I decided it was time to set out and find reasonable window treatments or at least decorative valances that would cover the pretty generic ivory cellular shades that are already "dazzling" my family room.  Our family room has a basic brown leather sofa with mild hints of the beach theme.  Here is a picture of the generic window before:

I ran into Pier One after I had hit all of the local custom blind stores, home/hardware centers and even Walmarts & Targets for a just in case solution.  I'm browsing in Pier One and find these solid bamboo kitchen placements for a whopping $3 a piece. I purchase 12 of them after measuring up the windows & placements and figure out that I actually only need about 11 1/2.  I find that the bamboo slats are strung up with an elastic string and am able to remove slats from the placemat making the last placemat to a custom size.  I hung up the corner windows and fell in love with the rustic - tropical look and continued with the larger window. I hung the placemats with small finishing nails and nothing else.   My neighbor loved the look but not the colors and I quickly suggested that she can simply spray paint them to custom match any room.  She took on the task of repainting her daughter's room last year and now decided to hang two of these placements in her room - except she was spray painting them a crisp, clean white with Rust-Oleum's Universal in white.  Tiki hut beach decor all the way.  Check out the final results of my custom valances for a whopping $36 for the entire family room.  Now, everyone notices the bamboo valances and not the dull, drab cellular shades!  It just take one simple idea to change your room!

Doors and entry ways take a massive beating all winter long.  Now is a great time to clean up those thresholds while the kids are still in school and you have enough time to clean, prime & paint or stain your thresholds.  It's basic threshold clean up - lightly sand them, then you can use a deck stain or paint such as Wolman's DuraStain - which is available in solid and semi-transparent - which is also water repellent.  For a quick clean up solution, Wolman's Deck & Fence Brightener or DeckBrite works well and will clean the dirt and brighten your wood which prepares it for painting or staining.  If you use an exterior grade of stain or paint it will protect the wood a bit better and withstand months of in & out in the rain, scuffing and you will be ready for the winter boot-stomping months as well. After your great threshold clean up you may want to invest a few more bucks and replace the weather stripping on the bottom on the door which will give you added insulation while running your air conditioner.    DuraStain is available in over 10 different colors - all the way from Chestnut Brown to Colonial Blue. 

After organizing my laundry room, I was in need of small boxes or bins.  Some of the bins I purchased were just too large or deep.  I ended up returning the bins and besides, I was in search of some type of recycled item that I can dress up.  After Easter I ended up with a ton of paper egg cartons.  Well, I threw that on top of the dryer and found it to be perfect...except for the "decorating" end of things.  Then I decided to spray paint it a moss green!  It now fits right into the green/brown hues and does not stick out!  I love the egg carton because all of the change, earrings, buttons and anything else that mysteriously comes out of the washer/dryer gets placed into the slots -  now when you hear "Mom - I lost my earring" - you can guide them right to the egg carton on top of the dryer and nine times out of ten..there is it!  I'm even thinking that an egg carton in the kitchen junk drawer may be a winner too!

When woodworking John decides on a project,  he goes full force.  With a custom center fireplace that is over twenty feet tall he needed to build an entertainment center that would enhance the fireplace as well as give the room depth.  After much a do he started by engineering out the basic skeleton of the two piece entertainment center which turned out that the fireplace was not centered and he was now looking at two units that were not even the same size.  Here is a picture of the blank project

He purchased oak wood and moulding along with finishing nails, wood glue, electricall outlets - and yes, he did install his own lighting as well exhaust fan for the television so that the electrical equipment does not over-heat in the new unit.   The next picture show the progression - which he was a bit frustrated with due to how slow it was actually going. 

The unit started to seem basic to me and once he finished all of the shelves, the stain and finishing touches - which he raved about - the stain he used was Varathane Foam Stain in Dark Walnut - which is ideal for indoor projects.  He found it easy to use and true to color.  He ended up staining the bottom units together and the shelves were stained all separate and then put together. For added protection and to seal the finish he used Watco - Clear Laquer - Satin -applied three coats to each piece of wood - He purchased a quart and used a foam brush to apply the clear protective coating.  Working his magic he added lights and exhaust fans at this point.  To illuminate the interior of the unit and have the Dark Walnut Pop he added Rust-Oleum's Gloss Black using a foam roller to the entire interior of the unit - then placed the glass shelves to each side, placed is equipment and check out the custom end result.  It's a project that is rated a super star ten !

While grabbing an estimate from my pal - Painter Bob - I noticed his paint brushes each had a single medium sized hole drilled in them above the metal casing - right under the wooden handle.   Bob drills holes into his brushes because he can hang them through a metal dowel or even wooden one - due to the expensive brushes he uses, he likes to be sure the bristles stay in tact and do not loose their shape.  He simply hangs them on the dowel, lays the dowel on top of a bucket during a break as well as once they are cleaned out, he hangs them to fully dry.  Just remember, this is also the clever painter who loves to RRR - he uses old rubber balls - inverts them and fills it with spackle - inverts it again when he is done, recycles the unused portion and rinses out the "halfed" rubber ball.  Simple, reduces waste and recycleable!  Thanks Bob for your clever tips!

Welcome Earth Day - Aprill 22nd! 

Let's celebrate our Mother Earth this year by planting a small sapling or better yet ...if you just do not have the means for a larger tree...plant a perennial.   I'm so glad our bloggers are living greener and are so much more aware of their own environments.  we found that 60% of our fellow Americans are also now using energy efficient light bulbs, 30% of you great gardeners are composting and 10% now take five minute showers.  You can jump on the official website for discounts and recomendations for planting trees ... www.earthday.com along with tips on living even more green and preserving our earth.  Keep in mind that products labeled recyclable have the most meaning when they're necessary purchases or have a short life span.  One great example, it's more important to be able to recycle a glass food jar than a vase.  While considering further yard work for the season, check into rubberized, recycled mulch - it has come along way - which to me refers to the "look" - a few years ago the rubberized mulch looked rough and generally came in larger chunks - now more refined and shredded.  Though still on the pricey side, about $10 per bag - you can count on it's hardiness for a few years versus replacement every year. 

Up-cycle your plastic patio furniture this year with Rust-Oleum's Paint for Plastic.   With it's easy to use one-step system you can affordably repaint your plastic weather-drenched outdoor furniture!  You can actually clean off your plastic furniture with a one to ten ratio of bleach and water, allow to fully dry and then spray with Paint for Plastic - this product has excellent adhesion and durability and is available in over 10 popular colors.  Some great colors are Spruce Green, Black, Claret, Sunrise Red and Taupe.  Expand your horizons and spray your plastic garden pots, lounge chairs and side tables as well.  Super way to help the enviornment and upcycle furniture and put it to good use all over again!  This project can be done within 2 full days.  I recommend one day to clean and allow the furniture to dry and the second to spray.  This is a level one DIY project for sure!  Enjoy!

Rust-Oleum's Hammered Copper Spray paint saved our kitchen tiling project!  After a year of re-doing and tons of elbow grease, we have painted our cabinets a crisp, clean white - which were in great shape but had the early 90's washed bleach stain!  Then sprayed our knobs with Rust-Oleum's High Heat in Bar-B-Que Black - I simply loved the flat dull black finish.   As the project grew as well as our confidence, I next applied a concrete finish to the countertops.  WHAT A SUCCESS!  Of course, by then the walls certainly overdue for a fresh coat of paint.  I was undecided as to what kind of backsplash I was looking for, since I have a light beach theme in my home , I looked into sea glass - oh wow - talk about expensive !!!  Then I looked into wainescoating but it just did not work for me- to stark.  I finally found this "glass tile" in browns and golds to enhance and give the counters more depth.  Did price comparisons on line as well as your local home/hardware centers and found that you can basicallly order any type of tile as long as the store buys from that manufacturer  - settled up for $4.99 per square foot - which was just in my budget, rented a tile saw and purchased a glass blade along with thin set adhesive and mortar.  The tiling project was a total of $227.46.  So now we got to work, and everything went smooth - not one glitch - except at the end, the outlet covers that I thought would be perfect with a copper finish ran around close to $80 - way over my budget and felt that spending just about half on outlet covers defeats the purpose of painting the cabinets, knobs and laying my own countertops.  I purchased two additional plastic outlet covers and sprayed them with Rust-Oleum's Hammered Copper to see if I even liked the end result and  it turned out simply amazing.  The Hammered finish speckled through quickly and evenly.  I sprayed two light coats and decided to go with that.  The bottom line - save yourself a ton by spray painting your outlet covers - originally I was going to spend the $80 if I had not found the Copper Hammered Spray.  So, with the spray paint you can add $6.97 which comes to a total of $234.43 - my budget was $250.00! 

Everything old is new once again!  Reynolds Wrap has come up with a grand way to recycle  and turn it into aluminum foil - recycle, recycle & recycle!  Reynolds Wrap Recycled Aluminum Foil is made from one hundred percent repurposed aluminum collected from old stadium seats and cookware.  The seller for me, each roll takes 80 percent less energy to make than its nonrecycled counterpart - and it also comes in a package made entirely of reused papers and paperboards.  This will run you about $3 for 35 Square Feet - a bit on the pricey side, but consider how much energy as well as landfill materials you are saving - once done, you can crumble the dirty aluminum foil and toss it or you could rinse it off and recycle it again ! 

Just as with my snowblower, I take all of my garden equipment and prep them for the spring season ahead.  Last year I spread a fungal disease using the same pruners, and yard shears without cleaning them from my lilac bush to many other plants and trees.  I have now cleaned up my pruners and shears by lightly sanding the blades with a mild grade of sandpaper, rinsed off the entire tool with a mix of ten percent of bleach and water - you can dip your pruners or shears into a bucket a few times or mix up the ten percent solution in a spray bottle and spray the tools.  To help with the mechanics of the tools, spray  a little grease on the cross bar to help with the grip-dry the tool off and you should be disease free and ready to put them to work!   Spring has sprung and let your plants and trees flourish!

Here is when you can create art even if you do not have an artistic bone in your body!  Purchase smaller sized mounted canvas, tape off sections to make a creative design and simply spray paint away!   I created a vibrant green and blue scheme for my daughter's room - which has a bit of a retro flair!  We used Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch 2X - even though we did not need the double coverage, I figured we would for sure use up the spray paint to add further details to her room.  The Painter's Touch 2X gloss held up great on the canvas, held the gloss real well.  The colors we used were Gloss Key Lime and Gloss Brilliant Blue - nice even tones and finishes.   Once we spray painted, we gently pulled off the tape - what great contrast and clean lines, but yet I found it needed a finishing touch of sorts - ran out to the craft store and had her pick out co-ordinating ribbon for around two bucks!  Cut the ribbon to cover angled areas and add a small burst of color and texture as well.  Check out our homemade Spray Paint Canvas Art! 

Winter maintenance is a must do for my snowblower which I've had for the past ten years.  I can attest to it running well and holding up to the yearly maintenance after the season and quick check-up before the season.   I start maintenance by hosing off the snowblower, wiping it down with an old towel - check the oil level and leave just enough gas to restart it one more time before I stow it away.  I gently flip the blower to it's back - basically on it's handles - check the rotating blades.  I lightly sand the blades with a medium grit sandpaper - be sure to have decent working gloves on.  I also sand the outer cover - especially the edge - it does rust and decay.  I wipe it clean & dry.  Next, I spray the rusted edges and blades with Rust-Oleum's Rusty Metal Primer.  It's amazing to watch how quickly the spray paint penetrates to rust!  I allow it to fully cure and then on the outer cover as well as on the inner edge, I spray with Rust-Oleum's Stops Rust in Hunter Green.  The color trend ten years ago was that Hunter Green and it matches up fairly well.  I also check the pull switch - which last year needed to be replaced because the cord was dried out as well as the electric start - Once everything is in running order, - run the gas out of the blower and store away until next season!   For those of us who prefer not to add color to your rusted metal or clean metal...you can follow the same steps and use Rust-Oleum's Rust Inhibitor - same product without color - sprays on clear with the same durable protection- also great for garden tools - sporting equipment and other metal tools used throughout the year!

Right after Christmas I purchased ornaments at 90% off and just knew that I would be able to put them to good use....eventually.   From $19 a box to $1.90 I decided to spray paint a few for Easter and turn them into Easter Eggs.  The ornaments were originally Christmas Red and with two light coats of Rust-Oleum's Satin - Shell White they went from Christmas ornaments to Easter Egg within 15 minutes!  I was undecided as to what I wanted with the eggs, so I set them aside.  One night I had extra patience and I took I my paintbrush set, acrylic paints and went to work!  I must admit, the first egg - a disaster - I was adding too much detail and my basket with eggs looked like a simple blob of nothing.  Next, I drew on the basket with a pencil and painted it with basic brown.  Allowed the basket to fully dry.  Next night, added a few eggs - pink, green, red and pink.  Waited about an hour, added stripes and a small bow.  Once dry, I added details with glitter glue!  The green grass added the finishing touches!  Once you get down your pattern, you can make many of these at a minimal cost - great for decorating an Easter tree - gifts for family and friends as well.  The photo does not do this decorated Easter Egg justice...Be creative add an Easter Bunny or simple polka dots makes a statement as well! 

Oh finally...we can take a gigantic Leap Forward Into Spring!  The midway point through March is generally a great time to calendar Daylight Savings - change your clocks forward, replace your old batteries in your smoke alarms, check your sump pump batteries as well...spring can be a very wet time of the year.  If you live where you do not lose an hour, use the first day of spring, March 20 as a reminder date.  Let's hope that the bulbs will be peeking through the earth soon!  Happy Spring!

Spring is just around the corner and Easter decorating has begun!  For those of us that are not huge fans of the "pastels" but yet love this time of the year....create your own colors - I have spray painted real eggs with Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch in Gloss Berry Pink, Sun Yellow and Grape!  I poked holes in each end of the egg, blew out the yolks & whites (which I then used in my cupcake recipe) allowed them to drip dry for one day in the egg carton.  Then with two light coats, I spray painted the eggs.  Everyone does touch them and ask "are those real?"  The spray paint does give each each such a glossy finish, but yet allows the texture of the egg to show.  I did a few of these last year and the spray paint acted as a preservative and the egg stayed nice and hard and the colors did not fade.  The hardest part of this project is blowing out the eggs - easy part...Spray Painting and adding vibrant great colors to your Easter decorations! 

I saw this stunning fireplace "Cover-Up" in This Old House and felt it was a must share.  The simplicity of putting this cover up together is great for those first timers!  In the summer my fireplace just lets out the air conditioning and I basically leave some logs in it or sweep it out and place a few potted plants in the hearth.  All this project consists of is MDF board- the thin ply- cut to the opening size, primer, paint, velcro strips, and embellishments.  Measure and have your local home/hardware center make basically two cuts.  They should give you two free ones and after that it's in the $2 per cut range.  Lightly sand down the edges of the board, prime with Zinsser Primer, once fully cured, apply two coats of Rust-Oleum's Sand.  Lay out your wooden scrolls and embellisments, prime - allow to fully dry and apply two coats of Rust-Oleum's Antique White.  Both of these Rust-Oleum paints are available in spray, quart and 1/2 pint.  Once the MDF board is dry, lay out a design with the embellishments.  Apply the embellishments with Gorilla Glue.  On the reverse side peel & apply the velco strips in a few places and same on the fireplace - push your decorative cover over the opening and Whalah - a decorative and beautiful Fireplace Cover-Up. 

I'm notorious for touching up my walls about every other month or so.  The kids are dragging their hands across the walls as if they are just learning how to walk, using the inside of our home as a basketball court,  and bouncing their duffle bags off the walls as well.  As you can imagine, the walls take a beating - being scratched and nicked all the time.  Since most of my downstairs walls are "Cappuncino Tan" - I purchased five gallon buckets of paint.  At touch-up time I have a tough time dragging out the five gallon paint bucket to dry brush up the areas.  So, I was in the famous dollar store downtown and purchased a turkey baster to take the paint out of the can and into a small plastic tupperware or cup. I figured it's worth the buck investment and no biggie if it did not work.   It worked like a charm!  I did not spill any paint down the sides of the large bucket or accidently drop the cup into the bucket either!  When done, just rinse well.  In fact, it's a great idea to make a baster a permanent addition to your workshop for transferring any solvents, varnishes, paints, and other liquid chemicals.

With our fingers crossed we are truly hoping that the winter is only six to eight weeks away!  Start poring over seed catalogs and consider ordering your vegetable garden this week.  In a recent blog regarding recycling plastic planters, I wrote about saving a few to start spring seeds - keeping them stacked and in your garage for easy access.  Start your seedlings inside six to eight weeks before the last frost in your area.  I have already purchased a large bag of soil with nutrients included - it is a bit more pricey but worth the extra bucks - it's already mixed and ready to drop into the planters.  Order your seeds or seedlings, saplings now and nurture away until spring! This also triggers my crafty side and I start pulling out my outdoor spray paint projects that I have been holding on to all winter long!  Great way to start DREAMING OF SPRING! 

Last Sunday I attended my dear friend's baby shower and she is one of the most Green gals I know.  The function was held at her sisters who is also pretty Green and the decorations were fabulous!  They hung letters which each guest wrote when they received their invite on a laundry line with natural wooden clothespins, we ate on "real" plates and drank out of true to be glasses - not a plastic fork in site!  No paper napkins either, cloth napkins.  As I sat I noticed that each guest had a tree sapling in a natural brown pot wrapped with a little yellow ribbon - "Celebrate New Life" -printed on the back, planting directions!  What a great favor to pass along...since it is about 6 weeks until Spring, I will nurture my sapling and then plant it outdoors and will always remember the birth of "Emma"!   If you were interested, some of us chose to make a Emma a natural tye dye onsie -using a 100% egyptian cotton baby onsie which we tye dyed in natural inks - apparently red onions make a great purple dye!  What a great day and conscientious way to take care of the environment for you child's future!