How To Spraypaint

I'm trying to do a few "how-to" posts here, because I get more and more emails asking how to do this or that. One I've gotten recently, is how to spraypaint well. There are lots of pointers that I think can be helpful, and I also made a short (only slightly helpful) video.

That's me...spraypainting. It's earth-shattering stuff, folks.

Nah, it's just that I thought the video of how I do it might help. I think one of the main problems people have with spraypaint, is that they hold the can too close to the subject. The key is that you want to stay at least a foot or so away. It's hard, because you want to get close, to get better and faster coverage, but really, staying back a bit keeps drips from happening. It also gives you lighter, thinner coats, which, in turn, adhere better in the end, and keep from giving a cloudy appearance to your finish.

Another technique you'll notice, is that I sort of shake the can as I spray, I don't just hold it straight to the subject. I never really noticed that I did that, until I started watching this video. The reason I do it, though, is so that build-up doesn't occur on my painting subject, thus resulting in drips.

Something else I try to do when spraypainting, is to think of my arm as a machine. hah. I think about how a machine that sprays paint onto something would spray it: evenly and staying at the same distance away from the subject - weird, but I think it works!

Anyway, hopefully some of these techniques help, and if you guys have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section, and I will answer them there!

PS how do you guys feel about me doing some tutorials where I'm talking into the camera? If you like the idea, what would be helpful to know about? What are some good subjects?

Dining Chair Makeover!

I painted these fun dining chairs this week...I love the new orangey shade!

I did a light distressing on them, too.

This photo is probably a better representation of the color:

I sprayed them, rather than brushed them, and I loved the smooth finish!

Kitchen Rug

I bought a rug off of esalerugs.com on Monday night, and it arrived on my doorstep yesterday (Wednesday). Wow! Speedy delivery. Besides that, I am also in love with it. See?

I took this with my phone, so the quality is poor...and it was also night-time, but I just had to show you guys. Here is another shot that I took to text my friend (in the afternoon):

I love it! My friend had ordered a rug from there and had great results, and I also read on Bryn's blog about her buying one there, so I thought it'd be a great place to go, and it was.

A Few Things...

Just a few things to share on this Wednesday morning...

first, thanks to my friends Janell and LaKeitha at House of Fifty Magazine for including my living room, alongside one of my blog idols, Jenny from Little Green Notebook. Also, it was written by Kim Myles from HGTV's "Myles of Style"...so cool!

The article is about working with what you have, and are able to create, rather than buying everything as-is. Quite a contrast to a recent Mary McDonald quote that Emily addressed on her blog yesterday (also thanks to Emily for including me!). I love making things and painting items for my home...there is such a sense of satisfaction and pride that comes along with turning "trash to treasure", as they say. I am always so happy and satisfied after I've created something pretty for my house. There is nothing like pulling a room together, when you've had budget restraints, and have to be really creative to get the look you want.

(yes, that's a screenshot from my computer, because I am apparently not tech-savvy enough to figure out how to get a photo of just the page...)

anyway, next up, yesterday, a client sent over her deposit for a future job in stationery that she had made with a drawing I did for her twins' nursery (this one)...it made my day!

here is the framed original, on the shelf:

also...I am currently painting a client's kitchen cabinet doors in my studio...it's a welcomed first in this painter's book

they're all resting on paint cans, so that they don't touch the ground, hah! I have a lot of paint at the studio :)

lastly, I went to Starbucks yesterday, and noticed a few great design elements I loved. This subway tile is exactly what I'm thinking for our kitchen. It's white, even though it looks creamy or gray in this photo. It's beveled, which I love, and I also like the look of a dark gray grout with it:

I also really liked the putty-ish grays that were used on this wall, that was really made more elegant with the wooden trim elements. The light fixtures were pretty, too. Way to go, Starbucks!

that's it for today...enough with my rambling, and happy hump day.

Sofa Table

I recently completed a new sofa table painting project, and I have to say that I really like the way it came out. It was really fun to paint, too! I'm starting to get the hang of this style of painting, after having painted this piece for the same client:

here is what the sofa table kind of looked like before I got a hold of it (it was your basic wooden piece - very simple):

what we were kind of going for:

and, after:

my favorite part about it is that vine pattern in the middle - I feel like I could make those brushy patterns all day. It's really relaxing and fun to do.

somehow, I don't have a horizontal photo of the top, so these long-ways ones will have to do! Shoot.

It completely changes the feel of this traditional type of furniture, doesn't it?

Pantone's MyColor Spokesperson Announcement!

Hi everyone! I'm here today with some super-exciting news. I was chosen to be the spokesperson for MyColor™ inspired by PANTONE® paint line, which is available now in select Lowe's stores! Remember when I blogged about painting the pieces for their brochures? Well, that turned into this, and I couldn't be more excited about it!

The paint is currently available in select Lowe's stores, Lowes.com, and Pantone.com. I will be writing a blog for them, detailing projects and ideas inspired by and using MyColor^TM inspired by PANTONE® paint. I will of course always link to the projects from here, so hopefully you'll see lots more cool DIY stuff from me this year.

The blog will be up soon, but if you want to check out the paint, you can follow the link here. I'll be sure and let you know when the first post goes up! :)

I love lamps.

There are a few home decor objects that I could really become a professional hoarder with.

chairs,

throw pillows,

lamps.

I can't get enough of any of those things, and I always seem to find more that I just have to add to my collection (which lives in my tiny home). However, even though I found some thrift store lamps that I spray-painted orange and placed on either side of our bed, I always knew that I'd fin some better ones - those were just holding the future lamps' place. Well, yesterday I found those lamps (yay)! They're sort of Chinoserie-style, made maybe in the '50's or '60's, and I really love them.

They're a good bit taller than the lamps we used to have, too, which is great because those were really too low (Jordan was always bumping them, and it was annoying). I can't decide if I'm going to paint them or not. I sort of love the vintage paint job on them, but I'm not sure if I'm in love with the yellow...time will tell.

I do, however, adore the white details on the yellow base. The very bottoms with the little circus-tent shaping is the best!

(these photos were taken last night - sorry for the terrible lighting!)

the whole bedroom - can you tell I like symmetry?

Jordan's side:

mine:

I love them! What do you think -- should I paint them or no?

thinking about it...

I've been thinking about painting the lower halves of my kitchen cabinets a darker gray or putty color...here are a couple of examples of what I'm thinking:

I love the gray of this kitchen island. If we had an island, I'd do that, but since we don't, I was thinking about just the bottoms of our cabinets. What do you guys think? I can't decide if it would drive me nuts or not. Or maybe I should just paint all the cabinets? Hm.

Here is a look similar to what I'm thinking, though this kitchen is a little "airier" than my personal taste:

I love the hardware on those, too!

I saved this image because I thought the charcoal cabinets were so pretty! I could perhaps go for a super-dark color like that, too, but my living room walls are similar, and I'm not sure if that might annoy me.

here is another two-toned kitchen - not necessarily a fan of that green, though. I do love green cabinetry, but I like greens that read as browny-putty-khaki greens, rather than bluey ones.

love this kitchen below! I also need to get with the program and re-tile our backsplash, which I painted white a long time ago. It could be cool to tile our entire back wall to our kitchen, but I doubt that will happen...most likely just the backsplash. Dad, are you reading this? let's do it! :)

Simply Buckhead Magazine Feature!

Hi! I realize I sort of disappeared for a few days without saying that I would be gone! Sorry for that... We actually went on a little trip, so I was MIA from the blog-world for a bit, and it was a nice break. :)

However, I am back today with exciting news: Some of my work was photographed and published in Atlanta's Simply Buckhead magazine, in a house that I have done some work in!

(my work is bottom right)

and the Chinoserie nursery mural I painted in the top left here:

Here are my photos of the same rooms...

Lyford Cay inspired Breakfast room:

and the Chinoserie nursery:

thanks to Simply Buckhead and Heather at H&H Home! If you are out and about and want to pick up a copy, it's the one with Clark Howard on the front.

Toy Box Makeover!

Recently, I made over this toy chest. My client had the toy box in her room when she was a little girl, and her mom painted it whimsically for her and her brother. It was obviously a sentimental piece, and she wanted to use it in her baby's nursery, but with a more toned-down painted look.

Here is what it looked like before:

The bedding that my client bought was the Eli's Elephant Nursery Bedding from Pottery Barn.

Very cute! So, here is how I transformed the toy box:

Heather (who helps me out at the studio sometimes) helped me sand and paint the entire piece off-white. That obviously toned the whole thing down, then I went in and did decorative elements. I knew that my client wanted it to be simple, so I kept the whimsicality to a minimum.

Vintage Nesting Table Find!

hello.... Thanks for all the kind words about my sailboat painting... I appreciate the sweet support!

In my New Year's Post, I vowed to share more happenings about my daily creative ins and outs, so, I thought I'd share these cute nesting tables I found at one of my favorite secret thrift store spots. They were only $25 (for all 3!)

I haven't decided what color I want to paint them (something bright, most likely), so until I make the decision, I set them down in the living room where they'll probably live. Mika, naturally, has taken to sitting on them all hours of the day and night. I found him resting on them not one,

but two times, within the first few hours of bringing them home

cats are weird.

I think he even slept on them last night, replacing my soft, warm, blanketed feet in the bed (his usual night-nesting spot), with a hard table downstairs. What a strange guy he is.

Sailboat Painting

I recently completed this large sailboat painting. Check it out!

it's really dreamy, watery, and willowy. I'm used to a more graphic and defined style, so this was a little bit of a challenge for me.

I like the reflections of the boats in the water...

I used mainly acrylic paint, with oil and chalk pastels, too. I was trying to figure out to how to seal chalk pastels enough to do my normal glossy sealer on top, and I found that using the ol' tried and true cheap hairspray did the trick! I just did lots of light coats of aerosol hairspray, and it sealed it enough to be able to paint a liquid sealer over the top of it. I was glad that it worked! The situation was making me wish I had one of my college professors to call up and get the answer :)

brushy.

here is a good illustration of the chalk pastels on top of painted parts

I hope you enjoyed!