painting

Paint You Will Love!

Date: October 30, 2017
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: decorating, DIY, inspiration, painting, refinishing

If you are wondering why it has been more than 2 weeks since my last post….well….it is kind of a long story.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks around Sweetwater.

Mr. S had his right ankle totally replaced 3 weeks ago! 
The surgery was very successful….but…the recovery time is LONG. 

The guy who spends much of each day out and about is now unable to put weight on his foot for another 6 weeks and then slowly working to walk on it. 
Poor guy…not being able to get out on his own is driving him crazy…..but the good news…his ankle doesn’t hurt anymore!

And…the Sweetwater Grandboy thinks Grandpa’s Scooter is fabulous!

After a couple of weeks of “nursing” and “fetching and carrying”, things are getting back to normal for me at least.

So…you can imagine that I have been putting off doing any projects that might get in the way of the scooter!

But finally…we said…”enough is enough” and it was time to get busy!

This painting project is the result of one of those “If you a mouse a cookie” scenarios.

A few weeks ago…..our refrigerator gave up the ghost!
When we went to buy the new one….we chose a different finish….black stainless steel!  Gorgeous!
BUT….
That meant we needed new dishwasher, oven and microwave too! And new cupboard hardware too!
Long story and installations later….the kitchen looks amazing!

So what am I painting?
Note the green wood on the table and chairs that Mr. S and the Grandboy are standing next to.
They no longer looked “just right” with the new appliances. 

It decided to paint them a soft griege color!

Finally….the point of the post!
THIS PAINT…..I am absolutely in LOVE with it.
It is amazing!

Heavy Duty– Premium 100% Acrylic Interior/Exterior Eggshell
Heavy Duty 100% Acrylic Enamels are an excellent choice for a multitude of applications including interior walls and woodwork as well as exterior trim applications. This finish is ideal for use in new home construction, existing homes, schools, nursing homes or anywhere that extreme durability is required
Features & Benefits
• Interior/Exterior
• Manufactured with the finest titanium dioxide
• Excellent Hide
• Good Burnish Resistance
• Very Good Washability

Yes…it is expensive…about $60 a gallon…but worth every penny. It is one of those spend to save deals.
Why?
The surface that you are painting only needs a good clean surface…
I suppose you could sand too, but I didn’t and the coverage is great. 
It goes on so smoothly….
It dries in 30 minutes and ready for the second coat in an hour.
It cleans up with water!

 If Mr. S was at full capacity….the chairs would have gone to the basement and I would have done them all at once….
Instead, I put a tarp down in the dining room and did them one at at time.
This is when the quick drying and second coat time was nice.
When one chair was done….I moved it back and then did the next one.
 
It took me 6 days to get it all done.
I cannot tell you how wonderfully the paint covered in 2 quick coats.
I love the quality of the finish.  It feels almost like the original factory paint.
I love that the new color isn’t all that different than the old….just the RIGHT color.

If you have a painting project that you are putting off because you don’t want to do a lot of sanding and priming.  This is the paint for you.
I think it would even be a good paint for kitchen cabinets ….but I am not quite that crazy a DIYer.
Have A Great Day!

How To Save $$ on Patio Planters!

Date: May 27, 2016
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: garden, idea exchange, painting, thrifty, use what you have
Yikes!  
Have you SEEN the cost of already planted patio planters at the nursery or Farmer’s Market?
There are at least eight big patio planters here that need plants!
Even at $25 a pop….that would be a budget breaker for me!
Here is my lower cost solution for big good looking planters!
I use perennials for accent plants.
Yup….
all those plants that need dividing in the big gardens find a temporary home in the planters!
Instead of a $5 accent spike…..a Day Lily can do the trick.
Instead of an expensive trailing plant….Sedum fills the bill.
Two Geraniums….a deal at Home depot for $1.49 each…
A couple of Dusty Miller plants from a six pack that cost $3.33…
A little ceramic bird and some Spanish Moss…
Total Cost:  Less than FIVE DOLLARS!

The area under the front window is a work in progress.
After the landscaping project we did last summer….
we are trying to decide what to plant there.
In the meantime….we plopped down this old bench and a couple of planters.
These planters got a similar “found” plants as fill.
There is a great big patch of Zebra Grass in the garden…..this makes a great “SPIKE” for NO COST!
Grand total cost for all the planters in the front of the house!
$20.00
YIPPEE…
Now…I know that they aren’t as “fancy” as the already planted ones….but I can live with that for a savings of at least $80!
Now let’s head to the back yard fire pit!
The stone wall has four big planters.

The cost for these is the $7 each for the Purple Fountain Grass.

The fill plants are Sedum.

The Birch logs/pillars are some that are used over and over again.

Mr. S giggles (well not really….if you know Mr S., he is really not a giggler…) But he DID laugh when he saw that the nursery charges four dollars each for birch accents.

I may find some annuals on sale and add them later….but for now these will do!

The accent plant for this little Carnation is a $2 Lemon Grass plant from the Farmer’s Market…

This photo shows how nice the Zebra Grass does as an accent.

I did buy some Asparagus Fern and another trailing plant that I can’t remember the name of!

So this is my most SPENDY planter!

But the copper wash tub planting was TOTALLY FREE!

This has Ornamental Onion, Bee Balm, and Campanula along with a tiny bit of Artemisia.

I planted this long before it was safe to plant annuals….so it has had green color for at least a month!

When you head to the Garden Store or Farmer’s Market this weekend…..walk right on past those expensive accent plants.
Spend your money on the flowers and then head to your own garden to scavenge up some freebies!

Have a Great Day!

Link Parties

Happiness is Homemade

Shades Of Gray!

Date: September 17, 2014
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, decorating, furniture, inspiration, knock-off, painting, use what you have
Don’t worry!  This blog hasn’t gone X-rated!
I am not talking about the books….but the shades of the color gray!
 Gray is one of my new favorite colors!
 It plays well with so many other colors!  
Gray was the obvious choice for the paint for the re-do of a little chest of drawers in the lower level.
Right now the carpet down there is dark navy blue (what was I thinking….as the owner of 2 white haired cats)!  We are contemplating new carpet for down there….it might be gray or maybe I will have a new  favorite color by the time we get around to that project! 
The other reason that gray was the obvious color choice has to do with “Use What You Have”!
There was almost a whole quart of lovely, shiny gray paint left over from the garage door painting project!
Look how shiny and bright that is!
I won’t bore you with the process of painting a piece of furniture…..you are bright people….you can GOOGLE IT if you need to!
It was a simple matter of a good sanding to even out the years of dents and gouges…..
Then 3 coats of paint…..with a light sanding in between.
The paint I used was Rust-O-Lem oil based….again…because I originally bought it for the metal garage door.  
The oil based paint is kind of a pain to work with, but it does have the best shiny finish!
These pictures don’t really show the actual color very well….but I really like the way it turned out!

Take a look at this “inspiration piece” !

Seriously…..who would EVER pay $2335 for a chest of drawers….PEOPLE…there are starving children in the world !

I don’t have to feel guilty about my cute little gray chest….total cost was the $16 I spent on the new drawer pulls!

There is still some gray paint leftover in the can…..HMMMMMM?

Have a Wonderful Day!

Link Parties
Miss Mustard Seed  

My First Chalk Paint Project-Resources for the Beginner!

Date: January 27, 2014
Author: sweetwaterstyle
Categories: decorating, DYI, furniture, knock-off, painting, projects, refinishing, thrifty, use what you have
On the TO DO list here at Sweetwater are a couple o furniture painting projects.
These projects involve furniture that has been oiled or waxed.
That means that in order for MOST paint to adhere properly…..there needs to be a lot of prep work involved.
If you know me….I HATE prep work!
 This little end table started it’s life in Mr. S’s childhood home…..
It has seen several different coats of paint…..and I would have to say that the latest coat is probably my LEAST favorite…
Bad color….and the (my) paint job was less than stellar!
This is also a nice small project!
Perfect for my first foray into the world of Chalk Paint!
Seriously….as ugly as this is….what could I lose!
Many of my favorite bloggers are always “waxing” eloquent about Chalk Paint….and the projects they showcase are pretty wonderful!  But to be honest, I never much paid attention to the products or the process these clever DYIers were using.
It was time for ME to do my research….which of course I am  sharing with you!
If you want the very basics about Chalk Paint….check out this post from Chic Mouldings!   It has basic information about using Chalk Paint….specifically the expensive Annie Sloan product….but the information is generic.
What I learned:
When you paint with Chalk Paint you do not need:
X Prep
X Sanding
X Sealing
X Cleaning
X Priming
X Solvents
If you use Chalk Paint you can paint over just about every surface, wood, plastic, tile, metal, or glass. The paint will even  cover a piece of furniture that has previously been sealed with wax. 
Wow….I knew this stuff was popular….now I see why!
But “Sweetwater,,,,we have a problem!”
Annie Sloan paint is super expensive (in my humble opinion)..
….more problematic…it doesn’t seem there are a lot of places around here that sell it! 
….even more problematic….I wanted to do this project NOW…..not wait until I could go to the store….if I could find a store! And remember….we are in a Polar Vortex…so no way was I going out!
More research…..and guess what….there are recipes out there to MAKE YOUR OWN Chalk Paint….
Hmmmmm….now that is way more “Sweetwater Style”!
 This is a great post with several DYI Chalk Paint Recipes from Salvaged Inspirations!
Diane over at In My Own Style does a comparison of DYI Chalk Paint Recipes HERE!
Source
Since I am all about “Using What I HAVE”, I opted for the Plaster of Paris recipe….because I HAVE some!
I mixed it up…..poured it into the paint I had….with a little help from Marvin of course….
Hmmmm…..I wonder if you can Chalk Paint a cat?
I won’t bore you with all kinds of pictures of the process…..I figure you all know how to paint!  Or if you don’t…..just GOOGLE it!
I only did one coat of the Chalk Paint on this…..then a little sanding and distressing….and a lot of elbow grease with the coat of Johnson’s Paste Wax….which I had to thaw out because it was stored in the garage!!!!

I am pretty pleased with this simple transformation…..and I learned a bunch about Chalk Paint! Mainly that it is simple….inexpensive….no fuss….and very forgiving!
I can’t wait to decide on colors for my other painting projects and get them done soon!
Have A Great Day!

My First Chalk Paint Project-Resources for the Beginner!

Date: January 27, 2014
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: decorating, DYI, furniture, knock-off, painting, projects, refinishing, thrifty, use what you have
On the TO DO list here at Sweetwater are a couple o furniture painting projects.
These projects involve furniture that has been oiled or waxed.
That means that in order for MOST paint to adhere properly…..there needs to be a lot of prep work involved.
If you know me….I HATE prep work!
 This little end table started it’s life in Mr. S’s childhood home…..
It has seen several different coats of paint…..and I would have to say that the latest coat is probably my LEAST favorite…
Bad color….and the (my) paint job was less than stellar!
This is also a nice small project!
Perfect for my first foray into the world of Chalk Paint!
Seriously….as ugly as this is….what could I lose!
Many of my favorite bloggers are always “waxing” eloquent about Chalk Paint….and the projects they showcase are pretty wonderful!  But to be honest, I never much paid attention to the products or the process these clever DYIers were using.
It was time for ME to do my research….which of course I am  sharing with you!
If you want the very basics about Chalk Paint….check out this post from Chic Mouldings!   It has basic information about using Chalk Paint….specifically the expensive Annie Sloan product….but the information is generic.
What I learned:
When you paint with Chalk Paint you do not need:
X Prep
X Sanding
X Sealing
X Cleaning
X Priming
X Solvents
If you use Chalk Paint you can paint over just about every surface, wood, plastic, tile, metal, or glass. The paint will even  cover a piece of furniture that has previously been sealed with wax. 
Wow….I knew this stuff was popular….now I see why!
But “Sweetwater,,,,we have a problem!”
Annie Sloan paint is super expensive (in my humble opinion)..
….more problematic…it doesn’t seem there are a lot of places around here that sell it! 
….even more problematic….I wanted to do this project NOW…..not wait until I could go to the store….if I could find a store! And remember….we are in a Polar Vortex…so no way was I going out!
More research…..and guess what….there are recipes out there to MAKE YOUR OWN Chalk Paint….
Hmmmmm….now that is way more “Sweetwater Style”!
 This is a great post with several DYI Chalk Paint Recipes from Salvaged Inspirations!
Diane over at In My Own Style does a comparison of DYI Chalk Paint Recipes HERE!
Source
Since I am all about “Using What I HAVE”, I opted for the Plaster of Paris recipe….because I HAVE some!
I mixed it up…..poured it into the paint I had….with a little help from Marvin of course….
Hmmmm…..I wonder if you can Chalk Paint a cat?
I won’t bore you with all kinds of pictures of the process…..I figure you all know how to paint!  Or if you don’t…..just GOOGLE it!
I only did one coat of the Chalk Paint on this…..then a little sanding and distressing….and a lot of elbow grease with the coat of Johnson’s Paste Wax….which I had to thaw out because it was stored in the garage!!!!

I am pretty pleased with this simple transformation…..and I learned a bunch about Chalk Paint! Mainly that it is simple….inexpensive….no fuss….and very forgiving!
I can’t wait to decide on colors for my other painting projects and get them done soon!
Have A Great Day!