Oh The Things You Can Rust!

I make fun of my mom all the time, she loves everything OLD and rusted.  She will keep a bucket or anything that is rusted because it is cool (she would be a hoarder if I wasn’t behind her throwing stuff away, jk Mom!)  Over the years I have come to appreciate rust and the look of “Old.”  I guess it would come down to bringing character to an object.  So when you can’t wait for that old bucket to sit outside for 5 years to get the PERFECT look of rust, then what do you do?  You rust it yourself, with great products of course.

On a few of my jobs I have used the rust to get that perfect old weathered look. The product I recommend (I can’t vouch for others, I have only used one) with huge success is the Modern Masters Metal Effects Paint.  Amazing what you can do to make something look old, it is so easy. You can go here for their product information.

How to apply the Metal Effects by Modern Masters: Prime (specific for Metal Effects), 2- 3 coats of Iron Paint, Spray Iron Paint Activator multiple times, then be patient.  Of course, not to patient because it does speed up the rust process by hours, not months.   So a process that would have taken several months or likely years takes only overnight once activated.  RECOMMEND: Good Ventilation and preferably I would not recommend doing it outside.  Also, the activator spray is pretty toxic smelling and if you get it on your skin, or near your mouth (personal experience from doing ceilings) then you will have a chemical metal taste.  I don’t want to imagine how many toxins.  Here is a rusted ceiling, covered with a metallic plaster we completed on one of our jobs. To view more of our work:  www.bellacasafaux.com

 

Do-It-Yourself GARDEN GATE

The most recent thing I did for my own project was a garden gate.  You see I have a toddler, actually his code name: Escape Artist.  We had quite a gap between our kids, he is our fourth.  He is always trying to go outside and explore, which really freaks me out because I love this kid and don’t want him in danger. So instead of just relying on the front door as the ONLY barrier, we decided our little courtyard needed a gate.

Do you know how much gates cost? $300-$500 and that is just the gate, not the hardware to hang it yourself.

Well lets just say it is TOTALLY out of my budget.  As a mom of 5 kids I am constantly juggling finances and I won’t even begin to complain how much it costs to feed 3 teenagers.  Anyway, I have to save money whenever I can and I thought long and hard about this gate.  We need a gate for our Escape Artist, and extra bonus is it will also limit solicitors from getting to my door (I don’t answer my door).

So I made my own garden gate or courtyard gate.  When I started I knew I had a 36″ opening, so I was limited to a 36″ with the gate & sides.  So I went looking for metal pieces I could insert in a frame to make it look like a expensive metal gate.  So I made my own gate, you can make your own garden gate now.  I will tell you how, this baby is STURDY.  Cost for the Gate is $60 for the wood, screws, brackets, decorative metal center.  Add an extra $15-$50 to hang it up, depending on where you are putting it. Extra costs: Paint, if you use spray $15, if you rust then all the products might run $65.  Still, it is cheaper than that $500 gate I had my eye on for 5 seconds.

Where to Buy Modern Masters paints here is their website or it can be purchased on amazon

PROJECT LIST:

1. Metal Accent (shape of a square, or any shape you can attach) in the Home Decor department of Hobby Lobby (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby and it had dimensions:  29″x29″), my opening was 36″ so I had to leave enough room for the wood to surround the metal piece. (pictured above)  I paid 40% off with a coupon, so it was only $26 🙂
2. 2 x 4 wood 10 ft long cedar wood (or any wood)
3. Corner brackets (to help reinforce corners of wood) 8 brackets at $3 for 4
4. 16- 3″ wood screws (to attach corners)

Hardware OPTIONS to hang Your Gate: (My gate is at front entry, so I chose metal sides)

OPTION 1 (more expensive) Hardware to hang your gate: I found this in the metal gate section at Home Depot. *You will need a HAMMER drill to install the poles & lag screws in the ground

2 side poles $20

2 sets of lag screws $14

Metal gate closer & brackets complete package ($25)

 

OPTION 2: If you are attaching the gate in the garden, attach it to 4×4 cemented in ground. This option is cheaper.

TOOLS

Router

Miter Saw

Drill

Hammer Drill (If you need to install gate posts into concrete sidewalk), you can rent these!

Corner brackets (to help reinforce corners of wood)

INSTRUCTIONS PDF:

DIY Metal Rust Gate

I would love to see what you came up with.  I am in the middle of painting and rusting my gate, so photos will be coming soon when Rust transformation is complete!  Just a note: the entire reason I did this project was to keep my toddler from going out front.  It took 20 minutes after I installed it and he climbed over it.  Oh well, I love it anyways and it keeps the dogs from running out the door.  Another added bonus is my traffic of solicitors has reduced. Still need to paint all the metal pieces, but I got it up!

Have a Great Day

Always,

Jen

 

GUILTY! I have a problem ruining paint brushes

Paint brushes are expensive! I have ruined a huge amount of paint brushes.  I have had remorse when I have thrown away a $15 paint brush. I also have $100 Badger tail (no badgers were harmed to make the brush) for my decorative paint, Ouch! So now I have found my solution (literally).   I used to use solvents like denatured alcohol and laquer thinner to clean things, but those are harmful and never do the best job, usually soaking into your skin if you are not careful. The harsher chemicals also dry out the brushes.  I am sure you are asking yourself: Why do you not just wash your brushes.  I do, but sometimes I am so tired and just forget about everything when I walk in the door, or a brush slips out somewhere and voila, I have another goopy brush.

Solution: Krud Kutter is about $14 for 1 gallon at Home Depot and it is an amazing product (I am not being paid to endorse their product).  Even better it is non-toxic and biodegradable.

Instructions: In a disposable container (disposable ziploc container) or something that you are willing to part with because little bits of paint will come off the brushes you are cleaning.  I usually use a small container that I can set my brush in and have all the bristles covered by the solution.  Now wait between 1-3 days.

Each day I take out the brush and take a butter knife to get big chunks of paint off. Slowly it will soften the paint and restore any water-based paint covered paint brush.  AMAZING!  Sometimes I add a little water to the solution if I want to not use so much. I also do multiple brushes.

Problem Solved!

I

P.S.  If you want to not only restore but also condition your brushes, especially good brushes like my Badger brush then use The Master’s Brush Cleaner and Preserver. It conditions and restores my Badger brush to like to condition.

 

Painting That Perfect Line!

I have done huge amounts of painting in my day. Painting so it doesn’t bleed has taken years for me to learn new tricks.  TRICKS? Yep! Nothing is more annoying than when you paint a wall and go to pull the tape and as a result you have bleeding of that color under the tape.  So you get out your little brush and sit there annoyed at the tape and at yourself for being so clumsy. Well we did say PAINT, it is a liquid and it goes into any open space, law of physics! I never did good in Physics in school, but I do know paint.

Recently I was at a clients house and had to paint this fireplace black for a base color under a metallic plaster that was going on top.  The black had to go up against a soft grey (Sherwin Williams: Requisite Grey) wall.  So how do you do that without bleeding under the tape? I use the Painter’s Delicate Blue Tape by 3M.  I know there are other paint companies that I have heard some fantastic things about Frog Tape I understand is great as well.  However, anymore I use DELICATE Painter’s Blue tape because there have been so many times where I took of the painters Blue tape and the wall plaster came off with it (that is the result of poor preparation by the painters because they don’t wipe down walls before priming so dust from drywall never lets the primer “stick.”.  I work in client’s homes for a living doing Decorative Painting, so I have to leave their homes PERFECT!

Here are photos of the wall I had to paint, my paint brush is right next to it.

 

STEPS TO GETTING THAT PERFECT LINE:

1. Tape (no one, not even the best painter’s eye can paint a perfectly straight line).  I use DELICATE 3M Painter’s Blue Tape.  Ace, Lowe’s & Home Depot sell it as well as paint stores.  I try to use the 1 1/2″ blue tape because if your paint roller hits it, then it is wide enough that you don’t hit the wall.

2. Press down tape. There is an invisible layer of wax so that when you press down the tape it seals it.  However, it is never PEFECT so I rely on my own trick in the following steps.

3.  Pull out or purchase ceiling color paint and paint color of wall next to the wall you are painting.  Why?  You need the colors or close to what they used because if they bleed, no big deal because they bleed onto the color already there.

4.  Now Cut in which is where you take your paint (mine is Requisite Grey) and paint in the corner where the tape meets the edge of both walls. The paint might bleed through because no tape is perfect, but that is OK because if it bleeds the same color that is there already, no big deal.  You are sealing the tape with a liquid barrier by letting the paint seal your perfect line.

5. Repeat step 4 with the ceiling color on the top.  You can be sloppy, just get the paint really good into the corner where the two walls meet.

6.  DO NOT PULL THE TAPE

7.  After your paint has dried, then you are ready to paint your darker color.

8.  I cut in or paint all the corners again with my new paint.  The tape is now sealed and ready to take your dark color with NO BLEEDING of paint. (Note: you  might have a few little spots of bleeding, that means you didn’t seal your tape with enough paint.  However, I guarantee it will be so much better than relying on tape only.

TIP: That tape is expensive, to save money I sometimes remove the tape and then use it again by flipping it to the side that isn’t painted on another wall.  It should still have a crisp edge.

9. Paint your wall.

10. After everything is completely dry. Be patient because if the paint isn’t completely dry, then you will be peeling a layer of tape with a layer of paint.   This black wall took 2 coats.

This is a photo of my beautiful crisp line of black next to Requisite Grey. I hope you are impressed.  I am happy that I didn’t have to go back through for hours to do touch up.

Have a beautiful Wednesday People!

Always,

Jen

Adding Detail on furniture with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

As Babies Sleep-

It’s been, “One of those days”  where I have gotten nothing done today.  The house is in shambles and two little toddlers are finally fast asleep in their beds for nap time, grumpy all around.  Last week my husband watched my two little ones for a few days while I worked. The question he asked me as I walked in the door, “How do you get anything done all day with these two little ones?”  He went on to tell me that he was just happy to keep them entertained, healthy and without injury each day. I laughed because he appreciates what I do more than any man I know.

I started on my journey on being a mom when I was 22.  After our three young children entered school over the years, I then found myself ready to work again more full time. After several years of beautifying homes, one day I was on a job site.  I loved working and creating, but I was empty. Empty? “What?” you say! I know your thinking: she already has 3 kids!  

Every day I came home to my three wonderful kids, but knew something was missing in my life.  I realized that being a mom is what I love, it is what I am about.  So my husband and I knew at that time that it was time to have more children and I’ve never been happier to have these two little babes in my life, mess and all.  So after I put them to bed today, I snuck off and knew I needed to blog.

 Blog subject for today: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Cabinets

If you want to save money, then save money by refinishing furniture you already have or pieces you can find in yard sales or craigslist. Three years ago I heard about this product that was taking the United States by storm.  It was the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I fell in love instantly (except for the price of Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint).  Let’s be honest, to pay $40 for a quart of ANY paint makes you shiver, at least it did for me.          

Cabinet door using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: Coco with accents of Duck Blue. Then 1 coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax, then 2nd coat of clear wax mixed with a little Annie Sloan Dark Wax for aging. Remember: Dark wax needs to be mixed with Clear Wax or it will be to dark.

I kind of put it out of my mind until I realized I had a piece of oak TV unit that my husband was ready to take the sledge hammer to.  I am serious, my husband loves to break things!  I had to stop him and stop him quick. I won and worked the entire weekend making the wall unit structurally sound and sturdy. Anytime a piece of furniture is beyond repair he is like a little boy in a candy store, he breaks it into so many little pieces that it is unrecognizable (Don’t worry, I don’t get rid of much, but when I do then I have a willing participant!)  So after the cabinet was put together again I painted.  The nice thing about the chalk paint on oak is that it hides the grain a little so it isn’t so obvious that it is oak.

I posted the photo of the cabinet door. The Fleur de Lis on the front of the cabinet was not part of the cabinet, it is actually clay composite that can be molded to the surface you are applying it on. I think it adds the right amount of detail!  The company I get these clay pieces from have been around only 100 years, go here to see all the possibilities.  They can be applied to walls, furniture, cabinets or ceilings (almost anything).  I applied that separately, instructions are here.

I just finished a piece for a client last week. 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint requires no sanding or priming. However, I strongly suggest taking sandpaper (150) and giving it a good sanding so that the paint can grip well to the surface. After applying the finish you will want to wax it with Annie Sloan Clear Wax. I will go over the exact process of adding a darker wax in my next post.

TIPS: I hate the cans the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint comes in, they get goopy and the lid NEVER goes back on after you open it because of spills and drippings of chalkpaint in the lid area. When you pay $40 a quart, each drip is like liquid gold. Happy furniture refinishing. Don’t worry, I have lots to say about that in future posts.

Goopy paint can of Annie Sloan Chalk paint

Solution to NEVER have your paint dry out or have the Goopy paint can again!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Always,

Venetian Plaster Girl

VENETIAN PLASTER

           You came across my blog anticipating some words of wisdom on doing Venetian Plaster. I have been a “Faux Finisher,” (nowadays we prefer “Decorative Painter” for the last 10 years.  I am also a mom of 5 great kids spanning in ages from 16 years old to 9 months old.  They say do a blog about what you are experienced with and can share with others. I will introduce you to Venetian plaster here but other posts will include painting furniture, cabinet refinishing, & projects ranging from crafts to home decor stuff, I’ll throw in recipes to (why not?).

So lets talk about some of these finishes.  As a Decorative Painter our industry has exploded with new and wonderful products.  We try to make finishes look “old,” or weathered or aged sometimes or new and contemporary. I have used many products but I wanted to review a few terms and what they mean.

Venetian Plaster has been around for hundreds of years, it actually became a product used in Venice and we all know Venice, it is a wet place.  Therefore, TRUE or REAL Venetian plaster (Lime based plasters) can be done in a variety of damp, wet locations, outdoors, indoors (even in bathrooms).

I went on a trip on a lifetime with my husband 2 years ago, he took me to Venice (I love that man!).  It is a city that is so beautiful for so many reasons, including the fact that it feels like you stepped through time. It was one of the stops we took on our trip, my husband had no idea that it was so big. I guess in his mind he imaged a square block, but this is literally a city on the water composed of 118 islands (mostly manmade with wood beams pounded in the ground) connected with canals and bridges.  We know it is older than 421 AD because that was when the first church was dedicated.  Yes, there is some graffiti (some of the photos I have show it), but it has the best  old walls that have stood the test of time.

ANOTHER WALL IN LIME PLASTERS: the breakaways really give it charm.

I LOVE THE RED PLASTER! (I love the old brick & architecture)