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Monday, July 22, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
DIY Canvas photo art
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Here is my tutorial on a quick, easy and inexpensive wall update...
These pictures on the wall were made by covering 16x20 canvas boards from Hobby Lobby with a dark pewter metallic fabric. I just cut the fabric a few inches bigger than the boards and stapled to the wood frame on the back. Then I took some picture clips that were silver and spray painted them with oil rubbed bronze spray paint, hot glued onto the covered boards and clipped in an 8x10 photo which was blown up at Costco of each child. They turned out great and can be easily updated.
Here is my tutorial on a quick, easy and inexpensive wall update...
These pictures on the wall were made by covering 16x20 canvas boards from Hobby Lobby with a dark pewter metallic fabric. I just cut the fabric a few inches bigger than the boards and stapled to the wood frame on the back. Then I took some picture clips that were silver and spray painted them with oil rubbed bronze spray paint, hot glued onto the covered boards and clipped in an 8x10 photo which was blown up at Costco of each child. They turned out great and can be easily updated.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Painted brick fireplace
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Very busy day today!! I decided a few days ago that my next DIY project would be to paint the brick fireplace. I Grabbed a paint brush the next morning and got started! I like the look of a whitewashed brick and a fully opaque painted brick but wanted to ease into it so I started with the lesser of two evils...whitewashing. I figured I could always paint it solid white if I didn't like it. I am in love with how it turned out!
This project cost a whopping $0, but what a great updated look!! I used left over paint from the kitchen cabinet makeover and mixed in some paint from the baby's room too. Its a mix of 1/2 Cloud White by Benjamin Moore and 1/2 White Sand by Benjamin Moore. I took that paint mixture and then mixed it in a ratio of 1 part paint, 3 parts water. Using a regular paint brush I started brushing it on. Get in the grout lines first because the paint is very runny and if you paint the bricks before the grout you will just have to go back over to get all of the drips. I had planned to wipe the excess paint off with a cloth, but my brick was very porous and soaked up all the paint, so I skipped the wiping step.
The brick in the picture to the above right that shows unfinished brick is how my first coat looked. The far right brick in that picture was too gray for what I wanted. I tested out a mix ratio of 1/2 paint 1/2 water and started on the arched bricks. This was what I had in mind, so I went back over the first coat. The picture below that is a close up of what the finished product looked like.
This entire project took me only 2 days, and that is only because I had to wait on my husband to take the TV down to finish. I even enlisted the help of my 2 oldest kids. They are 6 and 7 and were so excited to help. If you are thinking about doing this at your house...go for it!
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| BEFORE |
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| AFTER |
Very busy day today!! I decided a few days ago that my next DIY project would be to paint the brick fireplace. I Grabbed a paint brush the next morning and got started! I like the look of a whitewashed brick and a fully opaque painted brick but wanted to ease into it so I started with the lesser of two evils...whitewashing. I figured I could always paint it solid white if I didn't like it. I am in love with how it turned out!
This project cost a whopping $0, but what a great updated look!! I used left over paint from the kitchen cabinet makeover and mixed in some paint from the baby's room too. Its a mix of 1/2 Cloud White by Benjamin Moore and 1/2 White Sand by Benjamin Moore. I took that paint mixture and then mixed it in a ratio of 1 part paint, 3 parts water. Using a regular paint brush I started brushing it on. Get in the grout lines first because the paint is very runny and if you paint the bricks before the grout you will just have to go back over to get all of the drips. I had planned to wipe the excess paint off with a cloth, but my brick was very porous and soaked up all the paint, so I skipped the wiping step. This entire project took me only 2 days, and that is only because I had to wait on my husband to take the TV down to finish. I even enlisted the help of my 2 oldest kids. They are 6 and 7 and were so excited to help. If you are thinking about doing this at your house...go for it!
Painting the kitchen cabinets white
Ruby Bloom has moved! Click here for new blog location!
So the next step in bringing my kitchen out of the 1980's had to be updating the oak cabinets. I was terrified to tackle this task, so we looked into everything from having all the cabinets replaced, which was going to cost around $10,000 to having a professional paint them, which was about $1600. Since we have so many things in this house we want to update, and this is not our "forever house" my husband finally caved in to me painting them myself. I did lots and lots of research on various blogs. And doubted if I could even do a good job myself. You can totally do this!!
With the paint, rollers, brushes, new hardware, etc, it was about $550. A huge improvement for
such a small price!
I do not have step by step photos because I was in the zone and totally forgot to document the process, but I will list them.
Step 1: Develop your plan of attack! We have 40 cabinet doors and 18 drawers in our kitchen, so I decided to work in sections. You will have cabinet doors laid out while they are being painted and drying and then recoated, so plan around what you have space for.
Step 2: Remove all hardware, including hinges, and take each door down.
Step 3: Wash all surfaces to remove the years of kitchen grime, grease and dust. You could probably eliminate this step if you have somewhat new cabinetry. Ours were over 20 years old and very dirty. I used a product called Krud Kutter that I purchased at Lowe's. You simply spray on and wipe off. Very harsh on your hands, so I would recommend wearing gloves.
Step 4: You can either lightly hand sand or use a deglosser product to remove the sheen from the previous finish if you want.
Step 5: Prime.(Optional) Before this step also be sure to repair any cracks or holes with paintable caulk. If you are changing from handles to knobs, as I did, you will want to caulk the holes before this step as well. The guy at the paint store said that the paint did not need a primer if the sheen was sanded off already. I chose to use one anyways so that I could get my paint to stretch farther, less coats. I think the cabinet paint was $65/gallon! I used a spray on oil based Kilz primer in white. It worked like a charm and was so quick, even and dried fast.
Step 6: Begin painting! I purchased a very expensive paint from Sherwin Williams. Pro Classic paint in Benjamin Moore's Cloud White. You really cannot skimp on the quality of the paint you use for kitchen or bathroom cabinet finishes. It will be worth it in the long run. This paint is a latex paint with the qualities of an oil-based paint, except it doesn't yellow. It dries to a hard shell finish just like an oil-based paint. I used a good quality brush to paint in the carvings of the cabinets first, and then rolled on the flat parts. Tip: Prop the cabinets up with cans underneath a drop cloth to keep the edges from sticking.
I did one coat of primer, 2 coats of the pro classic paint and that's it! No topcoat or poly. Its been about 6 months and they have held up great!
I painted the island cabinets a contrasting color. Cabinets Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Island BM Sag Harbor Gray
 |
| AFTER |
So the next step in bringing my kitchen out of the 1980's had to be updating the oak cabinets. I was terrified to tackle this task, so we looked into everything from having all the cabinets replaced, which was going to cost around $10,000 to having a professional paint them, which was about $1600. Since we have so many things in this house we want to update, and this is not our "forever house" my husband finally caved in to me painting them myself. I did lots and lots of research on various blogs. And doubted if I could even do a good job myself. You can totally do this!!
With the paint, rollers, brushes, new hardware, etc, it was about $550. A huge improvement for
such a small price!
I do not have step by step photos because I was in the zone and totally forgot to document the process, but I will list them.
Step 1: Develop your plan of attack! We have 40 cabinet doors and 18 drawers in our kitchen, so I decided to work in sections. You will have cabinet doors laid out while they are being painted and drying and then recoated, so plan around what you have space for.
Step 2: Remove all hardware, including hinges, and take each door down.
Step 3: Wash all surfaces to remove the years of kitchen grime, grease and dust. You could probably eliminate this step if you have somewhat new cabinetry. Ours were over 20 years old and very dirty. I used a product called Krud Kutter that I purchased at Lowe's. You simply spray on and wipe off. Very harsh on your hands, so I would recommend wearing gloves.
Step 4: You can either lightly hand sand or use a deglosser product to remove the sheen from the previous finish if you want.
Step 5: Prime.(Optional) Before this step also be sure to repair any cracks or holes with paintable caulk. If you are changing from handles to knobs, as I did, you will want to caulk the holes before this step as well. The guy at the paint store said that the paint did not need a primer if the sheen was sanded off already. I chose to use one anyways so that I could get my paint to stretch farther, less coats. I think the cabinet paint was $65/gallon! I used a spray on oil based Kilz primer in white. It worked like a charm and was so quick, even and dried fast.
Step 6: Begin painting! I purchased a very expensive paint from Sherwin Williams. Pro Classic paint in Benjamin Moore's Cloud White. You really cannot skimp on the quality of the paint you use for kitchen or bathroom cabinet finishes. It will be worth it in the long run. This paint is a latex paint with the qualities of an oil-based paint, except it doesn't yellow. It dries to a hard shell finish just like an oil-based paint. I used a good quality brush to paint in the carvings of the cabinets first, and then rolled on the flat parts. Tip: Prop the cabinets up with cans underneath a drop cloth to keep the edges from sticking.
I did one coat of primer, 2 coats of the pro classic paint and that's it! No topcoat or poly. Its been about 6 months and they have held up great!
I painted the island cabinets a contrasting color. Cabinets Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Island BM Sag Harbor Gray
Friday, July 12, 2013
Updated eat-in kitchen
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| AFTER |
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| BEFORE |
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| Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter |
Ruby Bloom has moved! Click here for new blog location!
So this is my first ever blog post! We have slowly been updating our house over the past year. To say that it was stuck in the 80's would be a total understatement!! The 80's had a lot of ugly moments, and most of them were in this house we bought. But I tried to see past the horrible wallpaper and realize that a can of paint can do wonders!
This update first included taking wallpaper down
and painting the walls in Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, which is a great neutral warm gray. Its also one of Candice Olson's favorite colors.
The second thing I did was take down the dusty fan and replace with a more modern fixture from Lowe's. The farm table was purchased at Ashley Furniture and was the perfect fit for the space.
See the tutorial for the canvas photo wall art here: http://rubyblooom.blogspot.com/2013/07/diy-canvas-photo-art.html
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