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Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project

Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project

Need some artwork to fill a wall in a room? And don’t want to pay a fortune for that artwork? Want instead an easy 5-minute watercolor paint project that is quick but makes a statement? That has been me this past week. My guest room has been majorly neglected, and now that I have family coming into town for the upcoming holiday. It’s encouraging me to address the issue. Since I’ve waited until the last minute, I don’t have much time to buy prints and artwork online. So, my next idea is to just DIY it. I’ve been so inspired by all the minimal artwork I see online and on Pinterest, like this Etsy shop was my inspiration and is so reasonably priced for real artwork. If you don’t want to DIY, just buy it! I had all the watercolor paint supplies on hand from this watercolor project and with my limited timeframe, I decided to make this easy 5-minute watercolor paint project.

Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project

Supplies:

Watercolor

Brush

Watercolor Paper

Water

Palette or Paper Plate

Instructions:

Make sure you use watercolor paper! Watercolor paper absorbs the color and moisture. Also, as your watercolor dries, the paper won’t warp if it’s watercolor paper.
Decide your paper size and whether you want the paper horizontal or portrait. Having a frame on hand, and a location of where you want to hang it already picked out helps make the process easier. I wanted to hang my artwork in my guest bedroom with the frames hanging portrait.
To keep it minimal, I stuck with black watercolor, but once I got the hang of it, I mixed in purple, pink and the blues in the black to create some really beautiful grayish tones. That is one of the great things about working with watercolor is how easy to mix colors. Having a palette is a necessary tool when working with watercolor. It makes it so you can easily mix your colors.
The more water you use to dilute your colors the lighter the watercolors will be. As you can see, I used a lot of water to make the black more of a gray tone and more faint.
It is the nature of watercolor paint to bleed if wet paint is applied too close to another color. This is a great opportunity to create beautiful visual effects.
Begin with simple shapes, swirls and loops. Overlap triangles with triangles. Square over squares. Hearts over hearts. Octagon over octagons. Sometimes simplicity makes a huge statement.
Let it dry and then frame!

SHOP the Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project:

Modern Dining Room Light Fixture

Modern Dining Room Light Fixture

We recently replaced our dining room light fixture for a paris flea chandelier in the above picture. Our dining room was without a light fixture for a few months as I looked and looked for a suitable and budget-friendly light fixture (lights are expensive!). We moved the original empire-style beaded chandelier to our bedroom because the size of the fixture was small and looked disproportionate to the table and dining room. Also the fixture had three little lights so at night the dining room was moody and dark. We really needed to replace it with a modern dining room light fixture. But I also needed to consider that we live in a very traditional southern home so I wanted a light that was complemented the style of the home.

When buying a dining room light fixture, you really do need to consider the style of the fixture but also the functionality of the fixture. Here are a 4 tips I have learned while dealing with our dining room light fixture drama.

Take into consideration the size of your dining room and dining room table. Measure the height and width. Proportion is the key and a good place to start. A dining room light fixture should have 30-34″ of clearance from the tabletop.
Consider the height of your ceiling (which was another issue of ours). We have really high ceiling so I needed to find a chandelier that had substance. I love all the wire modern light fixtures and arm light fixtures, but in my dining room it would have become lost. You want your light fixture to be the attention seeker of the room. Also when installing, make sure there is enough clearance between the bottom of where the chandelier will hang and the head of a tall person.
Lighting! Consider how many light bulbs the dining room light fixture will have. Like I said before, our previous fixture only had three light bulbs so the room had didn’t have a lot of light when the light was on. Good for a romantic dinner, not good for entertaining. Make sure your lighting is soft and not too blinding.
Consider the style of the chandelier. I love mixing styles, but you don’t want to go overboard with many styles clashing in your house. The dining room is one of the home’s main focal rooms, so keep it consistent and have complementing styles. The modern dining room light fixture is really in style right now. But you don’t have to feel pressure to put a style in that everyone is doing and then in the end doesn’t look good! I’ve done that before too. I do like how there are modern contemporary light fixtures and then modern traditional light fixtures. The best of both worlds! I’ve shared some of my favorites modern dining room lights below.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

I love these contemporary modern dining room light fixtures. They are statement pieces but are still not completely over the top. With four or more light bulbs and also their size and width seem adequate.

Here are some more contemporary modern dining room light fixtures:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

I love that there are so many traditional modern light fixtures now available. A classic updated look. There are so many choices and metal finishes. The light fixture that I bought for our dining room is option #6 (it comes in a gold brass finish too). I just added lamp shades for a more finish look.

Here are some more traditional modern light fixtures:

Pendant Lighting Under $100

Pendant Lighting Under $100

When we bought this house it was a spec home. Newly built, but the builder picked out all of the finishes. So, we had no say. Since living here, we have made a few changes to the home. Mostly paint and slowly switching out all of the builder-grade brown lighting fixtures. Remember our guest bathroom update?? There are so many lights; it has been quite the process. And we are probably half-way done! There are a few really large chandeliers that I’m going to have to hire professionals to take down, and I’ve been avoiding it. As I’ve been going through this lighting process, my thoughts are to splurge your lighting budget on main rooms like living room, dining, kitchen, etc. And then cut cost on lighting in hallways, pantry, closets or small rooms. Rooms and corners that require a smaller light. We have two small hallways and have found some really great pendant lighting under $100. We just switched out the builder’s flushmount light for this pendant lantern . We got it at the outlet near our house so it was deeply discounted. It has really made a difference in this space. And also it has brought so much light in that space.

Here are some Modern Pendant Lighting under $100

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Here are some Traditional pendant lighting under $100

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Here are some other pendant lighting under $100 options:

Before + After: Lacquer Mid-Century Modern Credenza Makeover

Before + After: Lacquer Mid-Century Modern Credenza Makeover

I came across this mid-century modern credenza at an estate sale. It was the last day of the sale, so I bargained and paid less than $30. What really caught my attention was the brass modern round, tapered legs. The wood grain was in pretty good condition, but I knew I wanted to lacquer the outside of the frame and add brass handles to freshen it up. I have used Amy Howard at Home Lacquer spray paint before on a lamp and really liked the results, so I thought it would work perfect for this project. The piece was in overall good condition– just had some minor scratches, dried paper stuck to it and a lot of dust. Estate sales are a great place to find mid-century modern furniture pieces. I’m slightly obsessed with Worlds Away furniture and they do a lot of two-tone credenza pieces, so I knew this mid-century modern credenza makeover was a perfect project to tackle and create a copycat look.

Before picture of the mid-century credenza at the estate sale. Isn’t my baby cute in her mismatch princess shoes?!

Once I got the piece home, I pulled the sliding doors off and took the shelves out. I wanted to do a two-tone, mid-century look with a white perimeter but keep the wood-grain sliding doors the same wood stain. So I really didn’t want to take the chance of getting paint on the doors.

Using a de-greaser, like Simple Green, I cleaned the inside and outside of the furniture piece removing any dust, particles and grime.
Then I taped off the sections that I didn’t want any paint to get on.
The top was laminate, so I ripped that off and then used wood putty to fill any holes. Then sanded so the wood putty was flat. I probably didn’t have to do this since I was just spray painting the top, but I thought I would get a better result. In the end, it was a step I could of skipped and would of saved a lot of time. Make sure to remove ALL dust before going to the next step.
After, I spray painted the piece with two coats of a white furniture primer. You must prime the piece with a white primer to get the best results.

The lacquer products you will need are Amy Howard at Home White Perfection and Bright Idea lacquer spray paint. I used about two cans of the White Perfection and one of the Bright Idea. Amy’s high performance furniture lacquer is my favorite and is actual lacquer that creates a thick, rich, high-gloss finish on a piece of furniture.

5. Take the White Perfection lacquer spray paint and using horizontal swiping motions at an 8-10” distance, spray in short spurts at a time overlapping each stroke. Don’t linger too long or spray too closely. This could create drips! I spray painted back and forth, back and forth to create an even finish.

6. After it dries, lightly sand (with 400 grit sandpaper) any puddles or uneven lacquer areas on the piece. Wipe well with a tack cloth to remove any dust.

7. Apply a second coat of white perfection lacquer spray paint. Let it dry about 30 minutes. Then sand again.

8. Repeat until you get the desire finish. Once you get the desired look, you don’t have to sand. It took me about three coats of lacquer until I was satisfied.

9. To finish the project, apply Amy Howard at Home Bright Idea Clear Lacquer Spray Paint. This will give it an added protection to the lacquer and a high-gloss finish. Before I applied two coats of the Bright Idea clear spray paint, I made sure the piece was completely dried. Using the same horizontal motion, completely cover the piece of furniture. If you get any puddles, no worries! Just sand down with 400-grit paper after it dries and in between coats.

10. Before you enjoy your furniture piece or move it, make sure to let it cure about 3 days for added protection!

While the piece was curing, I cleaned the brass legs with Brasso. The brass was pretty dull and this gave it a nice polish. Then I used Goof Off pro-strength to remove any marks on the wood grain of the sliding doors. You have to be careful because this stuff is strong and will strip stain if you rub too hard. Then I went over the piece with a wood stain marker to cover any scratches.

I switched out the little finger pulls on the sliding doors with these brass hardware pulls from House of Antique Hardware , which are great for sliding cabinet doors. My only complaint about them is we had to drill a hole in the doors to make the hardware flush to the sliding doors, since the rear of the hardware is not flat but has a circular bulge for the finger pull.

I would say this mid-century modern credenza makeover was a success, and I am excited to use it and show it off! I love the Amy Howard at Home lacquer paints. They really can drastically change a piece, and give it a high-gloss finish.

LAMP | RUG | BASKET | PRINT (similar) | BOOKS

This post was sponsored by Amy Howard at Home; however the opinions are all mine.

Want to see more Amy Howard at Home projects?

Want to get the look without doing the work?

Spring Easter Table Decorations

Spring Easter Table Decorations

Spring is definitely one of my favorites seasons. Mostly because the world becomes alive again with color! I love all the spring flowers that bloom, and trees blossoming with tiny flower buds. Spring pastel colors are everywhere. So for my Easter table this year I wanted it to look and feel like I brought Spring inside my home. Bright pastel colors are perfectly expressed with watercolors! Using watercolor ceramics, watercolor egg placements and bright in-season tulip centerpiece, this Spring Easter Table Decorations is inviting for all Easter guests to enjoy a brunch or luncheon.

Scalloped Plates (old) (similar, similar)

Watercolor bowls (similar) | Gold Utensils | Blue Placemats (similar)

As you can see watercolors is kind of my thing recently. Don’t you agree that this Spring Easter table decorations makes this table look so happy and alive? Colors have that affect on people! The watercolor Easter egg place cards that I posted last week are perfect for a brunch or luncheon. You can use a hard-boiled egg for the place cards and your guest can then peel and eat the egg! The eggs are propped with old napkin rings that I spray painted white. I also painted ceramic cake platters fun pastel colors. I will post the DIY on it, but it is exactly like my watercolor jewelry tray post. Yes! I strongly encourage you to have a nice collection of white platters and serving pieces on hand and then paint them to match your table decorations. You can pick up white serving platters and plates from the dollar store. This Spring Easter table decorations is a simple display but full of so much life and Easter celebration.

Here are some other Spring Easter table decorations you may enjoy.

Easter Table

Easter Dinner

Get the Look:

DIY Ikea Hack White Fur Stool

DIY Ikea Hack White Fur Stool : You might have seen similar DIY Ikea hack white fur stool projects on Pinterest, but I changed some of the steps to make it a 10-minute Ikea hack project with less supplies. This diy ikea hack white fur stool project is much easier and you might have most the supplies on hand. How cute would it be to make a whole bunch of these white fur stools for a girlfriend luncheon or birthday party? These stools are inexpensive (about $10) and the project is a quickie! Also, it looks really cute under my acrylic console table. Or put it in a bathroom corner. It’s small enough to squeeze even in a powder bathroom. Add just the perfect touch of glam to a room.

Supplies

Ikea Marius Stool

Mongolian Fur

Foam (optional)

Exacto Knife

Adhesive Spray

First thing first! If you want to spray paint the legs of the stool, make that the first step. Or if you like it white, keep it. I spray painted mine gold metallic. Spray painting will add some minutes to this DIY Ikea hack white fur stool project, but if you do it the first step then while it is drying do the other steps.

Okay so I wanted to add foam to my stool to add some height and dimension especially with the fur. You can skip this step if you don’t mind a hard furry stool! I just thought a soft furry stool is a little better! Also, if you can find a white foam instead of blue that would be best. I had to add white fabric under the white fur because you could kind of see of the blue. I bought my foam at a fabric store with a 50% coupon so it was about $2.

Take your foam and place the round stool top on the foam. Outline with a sharpie. Cut with an exacto knife. Then using spray adhesive, spray the top of the foam. Then flip over and press it down on the top of the plastic stool top.

Cut your white fur so it will cover the sides of the foam/plastic top. Spray the adhesive spray all around on the foam then place it down on the wrong side of the white fur fabric. The plastic stool top should be exposed. Wait a minute. Then gently pull the white fur fabric covering the sides and using the adhesive spray to secure to the plastic bottom. Trust me. It will stick!

Cut the fabric around the screw holes. You don’t want to cover them up! Also, cut away any excess fabric. Continue to use the adhesive spray to secure the fur.

Once the white fur is all glued onto the plastic, follow the Ikea directions with screwing on the stool legs. Make sure the legs are dried before you screw them on to the top. Also the legs will help to secure the white fur, so over time the fur doesn’t start drooping.

Voila! You are done!! Easy peasy! And now you’ve got a cute stool with minimal effort.

Want to see more white fur stools you can buy?

DIY Abstract Art Painting: Anyone Can be an Artist

DIY Abstract Art Painting: I am determined, and have set a goal to get our home finished this year. Which means, I need to fill empty walls with pretty pictures. Doing a DIY Abstract Art tutorial has been on my to-do list for some time. I am by no means a professional painter, but I have taken many art classes and know the basics. But really to make a DIY abstract art painting, you don’t have to be a professional or have taken an art class. Any one can do it! Even a child because I’ve done many with my own children, like this DIY abstract painting. Abstract art is my favorite, and I love how you can take different views and perspectives from it. So, grab some paint, canvas and brushes, and let’s make a DIY abstract art painting for you to admire!

Supplies

water

Any canvas will work to make a DIY abstract art painting. It really depends on your wall space. I painted on a 30×36 canvas and bought the cheapest one. If you don’t have one, set up a work space. I used two stools and leaned the canvas against a wall. Make sure to cover you space with paper or an old cloth. Also have a paint palette to hold your paint and mix colors.

On your palette, I organized the paint by color family (pinks with pinks, blues with blues, neutral with neutral). Make sure you have white paint. That was color I used the most! I have two different shades of white. You can use any color you are going for. These are just the colors in my house. So if you want to use reds and yellows or some other color, go for it! I just suggest getting three different shades of the same color family. One medium, darker and lighter. Unless you know how to mix colors!

If you’d like you can prime the canvas with a color. Use Gesso paint to do that. A primer also helps to control the texture of the paints. But I didn’t do that with mine. I just started with a blank canvas. Begin by painting with the medium color with brush strokes of up and down or side to side anywhere on the canvas. This will set where that color family will be located. Make sure you have a few different brush sizes to create different lines.

You can start by making horizontal rectangular formations of brushstrokes. Start out with a vague plan of composition and color
Work around the canvas in your color family, but be open to change and let go of out expected outcome. That’s the fun of abstract!
Start blending the color families together connecting them with complementary colors
Add white to paint over areas you don’t like or want to blend together or want to lighten. I used a lot of white!
Don’t be afraid to create depth and use circular motions and patterns. I wanted to tone down all the up and down strokes so I changed to circular patterns in the middle.
Once you are satisfied, paint the sides of the canvas to create a finish piece

I also suggest walking away from your DIY abstract painting and then coming back to it 10 minutes later. You might see it in a different way and add more colors or different patterns. To finish it off, I added gold metallic acrylic paint to create depth and interest.

Once dried, you can add a finish gloss over your piece. Don’t forget to name it and sign it! This piece is called Ocean Rainfall. Then display it and create more!

Get the look:

DIY Painted White and Gold Furniture: Amy Howard at Home One Step Paint

We have had this Chinese cabinet since we first got married. It’s one of those furniture pieces that I’ve wanted to replace, but my husband is so attach to it (why does that happen to men??). We placed it in this corner off the kitchen because it’s quite functional–hiding our mail, random papers, keys and even a laptop. But it has been this dark, neglected piece that doesn’t really go with the rest of the kitchen decor and really looked misplaced. My kitchen is white and has a lot of windows, so I really want to lighten up the cabinet and glamorize it by painting it a white and gold furniture piece. I am in love with Worlds Away furniture like this cabinet and this so I felt like I could repaint my Chinese cabinet to achieve the look similar to a Worlds Away piece. After attending Amy Howard at Home paint workshop, I knew the One-Step Paint would be perfect for this DIY painted white and gold furniture project.

Here is the before:

I separated the top portion from the bottom portion by unscrewing a hinge on the back of the piece that held the two together. I wanted to paint the top portion of the cabinet white, so I chose the One Step Paint Bauhaus Buff. With the One Step, you don’t have to sand or put a primer on it. Prior to painting the top portion of the cabinet, I made sure to clean the piece with a degreaser cleaning spray , wiping down dust and grime. Then I painted the top portion with two coats of the One Step paint, allowing to dry approx 30 minutes between each coat. Make sure to apply an even coat. Do not apply too thick or leave puddles, as it could crack when drying.

Helpful Tip: Make sure to paint your piece in a room with reasonable temperatures. If it’s cold outside, don’t paint in the garage! Temperature has an affect on any kind of paint.
Helpful Tip: Make sure to shake and stir the One Step Paint. Leave it open for 15-20 minutes before using for a thicker paint.

With the bottom portion, I spray painted two coats of a gold metallic spray paint. The circle brass plate on the top portion was pretty worn and was loosing its luster. I wanted it to pop out more, so I covered the top portion and just spray painted the plate with the gold metallic.

Once the top and bottom pieces dried, I assembled them back together. Since the cabinet is used everyday, I wanted to seal the paint, and applied Amy Howard at Home Clear Wax. I decided to go with the clear wax because I didn’t want to change the color of the white and gold. I started by swirling a clean brush into the wax to load it up. Then using a scrap of cardboard, I off-loaded some of the wax from the brush by brushing it on the cardboard. This also helps to distribute the wax evenly throughout the brush bristles.

HELPFUL TIP: Never go straight from the tin of wax to your piece. Always remove excess by swiping your brush across a piece of cardboard a few times.

I applied the clear wax on the One Step Paint and the gold metallic spray paint. Putting a wax over spray paint will help seal the spray paint from chipping and wearing off over time especially on furniture pieces. I applied the wax all over the piece by using gentle, whisking brushstrokes in a cross-hatch pattern. Allow to dry 45 minutes to an hour. After use a clean rag and gently buff the wax until there is a sheen on the surface.

I could of stopped there, but I felt like the gold metallic paint was looking flat.

So, to create depth and give it a rich gold metallic look, I used the dark antique wax. Using a bristle brush, I swirled wax to cover the tips of the bristles. You only want to add the dark antique wax to the areas on the piece that would show age—edges and places that would have been touched and worn more often. Using a small amount of wax, I applied lightly in a cross-hatched pattern. Allow to dry for 1 hour, then gently buff until there is a sheen on the surface.

Doesn’t the gold look so much better with the dark antique wax applied to it? What a difference! I’m so happy with the way my piece turned out! I added new acrylic knobs, and it is now ready to be used. The white brightens up that use-to-be dark corner. I’m so impressed with the waxes and how it makes the paint so much stronger and durable. And the One Step made this painting project so much easier since there was no sanding or priming. I’d say this DIY painted white and gold furniture project was a success!