DIY Gold Skull

 

I have been updating the downstairs half of my house little by little for a while now.  I can't wait to share with you the end result when everything is completely done, but for now I will share with you my latest project (that has since led to an obsession with spray paint). This super easy, DIY gold painted skull is now by far one of my favorite things I own.

This skull started out at my brother's old restaurant on the wall, then made it's way to my parents house, and eventually wound up with me. I was thrilled to have him. I've been really digging the glossy, white faux taxidermy trend for the last couple of years, so when I got my hands on this I immediately had a plans. I initially wanted to coat it in a glossy white, but the rough texture made me decide otherwise. So gold was my next option. I'm loving everything gold right now, aren't yall? From my jewelry to notebooks and planners, to home accents, anything! Anyway, when I saw this spray paint at Hobby Lobby I knew I had to give it a try.

 

It's Krylon Premium Gold Foil spray paint, and I am now obsessed with this product. I promise I'll show you all the other random things I used this stuff on another time. It's amazing! It comes a couple different colors, but the gold color was exactly what I wanted. It had just the right amount of metallic shine to it. Also, bonus...it's only $6! Like I said, you can get it at Hobby Lobby, and I also heard Walmart sells it, but I haven't checked. When all else fails, there's always Amazon.

The first part of this project was sanding the whole thing lightly, focusing on trying to get the old restaurant logo off. The logo didn't completely disappear, but it did help a little. After I wiped it down I just dove right in!

Being that I had never used spray paint before, I did some research on the best way to apply it. Since I am far from an expert, I would recommend you do the same if you're thinking of trying it for the first time. I just tried to go back and forth to give it a light first coating. The cool thing is it only needs a short amount of time to dry in between coats, per the instructions on the bottle.

After 2 coats were applied, I let it cure for a couple of days before hanging it in it's new spot on our living room wall! I wasn't sure at first if I was going to try to sand it down more between coats, or put a polyurethane topcoat on it for more shine, but I really loved the way it turned out. I love that you can still see the natural texture under the gold. So cool!

Doesn't he look handsome? I'm obsessed!

xo,
Summer




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Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is My New Best Friend!

 

One of my very first blog posts was showing off my new dining table and newly made over dining chairs. I promised a tutorial on the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint that I used, and I've been slacking! Now it's been so long, I really couldn't do a very detailed tutorial if I tried, but I'll do my best to recap the process. First I must rave on Annie Sloan for a minute! This stuff in FANTASTIC! The appeal at first is that you can use it to paint just about any surface, without sanding or priming! Yes, you heard me right, NO sanding! If you're a pinterest junkie like me I'm sure you've already read all about this stuff. They have the most amazing color selections. And you can layer color and use clear or dark wax to get virtually any color or finish you want. I used Paris Grey with clear wax, because I wanted the true Paris Grey color, which I thought would look great with the finish on our new dining table.  Here is the gorgeous table with the old chairs.

 The fabulous table comes from the Iron Horse Studio by the way. You MUST check out their website, because their things are absolutely GORGEOUS! This is actually one of many Iron Horse pieces in our home.

Dining chairs pre-makeover.

 

As you can see the chairs just didn't work with the new custom table. The needed an upgrade. Badly. The old table (not shown) and chairs are oak, and were originally stained a light/medium oak color, which is so not my style. Several years ago the hubs and I took on the tedious process of sanding everything and staining it black. I loved the way it looked, but man oh man, I did not enjoy the sanding! That is just about the worst task I can think of. It's boring, it's terribly time consuming, and MESSY! Needless to say I did not want to take that on a second time. So after seeing Annie Sloan all over Pinterest, and reading that there was zero sanding involved, I had to try it for myself. I tracked down a store here in Las Vegas that sell the product, and does classes on how to use it properly. I'm a jump right in and learn as I go gal, so I did not take advantage of the class. While I'm sure it would have helped, my results were fine without it. If you're a Vegas or Boulder City local, check out Bloom. It is just about the cutest shop ever! I think everything in their store is done in Annie Sloan, and it's all precious! You'll be happy you stopped by!

 

Anyway, these are the materials I used for this particular project:

 

1. Plastic sheets to use as drop cloths, or a tarp, or cloth

2. Old t-shirts to use as rags

3. Medium sized good quality paint brush (make sure it's decent quality, or you'll get strands in your paint job!)

4. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint  (I used their Paris Grey color)

5. Annie Sloan Soft Wax (they have a clear or dark option - I used the clear)

6. Annie Sloan Wax Brush

 

I spread a layer of plastic over the floor in case of spills or splatter (I tend to be a bit messy when painting), then I dove right in. I began with my chairs kind of upside down, so I could paint the legs first, then flipped them upright to do the rest. You just paint your surface with your brush like you would with any kind of paint. I admit I was skeptical during the first coat. At first it didn't really seem to cover that well, so I was I little nervous. It did stick incredibly well though. If you've ever tried to paint something that wasn't sanded well, you've seen how the pain just kind of puddles, and doesn't actually adhere to the surface. That was not the case with the Annie Sloan. But there were still a lot of streaks where the black showed through, and I was crossing my fingers that the second coat would do the trick, because three coats was not on my agenda! Let me tell you, the second coat was like a miracle! It covered everything! I couldn't believe the difference in the first and second coats! I was almost sold! And I was able to cover 6 chairs and use just over half of the can of paint.

 

 The painting is the easy part with chalk paint. The finish is super chalky, hence the name, and not very desirable. That's where the wax comes in. After you're done painting and your surface has had time to dry, it's time to apply the wax. I invested in Annie Sloan's wax brush (pictured at the top of the post) when I bought the paint. I didn't buy their regular brush, since I have a ton of paint brushes around the house. But the wax process was totally new to me, so I didn't want to take any chances. I just dabbed the brush in the wax, and then brushed it on the chairs. Sounds simple, right? For the most part it is, but it's kind of smelly, and very messy! You will end up with this stuff all over you! I started with just a very thin coat of the wax, because after you apply it, you have to buff it with your rag. Since I didn't do the class, I just kind of wiped off the first coat of wax. When I went back to do the second coat, I spent more time really trying to buff it to a shiny finish. I'm not sure if another coat would have given it more of a glossy look or not, but I was pleased with how it looked after 2 coats, so I stuck with that. Also, a little goes a long way! I did 6 chairs, and I there's barely a dent in the can of wax.

 

After 2 coats of paint, 2 coats of wax, a good buffing, and some new fabric on the seats, here are our made over chairs!

 

I just love them! I love the grey with the dark stain on the table.

 

 

 

We are still in the LONG process of making over several areas in our home, but it's nice to have one thing checked off the list! Now for some new curtains, new wall color, new rug.....I could go on and on! But now I'm super excited to tackle whatever's next on the list! Probably starting with a side table and dresser that need refinishing! 

 

I want to know....have any of you tried Annie Sloan? Or is there another furniture painting solution you love? Share your DIY go-to's!

 

Also, just for you, because you're fabulous, here's a sneak peek of a great giveaway coming up! Check back soon for details!

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At Home Gelous Manicure

 

I have been seeing this Gelous top coat product all over the internet lately, so of course I had to try it out for myself! Some people are claiming it will make your manicure last up to 2 weeks! Two weeks you say? I can't even fathom! In 2 weeks I have probably painted my nails 3 times. I prefer my nails polished over bare, but I can't keep a manicure looking decent for more than a day or two. So frustrating, right? And chipped nails are SUCH a pet peeve of mine. So gross. I don't have the time or money to get my nails done on a regular basis, plus the process of gel nails in a salon is not for me. Especially the removal process. So when I read about Gelous and that it comes off just like regular polish I decided this may just be my saving grace. The price doesn't hurt either. It's just $5.99 in store at Sally Beauty Supply, cheaper than a bottle of Essie! :)

 

I read several reviews and tutorials, and almost every one used a different process for their manicure. They ranged from like 10 coats (yikes!) total, to just a couple, so I settled on something in the middle for my first attempt. Her are all the products I used for my mani:

 

1. Gelous Advanced Nail Gel Coat / 2. Essie Bordeaux / 3. Out the Door Fast Drying Top Coat / 4. Sally Hansen No More Mistakes Manicure Clean Up Pen

 

The color is Essie Bordeaux, which has been one of my go to colors for years, and I can't live without a fast drying top coat. This one is called Out the Door, and it's one of my favs at only $5.49! Another great deal! If you're like me and you're totally sloppy at painting your own nails, a clean up pen is an absolute MUST have! Without it I would literally look like a 4 year old did my manicure. No thanks! This product is a life saver! You can get it pretty much anywhere.

I started with a base coat of the Gelous and only let it dried very quickly. Then I did 2 coats of Bordeaux, with a coat of Gel in between. I followed with 2 coats of Gelous, and finished with one coat of Out the Door. I normally do my right hand first, and wait for it to dry before I do the left hand. When they're both dry, I clean up the edges with my trusty Sally Hansen pen.

 

Above is the finished product. Not the best polish job I admit. Here's how it looked after 1 full day:

 

 

Still pretty great! Just disregard how messy they still are from my paint job :).

 Day 4: Just a little bit of wear at the tips. Still looking totally presentable though.

Day 5:

After Day 6 I decided it was time to take it off.

You can see where the sides were starting to chip. But I have to say, for almost an entire week this was awesome! I probably could have made it stretch another day or two. One of the things I was apprehensive about was how easily this stuff would come off, but to my relief it wasn't any harder to remove than regular polish. It came right off! So my verdict on Gelous : SOLD! I'm a fan! I will definitely be using this on a regular basis.

Have any of you tried Gelous? What have your experiences been? Are there any nail products out there that you can't live without? I'd love to hear!

 

 

 

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Dining Chair Makeover.....FINALLY Done!

OK, so, I'm in the process of SLOWLY redecorating our house. We're on a tight budget, so I'm just doing a little here and a little there. Kind of piecemeal, so things don't really flow right now, but we'll get there! I'm trying to tackle one small thing at a time. My most recent project...the dining room! We have had on old antique round pedestal table and chairs for years, and it was time for it to GO! It had been around! From College Station, TX to Colorado Springs, Houston, back to College Station, and now to Vegas. Needless to say, it had seen better days! It was so wobbly! When my girlfriends would come over for coffee the table top would tilt back and forth. I'm shocked we never had any dishes slide right off! We decided to keep the old rickety dining chairs and just give them a makeover (actually, our bank account decided that for us!). Here is our new dining table and redone chairs!

Check out that gorgeous table! I am so in love with it! Custom made by Iron Horse Studio Ltd. We were able to specify the exact dimensions and finish we wanted. They make the most AMAZING furniture! Check out their website!

 

The chairs were stained black, but I painted them with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and reupholstered the seats. I'll do a separate post soon detailing how that went. But just so you know, I am now completely OBSESSED and want to paint absolutely everything in my house. The hubs is not on board. Oh well.

 

I would love to know what you think of the finished product! Disregard the wall color and window treatments. Those are both high on my list! Like I said, one thing at a time.....