March 2013 in Review

March in Review!
Here are our top 5 favorite posts from March, enjoy :)

 

1.  Spring Deco Mesh Wreath

 

 

2.  Baby Onesie with Velcro Bowties

 

 

3.  Checkerboard Side Table

 

 

4.  Crockpot Freezer Meals

 

 

5.  Guestroom Makeover: Curtains and Cornice Boards

 

 

Happy Easter Weekend!  This weekend will be filled with lots of family time; our aunt & uncle from upstate NY are in town for a few days.  Tomorrow the church we grew up at is doing a community Easter egg hunt, it's always so fun to see the kids excitement and fellowship with all the families.  Sunday we are having a big lunch with family and friends at my parents house.   Julia's making deviled eggs and I'm making a spring quinoa salad (recipe to come).

 

How will you be spending this Easter?

 

 

Guestroom Makeover: Ombre Quote Board

Ombre is so in right now!  You can ombre almost anything: your clothes, hair, furniture, nails, and even a canvas!  We wanted to add personalized artwork to the Guestroom Makeover.  We asked the homeowner to send us his favorite quotes and that's what put on the Ombre Quote Board. 

The last time I did a quote board we didn't have a Silhouette, so I painstakingly hand-cut every single letter!  This time we used the Silhouette and it saved us so much time!!  Instead of a traditional stencil, we did a backwards stencil.  Meaning we painted the canvas the color of the wording first then laid the letters on top of the blue color.  Last we painted the yellow ombre effect on top then peeled off the vinyl letters.  Sounds easy right??!

Step 1:  Paint the canvas the color you want your letters to be.

We used a blue paint sample we tested out for the room.

Step 2:  Add your vinyl letters that you printed on your Silhouette.

The quote we used is pretty long, so we split it into 2 lines.  The size of your letters will depend on the size of your canvas & quote.  We wanted the quote to fill the entire canvas - so after a little math, we had the perfect size.

Step 3:  Paint the blue color over the vinyl.

This will create a fine line for your letters.

Step 4:  Ombre the canvas board!

We started with white on the bottom and worked up to a bright/rich yellow on top.

Step 5: Once the paint is dry, peel off the vinyl letters.

You'll most likley have a few imperfections, but these are easy to touch up with a small paint brush.

And there you go!  A personalized Ombre Quote Board :)

Here's a picture of it hanging in the Guestroom.  I love how it pops against the light blue walls. 

This piece of art was a complete surprise to the homeowner.  We asked for his favorite quote, but didn't say how we were going to use it in the room.   He was really excited to see the canvas go up in the Guestroom, it adds a personalized touch to the Guestroom Makeover!

   

Painted Bookcases

Today is our big brother's birthday!  Happy Birthday Ben!! Thanks for all the years you tortured us when we were younger.  Last night we celebrated his birthday by playing a ton of board games and munching on yummy food!

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 One of the best things about blogging is that we get to showcase our work on here.  We love painting furniture and we love sharing my passion with all of you.  It's amazing how a coat of paint can completely transform a piece of furniture. 

Since I've been blogging I've been contacted by a few friends to paint some furniture for them.  And several months ago my childhood friend and his wife contacted me to paint some bookshelves for them.  They recently bought a new home and had some bookshelves installed on either side of the fireplace. 

 I love the extra storage the bookcases give them plus they look great.  To make them match the rest of the house the homeowners asked me to paint the bookcases white (the same color as their fireplace).  That probably sounds pretty easy to do but if you've ever painted wood or furniture you know there are a lot more steps involved.

The first thing I did was sand the bookcases.  The builder did a great job making these piece but they weren't completely sanded after they were installed.  So I sanded them down and then caulked all of the seams.  If you don't caulk the seams you will see a gap between the bookcase and wall -this just gives them a more professional look.  I also filled in the nail holes with wood filler. 

 

Once the caulk and wood filler were dry I sanded the piece one more time and then it was ready to be primed.  I thought I was only going to need one quart of primer for these bookcases but it ended up needing two quarts.

 

The next step was to paint the entire thing.  Even though I primed the bookcases they still needed two coats of paint.   Luckily it only took one gallon of paint.

Here they are all finished!  Don't they look awesome?!? 

It's always a little nerve racking doing things for friends.  I want my clients to really like how the piece turns and I want them to be comfortable giving me their honest opinion.  Luckily, I think we're good enough friends so I think they were telling me the truth when they said they liked them :)  

Do you ever feel nervous working for your friends?

Taste Factor: Blogger Exclusive

Happy Friday everyone!  We have fun post for you today!

Remember that giveaway we mentioned a few weeks ago?!  Well today we can give you all the sweet information. 

 

 

 Southern Color was invited to a mix & mingle with the founders of Taste Factor.   We were joined by some other great local bloggers: Katherine at Buckhead Betty and Jewel at Eat Drink Shop Luv.

 

The scoop: Taste Factor is a monthly wine membership, think Birch Box meets Netflix.  Each month you receive 3 bottles of wine at the monthly membership price of $60.   You then rates those wine based on your taste.  Taste Factor has created a special algorithm that matches your tastes & preferences to certain types of wine. 

 

 

The first month you'll  receive a starter kit with a variety of wine.  You then rate those wines on a scale of 1 to 4 (4 being the best).  Taste Factor plugs your ratings into their algorithm, this is similar to what Netflix uses when they recommend movies for you.

 

Here's a fun video that explains how it works:

 

 

The next month they'll send you 3 more wines that should be closer to your taste.  Then you rate those and the cycle continues. 

 

It's a fun way to try new wines that you wouldn't normally consider.

 

From left to right: Katherine, Julia, me (Elizabeth), and Jewel.

Julia's first wine at the party was a chardonnay. Typically she is not a chardonnay drinker because of the oaky taste - however, she really enjoyed this one. It had been made in a steel barrel, not oak, so the taste was closer to a sauvignon blanc. Julia discovered a new wine!

 

Get excited!  The founders of Taste Factor have been nice enough to giveaway 1 month free to a Southern Color reader!  To be entered into this great prize, become a follower.  Once we reach 150 followers, we'll pick a winner*.

*  Must be 21 years old.  State alcohol laws apply.  

 

 

 

 For more information on Taste Factor, check out their website and this great article from Thrillist.

 

 

 

Guestroom Makeover: Checkerboard Side Table

If you haven't noticed we love painting furniture!  We love turning someone else's trash into a gorgeous piece of furniture!  Usually we find furniture from the thrift store but several months ago we got a side table right out of the trash...literally.  Elizabeth found an awesome side table and lamp at the dumpster.  As soon as she texted me about them I told her to grab them!  I was so excited... I love free stuff!  Well, the lamp turned out to be brand new (tags on and everything) and the black side table was pretty much perfect except for some damage on the top (nothing a little TLC couldn't fix).

 Here's a picture of the table before and after.  It turned out amazing!!

 The first thing we did was repair the damage to the top of the table.  Just use wood filler or dry wall compound to fill in the hole then sand it down once its dry.  The next thing we did was prime the entire table.  The table is made out of particle board so we wanted to make sure the paint would adhere and a good primer is your answer.  After the primer was dry we painted the table a cream color - it need 2 coats to cover up the original black color.

For the checkerboard we used our Silhouette.  Cut the shape out on vinyl and then adhere it to your table.  Our checkerboard is inset so I drew some lines on the table to show me where to put the checkerboard.



 Once the vinyl checkerboard pattern is on use painters tape to tape of the edges.  Then paint the checkerboard in a contrasting color.  We didn't want the checkerboard to be too prominent so we use white and cream white for the table.  If you want to use a darker color I suggest painting the checkerboard in the same color as the table first and then painting the darker color.  This will prevent the darker color from bleeding into the lighter color.



Since we used two light colors for the checkerboard it wasn't very noticeable.   So we painted a border around it in the same color we used for the cornice boards.

We wanted to give the table a more distress look so we sanded the edges of the table and then wiped a dark brown glaze over it.  The great thing about glazes is that you can make them whatever color you want.  I just bought a quart of clear glaze and added dark brown paint to it.  When I want a darker glaze I add more brown paint to it or even black paint.  I added black paint to the glaze for the sofa table makeover I did a couple of months ago.  Once the glaze is dry cover the table in a poly to protect it.

For the checkerboard pieces we used old wine corks.  Just cut them in half or thirds depending on how tall you want them. I used a regular kitchen knife to cut them.  Then paint the tops of them black and red.  You'll need 8 black pieces and 8 red pieces.  I used an extra cork to paint the tops.  Just dip the extra cork in paint and then dot it on you cork checkerboard piece.  The paint doesn't cover the piece entirely but I like that look.

Now you have a fun game table to add to your room!  I think the table turned out great and it looks great in the sitting area of the guestroom.  It's amazing to think that this table came from the trash!



Are you a dumpster diver?

Update: Our checkerboard side table has been featured on Roadkill Rescue!! We are super excited and feel so honor to be on Beckie's blog!  Check it out!

Don't forget to follow our blog!  As soon as we get 150 followers we're going to randomly select one of you for an awesome prize!  Check back with us on Friday to find out what the prize is...we can't tell until then :)

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