DIY Projects

Date

January 07 2021

Written By

Gene Howard

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Get This Look: Chippy Barnwood Painted Finish

Written By Gene Howard - January 07 2021

Get This Look: Chippy Barnwood Painted Finish

On Get This Look this week, Amy shows you how to recreate a Chippy Barnwood Painted Finish! Watch her video below and give it a try. You're going to LOVE how this turns out...

Products Needed:

Instructions:

1. If you're starting with raw wood you will want to stain it. Amy used English Walnut Gel Stain, apply it with the grain and liberally everywhere. Then lightly wipe it off with a lint free rag, be sure you don't have any streaks. Gel Stain will take about 30 minutes to dry on raw wood.

2. Now it's time for Cracked Gesso! Cracked Gesso is the key and allows us to get this gorgeous finish. You will want to mix the Gesso with water, you are looking for a consistency similar to thin sour cream or pancake batter. Amy took 2 hearty spoonfuls and mixed it with tap water. Be sure to stir the granules very well. The more cracks you want, the more Gesso you want to put on. 
  
3. Apply your Gesso with a chip brush, going with the grain. Be sure to get the Gesso all over the piece. Lighten up your touch as you are going over the piece, this way you will avoid brush strokes. Allow this to dry for 30-40 minutes. Now sand your Gesso with 220 grit sandpaper before your next coat, sand with the grain. There will be residue coming up, this is what we want! Apply your second coat of Cracked Gesso, let it dry, and sand.
4. Time to mix your Milk Paint. You want this to be much thinner than your Gesso, we will do a 1:1 ratio of Milk Paint and water. The Milk Paint will be runny, this is perfect! Take your Chip Brush and apply the Milk Paint over your Cracked Gesso, 100% coverage. Let your Milk Paint dry. 
 
5. Take your Antiquing Glaze and get two cups, one that is water and one that is Antiquing Glaze. Amy cut her Antiquing Glaze with a little bit of water for this project. Take your sea sponge and dip it in your water, then dip it in your Antiquing Glaze. Start pouncing your sponge on your piece and work in sections, work in organic sections. Wet the entire section with your Glaze. Put your sponge in your water to clean it, dip in the Antiquing Glaze and do another pass. Pat with a lint-free rag so you can see how the paint is being pulled. Add more glaze to areas where you want the paint to be pulled more. 
 
6. If too much product came off when you were Antiquing, easily fix it with your Milk Paint! Use the side of your chip brush to re-apply. Let this dry for 15 minutes.
 
7. Take your Light Wax and Chip Brush, load up your brush and offload. Lightly apply the wax here and there. You do not want heavy coverage. Take your Dark Wax on a different brush, load it up and offload. Come around the edges of your piece and dust the wax then fan it into the center. 
 
8. Sprinkle some Dust of Ages onto your piece and work it into the finish with a Chip Brush. Then buff it with a lint-free rag, in the same direction as how you painted and antiqued the piece. 
 
ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS!

Date

January 05 2021

Written By

Gene Howard

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Watch how this color transforms when it's glazed

Written By Gene Howard - January 05 2021

Watch how this color transforms when it's glazed

Our new Color of the Month, Hunt and Polo, is here! This deep green would look gorgeous on kitchen cabinets, in a bathroom, on your front door, or on a piece of furniture. Watch as we paint a piece and add Glaze, the color completely transforms! 

Join Color of the Month Club HERE.

When you join our Color of the Month Club you receive a 32oz can of our NEW monthly color, FREE shipping, a 10% off coupon code, and training with an interior designer on how to use the color in your home. You will love it!

How to glaze with our Hunt and Polo One Step Paint:

Shop Kensington Black Gel Stain Here

1. Mix one part Gel Stain and one part water. You could use one part Gel Stain and one part Glazed Over if you want a longer open time. TIP: When Glazing, you are just adding a little color on top to allow the bottom color to show through.
   
2. You are going to want two brushes, your applicator and your finesser. We used a Chip Brush as the applicator and a Nylon Tapered Brush as the finesser. 
   
3. Apply a very light coat of your Gel Stain mix with your Chip Brush to the piece. Make sure it's nice and even and you get all of the areas.

    4. Take your finesser and start brushing out the stain. Then take a lint-free rag and start pouncing the piece. Use your finesser to pick up puddles down in the crevices. This is all adding a gorgeous texture.

    5. ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS! 

    Date

    December 23 2020

    Written By

    Gene Howard

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    Get This Look: Multi Layer Antiqued Finish

    Written By Gene Howard - December 23 2020

    Get This Look: Multi Layer Antiqued Finish

    Create a gorgeous multi-color finish by following this tutorial! Scroll down to shop the products Amy used and to see instruction. Don't forget to Enjoy The Bragging Rights!

     

    Shop Products Used:

    English Walnut Gel Stain
    Cracked Gesso
    Milk Paints - we used Scandinavian Grey, Amalfi Blue, and Noir Black
    Antiquing Glaze
    Light Wax
    Dark Wax
    Dust of Ages

    Instructions:

    1. Start by staining your piece with Gel Stain, Amy used English Walnut. Take a lint-free rag and wipe the stain after applying it. Let it dry for about 2 hours.
    2. Then apply a layer of Cracked Gesso to your dried piece. 
    3. Mix up your custom Milk Paint color. We used 2 teaspoons of Scandinavian Grey, 2 teaspoons of Amalfi Coast, and 2 teaspoons of Noir Black. You want the mixture to be 1 part powder to 1 part water for a thin consistency. 
    4. Paint on your custom color, this is the darkest color you will use. Apply with a chip brush and remember to lay your piece flat. 
    5. Next is a layer of just Scandinavian Gray Milk Paint. Mix it with one part powder and one part water. Apply with a chip brush. 
    6. Next take Antiquing Glaze and apply with a sponge. Work at a 45 degree angle and work your way across the piece. You want to go for an organic look! We want to cover the entire piece in the glaze.
    7. After you've covered the piece, clean your sponge in a water bath before dipping it in to the Antiquing Glaze. Allow the Antiquing Glaze to sit for a while so that it will allow you to lift the paint. After cleaning your sponge, take it and start working it over your piece again to start pulling the paint. Keep cleaning your sponge as it gets dirty with paint. 
    8. Once you've worn the piece to your liking, it's time to wax! Load up your Light Wax, offload it on to some cardboard. Then go over the piece in passes, try not to go over the whole piece. 
    9. Next take your Dark Wax and feather it over the edges and various areas. You do NOT want to put the Dark Wax over your whole piece. 
    10. Take your Dust of Ages and put it over the whole piece. Work it in with your hands once the Dark Wax and Light Wax have set or come to tack. Take a lint-free rag and buff the piece with the Dust of Ages on top. 
    11. ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS!

    Date

    September 02 2020

    Written By

    Gene Howard

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    Turn Your Pine Table From Drab To Fab

    Written By Gene Howard - September 02 2020

    Turn Your Pine Table From Drab To Fab

     

    Amy Howard At Home Contributor, Tamara Hudson, is here to show you how to take your drab Pine table and make it fab! She uses various techniques to give the table a new life with some of the original wood peeking through. 

    Products Used:

    Step 1 - Clean:

    Clean with Clean Slate. Needed some elbow grease.

    Step 2 - Stain:

    Apply Gel Stain in English Walnut. I used a chip brush to apply and a stain pad to wipe off after it started to dry a little bit.

    Step 3 - Paint The Legs:

    While that dried, I painted 2 coats of One Step Paint in Black on the legs and apron of the table.

    Step 4 - Paint The Top:

    I dry brushed a coat of One Step Paint in Ballet White to the tabletop a couple of days after the stain was good and dry. I chose to dry brush because my client wanted some of that darker wood showing through.

    Step 5 - Cracked Patina:

    Then I applied Cracked Patina just here and there in different places on the tabletop. When that dried, I came back in and laid down another light coat of One Step Paint in Ballet White and let it do its thing.

    Step 6 - Cracked Gesso:

    I probably could have left it alone here, but it just didn't have the depth and character my client was after. So I tried adding something else. I mixed up some Cracked Gesso and painted the whole tabletop.

    Step 7 - Milk Paint:

    After the Cracked Gesso dried I added a layer of Toscana Milk Paint in Strasbourg White. I really like the different colors and textures of white that were layered on top of each other.

    Step 8 - Sand:

    I used 220 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the tabletop. I just wanted to knock down some of the heavy cracking to soften the look a bit.

    Step 9 - Seal:

    I would normally use light and dark antiquing wax next, but my client plans to use this piece on their covered porch. I chose to do 3 coats of Matte Sealer to protect it from the elements.

    Step 10 - ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS!

    Set the table, fire up the BBQ Grill, and ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS!

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