My parents happened to come across these for FREE during the time I was looking for owl salt and pepper shakers! (my prayers were answered) They were not the solid white ones I wanted but hey, when you don't like the colors, paint! So that is what I did. I decided on white. So due to being a poor married college student I had to use what paint I had on hand already and all I had was some spray paint primer. Which worked out just fine, it just gave it more of a matte finish. One day perhaps I'll go over them with the more enamel looking spray paint for a more glossy finish, but for now this will have to do :) Here is what they looked like before I added the eyes. And again they did turn out white though they may look a little yellow in the next picture... but I'm only working with my phone camera and well, you know how that can go.... Here they are finished. I decided to color the Pepper shakers eyes grey so people can tell what one is what. :) How much did this cost me? $0 Since I already had the items.... But I probably used about 1 can of spray paint all together and then I used my valspar antiquing glaze in grey I had left over from my other projects for the eyes. *UPDATE* I was finally able to go over them with a glossy white finish! I just used a white gloss spray paint from Walmart. Since I repainted them I had to redo the eyes. This time I used the Martha Stewart Metallic Glaze in Black Coffee, let that dry then did a layer of Martha Stewart Metallic Glaze in Mercury to help soften the eyes a little. Below is the "new" after picture. I definitely like the glossy look and the metallic eyes! Like The Aqua Owl Blog Facebook page HERE!
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This redo was inspired by multiple bloggers I found on pinterest. Most of them seemed to use chalk paint but I am not a fan of chalk paint. My husband LOVES pepper, I think way too much. So pepper mills and shakers are a must at the table. So when I found these wooden ones at the D.I. (thrift store) for only 75 cents a piece I had to have them! They were perfect! Though all they had were pepper ones that was perfect because we do not add salt to anything, so we have no need for salt, unless we have guest I suppose. Below is the before picture. They were in great condition, not a flaw on them. I really liked the dark wooden one, but of course I REALLY wanted to paint them to go better with my decor. Here is what I did. First thing I did was sand them a little so that the primer would adhere better, even though with the primer I use you do not have to, but I like to be on the safe side. Here is the primer I used. I did enough coats to where I couldn't see the wood through the paint, which took a few coats and I had to sand a few spots in between layers to make it as smooth as I wanted. After I let the primer dry I then painted one with the ice grey paint color I had left over from another project that I got from a local paint store. It is VERY close to white. I had to do a few coats with this color. I did not enjoy having to hand paint this, a spray can is so much easier for small projects! But, I needed to use my left over paint. On the other I used Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze spray paint that I got at Walmart. I did a few coats of this as well, until I got the color I wanted. After the paint dried I then glazed it with my valspar antiquing glaze and let that dry. Since I am not using a top coat (so it won't have any yellowing) I am letting this dry for a month before use just to be on the safe side. All done!
I was excited when I found this vintage alarm clock in storage, and it still works despite the fact that it is at least from the 1970's! I loved the brass look but then again I had to ask myself if it would go with anything I have in my house....and it didn't... It took me a while to decide what color to paint it and I ended up going with Aquamarine and used my left over Valspar Antiquing Glaze, of course. One day when I can afford new paint colors I won't keep painting things blue ;) So here is the before... Here is the paint I used.... Here are the paint brushes I used....
Basically I cleaned the clock, added 2 coats of primer, let dry, then added about 2 coats of aquamarine, then once I let all of that dry I added my antiquing glaze. Here is a better view of the glaze. Now it's done!
The look of a $20- $50 working alarm clock for the price of basically nothing since the clock was free and I used all left over materials from my other projects! Ocean/Beach/Aqua Theme Vanity Redo My Grandma from South Carolina was staying with my family for over a year and so we decided to redo the guest room for her with a beach like feel! I was in charge of redoing this very old vanity! It has drawers....and hardware....I just got so excited I went right to taking it apart and on to sanding before I remembered I needed a before picture and I was too lazy to put it all back together...sorry :( Also for a heads up sorry for the lack of pictures, but I will try my best to explain how I did it! The pictures may not be the best due to very poor lighting. PREP First I took the drawers out, mirror off, and hardware off and began sanding with an electric sander. This vanity was painted an antique white and for some reason was very bumpy so I had to sand A LOT to get to the smoothness I wanted. Then used a wet clean white rag and cleaned off the dust, then let it dry. Next I cleaned off the hardware to get them ready to be painted. Now, paint time.... I used a metallic spray paint to cover the gold hardware. Continued to layer the paint until I got the coverage I wanted. Once that was dry I then went over it with my Valspar antiquing glaze in grey that I had left over from the kitchen table redo. Once I got the look I wanted and let it dry, I then used a water base sealant since handles get a lot of use. Below is the after and the glaze I used. I have yet to get a paint sprayer, which would have made all of this easier...and faster.....so I used brushes. I used two different colors. For the base I used the highest gloss of Aquamarine and for the darker highlights I used a pearl Bahamian blue left over from my kitchen table redo. I did not use a sealant. After my table redo, I was told never to do that because no matter what kind you use it will always, one day, turn colors. So we will see how this holds up because my kitchen table turned colors even though I let it dry and used a water base sealer. So I started with a Primer and did 2 coats, sanding between to get a perfect smooth surface. Then I did 3 coats of the Aquamarine, sanding between coats, not sanding the last layer. Next I added some Floetrol (picture below) to the Bahamian blue. This helps the paint not dry so fast and helps prevent brush strokes showing. You can also use this in the base paint if you would like. Since I was applying the Bahamian blue like you would a glaze, I needed a way for it to not dry so fast, and that is what I came up with, and it worked perfectly! After that all dried I then decided to add the Valspar Glaze to the detail work on the vanity. I used a very tiny paint brush for this. I did a couple layers until it was dark enough for me. Once all was dry I put the drawers back in and added the hardware and BAM! What a beauty. I will have to post pictures of the whole room at some point. We were able to find a bed headboard that matches PERFECT with this hardware, and it was super cheap! Bonus! I decided not to add the mirror back on, due to it being old and needing replaced. So, once I get the mirror thing figured out, I'll post an updated picture! To add some beach-ness to it, I added vases and added sand from different beaches we have been too to hold the candles. Well, there is it! I just love how it turned out! It works perfect in this grey walled, beach themed room! Hopefully I can get some better pictures of it one day, these just don't do it justice!
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