Scout wants something. No doubt food.
Definition of “Scout” in the dictionary: Demanding.
Happy Tuesday.
Chalk Paint? Not So Much.
I know everyone in blogland is on the Chalk Paint Bandwagon. I’ve read countless posts on how wonderful it is. And I’ve seen beautiful results. But so far….I’m not a fan.
I have a few pieces in our bedroom that are wood. For the most part, the wood is dark. This piece is from our Craftsman days in San Diego when the trim in our house was a darkly stained wood and so many of our pieces of furniture were, too. I’ve been wanting to paint the various pieces in some sort of cohesive color and, hopefully, brighten up the bedroom in the process.
You can see the dark finish this piece had originally if you look at the top of the blanket chest.
One of the selling points of Chalk Paint is that it goes a long way. The instructions always point out that you don’t need to use a primer. And one (or two) coats of paint is enough to cover the piece. I had to use 4 coats of paint. Believe me, if I had known, I would have primed the piece first. At $36.95 for a small can of paint, 4 coats of paint is pricey.
I was frustrated. A small project that I thought would take a short amount of time took much longer than expected. I’m still not entirely happy with it.
I don’t get what the big deal is about Chalk Paint. Has it been overhyped? It’s awfully expensive. If I thought it was worth the effort, I’d rather make my own. There are plenty of recipes for it on the internet. But is it worth the effort?
And I wonder – why not just use regular old paint like I normally do? Why go to all the expense of chalk paint if I can use flat latex and some wax and come up with this?
It isn’t a great photo, but this is a $5 cabinet that I painted and aged and waxed. For the price of some latex paint and some paste wax (which I still have) this ends up being much more affordable.
I don’t know about you, but if I’m spending $36.95 on a quart of paint, it had better be fabulous.
So far? Not fabulous.
I know that some of my readers use chalk paint and love it, so maybe I’m missing something? Or doing something wrong? If I am, please let me know! I’ll be happy to adjust my current attitude.
By the way, has anyone else received a Malware warning while on PicMonkey? This morning I was editing a photo and was about to save it to my computer when I got a big old Malware warning (I was on Chrome.) I quickly closed that window and ended up editing in Ribbet. I wonder sometimes if these warnings are real or are the result of an overactive and extra vigilant browser. So now I’m running my virus software to make sure everything is okay. Edited to add: Saw this explanation today. PicMonkey and other sites must have been advertising partners with this site. All is okay now.
And my wireless router appears to be acting up.
Happy Monday.
Collecting: New Pieces of Miniature Pottery
Good morning! It’s Sunday morning and there is a bit of snow on the ground that will need to be shoveled. Thankfully, just a little – less than one inch – though we might have a bit more tonight. It’s a gray day, at least so far. I have several projects in the works and the challenge of the day will be deciding just where I should concentrate my energies.
I don’t care about the Super Bowl.
There, I’ve said it. Do not care. I’m not even sure who’s playing. And, frankly, I think football needs to be re-assessed. Our increasing knowledge of chronic head injuries and the dire toll they can take on players should be a wake up call. Junior Seau was the quarterback when I was living in San Diego. This man who was normally happy and full of good cheer took his life recently. And the examination of his brain confirmed that he suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that is linked to chronic head injuries. When the NIH autopsied the brains of 34 former players, they discovered that 33 of them suffered from CTE.
Food for thought.
On to something cheerier.
My friend Linda who blogs at A La Carte, knows that I have started a collection of miniature pottery. She sent me a lovely present that arrived in yesterday’s mail:
Oh. My. Goodness. Three beautiful pieces of pottery! Aren’t they lovely? And a heart!
Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! (as Gilbert and Sullivan would say.)
I am entranced.
I’ve added them to my shadow box shelf. I love the pop of color that the yellow and peach pieces bring to my display.
How can I not smile when I sit here in my blogging chair, pause in my typing, look up and see this?
I can’t. I’m smiling.
Thank you, Linda, from the bottom of my heart.
In other news, the earrings are flying out the door! I have a lot of wrapping and packaging to do in the next 2 days. Thank you so much! If you are interested in a pair, I would suggest you think about buying a pair sooner rather than later. Some colors are almost gone. Meredith is thrilled, by the way.
Happy Sunday.
