Makely

This post is sponsored by Glidden.

A little over a month ago, I teased you with my freshly painted, super bright white room. Why on Earth would I of all people choose to paint a room white? The little tease was fun for me for a few days as the emails and comments rolled in. It didn’t take much before I was bitting my tongue and squirming in my chair, as I couldn’t yet reveal to you the real reason for my big white room.

It seems the general consensus was that I am pregnant.

Available at Walmart.com: 1. Glidden Brilliance Paint in Granny Smith Apple, Glidden Brilliance Paint in Cool Cobalt, Glidden Brilliance Paint in Cherries Jubilee 2. Drapery Panels (in Sail) 3. Lamp 4. Mobile 5. Wall Art 6. Changing Table/Dresser 7.Dresser 8. Area Rug 9. Crib 10. Crib Sheet 11. Toss Pillow 12. Rocking Chair

WRONG!

Wait, what? Um, that’s a nursery design, Lindsay.

I know, I know. I’m definitely not pregnant…but I know that some of you are! So, when Glidden asked me to partner with them for their My Dream Nursery sweepstakes, I couldn’t have been more delighted. From now until June 7th, you can enter to win a $2,500 Walmart gift card from my friends at Glidden. But, let’s get to more of that in a minute. Obviously, we need to talk about me and my white room first.

A few months ago, I worked with Glidden on putting together a sample “mood board” for a brightly colored, gender neutral nursery using their paints and products available at Walmart.com. It was so much fun to dream about a nursery again. My friends Nicole Balch and Melissa Michaels also put together mood boards, girl themed and boy themed respectively, and you can see them all over at the My Colortopia blog. I used the jungle animal vinyl wall art as my inspiration, and I had such fun putting together a contemporary and unexpected nursery. I think it would be great for either a boy or a girl, and it feels grown up enough that mom and dad would feel special rocking their new bundle of joy in this sweet new room.

Additionally, Glidden thought it would be invaluable to provide parents-to-be with some genuine, not scary, you-can-do-this-too advice, and they asked to feature me in a couple of videos on the subject. They flew in an amazingly talented video production crew, and for two whirlwind days, I talked and painted and talked and painted and talked about a few tips and my own inspirations. Needless to say, it was in the top 5 experiences of my entire life, and I am forever grateful for Glidden’s confidence in me. It has been pure torture to not share this with you until today.

Now do you see why I had to have a pure white room? And didn’t my husband and son do a great job in their little acting roles? I am just over the moon with the way it turned out, and I really hope it calms the fears of some parents-to-be who are already likely experiencing some major anxiety about all of the changes going on in their lives.

Welcome your little one to a world of color with Baby Room Colors from Glidden® Paint, as seen in What to Expect When You’re Expecting (only in theaters).

Okay, back to the sweepstakes. Like I said, Glidden is giving away a $2,500 Walmart gift card to one lucky winner. To enter, simply visit the sweepstakes page on Circle of Moms and choose your favorite nursery mood board – mine, Nicole’s or Melissa’s. You can see a little slideshow type thing of the boards on the Circle of Moms page, or you can visit the My Colortopia site to see larger photos and more information about the products used and the contest in general. Leave a comment on the CIRCLE OF MOMS page (not on my blog!) naming your favorite mood board to be entered to win. You do have to register/log-in to Circle of Moms to leave a comment, but if that’s not worth $2,500 to you, I don’t know what is.

Y’all are more that welcome to leave comments here if you want to chat about my mood board or the video. You know I love getting feedback from you guys!

So tell me – which of you are expecting?

I have been sponsored by Glidden^® brand paint to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

On Tuesday, I had one last thing to do to finish my new treasure. I simply needed to brush on a coat of polyurethane and let it dry. I have gone down this road many, many times, so it should have been a breeze.

I set to work on the poly as soon as Emma went down for her nap. Unfortunately, the fast-dry poly dried so quickly on the top of the piece that I had trouble keeping a wet edge. When my brush drug across a spot that had just been painted 15 seconds earlier, it was already a gummy mess.

I thought that perhaps I was applying the coats too thinly. So, I let it dry and added another coat with a loaded high density foam roller. This time, I had a different problem in that the poly was super bubbly (and I’m not talking about it’s personality, y’all).

Instead of freaking out, which is quite often my reaction to something like this, I grabbed a sheet of 220-grit sandpaper and lightly sanded off the poly coats on the top. I then went back to my paint can and repainted the top of the piece. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly good enough that only I will notice the flaws. Today, I’ll reapply the poly in a thicker coat and hope that it will solve my problem. Keep your fingers crossed!

I mention all of this because there is something I want you (and I) to remember: It’s Just Paint. Instead of worrying about messing up a finish or not liking a color, just remember that it can always be undone. You may have to sand it. You may have to strip it. But there is nothing that you have painted that can’t be repainted. And then repainted again and again.

The holds true for walls as well. A few weeks ago, my Question of the Day on Facebook asked if any of you have patterns on your walls. One sweet and loyal reader replied that she didn’t because she doesn’t want anything permanent. I totally understand that line of thinking. I change my mind with the seasons, too.

But the thing is, paint is one of the least permanent things you can do to your walls (or your furniture). If you paint a stripe or try out a new stencil on a wall and you absolutely hate it, just paint over it! You’ll only be out the time it took you to put it together and the cost of the paint. That’s a pretty low risk for a giant payoff in my book.

Paint has amazing transformative qualities. So much of what I do in my own home is driven by color, and that would be hard to do if I was paralyzed by paint. The number of projects I’ve sanded down and repainted are too numerous to even remember. I just keep washing my brushes, waiting on the coats to dry, and stocking up on fine grit sandpaper.

Do you feel nervous to tackle a painting project? What is it that worries you?