paint Archives - Page 6 of 25

As a blogger, I do a lot of work while I’m bleary eyed and guzzling coffee – trying to get some things finished before my kids wake up for the day. Most of those early morning hours are spent going through the previous day’s email. Many of those emails are questions and comments from you guys (Love those!), spam comments (Hate those!), and numerous product pitches from brands all over the world. Probably 90% of those pitches feel the wrath of my delete button. But, some of them have presented me with some really fun opportunities that I would never have received if I wasn’t a blogger.

Like the one I got a while back that said, “Would you like to interview HGTV star David Bromstad?” Since David has been my long time favorite on HGTV, I jumped at the chance. I have followed his HGTV career since he won the original Design Star competition back in 2006 and then went on to have his own show, Color Splash. David has a fabulous sense of color and he is a former Disney illustrator…and we know how I dig Disney illustrators for their unique take on shape, color and whimsy.

David has designed two new limited edition bottles of Coffee-mate creamer that are only available at Target, and he is promoting a Get Inspired With Coffee-mate Sweepstakes that’s going on now (more about that below). I was so looking forward to talking him about how the differences in product packaging design versus room design. Just pretend that it’s me on the other end of his phone.

See? He loves me! I knew we would be BFFs if we ever had the chance to chat.

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Back in March, my world was totally changed when my only favorite sister moved here from Orlando. It had been been 19 years since I had lived within a two day driving distance from anyone in my family, and now my sister is about 30 minutes away from me door-to-door. To say that this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me would be an understatement. My kids are thrilled that “Aunt Leigh Leigh” can just stop by for dinner any time, and I am thrilled that we are able to spend so much time together after 19 years of trying to catch up over quick weekend visits.

Like many people, Leigh Ann has gone gaga for Pinterest and has found some adorable projects that she wants to recreate. The thing is, though, that Leigh and I couldn’t be more opposite in our personalities. She’s the numbers girl and I’m the creative one, so she was nervous to even attempt these projects. So, we’ve had a Sister Craft Day where I’ve helped her put together the projects that she had in mind, and I have tried to teach her some things about crafting. She’s now making cute little canvas signs for herself and her friends.

But, Leigh has never painted anything before. So when she found a $40 headboard on Craigslist that she wanted me to paint, I said, “How about I teach you how to do it?” She wasn’t thrilled (to be totally honest), but she agreed. I had just gotten a HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish HVLP paint sprayer in the mail, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use it. This isn’t the type of sprayer that you’d use for huge areas, like walls, but it’s perfect for things like furniture and cabinets.

I set up plastic sheeting in my garage and got her headboard prepped for painting (using a deglosser to remove the shiny factory finish instead of sanding it). Don’t you wish you had a big sister to do all of your prep work? Ha! Then, to try out the sprayer myself, I used it to apply a primer coat (Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3).

I have a few other paint sprayers myself, and the Fine Finish Max felt different to me than the other ones. It was much lighter weight to hold in my hand so my hands didn’t get fatigued. I did have a hard time using it the first time because you are supposed to hold it 6″-12″ away from the item you are painting – much closer than my other paint sprayers. But, once I got the hang of that, it was really easy.

After the primer dried, it was Leigh Ann’s turn. I gave her a quick set of instructions (basically just overlap the strokes by about 1/3 and use your legs to move up and down instead of your bending your wrists), and I turned her loose. Since she is not a DIYer, I had no idea how it was going to go.

As it turns out, Leigh Ann was a beast with that paint sprayer!

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Coffee Talk with David Bromstad

A Paint Sprayer That Even a Non-DIYer Can Use {and a Giveaway}