"Chalk" for chalkboard labels

I picked up these chalkboard labels for pennies ages ago with a small gift card to Crate & Barrel. I really like the way they look on the glass jars I use for flour, sugar, and similar foods. But I didn't like the way the chalk writing looked - I just couldn't get it to neat enough for me. And, it rubbed off too easily.

My solution was a white pen I found it at Michael's in the scrapbooking section. It was $1.99 and I had a coupon for 20% off my total purchase!

It gives the illusion of chalk on the stickers and was easy to write with. Love, love, love!

It's these little touches - inexpensive and easy - that make such a big difference in decor, I think. They just kind of tie things together and give a home a more polished look.

Touching up or painting baseboards - TIP

We've been tearing up the carpet in a couple rooms of our house. Underneath is hardwood flooring, and I'm so excited! But this has also exposed portions of the baseboard previously hidden from paint brushes. In one room, the baseboard is bright blue in spots! I decided to first prime those spots before painting the whole baseboard. I didn't want to tape the whole room to protect the floor, and honestly, I was too lazy to even want to put down newspaper ;) so I used a little trick. I placed a piece of cardboard at an angle to the baseboard and primed that section. Then I moved the cardboard down a section of the baseboard and primed. This will even work when painting the baseboards. Paint the baseboard as close to the floor as you can, then use the cardboard trick. Do be careful not to drip on the floor! I keep my paint can on a large piece of newspaper and move that with me as I paint. And I keep a rag handy :)

   

 

A spray painted bathroom faucet

This post has been quite a while in the making! I've been thinking about painting my bathroom sink faucet for some time. I've seen many bloggers do it, and really liked the results. Our silver faucet didn't really fit in our bathroom decor, and it was kind of beat up. But I didn't want to replace it - it's not in the budget right now, and it's kind of a pain.

 

So I finally bit the bullet and did it! I taped around the faucet and covered the surrounding surfaces with newspaper.

 

Faucets are shiny, slick surfaces, so I gave it a coat of primer. Then I did several light coats of oil rubbed bronze spray paint. When I removed the newspaper (a couple days later), there was a bit of spray paint on the counter. A little nail polish remover took it right off without damaging the counter (but test your counter in a hidden area first, if you try this). It came out great! But it didn't stay great : ( One handle, just ONE handle, started chipping. I have no idea why.

 

So I started over. I primed the chipped area. Then gave it a coat of orb. I finished up with another coat of orb on the whole faucet. This time I added several light coats of a matte finish clear coat, for more protection. It was a pain to do it once, and really a pain to do it twice, but it seems to be holding up well this time. And I really do love the way it looks.