I like to get crafty once in awhile. I frequently visit Pinterest, I Google craft ideas every so often and I have some craft friends who are always posting their latest creations on Facebook. Unfortunately, most of what I try to create comes out looking hardly like what it did in my mind. I have created a few good items but for the most part it just doesn't work for me. I have kind of figured out however, that if you have good quality products to use, they almost complete the project for you.
I work from home as a freelance writer. I do this blogging gig for fun on the side but when I am putting in hours of work each day on the computer I am always sitting in this ridiculously uncomfortable desk chair. I think I got it at Walmart years ago for under twenty dollars and the wear and tear it has put on my back shows. Not to mention this chair is less than attractive. It's your basic black, fake leather desk chair. I decided I wanted to paint this random chair we had in our basement and turn it into a comfortable and attractive desk chair for my office. The problem was though, that I do not like using chemical-based products in the home. We had plenty of stinky, smelly paint in the basement leftover from various projects that I could have used but I didn't want to.
I looked on the internet for different zero-VOC paints. I had also heard of milk-based paints as well. I came across The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co., Inc. They make safe, zero-VOC paint that is milk based. Their paints come in a huge variety of colors. You get a small bag of powder, you mix it with water and voila, you have a paint that works great for unfinished wood and other porous surfaces. I wanted to paint a chair that was already finished before so all I had to do was use their Extra-Bond product to make the paint more adhering to the chair. The Extra-Bond is also non-toxic so no worries there. The consistency of the paint was really good. As long as you mix it well you are good to go.
Another milk-based paint is made by Real Milk Paint. They have a lot of colors to choose from as well and all you do is add water. This one took a little more mixing to get it to a good consistency but ultimately you are dealing with a safe paint that even the kids can help you paint with.
A great product you can keep on hand for small craft projects is Folk Art Home Décor Chalk by Plaid. This is an ultra matte acrylic paint that dries with a finish like chalk. You can use these paints to paint a picture frame, decorative box, flower pot and so on. The projects you can use this product for are endless. You can use the paints to give an antique look or a worn look. There's so many colors to choose from you can match your project to rooms in your house or what not.
If you are someone who is frequently crafty you may find yourself throwing away paintbrushes that are getting ruined or have dried paint on them. The Roller Cover is a neat product that allows you to cover up your rollers or brushes. You can cover them when you are taking a break from your project or when you are busy cleaning up. This prevents the paint from drying too quickly on your brush or roller and thus ruining your product.
Keep the kids busy this summer with a variety of great craft projects. You may want to take on a few of your own for your own sanity during these long summer days! Head to your local craft store or do some looking around online to find project ideas of your very own.
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