Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Oops...and a new B&A Project

Oops paint. My new favorite thing. For anyone who may not know what I am talking about, it's discounted paint that was mixed the wrong color and returned to the store. Some stores don't refund paint but Home Depot has Oops paint and I saw some at Lowe's today. You may not spot it right away as there's normally only a few "oopsies" available on a daily basis. Just check with a store associate if you don't see any because believe you me you want to check out the stash. You can get a whole gallon of paint for just a few bucks!

For example, we went to Home Depot last week and stumbled across some Oops paint in THE color I was looking for and it was only five smackeroos. Yup, a whole gallon of Behr semi-gloss paint in a beautiful blueish gray color. And let me tell you...I am in love with it.

Beautiful :)


I busted it out this past weekend to paint a few thrift store pieces I picked up and check out how the color looked. I need more of a visual besides the little dot on top of the paint can :) And would you believe it's the perfect shade that blends with our new master bedroom bedding. We're giving the room a budget makeover and bedding was definitely most needed. A Before and After to come soon on that. But in the meantime I have a little B & A project that I am just smitten over.

We had these brown plaque thingies (real technical) that we acquired right after the Hubby and I got married...about five years ago. Purchased at Kirklands for like ten bucks each. They lived in our dining room at our first house and then moved to our living room in our current house. However, when I painted the living room a mocha brown color, they looked a bit yawnish. They were replaced with a colorful piece of art and the plaques were sent to the garage.

Here is a Before of both plaques.



Now that I've been bitten by the DIY decorating bug I knew I wanted to do something with those plaques. So when we started thinking of a makeover for our bedroom, I knew I had the perfect place for these little guys: right above our bed...which I am sad to say has always been empty. I have a fear of something crashing down on our heads in the middle of the night so I kept putting off hanging anything. These plaques are perfectly lightweight and in case of the unforeseen, thin enough to probably just fall through the gap between our bed and the wall.

Enough back story, back to the project at hand.

I was so pumped to add my new fav color to these plaques. I was a little nervous at first though. I didn't want to ruin them! But I shoved my doubt aside and took a little paint plunge :) And I am so glad I did. I love the result and they are completely perfect in their new spot.

I wanted a shabby/distressed look so my plan was to lightly coat the piece and give it sort of a dry brush look. All I did was take a foam brush with a little bit of paint and starting at the center, lightly dabbed into the grooves. It gave just enough color but still left some of the brown exposed. Sorry I really don't have good process photos. My camera battery was dead so I took a few with the cell phone. After the center was done, I lightly brushed the remaining surfaces and edges but didn't get every nook and cranny, giving it the shabby appearance. It was so easy!



Here's one finished beside the other brown one. LOVE!!!



We hung them up last night (very securely I might add) and after my battery recharged, I snapped a few pictures this morning. Sorry for not allowing you to see the whole bed. That's for another post!




I think one reason I totally heart this little makeover is because it cost nearly nothing! Since I had the plaques on hand and only used a few tablespoons of my $5 gallon of paint, I would say this project cost about 25 pennies :) I am already searching for more victims items to try out my new paint on :) Maybe a piece of furniture...

More MB updates coming soon!

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5 comments:

  1. They look great!!! I'm all for some distressed items. I'm working on our bedroom too and I have a little project for over the bed if I'd just do it already. I even bought all the fabric to make a new duvet cover... if I'd just do that already too. These kids keep getting in my way ;)

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  2. these are so me,i love them. great job. thanks for sharing this at my party!

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  3. These look beautiful! The color you chose is awesome.
    www.itsybitsypaperblog.com

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  4. Love oops paint!! My Daddy works @ HD so I am constantly texting him asking him to go check the bin for me.. I've also found some good deals @ Wal-Mart too.. Love the color you chose

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  5. Those look absolutely fantastic! Can't wait to see what you are doing with the rest of the space! :-) I hope we will get to see you again at our party this week!
    Vanessa

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