How to paint laminate.

I should have known better to attack this project. I have learned over the past year or so that <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">laminate is my nemesis</span>. He hate me. (Check my <a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2008/05/laminate-is-indestructible.html">first post </a>to understand.)<br /><br />I know how to paint stuff. I do. I even knew/know how to paint laminate. It just doesn't like me much, and from now on, I think we're gonna keep our distance. Hater.<br /><br />It started with the TV cabinet in the <a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2009/05/playroom-for-kids-that-works-for-adults.html">playroom/loft</a>:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSB4qDuDZ67PPvlzAglBNp_K0DpWwFuKB0MAYbczZ7Az9y1WTdG6_QKFBnhJZ-47feMJ6ijiTD3mfjwIslcoumu2IvcJIzTbzVK6urJHBggj_HVzCZLMiLh0SwsClhb9ukdO00MtI25PA/s1600-h/DSC09961.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344777322513516274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSB4qDuDZ67PPvlzAglBNp_K0DpWwFuKB0MAYbczZ7Az9y1WTdG6_QKFBnhJZ-47feMJ6ijiTD3mfjwIslcoumu2IvcJIzTbzVK6urJHBggj_HVzCZLMiLh0SwsClhb9ukdO00MtI25PA/s400/DSC09961.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>I kept looking for something new (like, Goodwill-new) for the space. It had to had storage like this one, it had to have the open shelving like this one, it had to be this size. And it had to be black. Hmmmmm...ummmkay. Why don't I just paint this one? I know, you are quicker than me...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIyIESZ3gXTml_3Vg4Uoxe2la1SWX3G4AUMtg7ERyysUp16mfAvVYsbwiSfkbPX5KiaugJtpOx-c7FB_0AUoIQEaxQbUi1SlX25Z6ukHcQ5VrmkP4xER8z_PNJhz1QcvcznZsbSnu0n0DG/s1600-h/DSC00257.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344777125944486930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIyIESZ3gXTml_3Vg4Uoxe2la1SWX3G4AUMtg7ERyysUp16mfAvVYsbwiSfkbPX5KiaugJtpOx-c7FB_0AUoIQEaxQbUi1SlX25Z6ukHcQ5VrmkP4xER8z_PNJhz1QcvcznZsbSnu0n0DG/s400/DSC00257.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>So I just painted it. It is laminate, through and through. I went to meet Paint Guy at Lowe's. (We're on a first-name basis. His name is Paint. Guy.) I asked him for the best, most fantastic primer he could ever think of for painting laminate. He said B.I.N. primer by Zinsser was the best one. AND it dries in 45 minutes!!<br /><br />I skipped out of the store, I was so excited! I could actually get this done in Sarah-time! That would be asfastaspossiblegetitdoneNOWIhatewaitingforpainttodry time.<br /><br />Well...I don't know what this stuff is but it is waaaay weird. It <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">destroyed</span> my rollers and foam brushes. Super weird. Like, they were melting off the handles weird.<br /><br />It did dry fast though...so I was OK. Over the next few days, I did three coats of black (even though I used tinted primer), a couple coats of poly, later added some cute red knobs from Hob Lob:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEgcAAs3tMHB4_RinBr5IU-JvAbxdjQHVzcqjcKdEsiLKr23ZSYeQ5J_3aS7LiDnDjFE8lW0XZfK8WZHTgWNe7nYNY2QXwflvoziQRmUn0T-8w-mhxgdYa4xZq7B6r_Uz4uQUO8YTNcb-/s1600-h/DSC00278.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344777127468932898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEgcAAs3tMHB4_RinBr5IU-JvAbxdjQHVzcqjcKdEsiLKr23ZSYeQ5J_3aS7LiDnDjFE8lW0XZfK8WZHTgWNe7nYNY2QXwflvoziQRmUn0T-8w-mhxgdYa4xZq7B6r_Uz4uQUO8YTNcb-/s400/DSC00278.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a><br /><span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4KIAyQa3Lz1Ljn8m8JgFY8M7GZ5yalaxbIoJ3VNPUO_2G5i0zcthizUC1YZcIDAp2bUds38l0BHlHSOE_dpUi5XLIA0JTvQ8cMLdHjXW8c9DD12KVUtrenUnnbDsYnrHPAO3fHN7jDrw/s1600-h/DSC00273.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344777109929029330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4KIAyQa3Lz1Ljn8m8JgFY8M7GZ5yalaxbIoJ3VNPUO_2G5i0zcthizUC1YZcIDAp2bUds38l0BHlHSOE_dpUi5XLIA0JTvQ8cMLdHjXW8c9DD12KVUtrenUnnbDsYnrHPAO3fHN7jDrw/s400/DSC00273.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>Put the TV and components back on and this started happening:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRKIPHoLhiY2bTXNIb8vThLQyuMSKFBW_2kBsPETOsbOOjmw4MFqNbDuVumQ2MGnR7-xkMQquL1zkClMEaoAKOSQFR-EQBZjTvr8rzq1Zd3BXN_pu4aLDFrNjme2goKH0kQhjdq3vLW0h/s1600-h/DSC00269.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344777117834890626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRKIPHoLhiY2bTXNIb8vThLQyuMSKFBW_2kBsPETOsbOOjmw4MFqNbDuVumQ2MGnR7-xkMQquL1zkClMEaoAKOSQFR-EQBZjTvr8rzq1Zd3BXN_pu4aLDFrNjme2goKH0kQhjdq3vLW0h/s400/DSC00269.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>That's a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">huge</span> chip with the laminate showing through, covered by black Sharpie, in case you couldn't tell. (Most of the time, black or brown Sharpie is great to cover up scratches, by the way.)<br /><br />Then, it chipped under the TV. In like, three places. I could have cried. Really. Told you. Laminate is out to get me.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">BUT</span>...I spent $10 on primer, a few bucks on new rollers, and only a few hours of my time. Even if it looks good for another six months or so, in the end, I feel like it was worth it. I loooove how it turned out...a new black cabinet would have been at least $250.<br /><br />That's what I keep telling myself anyway. :)<br /><br />Before:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSB4qDuDZ67PPvlzAglBNp_K0DpWwFuKB0MAYbczZ7Az9y1WTdG6_QKFBnhJZ-47feMJ6ijiTD3mfjwIslcoumu2IvcJIzTbzVK6urJHBggj_HVzCZLMiLh0SwsClhb9ukdO00MtI25PA/s1600-h/DSC09961.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344777322513516274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSB4qDuDZ67PPvlzAglBNp_K0DpWwFuKB0MAYbczZ7Az9y1WTdG6_QKFBnhJZ-47feMJ6ijiTD3mfjwIslcoumu2IvcJIzTbzVK6urJHBggj_HVzCZLMiLh0SwsClhb9ukdO00MtI25PA/s400/DSC09961.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>After:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEgcAAs3tMHB4_RinBr5IU-JvAbxdjQHVzcqjcKdEsiLKr23ZSYeQ5J_3aS7LiDnDjFE8lW0XZfK8WZHTgWNe7nYNY2QXwflvoziQRmUn0T-8w-mhxgdYa4xZq7B6r_Uz4uQUO8YTNcb-/s1600-h/DSC00278.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344777127468932898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEgcAAs3tMHB4_RinBr5IU-JvAbxdjQHVzcqjcKdEsiLKr23ZSYeQ5J_3aS7LiDnDjFE8lW0XZfK8WZHTgWNe7nYNY2QXwflvoziQRmUn0T-8w-mhxgdYa4xZq7B6r_Uz4uQUO8YTNcb-/s400/DSC00278.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>Worth it?<br /><br />P.S. Yes, I sanded it. No, not a really <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">really</span> good sanding. :)<br />Yes, I let it cure between coats (as long as directed). No, probably not as long as I <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">really</span> should have. (I know better!)<br />Yes, I was super anxious and tired of the electronic crap all over the room and probably put everything on too fast -- should have waited at least a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">whole</span> day. NO. I didn't follow <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">my own advice</span>. (Have I mentioned how very little patience I have when it comes to painting lately??)<br /><br />Hangs head in shame...

How to paint laminate.

I should have known better to attack this project. I have learned over the past year or so that laminate is my nemesis . He hate me. (Check ...

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All things PAINT!

<div align="center">Alrighty, I don't assume to know much. But I have picked up a few things about paint in da "biz" that I wanted to share with you. So here. we. go. OH, and I'll throw in a few of my paint colors in here to, so I can link up to <a href="http://granvillehouse.blogspot.com/">Melissa's Paint Party</a>!</div><p align="center"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343685965225504114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVrpd0UKccUoF_-4lHJlCyxjzpaS8Z5S4Ig-VOe-8oboUztuclCP3cDD-n70NtclyDzAA03S-j4SD2dZZSIapVogvNVZlYjZUhEX9pFde7T0f3NWcZagol5Zk2xSjkdW2K2XQA57JSAXc/s400/DSC00211.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 290px; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Family Room: Sisal, Ralph Lauren/Behr<br /></p><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="left"><strong>Picking out color:</strong></div><div align="left">MOST of the time, it is helpful to start with some sort of inspiration and work off of that. A pillow, fabric, a vase...anything. When you start with the paint color and go from there, it gets more difficult to decorate around it. Ask me -- we picked a color before moving in for half of our house, and now I know it is really hard to work with. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Really</span> hard. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><br />Obviously, you can pick out a wall color first, if it's a neutral, like a cream, tan, gold, etc.<br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><br />*You can color match just about ANYTHING. Take your inspiration into the store and ask them if they can color match it. Then, you can ask them to adjust the shade according to what you need. </div><p align="left">*BEFORE you buy your paint, pay a few bucks and get a sample. Take it home and paint it on a poster board. Hang it on the wall and live with it for at least 24 hours. Look at it during the day, at night, on a cloudy day...you will be shocked at how different the color will look in your own home, in your own light. I cannot stress how important this is. I <strong>know</strong> how hard it is to be patient and wait that extra day, but you will not regret it. </p><div align="left">*If you have a home that is more of an open concept, I always recommend picking a color you love and working off that paint chip -- lighter for some rooms, medium for others, darker for some. This keeps it in the same family but they all work together. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br />*There are three rooms I think you can totally have fun with and get dramatic if you want -- laundry rooms, powder rooms and dining rooms. That's just my personal opinion though, it's YOUR house and you can do what YOU want and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. <em>It's just paint.</em> </div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343686125472070322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhac1O3WGCXlFEwJmrg2w00Bfla9rQ0vLQIEG0b3z-rMzDPqGO35IF2BZu3XorsRnYnShTiRc4Mu4dm41tljLTB9_L-U3etuir0mjahtlpC616yOb9WvsdVhIBBmcRqlGcJa7L3oQKsQ6YU/s400/DSC00220.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> <p align="center">Master bedroom: fireplace wall, Mossy Aura, Valspar; walls, Tornado Watch, Valspar<br /></p><strong></strong><p align="left"><strong>Picking a finish:</strong></p>If you have ever had a builder, decorator or painter pick your finish, they will most likely ALWAYS pick a flat sheen. This is because flat paint ALWAYS looks better, on any wall. It hides all imperfections in the wall.<br /><br />BUT...if any of these people have children under ten, they would NOT put this sheen in their own homes. Flat paint is awful awful awful, uck, yeck, blah!! It is impossible to clean. When you wipe it, it wipes up to a shiny sheen. You cannot get marks out of it without making a shiny mark on the wall.<br /><br />*For living spaces, I like eggshell or satin. You can wipe it off if needed, and it hides imperfections pretty well. For any space that may get messes on the wall, a glossier sheen is best. I use a gloss for our bathrooms and laundry room. (I should mention, I should not have used this in our master bath. With the super high ceilings the glossy accentuates all the roller marks, which annoys me every. day.) I always use high gloss for moldings and trim.<br /><br />*There are new wipeable flat paints, which I am liking. I used this in our powder room and so far, so good.<br /><br />*I always use latex paint. Oil holds up better (from what I hear) but I've never had a problem with latex. It's so much easier to work with.<br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343687429437678530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFQPmBZMh6KfeK8jgnoEwu2jm45aYc8g9MAjvUoMwadFG59eVROf623vWiP9tABCId3tu1tJFG2MmmEOCjSzX0hhF-i26zv3V7gcG4BHzAAdGSAC0fV4FJSIywdKso84S_wV_INjXYlfS/s400/DSC08888.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> <p align="center">Living room: walls, Beechwood Grey, Porter</p><p align="center">darker accents, French Toast (I think!!), Porter</p><p align="center">(Porter changed all of their colors about a year ago and the closest I've found now is Thumper and Ranch Mink.)<br /><strong></strong></p><p align="left"><strong>Painting:</strong></p><p align="left">I always use the following every time I paint:<br /></p><div align="center">1. Blue painters tape. Masking tape also works.<br /></div><div align="center">2. Cutting in tool – spongy-type thing that you can use to paint the top of the wall and around windows and doors.<br />3. Angled paint brush.<br />4. Plastic paint trays – you don’t need to buy the expensive metal ones. The plastic ones work perfect.<br />5. A couple rollers</div><br />*I highly recommend Behr paint from Home Depot. You <em>really</em> don’t need to buy the expensive paints (Sherwin Williams/Porter). If you find a color that you like in one of these lines, take the chip to the big box store and they'll match it.<br /><br />*Make sure you get more than enough paint. It is recommended you do two coats – I never do, but <em>always</em> wish I had. There are calculators online that can tell you how much you’ll need, or ask the paint department employee. It is important you get enough<em> because no two batches will be exactly the same.</em> If you run out of paint and have to get more mixed, you will most likely notice a difference in the paint color. This is incredibly frustrating...so avoid the frustration. :)<br /><br />* If you have a house with an open floor plan, it can be hard to figure out when to start and stop colors. Most of the time I don't recommend stopping in the middle of a wall to start a new color, but there are exceptions. (I say this because I'm about to do it.) A general rule is to make your colors flow with the direction of the rooms -- as you walk through them. (From the front door, through the house.) So if you are questioning where to stop a color at a corner or break in the wall, consider how the space flows. I hope that makes sense!<br /><br />*One of my best tips is this -- when you stop for the day, take your paint brush and roller and put them in a large ziplock baggy. Or put them in a few grocery bags and tie them up, airtight. Some recommend to put them in the fridge, but I find you don't need to do this. This keeps the paint on the brush/roller wet so you can pull them right back out hours later or the next day to use them again.<br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343686124344177090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZU7LlAxf6_bmSc5NwiglAtViaTAyyEwXam8-C4JW3liVbc3xVPshuVtKI9eoYPPJty7_xQYPNqZbzsJ27_TEzwcCNREQ5htBExh-lt8MQcV5hjgl9RhhhvBYjQJsGWbxPSjb6rS838inG/s400/DSC00213.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> <p align="center">Office: Fired Brick, Sherwin Williams (matched at Home Depot). This looks orangey in the pic but is really a nice brick red.</p><strong></strong><p align="left"><strong>After you are done:</strong></p><p align="left">Keep the paint chip in a file, or better yet, write down all of the paint “codes” and keep them – it is so frustrating to not have the exact color written down when you need it. Just about the only thing you can’t color match is your wall!</p>*If you have small airtight jars, this is a great way to hold some extra paint and keep in handy for touch ups.<br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343686971391545586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKRZ7HPbo61g39ZTbnt_ATkXW8WkDWXzlgyfYSclvyugP6ExaG6e77ZcKbbUpEcN8c3dlvV_n2Maeem1dhKTECruOGgZn-TqsFNLuwVj91XQY11HP3n0EuVjKEsOG4Og3jK7Y2K8LvzJt/s400/DSC08559.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> <p align="center">Nursery: Pale Sand 1, Pale Apple 1, Apple, Apple 4, Lowe's</p><p align="left">OK, any other questions? If so, I'll edit this and add to this post. In the meantime, check out everyone else's favorite paint colors at <a href="http://granvillehouse.blogspot.com/">Melissa's place</a>! </p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343687177866713938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDREHk_OwNGfDOLr9xJ0ifjGWCjHCkE-RofnL6QjepsfvIesnJidOkU80hFDIQcfPRfVYo4qgy4Sn2uQlTLFaG9CNztaBCnCkCX1oCKjUmfl2BXy845P5Ez89KoLZLAnW98Od-974ypNfm/s400/DSC05800.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Laundry room: Manila Tint, Behr </div><p>Have a GREAT weekend! </p><p>P.S. I know many of you had questions about how I did my sign in the last post, so I added some details to the end of the post for you. And I'm trying to visit all your Goodwill transformations, but it may be next week before I can get to all of you! Keep linking up and enjoy the inspiration!</p>

All things PAINT!

Alrighty, I don't assume to know much. But I have picked up a few things about paint in da "biz" that I wanted to share with y...

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Gettin' my craft on.

<strong>***I added some how to's for this project below, based on the questions! Hope it helps! </strong><br /><br />Keep linking to the party <a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-goodwill-party.html">here</a> ladies! I may have to take down Mr. Linky in a few days and just put up the links -- the linky is causing major issues with my site. Either way, you'll be able to keep linking up! (Anyone out there happen to be a computer expert by the way? I would lurve you forever.)<br /><br />Anyhoo, my mind has been absolutely swimming with projects to do around the house lately, so I have had no desire to work on anything crafty. I have about five gifts I need to get done, but nada...nothin'...<br /><br />I have even driven right past Hobby Lobby about five times in the past few weeks with no urge to walk in. (I know! What is wrong with me?!) My crafting mojo needed a major kick in the pants. For some reason today, Hob Lob was pulling me in...I couldn't resist it:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WjNpNpp3HrqQgXtlorvciek4VLHDvCiTDmSoOhFwjhoFxL5YCbGbHt4Zzf9IBYDcSqgybV7suGmf2hjrGkDmxTn9km10QWxR4W2uW22yl9wzpNTfkPoUPNXCiYbPYv0-AkhSsV0GWRd_/s1600-h/DSC00184.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342919122650139730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WjNpNpp3HrqQgXtlorvciek4VLHDvCiTDmSoOhFwjhoFxL5YCbGbHt4Zzf9IBYDcSqgybV7suGmf2hjrGkDmxTn9km10QWxR4W2uW22yl9wzpNTfkPoUPNXCiYbPYv0-AkhSsV0GWRd_/s400/DSC00184.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>I have three girlfriends who all had baby girls within a week of each other, so I've been trying to think of personalized gifts to give them all. I had the egg sign above from the dollar store, and today I got paper, ribbon and itty bitty flowers to make an adorable sign for one of the new arrivals.<br /><br />The paper wasn't big enough to cover the whole plaque, so I just placed the paper diagonally so it would fit over most of it. I spray painted the sides and the corners, then used my spray adhesive to add the paper:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3V84-uGzGNbV57vodw11G6q_GZGf29UTRXZRpNCo1FMrn3-EJOlwuvF9yQ5khuUrNGwy7u6oVMmJ-7iPYsFP5pZDQJ2xSlodCz957TwOLGqSsgckHWaUTsIQewEwQIeG0w5cnuO_0Vh2/s1600-h/DSC00186.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342919118763535506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3V84-uGzGNbV57vodw11G6q_GZGf29UTRXZRpNCo1FMrn3-EJOlwuvF9yQ5khuUrNGwy7u6oVMmJ-7iPYsFP5pZDQJ2xSlodCz957TwOLGqSsgckHWaUTsIQewEwQIeG0w5cnuO_0Vh2/s400/DSC00186.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>I found a font and color on the computer that worked and printed out baby girl's name:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDgCDaXNsESsHLF3UU8WfV4l8XOGyt0agTOj15iz8KnQGqR9yq5T5JV4uBhc5MDCXeHuD8Sx9y1Sjv244r67zHdcsMLg67mep2aIflIvQsXHlwtjuQkkjpPLT97t9x2czvlj-i7efu5qF/s1600-h/DSC00187.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342918760356204562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDgCDaXNsESsHLF3UU8WfV4l8XOGyt0agTOj15iz8KnQGqR9yq5T5JV4uBhc5MDCXeHuD8Sx9y1Sjv244r67zHdcsMLg67mep2aIflIvQsXHlwtjuQkkjpPLT97t9x2czvlj-i7efu5qF/s400/DSC00187.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>Getting there...it needed some bling:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIS2BhIzoE3bHfFRZkyO-grwrdP26_1AUNQY3TGGh9PXh3grFya-nWfbJVzFWUPKOqXQW1LZpGN2yVli-5c2IYyx2OymRRBwc7MhWwsaFp63Mt0qGgubfwYvQ8R9rdOFXZ25lswz9VB0eK/s1600-h/DSC00188.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342918754359530178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIS2BhIzoE3bHfFRZkyO-grwrdP26_1AUNQY3TGGh9PXh3grFya-nWfbJVzFWUPKOqXQW1LZpGN2yVli-5c2IYyx2OymRRBwc7MhWwsaFp63Mt0qGgubfwYvQ8R9rdOFXZ25lswz9VB0eK/s400/DSC00188.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>I hot glued them on:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi993sgQGyAtXxKfUyg-YaBuN7cylB8Gqj9fwLQoUCSh5rV1_C-YTHZzsUIzbAC-4QYqWtSN_OfLy9_gf6QviKCMt00V3njhkt79Hw4E-NcS0uqceLmMlVj5rDBy3jbsiGdTJAtjQJB_aEJ/s1600-h/DSC00193.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342918749185491234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi993sgQGyAtXxKfUyg-YaBuN7cylB8Gqj9fwLQoUCSh5rV1_C-YTHZzsUIzbAC-4QYqWtSN_OfLy9_gf6QviKCMt00V3njhkt79Hw4E-NcS0uqceLmMlVj5rDBy3jbsiGdTJAtjQJB_aEJ/s400/DSC00193.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>Added some chocolate brown ribbon, and voila!:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3X4i7WDrdj0xp45exf4EHWHLCgj2NctngwHVfKmpB986I6J4UivBf1nxhD0jx-94F5WXa7AnAuBsti-0mBZPleuoe8iXxhlvHoidiQcl9nxLNU9QGzf7RmVywIBvxctJ5ZO4LqsTZcV6/s1600-h/DSC00190.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342918745951716242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3X4i7WDrdj0xp45exf4EHWHLCgj2NctngwHVfKmpB986I6J4UivBf1nxhD0jx-94F5WXa7AnAuBsti-0mBZPleuoe8iXxhlvHoidiQcl9nxLNU9QGzf7RmVywIBvxctJ5ZO4LqsTZcV6/s400/DSC00190.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>Caaaa<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">uute</span>!! Isn't her name adorable? Colleen, I hope you love it! (Katie and Steph, yours are coming soon!)<br /><br />I forgot to show you all my latest favorite Goodwill find!! It is <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">FAB</span>. You've probably seen it in some of my recent pics. And it is waaaaaay more than I usually spend there, even on furniture:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7dAnq-hcoqVbN8BAkvfPtBKU4k7EOWfc7F3xSUxBTCJZLJS3qYWExiAyNQykIp0XU_wuSPDUKgRqjglBN6ycRT_-tNsE50D5-wr54Jc2tG9-RG1kJ79AQA0xP4b3Dj0oOddQdsgTrUvI/s1600-h/DSC00198.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342919128449026242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7dAnq-hcoqVbN8BAkvfPtBKU4k7EOWfc7F3xSUxBTCJZLJS3qYWExiAyNQykIp0XU_wuSPDUKgRqjglBN6ycRT_-tNsE50D5-wr54Jc2tG9-RG1kJ79AQA0xP4b3Dj0oOddQdsgTrUvI/s400/DSC00198.JPG" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>It was $24.99 -- I told you it was a lot! I actually saw it, admired it, cackled at the price and said out loud, "There is NO WAY someone is paying that much for this!" and left it there. Then I got home and couldn't get it out of my mind. I got back in the car, sure it would be gone...but it was there. (With a beam of light shining down on it.) I got it. Love it.<br /><br />Join me later this week -- I'm going to share every. single. little. thing. I know about paint. I know you are waiting with baited breath.<br /><br /><strong>***Here is what I do to get my words to work for each project -- </strong><br /><strong>1. In Word, make sure the paper layout is set to Landscape (horizontally) -- go to File, Page Setup, Paper Size to do this. </strong><br /><strong>2. Make sure your margins are as small as possible. Again, go to File, Page Setup, Margins and lower the sides, top and bottom to 0.3 or so. </strong><br /><strong>3. Once you find the font and size, you can change the kerning or leading, or how much you want to stretch the words vertically or horizontally. Go to Format, Font, Character Spacing. To move the letters out or in, go to Spacing, and adjust the pt. size to what you want. To move the lines of words closer or further apart, go to Position, and raise or lower the pts. to where you want them. </strong><br /><strong>4. I only use the fonts I have on Word, but there are a ton of free sites you can search to find more!</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>I use all of these tools each time I do a project like this! My picture may be misleading, the plaque is only about 16 by 3.5 inches. I hope that helps!</strong>

Gettin' my craft on.

***I added some how to's for this project below, based on the questions! Hope it helps! Keep linking to the party here ladies! I may ha...

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