PAINTING IS FUN!

In July's heat it is nice to paint – inside.:) You can't simply just lay in the sun all day long so instead you may use the time for painting inside. We did a couple of projects in the living room. The first part, sanding was done in the bath room to prevent dust from falling all over. Of course it would be ideal that you could do the whole project in a workshop. But since we don't have one let's do it there where those pieces of furniture are.

  

We have had this cabinet for nearly 20 years and it's surface has seen better days. The varnish was worn out and some how it looked gloomy. So first we need to go to a hard ware store.

It was a very good idea to buy a tarpaulin (made of paper) and not to use newspaper which I used before in painting projects. This paper stayed well at it's place and didn't tear.

First we roughed up lightly the surface, and then we used the primer so the paint adheres evenly to the wood. At this time we used Sadolin's  water-dilutable primer. It didn't smell which was great!

Here is the cabinet itself ready after the primer and two coats of paint. We also used Sadolin's water-dilutable furniture paint. The shade of colour is Tikkurila's snow. We sealed the surface with a couple of coats of  Kiva furniture varnish to avoid the lid from scratching.

Before and after

And what did we learn this time:

It's a fine idea to cover the metal parts with a tape, so that those parts stay unpainted. We did this and as I removed the tapes, I discovered some ”oops” in other words some how the paint had slipped under the tape and at some points there should have been  paint instead of tape.

As a result of this I detached the tape and the paint and repainted. In the following projects we managed to avoid this.

The following object was book shelves. There were two dark pieces and after painting  I felt like they had lost weight. I covered the wall behind the shelf with a white wall paper so that the book shelf wouldn't look so dark inside. The shelves remained brown and in my opinion it looked good.

The shelf got the same treatment as the cabinet with the difference that those metal parts weren't taped and that the shelf had glass doors which we covered from the edges. Now I'll scratch those paint residues from the hinges as to amuse my self in the evenings. :)

Since I got the hang of it I started to lurk for everything that is old,  shabby and brown in our home. I noticed a chest under the coat track which hides a huge amount of caps, gloves and scarves.

The chest was guite scratchy so I had to sand it quite thoroughly.

I got carried away and forgot to close the doors. As a result the sand dust flew all over. Well, I cant' remember everything. :)

I wanted to do more with this bench than just to paint it white. Once again I used the primer and two coats of paint.

Then I took a piece of adhesive covering and cut a picture of a star in it. It was relatively easy to attach to one side of the chest. I left pieces of paper to the corners so that it would be easy to remove after the painting. I noticed that I should have sanded before this phase so that the surface would be as smooth as possible. Well I didn't.....I removed the star easily.

I also wanted a text to the back. The idea to the text came from the song ”Under the North Star” …..well now the star wasn't underneath so  I'm not under it when I'm sitting on the bench. So that's why it says above...Well there's another message too.

A pot of  (Taika, helmiäislasyyri)was left from earlier painting session. It's  shadow is silver. I applied it to the edges of the star and to the surface of the text. I think it was a good idea, maybe. You hardly notice it unless you watch it from a certain angle. On the top of all I applied few coats of varnish.

I still have a few other painting jobs under way. :)

Here's a hint to the next one;

More about it next time....:)

That rubber band on the top of the paint pot  is a great idea. I saw this idea and had to try it. Yes! I definately recommend to use it. It's easy to wipe off all extra amount of paint on your brush and you can let your brush ”rest” on it while not using it.

Though when you finally remove the rubber band, you ought to be very careful not to

make a mess. If the band is very tight, there's always the possibility that by losening it the paint drops are flying every where.  I'm writing of my own experience. :)

SCENT OF LEMON AND SMOOTH FEELING

Lemon - what a wonderful fruit!

As soon as I saw these recipes I had to try them.

I found this recipe for a beverage, which surely will quench your thirst and at the same time it works as a diuretic. It also cleanses your body from inside. All this will help you to lose weight. (Maybe, if you don't eat too much all the goodies.)

For the beverage you'll need the following ingredients:

2 liter fresh water

1 cucumber

1 lemon

10 leaves of mint

Slice the cucumber and the lemon and add them with the leaves of mint in a jug. Cover the jug and refridgerate. The beverage is ready after 8 hours.

Drink a glass of this beverage in the morning to an empty stomach and it will speed up your metabolism. There's enough beverage for the whole day and then in the evening you can make another jug to be enjoyed the next day.

I recommend!

While updating my blog (for few days) I've done couple of other versions of this recipe. I used blood orange with lemon and it was tasty too. Now I'm waiting ginger-mango mixture to get ready. We'll see how it tastes.:)

Another lemony thing is this.

Lemon sugar peeling hassle

I saw this piece of advice on the internet and as a curious person I wanted to test it. I read many user experiences and I must say that luckily I did! :) The idea in this thing is that by using sugar peeling and shaving your legs in turn makes your legs smooth. YES! Do it right and  you'll see and feel it.

Make the exfoliator first. You'll need:

2,4 dl white sugar

1,2 dl oil (any oil you use for cooking will do.) I used olive oil.

3 tbsp lemon juice

A tight jar. A big spoon or whatever is convienient for ”shoveling” it out of the jar.

Mix these ingredients and pour it into the jar. I recommend a glass jar which you can close tightly for later use. This amount will be enough for few times.

You should also have a piece of soap and a small towel nearby and I recommend to do this for instance in a basin for the floor will become very slippery. And it's easier to wash it of the basin than to clean the whole floor.

This is how it goes: Moisten your legs and shave them ( use some cream or conditioner as a help.) This you can do anywhere:) Next take with a tablespoon a lump (a size of your palm) of the exfoliator and rub it into your leg for about 3 minutes. Rinse with water. At this point it already feels quite smooth. Repeat shaving and don't cheat. While repeating the shaving stage you need to rinse the blade very often and  it pays off to do it thoroughly. After this peel, rinse and dry your legs (by tapping) again. It seems to me that many of us will still use some cream or lotion but for me it was quite enough moisture that was left on my skin. Do not let any water in the jar so that the bugs won't grow in it. So always use clean and dry spoon or whatever you are using to get the stuff out.

The result was so silky that I hardly could resist petting my legs. In addition to silky legs the circulation in my legs seemed to improve. So I'm definately going to do this

again.

I read that some women peel their whole body with this exfoliator but then you need to wash the whole floor again unless you are so lucky that you have your own bathtub.

Joyful peeling and silky skin to all of you who try this!