A Little Something

Hello! I haven't had much time to work on my upcoming projects as a result of my job and summer adventures!

Here's a little motivation to help you with your next project!

 

"Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks." -Yo-yo Ma

 

 

Take risks with your projects! Let your creativity shine through! Make it yours! Whether others like it or not.

 

 

 

Some friends of ours recently bought a new (used) home. The exterior is dark brick. To be honest with you, at first I didn't think the style and color really fit their personalities. And then when we visited again a couple of weeks ago, to walk their dogs, we found that they had done some revamping! Britney had painted the front door bright yellow!  It seriously looks fantastic! Changing something as simple as the front door (not that it was easy, of course) added so much personality and really made the place theirs! The color dynamic fits Britney's personality so well. Black and bright yellow are such extreme colors, and when put together they really balance each other out while still maintaining that slightly eccentric feel. 

Consumer's Comparisons

Best Deals!

The following categories list products which, when compared with the other listed online competitors, have been found to carry the best deal.  “Best deal,” means that the price and quality (via my own experience, written reviews, etc) have been researched and considered in the making of this list.

Feel free to leave comments and let me know if you have found even better deals either online or in stores!

*indicates it is one of the worst deals among all 3 distributors for that item. Some of them are still “good deals” (just not the best) and some of them are not good deals AT ALL;  I included some of the bad deals so that you could see just how good the good deals are. You’re welcome. No need to thank me, no need to thank me…

Amazon-All of the Amazon items I’ve chosen and listed are “Add-on Items,” “Prime” or “Free Shipping” products. Having signed up for Prime Membership with Amazon has been entirely worth it!

-Mouse Trap: $2.49/4 traps; 0.62/trap; 4.5/5 stars

-Kids’ gifts/toys

-Listerine: $5.95/1.5L; 0.11/oz

-*Cerave: 8.09 for 12oz bottle

-Parsley: 6.25/ 4 oz (this is a lot! Be prepared to freeze some or give some away)

-Diva Cup: $29.99 per cup

-Aim Toothpaste: $10.50 for 6 packs of 6 ounce tubes; 0.29/oz; 5 stars, Whitening toothpaste is not recommended by Dentists as it can cause tooth sensitivity.

-Hair Claw: $5.56/3 pack; $1.85 per claw; 4.5 stars rating

-*Multivites Multivitamins: $11.98/150 vitamins; 0.08 per vitamin

-Puritan’s Pride Melatonin: $14.49/240 pills; 0.06/pill; 5 star rating

-Pamper’s Baby Wipes: $9.79/504 wipes; 0.02 per wipe

-Member’s Mark Tall Kitchen Bags: $21.19/180 bags; 0.11 /bag; 5 star rating (I haven’t tried these yet)

-*Ajax Dish Soap: $10.09; 0.16/ ounce

-Crystal Clear Cutlery Combo Set: $21.15/ 360 pieces (180 forks, 120 spoons, 60 knives); 0.05/utensil

-Dentek Dental Floss Picks: $16.96/6 packs of 150; 0.02/pick; same good deal among 3 retailers

-Lysol Scrub Sponge: $2.97/4 sponges; 0.74/sponge

-Everest Kids’ Backpack: $9.61

-Frozen theme kids’ backpack: 7.05

-IKEA dish brushes: $5.30/3 brushes; $1.76/ brush; 5 star rating.

-Dr. Tobias probiotics: $22.97/60 caps; 0.26/ caps;  5 star rating; spore enhanced for targeted release

-Nature’s Bounty Probiotic: $11.32/200 tabs; 0.06/tab; 4.5 stars

Costco-Most product shipping and handling fees are included in the price of the product

-Palmolive Dish Soap:  3.29/25oz; 0.13/oz

-Ecos Laundry Detergent : 34.99/420 oz.; 0.08/oz

-Kirkland Multivitamin Gummies: $10.49/320 pills; 0.03/vitamin- currently on sale; originally 12.99

-Solo Plastic Forks: $12.39/500 forks; 0.02/fork; 4.5 star rating.

-Solo Plastic Spoons: $12.39/500 spoons; 0.02/spoon; 5 star rating

-Solo Plastic Knives: $12.39/500 Knives; 0.02/knife

Walgreens

-*Diva Cup:  $39.99/cup (this is a feminine hygiene device to be used in place of tampons and pads)

-Diva Cup Diva Wash: $9.49/6 oz.; $1.58/oz

-Dr. Collins Eco Toothbrush: $2.49/6 brushes;  0.42/brush; 5 star rating

-Dentek dental floss picks: 2.99/150 picks; 0.02/pick

-Secret Outlast Unscented Deodorant: $4.49/2.6oz stick.

Walmart – free shipping on orders that are $35 and above. Keep in mind, some products qualify for only "in store pick up." I believe all of these I've listed are home delivery eligible.

-Excedrin (generic): $4/200 pills; 0.02/pill

-Ecos Laundry Detergent: $8.97/128 oz bottle; 0.08/oz

-Listerine: $5.95/1.5L; 0.11/oz

-Equate Mouthwash: $5.54/3L; 0.05/OZ (good reviews, comparable to name brand)

-*Equate Pregnancy Test: $6.67/ 2 tests; $3.38/test; 1.5 stars out of 5

-CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser: $6.77/12oz.; 0.56/oz; gentle cleanser that I have used for many years. I have sensitive skin.

-Diva Cup : $29.99/ cup (1 cup lasts for years. Safer option to tampons and more cost effective)

-Sparkle Big Roll Paper Towels: $13.97 for 8 giant rolls; 0.87/roll (unsure how big/tough these are); 4.5 star rating.

-Angel Soft Toilet Paper: $5.74/12 Jumbo Rolls; 0.20 each roll; 4.5 star rating

-Kleenex Facial Tissue:  $8.44/ 960 two- ply sheets; 0.01/ tissue; pack of six; 4 star rating.

-Dentek dental floss picks: 2.00/90; 0.02 per pick

-Lysol scrub sponge: 2.97/4 sponges; 0.74/sponge; 4.5 stars

-Bulk Buys dish brushes: $35.91/24 brushes; 1.49/brush

- Canola Cooking Spray: 2.18/8 ounce can; 0.27/ounce

-Great Value Shortening: $4.22/48 oz. can/ 0.08/ounce

-Vitamin E Spring Valley: $6/200 tabs; 0.03/pill

These are the prices for online orders of these items. In store prices may be different.

Also, for some of the items I’ve included prices of name brand items and generic items so that you can make the decision for yourself. Some reviews indicate name brand is best. Others suggest that the brand name is irrelevant. Just depends on the product.

Some of the price comparisons and nature of reviews are so close that I decided to list the product and its price under more than one provider, so you could make the decision for yourself.

Be aware that prices change on a regular basis depending on the retailer and product. These are the current prices. However the manufacturers that have had good deals in the past will most likely have them in the future.

*Tip! It’s great to be able to shop online because you get to read the reviews and the star ratings for each product. Keep in mind that a lot of sellers on Amazon will refund all or part of the cost of the product sold  to a customer who has posted a negative review, on the condition that the customer deletes the negative review. Therefore be cautious of products that have little to no customer reviews posted!

Good luck!!

Wooden Chest

I told you it was coming so here it is! I just finished repainting this little gem of a wooden chest!

 



I saved him from a Deseret Industries (like Goodwill) trip my husband was taking for his mom and step dad. We were just about to hand it over to a worker when I snatched it up. It's solid wood, after all!

 

It took me a while to start it, because as you can tell from the pictures, I'm still unpacking and organizing after our move.

I prepped the piece by sanding some areas of imperfection. Didn't do the whole thing! Then I cleaned it and waited for it to dry.

 

I left the hardware on. I didn't paint them with the chalk paint though. I may spray paint them with Rustoleum in the near future (probably would have worked out better to spray paint those puppies before I painted the wood.) I didn't feel like taking them off. Too much of a hassle.

Used Annie Sloan's Duck Egg Blue. I was so excited because I loved the furniture I saw in Drab 2 Fab that were painted in this color!

On my last project I thinned out each coat of paint with water. I decided to try this first coat without the water.

I went around the hardware with a brush THIS small. Worked great.

If I needed to take little breaks (and mandatory breaks in between coats) I put my brush with the paint on it in a plastic bag and sealed it. Kept the brush fresh and the paint on it wet.

After the first coat. I decided to do a second.

 

My husband really liked the look of this paint without the dark wax, but I decided to put the dark wax on anyways, because I really wanted to do some experimenting with it.

After the first coat (the one without the water) I decided to add water to the paint of the second coat, because the first coat was thick and gloppy (if that's a word!) . Upon drying, the first coat left these thick drips that I had to sand off once it was dry. I will always add water to my paint from here on out! Makes a can of paint last longer too!

 

After the second coat had dried, I decided to take my project out to a room with more natural light so I could see it better. I did some sanding in areas of my choosing to look like it was naturally worn. And I sanded down some brush strokes and drips.

 

I applied Minwax Polycrylic to the chest, covering all of the paint. After it dried, I sanded the entire surface area with 220 grit sandpaper so that the next coat would have an abrasive surface to hold onto. Then I applied another coat and let it dry. You're supposed to apply three coats but I wax anxious to try the dark wax on the polycrylic.

I applied the dark wax, focusing on filling the crevices and really buffing it in.  I let it sit for one day and then buffed the dark wax in some more. After that was dry, I applied the finishing touch...

 

Guilder's Paste! Love this stuff. This color is German Silver. I probably used more of it on this project than  most people. I couldn't get enough of it! I basically highlighted some edges and corners with it to make it really stand out and shine.

I simply used my finger. Didn't seem to go on very well with a rag. This dried almost immediately on the piece.

 

Visit Gilder's Paste to order on Amazon. I bought mine at Drab-2-Fab in Utah. They have the same color, same brand on Amazon though. Some of the many colors include: Silver, Antique Gold, African Bronze, Patina, Iris Blue, Cream, Bronze, Coral Red, Copper.

There are definitely some imperfections but they give it character! I love it!

I was able to apply the chalk paint, Minwax polycrylic finish, wax and Gilder's paste all in doors. There are no fumes! I recently bought a tarp to use in the future so that I don't have to use our towels anymore. The paint cleans out easily if you by chance get some on the carpet.

 

Stansport Reinforced Tarp

It's hard to see the natural color because we only have light coming from one side of our apartment, but you can still see how beautiful it is! I'm so excited about it!!!

 

My husband and I agreed that the piece looked like children's furniture before I applied the dark wax (nothing wrong with that! It was a beautiful, brighter color). After the dark wax was put on it kind of turned into a more mature piece of furniture, if that makes sense... I definitely can't picture this chest in a child's room but it sure does look great in our living room!

 

I liked the polycrylic and I know that it will provide better protection (and it was easier to apply), but I have to say I still REALLY like the soft, matte look of the clear wax. The polycrylic definitely gives off a more shiny appearance. Still loved the end result though!

 

*Tip!   Brighter colored pieces tend to look better in rooms that aren't very well lit. They brighten up the room. Darker pieces (like heavily dark- waxed pieces) look better in well lit rooms as they add depth and balance.

 

Questions?! Leave them in the comments box!