Spunky Swap Meet - number two!

Sneak Peek at what's coming tomorrow.  Want to make one of these?

(The nautical tie, not the goofy husband.)  Then stay tuned!


It just so happens that we have two fantastic guests this week!  I know, we're lucky.  Today we're welcoming back Halsey, from Spunky Junky (always one of my favorite reads).  If you will remember, she shared some SUPER cute upcycled take-out containers with us for her last swap post.  Today project is just as awesome.

Hello, Bugaboo fans!

I am so glad Kim invited me back for a second blog swap.

For this swap the "special" ingredient of choice is food coloring.

Yes, I said food coloring.

I am going to let you in on a secret--I have been planning on doing a project with food coloring for awhile and this blog swap was the perfect time to get my butt in gear and do a tutorial using it.

So here's the skinny.

I have a 22-month old who is a terror. "Terror" may actually be an understatement. He likes to destroy everything he sees, he climbs onto everything surface, and he eats everything his hands touch. So taking him to the store is out of the question.

Many of my projects require paint and because I am not able to get to the store that often I have to improvise.

I have found that by taking paint and tinting it with food coloring I am able to get the color of my choice without risking a mental breakdown in public. 

See for yourself....

Isn't this lamp a beauty? hmmm?

The  ingredients of choice for this project include:

Paint (that you don't mind tinting)

food coloring

brushes

mixing bowl

This lamp, which I love, became the test subject for my little project.

For those of you that have ever visited my blog you may know that I have a strict policy when it comes to painting--I always use primer. Primer will not only become your best friend, but it will save you time, money, and lots of heart ache.

When it comes to primer I only use one brand, Kilz. It goes on thick, it doesn't bleed, and it makes any paint color stand out!

While the primer dried I  began to mix up my paint and food coloring.

I wanted a more subdued blue color so I only added six drops of food coloring. 

Once I added the food coloring I mixed my "color concotion together." Once I mixed it together I added a few additional drops to get the color I was desiring.

This number of "drops" will vary on how much paint your are tinting and the desired color you are wanting--so play around and have fun!

Once I had my desired color I then painted my lamp.

My camera battery died so I am short a few pictures (hate when that happens), as you can see in the photo  my lamp has a white glazed looked to it.

When the blue finished drying I took white acrylic paint (which you can get at any craft store) and I painted over the blue color. I then took a rag and gently wiped off the white paint which left a white glazed look in the cracks.

I thought it gave the lamp spunk.

Hope you enjoy and thanks Kim for letting my crash your pad again!

Thanks for the awesome inspiration, Halsey!  Make sure to check out my project over on Spunky Junky!

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!