Articles & Resources

by Katie Fitzgerald, ©2009

You're thinking about a custom paint finish for your home or office. But do you enjoy that "new paint" smell? Not many people do, and there's a good reason. The sources of those smells are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from the material, which then permeates your environment. In other words, paint stink equals VOCs. According to the EPA: "During and for several hours immediately after certain activities, such as [painting, VOC] . . . levels may be 1,000 times . . . outdoor levels." Even years after the paint was applied and you can no longer smell it, it continues emitting VOCs. »Read more

by Katie Fitzgerald, ©2009

Much like driving an electric or hybrid car, using low VOC decorative art products accomplishes the same end as "standard" options, but is healthier for you, your clients, and the environment. Even though I am a green practices advocate, I don't necessarily believe in sacrificing quality. With many new environmentally-friendly products, you don't have to sacrifice anything except smell and VOCs.

Modern Masters®, a popular manufacturer of decorative art products, has taken a leap forward in providing decorative artists with a new line of environmentally-friendly products under the umbrella "Platinum Series" name. There are two additional lines within Platinum called "Shizen" and "Bellezza" (Bellezza's anticipated release is March, 2009).These products are, or will be, approved by the LEED Green Building Rating System™. »Read more

Adding a little whimsy to your child's room can be elaborate or simple. One easy idea is adding polka dots, stars, moons, or other simple shapes.

Create your own stencils by drawing shapes onto paper, cardboard, or plastic. Use a cup or bowl to outline a circle. If you have a computer, use a drawing program to generate simple stars, moons, or other shapes.

Adhere the mask to the wall with masking tape, then lightly dab paint into the mask with a sponge or foam brush. Don't overload the brush with paint as this will cause drips and smudges. You can even blow a little glitter into the still-damp paint.

Apply the shapes randomly or overlay them. If the layout of the shapes appears too regular, you'll loose the custom appeal of your design and end up with a wall-paper look.

Further brighten the effect with complimentary colors, such as purple and pink, blue and brown, blue and purple, or whatever your child's favorite colors are. Have fun!

Spring is the time for refinishing projects, whether you do it yourself or hire a professional. Damp conditions can cause the curing (drying) time of paint and plaster to extend to days. Dry, summer weather causes products to dry so quickly they can be hard to work with. Mild spring weather is the perfect time for a new paint or plaster finish.

Lately you might have heard commercials from a large warehouse store advertising their specialty ceiling paint. The claim is that this paint is specially formulated to be "non-splatter" and so is perfect for your ceiling.

To quote another commercial, "Really??" Do I think ceilings should be painted? Yes! To my eye, a room looks unfinished with a white ceiling. But forget the gimmicks and just use regular paint, in whatever color makes you happy.

The trick to rolling paint without splattering is to load a little bit of paint on the roller, but don't overload it. If the roller is dripping with paint, as soon as you roll, the droplets will fly off. Drape anything you don't want paint on, like the floor and furniture, and don't stand directly under the roller. You'll be fine!

Paint belongs on your walls or in the can, not down the drain or in a landfill. Here's an easy way to keep those VOCs out of the environment and save your paint and money, too.

When you're done painting, take your brush or roller and scrape it against the interior lip of the paint can; this forces extra paint out of your tool and back into the can. For rollers, rotate the edge of the roller slightly so a new "area" is against the lip and repeat until you can't force out any additional paint.

When a professional painter finishes a job and removes the tape, you see clean, straight lines. No paint seeped under and created blotches. You don't have to buy expensive, high-end tape to get these results -- it's what you do with the tape that counts.

Any paint-specific masking tape will do. I usually use 3M medium tack (the blue stuff, available at any hardware store).

Apply the tape over the area you want protected, like a baseboard. Firmly rub your finger over the edge of the tape -- the side next to the area to be painted. This technique is called "burnishing" and creates a tight seal between the surface and the tape and keeps paint from seeping under. When done, pull the tape away from the painted area, and ta-da, clean, straight lines.

Creating clean, straight lines when painting can be challenging if the wall surface is irregular. Paint will seep under the tape edge due to the bumpiness. You can solve this problem by sealing the tape with clear varnish.

Select a varnish with the same sheen as the paint you're protecting under the tape so the varnish won't stand out. If the existing paint has a matte (flat) sheen, use a matte varnish; for a semi-gloss paint, use a semi-gloss varnish.

Using a touch-up brush, apply a light coat of varnish along the edge of the tape. The varnish will seep under, but because it's clear and the sheen matches the paint under the tape, it dries invisible and create a barrier so the next coat won't seep under.

After the varnish dries, paint as usual. When everything is dry and you pull off the tape, you'll have a crisp, clean line.

Have small kids? Ever have one draw on a wall with a ball-point pen? That's what happened in the mural above. Or perhaps you tripped over the dog and spaghetti or red wine flew across the room. If you're in a room with semi-gloss paint, you're in luck. Just wipe the mess off. But what do you do if the paint was a flat finish? Anything that removes a tough stain, especially on a light colored wall, will also remove the paint. Repaint the whole wall? What a pain! No! Just fix the stain.

Clean the stained area. Get a good primer, then prime over the stain with a small chip brush. Do not paint a regular shape like a square! Your eye will easily see the edges – instead paint in an organic blob.

Remove any primer from the brush with a paper towel. While the primer on the wall is wet, lightly pull the brush from the wet edge into "unblemished" paint-–feather out the edge so the primer is sheer and you have wispy edges. Let dry. If the stain is still visible, repeat with additional coats until the stain can't be seen. Allow 24 hours for the last coat of primer to dry.

Retrieve that can of paint you saved just in case you had to fix the wall. You did, right? Apply the paint in a similar fashion – paint solid in the middle, remove excess paint from the brush, wisp out the wet edges. You'll pull the paint over the sheered primer and into the solid "unblemished" paint. Remember to make it sheer and wispy to blend the edges – no hard lines.

But I didn't save the paint from when the wall was painted! No worries. Get some paint in the closest color you can find to the original and follow the steps above. Your patch won't be perfect to your eye because you know it's there, but as long as you make your edges organic and wisp one color into another, nobody else will notice.

Good luck, and hide those ball point pens from small fingers like I did.

Save that paint! You've finished that painting project and have leftover paint. Store the can in a safe place, and you'll have the paint if you need to do touch-ups.

Paint cans are air-tight to keep paint from drying out, but after you've used some paint, there's an air pocket in the can. If the paint is stored for a long time, the air pocket causes the paint to thicken or completely dry out.

Take a strip of cellophane, plastic wrap and gently lay it over the surface of the paint so it "floats" on top. This layer protects the paint from the air pocket in the can and from drying out. When you use the paint next, it should be fresh and ready to go.

The most common mistake when stenciling is using too much paint, which causes paint to seep under the window and create a smudge. If caught early, this type of problem can be fixed as easily as using a slightly damp paper towel and gently wiping away the paint that has seeped outside the design area. If the paint has dried, you can also try using a pencil erase to gently remove the paint.

To hide a seep that cannot be removed, reposition the stencil so the smudge appears in the stencil window, and stencil over the area to incorporate it into the image; this can be a good way to create a shadow effect by using a slightly darker paint. You can also simply create another image over the problem. For example, if the smudge occurred on a leaf, create another leaf or flower over the smudge.

Stenciling is a true art form that's about more than teddy-bear outlines and fluffy ducks. Stenciling can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt and was popularized by American artisans in the early 1800s. . . . passable levels of artistry can be achieved by those that art not necessarily blessed with [artistic] skills. . . . In the hands of those that are so blessed, the results can be truly fabulous. - Helen Morris

When stenciling, the most common mistake is "overloading" the brush or roller. If you have too much paint, it seeps under the edge of the window, or cut-out, and makes smudges and blobs.

To avoid the blobs, "lay-off" the paint from your tool. For a brush, wick the paint into the bristles, then pounce the excess off onto a paper-towel until only light spots of color appear. For a roller, roll the nap in the paint, then lay-off by rolling onto a paper towel or scrap paper to remove the excess. Now you have enough paint to apply to the stencil form without blobs seeping underneath.