Dilema: Exterior Paint Colors

Hello everyone,  I'm starting this week trying to solve a problem that I have been dealing with for over a year. It is probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.....
 (is the suspense building?)  CHOOSING AN EXTERIOR HOUSE COLOR.
 I know I'm a little dramatic, but this is a serious issue in the Wallpapered Rooster household and my husband is ready to kill me! I have chosen and made my mind up at least a dozen times, only to wake up the next day with a completely different color combination in mind. The problem is I'm a teeny bit uptight about things (shocking I know) but I digress. The problem boils down to the number of  beautiful color combinations .  I also feel somewhat obligated to keep the house in the "farmhouse" paint scheme.
 I love white farmhouses

                  
  by  thisreidwrites 

 but,... my home is currently white and I want something different.
I also like yellow farmhouses

                  
  by  pasa47 

but,... I feel like that can be too feminine. 

Along the way there has been tan, blue, gray and even dark green paint chips and samples that have been tried and vetoed in our paint color search. 
I have even resorted to house stalking.  If you are unfamiliar with house stalking it is the act of creeping by a house that you adore for various reasons all in the hope of one day mimicking said house. I not only house stalk to admire paint colors, but also gardens, playhouse, and beautiful front porches. . I am always tempted to knock on their door and introduce myself as the crazy DIY lady that I am, but I always chicken out. So I resort to taking pictures instead. 

I know I'm cuckoo!

Recently I have  resorted to online house stalking.  This has produced a couple more candidates to add to the veto pile. Until just recently I discovered something wonderful on one of my favorite blogs. 
 The Lettered Cottage posted this beaut.

Layla from The Lettered Cottage went through the same exterior paint dilemma.  She sought out inspiration from the homes in her neighborhood but she had an insider who knew some of the paint colors. As you can see from her blog the house colors from the last house are:

The body is-Prescott Green (Benj Moore HC-140
Trim-Simply White  (Benjamin Moore OC-117)
 Shutters- Black Forest Green(Benjamin Moore RME-46)
Ceiling- Palladian Blue  (Benjamin Moore HC-144)

The wonderful yellow doors color was unknown, but I would suggest-  
                   Pure Joy (Benjamin More 327)

I love the soft green body, I feel like its similar to white, but more updated. The same can be said for the Black Forest Green (and updated black). The Palladian Blue on the porch ceiling screams Southern home.  The yellow door... oh that yellow door makes me swoon.  So all in all I'm getting all of my favorite things (insert Julie Andrews voice here).  I'm getting an updated version of the white farmhouse (which I love) and I'm still getting my "black shutters" and... I'm getting the yellow I love only it's on my front door! A little girly touch won't hurt anyone.  So we will see if this paint pallet makes it onto my home. Lets hope for my husbands sake it does! Thanks for reading. Enjoy.


P.S. Do you have a favorite exterior color combination you would like to share? If so leave me a comment. 

Picture Frame Makeover

Ugly Picture Frames Beware!

If any of you are like me you  have tones of ordinary run of the mill picture frames around your house. Most have great photos or art work in them, but almost all have ordinary frames and white photo mats. Well I'm here to change that! Today I'm going to show you how to change ordinary into extraordinary (cheesy I know, but fun). Here is what you will need.

Ugly, outdated, or just plain ordinary picture frame
acrylic or spray paint
scrapbook paper
glue
scissors
tape
awesome photo or art

Step One: Sand and Paint Your Picture Frame. 
          I sanded my picture frame because it was made out of plastic, so I needed some grit for the paint to adhere to. My frame was painted using acrylic paint, because that is what I had on hand. I would suggest using spray paint, because it is much easier, quicker and more effective to use. 

Step Two: Updating Your Photo Mat

          If you already have a photo mat with your frame you simply want to cover it with your chosen scrapbook paper. You accomplish this by gluing your scrapbook over top of your white photo mat and cutting an X with your scissors or exacto knife in the square of your  photo map. This will give you four triangles that you simply fold back and glue to the backside of your photo mat. Tape your photo in place. 

Step Three: Place Glass and Photo Mat in Updated Frame and Hang.

SHABAM! A super cute and updated picture frame for the cheap price of... $0 dollars.  Completed with items I already had. DIY success! Happy Crafting

Flyswatter Art

Hi Ya'll,  
If you live on the east coast as I do you probably spent the day sweating your tushy off!  Today  I had the kids do Flyswatter Art, and I thought I would share. WARNING (dun dun dun) this is a very messy/super fun project, but you can spray your kids off  with the garden hose when they are done, so with the heat this equals a HUGE win win! For this fun craft you need

Tempera Paint (washable)- as many colors as you would like.

paper plates- 1 for each color of paint. 

1 flyswatter

White paper

1 bucket of water

1 roll of paper towels. 

At least one bored and miserably hot child

This craft is best done outside.

First you want to lay your paper plates out (one plate for each color). Squirt a good amount of paint in each plate.

Next lay your blank piece of paper on a table or sidewalk.

Dip your flyswatter into a color of your choice and........ SLAP THE PAPER!!!! (I thought the table was going to break at one point.. kids LOVE it).

Dip your flyswatter into different colors and continue. BE CREATIVE...

 When your done simply place the flyswatter in the bucket of water to rinse. 

Hang your Flyswatter Art up to dry. These paintings make beautiful art work for your home. Put your kids creativity on display! Have fun, and Happy Swatting...

Yummy Monday

White Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Both of my grandmothers made zucchini bread as a way of using up zucchini left over from the garden. I bake it because its CRAZY GOOD!  I have added the white chocolate chips and walnuts diverting a little from my grandmothers recipe, but trust me it makes it better. Enjoy!

From Dresser Drawer To Painted Sign

I LOVE painted wooden signs! They easily add character and charm to anyone’s home. However on many occasions have I walked up to a vendors booth at a craft show or fair only to have my eyes bulge out of my head when I see the price of the sign. Yes I understand that you are paying for craftsmanship, but my wallet can only afford craft cheese not craftsmanship. So I decided that I was going to paint my own wood sign.  I thought I would by a piece of lumber from the big orange box, and have my husband route the edges when I noticed a dresser we were getting ready to get rid of. The drawers were off track and broken inside, but the fronts of the drawers were perfect! Perfect that is for my wood sign I wanted to paint. The drawer front even had a routed (I don't know if that is the correct term) square design in the middle. Unfortunately I was so excited I began painting and didn't take pictures of the process, but I can walk you through what I did. 

I painted the entire sign with black latex paint. I bought a small sample size can from the store.  I didn't bother priming the sign because, well... that costs more money and I wanted an old banged up appearance to my sign.  

I decided to paint a checkered board pattern inside the square design routed into the front of the drawer. I used large masking tape to tape off my checkered pattern. I painted every other square yellow leaving the other checks to be the black paint showing through. 

Time to put words on this sign! I wanted my sign to say "Welcome Home" because I planned on putting it in my entry/mudroom.  I played around with different fonts and spacing on Word until I came up with something I liked.  I printed it out on legal sized paper and taped the words onto the sign where I wanted them. I then traced the outline of each word using a dull pencil and pushed really really hard (warning you will get hand cramps if you’re doing this step properly).  The idea is to get the letter outline to indent into the wood so that you can paint inside the lines. I used the font pictured below called Poor Richard. 

                            Welcome Home  

Paint your letters. I used acrylic paint and a small tipped paint brush to apply the paint within the lines I indented earlier.

Scuff up the edges with sandpaper if you want an aged look. Attach hanging hardware to the back if desired (I just leaned mine against the wall).  There you go… From Dresser Drawer to Painted Sign. Happy Crafting!

Red Wine Citrus Spritzer