Paint Choice.. Can B Easy

Sometimes painting can be a hard step to take, but it is so well worth the cost and time in transforming your space. My philosophy….IT’S JUST PAINT! And if you do it yourself, it's JUST time! The results can transform dull to cheerful, cold to warm, stark to opulent, house to home!

B’s Close-to-full-proof Plan:

Step 1: 

Find an inspiration piece; artwork, fabric, rug…

any current or new piece to be used in your room.

Or simply find a magazine setting that you love and want to work toward.

Not my favorite style or colors, but works for tutorial.....

Step 2:

Visit your favorite paint store/supplier!

Take all the samples you want in the color you have in mind.

Many offer color visualizers on-line… http://www.sherwinwilliams.com/

Fun to play with, sometimes helpful, however, PC monitor colors are NEVER true!!

Sherwin Williams, easy access & used by most contractors in my area,  but my favs are Behr & Ben Moore!!

Step 3: 

Pick your favorites…2-4 that work the best with your inspiration piece. 

SPEND the money on samples (Avg. Cost $5 each)…

Purchase an 8x10 Water Color Pad (available in most craft stores)…

Paint solid coat of each color on water color paper, clearly labeled w/color name.

Watch those taupes....read pink without rose colored glasses....I usually steer clear!  I'm a warm girl myself!

And yes, I get a little carried away...too many beautiful choices!!

Step 4: 

Tack up DRY samples on your walls in different areas of the room,

taking advantage of the room’s lighting.

View the colors & how they change with natural lighting during all times of day.

Take your time, determine which feels best before making your final choice!

See how the light changes the look!

Step 5:  Pray, then Paint!

Things to keep in mind but not be stifled by!

BEWARE: Paint FINISH (flat, satin, eggshell, matte) will affect the color slightly and each paint manufacturer offers several finishes and label them differently!!!

Better to spend $50+ on paint samples…than purchasing a room full of paint based on that beautiful “Apple Green” color card; only to find out on your walls, it reads more like “Infant Diaper Green”.

Dark colors require AT LEAST two coats, sometimes a primer!

Bold colors CAN work in a small room!

Don’t forget ceilings…painting them can finish off a room

 “like nobody's-business”!

Lighter shades are “IN”...for now!

And last but not least “IT’S JUST PAINT!”

GO FOR IT Joyfully, b

Wheels, Ditches, Ruts!

Robin and I often joke about "getting our wheels off in a ditch” …a phrase she coined after spending a little too much time looking for inspiration on the web and something I do when trying to figure out my direction and the where’s & why’s of life in my way too analytical mind! I read this the other day and found it extremely fitting for whatever ditch or rut I seem to find myself in lately….

On an old dirt road a sign was posted that read: "For the next two miles, choose your rut." Think about that for a moment. Today you will make a choice about the rut in your life. The options are plentiful, however, remember some will lead to happiness and joy, while others will try to destroy all that is good in your life. But the choice is yours. What will you choose? Godspeed!

Each Monday morning, as I drink the coffee that St. Philip makes for me (he gets to work in Houston on Mondays and Fridays), I plan my weeks activity. I can choose to work/or NOT, a blessing of unbelievable abundance! And as I think back on the many years as a single mom, when I longed for a day to just stay home and catch up on housework and a favorite soap opera (yes I do occasionally) or do nothing at all; I know that life doesn’t get much better than this…. As much as I love my path at this juncture with limitless choices and plentiful options, I can still manage to get in my own self-induced RUT!

 Inevitably this keeps me from moving in the direction I am meant to travel!

So this is my new plan for avoiding nonjoyous ditches and ruts….i’ve added the little tidbits to the right!

Live with intention.                                  ... God's purpose is evident!

walk to the edge.                                              ... just avoid the RUT!

listen hard.                                                       ... closed lips required!

practice wellness.                                                  ... RUT prevention!

play with abandon.                                               ... abandon routine!

laugh.                                                              ... it's the JOY vitamin!

choose with no regret.                                  ... pray before choosing!

continue to learn.                                        ... open mind, open heart!

appreciate your friends.                                ... they keep you honest!

do what you love.                  ... and love those who make it possible!

                                          (St. Philip)

live as if this is all there is.          ... but look forward to going Home!

                                            it’s why we’re here!!

-mary anne radmacher                                                                     -b

So today, choose your RUT! May it be God driven and full of JOY! B

p.s. follow my upcoming blog posts, CHOICE being the topic!  Who knows, I may learn something??

God's Love to You!

On first love….
If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~C. Ghandi

On lost love…
No love, no friendship, can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever. ~Francois Mauriac

On unconditional love…
Suddenly, quietly, you realize that – from this moment forth – you will no longer walk through this life alone. Like a new sun this awareness arises within you, freeing you from fear, opening your life. It is the beginning of love, & the end of all that came before. ~Robert Frost

On true love…
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. ~NIV 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

May you all have a JOY filled, truly loved Valentine's Day! b