Emma's Favorites
Valspar Bonding Primer
I was very skeptical of the quality of an inexpensive, store-brand primer, especially since primer is such an important ingredient to most paint jobs. But I'm left without anything negative to say. It kind of has the consistency of sour cream, so it takes some practice to work with it, but now that's something I love about it. My favorite part? You don't have to sand before using this primer. Usually you have to at least scuff something up - give the primer something to grip. But this stuff? NO SIR! You still have to clean, but this takes a BUNCH of work out of everything. I've used it on my kitchen cabinets and have yet to have one single chip, and that was almost a full year ago! Also have used on trim, window sills, furniture (even laminate!) and it has yet to disappoint. It's definitely my go-to when I don't need a lot of stain-blocking power (so far no problems, but I might go with Kilz for that). Retails for only $21 at Lowe's!
Nifty Paintbrush Trick
It's possible the whole world knew this major time-saver before I did, but just in case you were left in the dark I'll fill you in. You know how sometimes you're painting something, but you have to go back and do another coat later? Fear not! Save yourself some time by not having to clean up nearly as often. You will need:
I'm pretty confident you have those things. Just wrap your brush or roller, wet with paint, in plastic. It won't dry out and you'll save yourself the headache washing between coats. Gonna need longer than a couple hours? Throw that wrapped paint thang in the fridge! Try not to forget it's there... but if you do, no sweat. Even after mine was in there several weeks (whoops), I still had no problem using it later and washing it after. So there you go! Hope I made your life a little easier.
Note: I once tried this with polyurethane, just to test it out. It does slow it down, but will still harden in a matter of hours, even in the fridge. :(
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| I took a wonderful action shot with this primer. Then my hard drive crashed. |
Nifty Paintbrush Trick
It's possible the whole world knew this major time-saver before I did, but just in case you were left in the dark I'll fill you in. You know how sometimes you're painting something, but you have to go back and do another coat later? Fear not! Save yourself some time by not having to clean up nearly as often. You will need:
- Cling Wrap or sandwich bag
- A fridge (optional)
I'm pretty confident you have those things. Just wrap your brush or roller, wet with paint, in plastic. It won't dry out and you'll save yourself the headache washing between coats. Gonna need longer than a couple hours? Throw that wrapped paint thang in the fridge! Try not to forget it's there... but if you do, no sweat. Even after mine was in there several weeks (whoops), I still had no problem using it later and washing it after. So there you go! Hope I made your life a little easier.
Note: I once tried this with polyurethane, just to test it out. It does slow it down, but will still harden in a matter of hours, even in the fridge. :(
Diana's Favorite
JanetBasket
I kept forgetting my reusable bags when I went grocery shopping, so I invested a little more money in something I would remember to take along. I got this eco-friendly JanetBasket from Amazon for about $25. The JanetBasket comes in all kinds of colors, but I couldn't decide on one... so I went with black. Of course. There are other brands of shopping baskets like this, but I chose the JanetBasket because of the two-handle design.
The JanetBasket is fabric, but it's sturdy enough to stand on its own. So sturdy, in fact, that even though the basket does fold up, it's not very easy to collapse the fabric base. It would be a huge pain to have the basket neatly folded up and have to unfold and reshape it each time at the checkout counter, so I've never tried doing so. I've also never used the zip pocket, but it might be a nice place to store discount membership cards.
Because I don't want to bother with folding it, I use it instead of a shopping basket when I shop. Then I just unload my items onto conveyor belt, and then reload my groceries back into the basket. It's easy, convenient, and helps reduce the amount of plastic bags I use. Plus, it keeps the amount of groceries I purchase in check. I only buy as much as I can carry! It's a win-win all around.
Happy Friday!
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post! All items were purchased with our own money and we were not paid to feature these products.
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post! All items were purchased with our own money and we were not paid to feature these products.
I had no idea about the paintbrush being kept for that long in the fridge, or wrapping it in plastic (I use wet paper towels and that only stays good for an hour), so good tip! Also, good idea on the shopping basket for quick trips especially!
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