How to paint vinyl floors has been inspirational to many...

This has been the most well-received and inspirational of all my posts so I thought I would share it again.

How to paint vinyl floors; POST UPDATE:

This is an update to an older post so please indulge me and forgive the duplication.

Awhile back, I showed you how I painted my vinyl floors but reported that the paint I used had been discontinued. I think I may have found a solution. Check it out...

STIX Waterborne Bonding Primer is a premium quality, acrylic/urethane primer-sealer designed with a unique "Step Change Technology" that delivers unparalleled adhesion to the most challenging surfaces, such as.......PVC, Vinyl, Plastic, Glass, Tile, Glazed Block, Glossy Paints, Pre-Coated Siding, Fiberglass, and Galvanized Metals. STIX is also ideal for use on plaster, drywall, wood, and non-ferrous metals, where a low ambient or surface temperatures present a problem for conventional primers. It cures in temperatures as low as 35 F and offers an extremely hard film when cured. Use STIX on interior and exterior surfaces and topcoat with almost any type of coating including Alkyd, Acrylic Latex, Urethane, Epoxy, and Lacquer Finishes. STIX is a low VOC primer, which levels to a smooth surface and cleans up with soap and water.

• Urethane Acrylic resins provide a tenacious bond to tough surfaces
• White Pigmented
• Accepts any finish coat
• Applies easily with brush roller , or spray
• MFG Brand Name : STIX
• MFG Model # : SXA-110
• MFG Part # : SXA110099-01

I found STIX at Home Depot.

Here's my original post...

When we moved into our 1980's house 9 years ago, the vinyl floors were hideous and in terrible shape.

Apparently, the former ranch hand chopped kindling with a hatchet on the kitchen floor. (We found the kindling but not the hatchet.)

Since we don't own the house, we didn't want to spend the money to replace them. So, I decided to paint them. The project cost $80 and it took me 11 days to complete the kitchen, laundry room, entry and bathroom. As you will see in a minute, they turned out great.

I found a paint that worked on floors and on vinyl siding so I thought it would be a good choice for vinyl floors. (The paint was McCloskey's All-in-One and I can't find it anymore.) I was right. Nearly 9 years after painting them, they are still in decent shape. And, let me tell you, our floors are used and abused.

Here's what I did...

Step 1) I gave the floors a very thorough cleaning by first sweeping, then vacuuming, then scrubbing them clean on my hands and knees with warm water.

Step 2) I rolled on three coats of off-white, letting the coats dry in between.


Step 3) Because there was already a square pattern stamped into the old vinyl, this step was much easier than if I'd had to measure. I taped off the inside of every other square with blue painter's tape then painted each with two coats of taupe, letting the coats dry in between.


Step 4) I carefully removed the tape.

Step 5) I applied five coats of water-based, satin Minwax Polycrylic with a brush, letting the coats dry in between.

POST UPDATE: I don't think the paint I used on my floors is available anymore. However, I saw a show on HGTV where they painted a vinyl bathroom floor. They used a high-adhesion primer first, followed by floor paint. I think a really important step with my floor was the Minwax Polycrylic on top, however, the paint I used was a matte finish. If you used a glossy floor paint, maybe you wouldn't need the shiny top coat.

When the homeowner saw my painted floors, he gasped because he thought I was going to hand him a bill for new vinyl. He was happy to reimburse me the $80 I spent on the project.

Here's the bathroom floor, 9 years later. This is the lowest-traffic area of all the areas I painted. I would have posted the kitchen but it's covered in muddy paw prints because we took a walk in the melting snow.

We're going for another walk tomorrow and the snow will be melting for awhile so I see no reason to clean it any time soon.

Creative idea for an old birdcage...

Someone had the fantastic idea of turning an old birdcage into a chair. I would like to put shorter legs on one and use it for a dog bed. I'll bet the tiny pooch in the photo would agree.

Funky-chunky-gypsy-cowgirl-junktastic belt buckles...

I made another belt buckle, ya'll... and I finished it just in time for Pink Saturday.

I'm selling these in my new Etsy shop. The one below is a new buckle and features four vintage brooches and lots of beads, and faux crystals and pearls.

The one below is a vintage German silver Tony Lama cowboy buckle which I purchased from an antiques store in Buffalo, Wyoming. It also features four old brooches and lots of faux pearls and crystals.

Linking to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple

Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered

I made this belt buckle...

I bought an old belt buckle and some junk jewelry at an antique store and now, thanks to Aleene's metal glue, it looks like this. I love it!

Linking to

Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple

Birdhouse brings back fond memories...

Seeing this handmade red and white birdhouse brings back some very fond memories for me.

My grandparents divided their time between a wonderful home in Houston and the Old House, which my grandmother called, "the country."

Grandmother and Pa's next-door neighbors in Houston were a retired Army Colonel, who we called "Colonel," and his wife, Boo, which was short for Beulah. You have never met a more proper Southern couple than Boo and the Colonel.

Here are 10 things I remember about Colonel and Boo...

1) They never had any children of their own.

2) When Boo served us soft drinks, she'd always drop in a plastic piece of ice with a fly in it... much to our delight, of course.

3) Grandmother told us to stay off their grass and never to touch anything in their house.

4) Colonel had a fantastic collection of beer steins from Germany. They were way up high on shelves all over the house.

5) If Boo had a piece of furniture you weren't allowed to sit on, you'd know it, because it would have a piece of string tied across the seat.

6) Boo buzzed around Houston in her mint-condition Volkswagon Bug while her also-mint-condition '65 mustang stayed at home in the garage... I'm telling you, she was fabulous.

7) They had the biggest bottle of Old Granddad on their kitchen counter. It was so large, it sat on a wooden stand that tilted so it could be poured.

8) Boo was homesick for Victoria, Texas.

9) It was a rare honor for a child to be a guest of Colonel and Boo.

10) One day my brother and I spent all day in the Colonel's garage and he helped us build this birdhouse which still sits on a shelf in the Old House...

I'm so glad we held onto this treasure for so many years. I hope the Colonel is looking down from heaven and smiling.

Linking to Make it for Monday, Metamorphasis Monday, Motivate Me Monday, Make Your Monday, Transformation Thursday, Rednesday, Show and Tell Friday, Saturday Night Special

Do you think I can make one of these mailboxes?

I know this Waverly ad is for fabric but, seriously, don't you want a mailbox like this?

If I covered a mailbox in fabric and painted it with lots of coats of water-sealer, do you think it would last?

If you were not such a super-duper crafter and wanted to buy one of these, how much would you be willing to pay?

Could this possibly be my calling?

Heirloom jewelry in a refinished shadow box...

I don't remember where I got this old shadow box. It may have belonged to a long-lost family member in Texas. But I may have found it in the basement of an old house I bought in Virginia. Then again, it could have been purchased from a thrift store. I honestly cannot remember.

POST UPDATE: My brother says this definitely came from the Old House. He thinks my grandfather made it.

Anyway...

I do remember that it was in sad shape when I got it. So, I refinished the wood and lined the inside with black velvet.


Most of the pieces in the box came from either my grandmother's or great aunt's jewelry boxes. Two of the rings were Grandmother's first wedding set. I wore them until one broke.

There is a charm bracelet I received for Christmas as a child. It's real gold and Grandmother wound up hiding it from me. The horse bracelet came from an old boyfriend.

The combs were Aunt Necel's. She wore combs in her hair every day... such a little lady.

The pink brooch was Grandmother's and I got the orange bird charm from a girlfriend at a birthday party when I was a little girl.

The long, dangling earrings were thrift-store finds. And, yes, I used to wear them in the 80s. The cowboy angel charm is James Avery and was a going-away-present from my co-workers when I moved away from Texas in 1992.

I hope you have enjoyed this tour of my shadow box.

Linking to Make it for Monday
Metamorphasis Monday
Motivate Me Monday
Make Your Monday

Saturday Nite Special

Transformation Thursday

Show and Tell Friday

How to paint vinyl floors; POST UPDATE...

This is an update to an older post so please indulge me and forgive the duplication.

Awhile back, I showed you how I painted my vinyl floors but reported that the paint I used had been discontinued. I think I may have found a solution. Check it out...

STIX Waterborne Bonding Primer is a premium quality, acrylic/urethane primer-sealer designed with a unique "Step Change Technology" that delivers unparalleled adhesion to the most challenging surfaces, such as.......PVC, Vinyl, Plastic, Glass, Tile, Glazed Block, Glossy Paints, Pre-Coated Siding, Fiberglass, and Galvanized Metals. STIX is also ideal for use on plaster, drywall, wood, and non-ferrous metals, where a low ambient or surface temperatures present a problem for conventional primers. It cures in temperatures as low as 35 F and offers an extremely hard film when cured. Use STIX on interior and exterior surfaces and topcoat with almost any type of coating including Alkyd, Acrylic Latex, Urethane, Epoxy, and Lacquer Finishes. STIX is a low VOC primer, which levels to a smooth surface and cleans up with soap and water.

• Urethane Acrylic resins provide a tenacious bond to tough surfaces
• White Pigmented
• Accepts any finish coat
• Applies easily with brush roller , or spray
• MFG Brand Name : STIX
• MFG Model # : SXA-110
• MFG Part # : SXA110099-01

I found STIX at Home Depot.

Here's my original post...

When we moved into our 1980's house 9 years ago, the vinyl floors were hideous and in terrible shape.

Apparently, the former ranch hand chopped kindling with a hatchet on the kitchen floor. (We found the kindling but not the hatchet.)

Since we don't own the house, we didn't want to spend the money to replace them. So, I decided to paint them. The project cost $80 and it took me 11 days to complete the kitchen, laundry room, entry and bathroom. As you will see in a minute, they turned out great.

I found a paint that worked on floors and on vinyl siding so I thought it would be a good choice for vinyl floors. (The paint was McCloskey's All-in-One and I can't find it anymore.) I was right. Nearly 9 years after painting them, they are still in decent shape. And, let me tell you, our floors are used and abused.

Here's what I did...

Step 1) I gave the floors a very thorough cleaning by first sweeping, then vacuuming, then scrubbing them clean on my hands and knees with warm water.

Step 2) I rolled on three coats of off-white, letting the coats dry in between.


Step 3) Because there was already a square pattern stamped into the old vinyl, this step was much easier than if I'd had to measure. I taped off the inside of every other square with blue painter's tape then painted each with two coats of taupe, letting the coats dry in between.


Step 4) I carefully removed the tape.

Step 5) I applied five coats of water-based, satin Minwax Polycrylic with a brush, letting the coats dry in between.

POST UPDATE: I don't think the paint I used on my floors is available anymore. However, I saw a show on HGTV where they painted a vinyl bathroom floor. They used a high-adhesion primer first, followed by floor paint. I think a really important step with my floor was the Minwax Polycrylic on top, however, the paint I used was a matte finish. If you used a glossy floor paint, maybe you wouldn't need the shiny top coat.

When the homeowner saw my painted floors, he gasped because he thought I was going to hand him a bill for new vinyl. He was happy to reimburse me the $80 I spent on the project.

Here's the bathroom floor, 9 years later. This is the lowest-traffic area of all the areas I painted. I would have posted the kitchen but it's covered in muddy paw prints because we took a walk in the melting snow.

We're going for another walk tomorrow and the snow will be melting for awhile so I see no reason to clean it any time soon.

Linked to Make it for Monday, Metamorphosis Monday, Make Your Monday,
Motivate Me Monday, Transformation Thursday, Show and Share Day, Sunday Scoop,
Saturday Night Special

Such a fun program...

I spent some time recreating the Old House in a program called "3-D Home Architect."

Here's the Old House...

Here's my rendition in the program...

Here's the bedroom...

The same room in the program...

Here's the back porch...

Here it is in the program...

The bathroom...

The bathroom in the program...

I don't have a photograph of the dog trot to show you but here's how it looks in the program...

Now, I'm going to "pretend" remodel. I may even landscape.

If you haven't tried 3-Home Architect, it's a total blast to use and worth every penny, at least in entertainment value.

China cabinet before and after...

I know, I know... these pictures are pitiful... pathetic, really. But at the time I "remodeled" my china cabinet a few years ago, I never imagined I'd be blogging about it someday.

In this before shot, you can kind of see that the cabinet is oriental style with a shiny lacquer finish, ornate trim and brass hardware.

I mostly covered up the things I didn't like about the cabinet. I added molding around the top and bottom. I covered the trim around the top doors with new trim and covered the bottom doors with bead board and new trim. I painted it black and added new hardware. (The frosted doors are Glad Press-N-Seal which I have since removed because I like being able to see inside.)


Linked to...
Transformation Thursday
Saturday Nite Special
Make it for Monday,

Metamorphasis Monday

Motivate Me Monday

A special gift from my brother...

Sometimes I get it in my head that I've just got to have something. When that happens, it's all I can think about and it usually becomes an obsession until I get it.

About three years ago, I just had to have built-in bookcases... or something that resembled them.

I called my brother repeatedly for advice about how to construct them and he wound up building them for me. (Okay, I may have been begging.) He's such a talented carpenter. Wait until I show you the log cabin he built with no plans. Anyway, he lives two hours away so my bookcases were a big deal.

Here they are. We have since gotten a 42" TV to fill the hole. We didn't know how tiny our other TV was until we saw it in this hole.

We also got a decorative metal grate to cover the furnace "vent" in the bottom.


Here's the right side. I adore the beadboard backing.

Here's the middle... Notice, I pasted in a bigger TV to see how it would look. This looks exactly like the TV we wound up buying.

Here it is with our old, tiny TV. I would have taken new photos but it's kind of dark in here today.

Oh, heck, who am I kidding? I didn't feel like dusting everything because it takes nearly an hour. That's why I didn't take new photos. But it is very dark today.

I love, love, love this crown molding.

This is my fantasy bookcase photo. I painted the wall red, added a big TV and hard-wood floors.

So, kudos and many thanks to my brother. I love my bookcases...

Well, except for dusting them.

Linked to Make it for Monday, Metamorphis Monday, Make Your Monday,
Motivate Me Monday