the Mathews Family Happenings: Chevron with techron please

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Chevron with techron please

So I know that I'm super-late to the chevron party, but I DIY'D my own chevron art last weekend and I'm a-lovin it. It even required, get this....MATH. I totally did math.

I'm a smarty.

I'd also like to let the internet know that when I asked the hubs to buy me a piece of mdf, he had no clue what I was asking for.

MDF.

I thought all males knew building supplies, especially the run-of-the-mill ones that are used all the time on HGTV.

MDF?

Seriously.

no clue.

Anyway, I digress...

Here is a pic of the finished product:

and here's what I used-

1 piece of mdf (about 7 bucks)

blue painter's tape (because it was cheaper than the green and came in smaller quantities and since I had all 3 kiddos with me at Homey D's, I grabbed the cheapest kind fast and quick. fast and quick because one lil girl kept trying to climb out of the ole' buggy)

painter's tape was about 2.50, so my entire project comes to about 9.50.

not too shabby

I scored primer for free from my parents (even though I found an entire can at my house after borrowing theirs) and I have a tip on how to get a small sample can of paint ab-so-LOOT-ly free.

get it?

loot? as in 'money'?

nevermind...

Here's how it all went down...

Put the kids down for a nap,

then run, don't walk, outside with your piece of mdf and begin rolling primer all over that bad boy.

I'd like to take a moment to thank the inventor of the following product:

little cute roller brush that came in my free sample of paint-

thank you from the bottom of my heart.

these are pure awesomeness.

moving on...

After slapping 2 coats of primer on, I realize it is, in fact, starting to rain. I grab my beloved mdf and high-tail it in the house where my new painting spot is now relocated to the kitchen counter next to what's left of the giant tub 'o cheese puffs from O's party.

After 2 coats of white paint (which we already had), I was ready for the math. I knew I'd need to measure and divide and whatnot so that my stripes would be even- the board was 49 inches across and 24 inches tall. I knew 7 would go into 49 7 times (see how smart I am?), and I also knew that I could either mark off every 4 inches top to bottom for some really steep chevrons (is that even a word?), OR mark off every 6 inches for less steep zig-zaggies.

I went for less steep zigs. To mark off my lines, I used thumb tacks and had originally planned to use this thin ribbon-

but quickly realized a much thicker ribbon would be best. After marking every 7 inches along the top and bottom with a small pencil mark, and every 6 inches up and down, I used the ribbon as a guide so I wouldn't have to draw lines all over my board. I placed one ribbon on the first 7 inch mark on top & bottom and secured with a tack, and the other ribbon I ran straight across the board coming down 6 inches on both sides. Also secured it with a tack.

Where the 2 ribbons intersected, I made a tiny hole with another tack.

See?

That's how I knew to tape off the first row of 'zigs'.

I worked my way down the board, marking every 6 inches with a tiny tack hole and placing my tape. One end on the pencil mark at the edge, the other end on the hole.

When it was time to mark off the 'zags', I did the same thing going up-

When my tape looked like this-

I took a knife and did this-

I wanted those zags all nice and neat, ya know?

I worked my way across the board measuring and taping, measuring and taping...

until I was ready for paint.

oh happy day

Here's where a fab freebie comes in:

I actually found this on another blog, but Valspar (you know, the paint co?) is currently giving away a free sample of ANY color of paint to the first 100 people who request it each day.

did you hear that, internet?

free paint.

So...I clicked THIS LINK, perused the colors, made my choice, and placed my order. Within 2 days, this was on my doorstep-

and this was inside-

a mini paint roller with 2, ummm, roller cover thingys,

2 mini paint trays,

several paint color samples,

a $5 off coupon for any gallon of Valspar,

and a lovely little jug of golden butter paint.

I grabbed a foam brush and started on those zig-zags-

and then, as if they knew I'd just finished, the kiddos woke up. Just as well- it was time for church anyway. After church, (which gave the paint time to dry) I came home and did this-

crisp, clean lines!

love!

Since I knew I'd be leaning this on the wall above my mantel, I grabbed a couple of pieces of white fleece from my stash and hot glued them down to the top corners-

Can't have any scratches on my lovely asparagus walls, ya know?

stack of books holds a wire jug thingy (thrift store find) full of speckled eggs from Michael's. White wooden finial thingy and craft 'M' are both from the hob lob.

white ceramic birdy is from TJMaxx a few years ago, flowers are from the hob lob, and glass vase was free to me from, hmmm....mom?

did that come from you?

And, just to compare-

this was my Valentine mantel-

and my Star Wars lego mantel for O's party last month-

And now...

it's SPRING, baby!

I'm totally loving how the entire room is brighter, which is also a result of my new drop cloth slipcover. Also loving that the mantel mirror is now in our bedroom leaned against the wall and will be a perfect spot for taking 'what I wore' pics. My fab red plate will be on hiatus in the man cave for a bit.

and yes, I see that orange boucy ball in the fake fireplace. Just couldn't be bothered to pick it up...

Next up- removal of those hideous brass log holder thingys because they're hideous, they have pointy tops which could hurt little babes, and they're hideous.