• Are you looking for a challenge?
• Do you want to share your creative talents?
• How about the chance to win some cool prizes?

The CSI Project is the collaborative effort of three wonderful bloggers: Amanda (Imperfectly Beautiful), Beckie (Infarrantly Creative), and Jen (Tatertots & Jello). Each of these women is amazing on her own, and now they’ve teamed up to Create, Share, and Inspire (CSI). Their new site will showcase wonderful projects and host periodic challenges so that we can join the fun.

I’ve found just the place for you!!! I’m excited to have found this challenge – I know you enjoy sharing your projects with me “THAT Painter Lady” and I really want to challenge you to share your “stuff” with others. Get out of your comfort zone and put yourself and your talent out for others to view (and judge).

THE CSI Project

And… to top it off – These are Not just painting related challenges. Here is the weekly schedule:

How to Paint Just About Anything

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If you are embarking on your first faux painting project, then it’s worth ensuring that you’ve mastered the essentials.

Beginners may make some errors that prevent them from attaining the effect that they’re looking for.  Here are a few tips that will help you in the process:

1. Good materials produce good results. Buy the right paints and brushes and make sure your painting surface is well prepared. Painting onto flat paint is almost a guarantee of failure.

To ensure a good result, use a satin or eggshell paint as your base layer. Flat paint inhibits the slow drying that faux painting requires and somehow creates a dull finish. A base coat that dries slowly will also give you time to fix mistakes.

2. You may be tempted by artist’s palettes and specially designed sponges and applicators. Save your money for good paints and brushes. Gadgets and special tools aren’t necessary. A soft sponge sold for household cleaning will do for applying color washes and an ice cube tray doubles as a practical paint palette.

Don’t waste that paint! You can always stick it in the freezer rather than letting it harden. Another money-saving tip is to use dishwashing liquid for cleaning brushes. You can buy fancy cleaners but a grease-cutting dishwashing liquid works just fine with water-based paints and with stencil creams, which are partially oil-based.

3. If your surface is pitted or cracked, it will need filling, and sanding when dry. A common error is to assume that that once your faux finish is completed your job is done. Wrong! You MUST seal with water-based sealer before painting, or your wall will look blotchy and diseased.

Seal with a color that blends in with the rest of the wall or patches will show through. If you don’t have that original paint, mix the sealer with suitably colored acrylic paint to minimize the contrast.

4. Keep oil and water-based paints separate at all costs. Knowing the ingredients of your paints can save you from catastrophe. For example, don’t assume that latex paint is an oil paint. It is partly water and so will not mix with oil paint.

5. Dirty Brushes can spell disaster. Brushes that haven’t been properly cleaned are a key cause of problems, including color contamination. There’s a middle way between casual rinsing of your brushes and splurging on expensive custom cleaning products.

In your local art store look for cleaning pads in the children’s section. The same item targeted at professional artists will cost you a lot more.

6. Paint is designed to spread and spread it will - on shoes and in many other ways too. Accidents do happen, but there are ways of dealing with them.

Using water or chemical cleaners on carpets is not advisable, since at best it can spread the paint further. You can try trimming the stain with nail scissors when it has dried. If the worst comes to the worst, a product called Goof Off is a useful remedy.

7. Wet and dry don’t mix. If you’re using glazes you need to make sure that you’re not creating areas where wet paint meets dry edges. The dry paint won’t spread at the meeting point and the join will show. Plan to paint areas in one session, without a break.

That includes, telephone, tea and toilet breaks. The hotter the weather the faster you will need to work before areas of glaze dries.

8. You may not recognize your painting style, but everyone has their own unique technique. That’s why collaborative efforts don’t work.

People can work together as long as they work on different layers or walls, not different sections of the same layer/wall. Your style can even change during a day: pre- and post-lunch. Plan your sessions and breaks to maximize uniformity in technique.

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Your Home A Living Canvas: Create Stunning Faux Finishes & Murals with Paint

I think decorative and faux painting techniques look great, are fun to do, and add a personal statement to a room. I’ve been adding my personal look to the walls in my homes ever since my husband and I purchased our first “fixer-upper.”

When I first starting using faux and decorative painting techniques on the walls in our home it was a financially motivated action. We didn’t have a lot of extra money. I couldn’t afford new furniture or flooring for a room but I could afford to buy some paint.

But just painting the walls a solid color seemed boring to me so I started exploring faux and decorative painting. It didn’t take me long to get hooked. Why do I like faux and decorative painting on walls so much?

• 1) It’s an inexpensive way to change the look of an entire room. Paint is the most economical way to change the look of a room.

• 2) A painting technique on the walls minimizes and hides cosmetic flaws such as surface cracks and less than perfect patching jobs.

• 3) It’s easy to change when you’re sick of it. Repainting a room that has paint on the walls is a whole lot easier and much less time consuming than stripping wallpaper off walls and preparing those walls for paint.

• 4) It adds your own personal look and style to a space. Color and texture are fun and interesting. An entire home painted the same off-white color is dull and boring to me.A faux painting technique can evoke any mood you want in a room whether it’s a Tuscan look, retro 70′s look, a country look, something elegant, a cheery bright look for a child’s room, or any other look you want.

• 5) The choices of techniques and paints are nearly endless. Some of the more popular technique choices include: sponging, ragging, dragging, color washing, stenciling, crackling, marbling, gilding, wood-graining, spattering, feather-dusting, and stippling. You could also use one of the specialty paint products on the market today such as Venetian plaster to create the look you want or buy a faux painting kit such as a Woolie painting kit to help make your project as fun and easy as possible.

While I highly recommend faux or decorative painting, there are a few things I’ve learned since I’ve started faux painting that I’d like to share with you. Some of these items are things to “not do” that I’ve learned the hard way. Others are tips and suggestions that were helpful to me.

• Go to your local paint store or decorative painting store and look at the samples they have.For example, Home Depot has lots of different booklets and paint chips with faux paint finishes on them for you to look at and even take home to look at in your lighting. That pretty metallic finish on a paint chip in the store make look garish when you get it home and look at it in your home’s natural lighting.

• Consider taking a class before doing your first project. Some paint stores and home improvement stores, such as Home Depot, offer free faux painting clinics and workshops.You can also find some very good faux painting classes for a reasonable fee by looking in your local paper or doing an Internet search.

• Practice your technique on a piece of scrap wallboard before doing it on your wall. This is especially important if you are blending colors.A few years ago my son wanted his bedroom painted. He wanted me to use a Wooliel Faux Tool (a great faux painting tool available at most paint supply stores) to blend together a burgundy and a caramel color.Each color looked great by itself, but when they got blended together too much a dark fuchsia color emerged. And anything resembling pink was not something my son wanted on his wall!

Because I had been faux painting for years I didn’t listen to my own advice about trying the technique on a piece of scrap board first nor did I buy sample sizes of paint to try out. I bought gallons because I wanted to save time.

Luckily the store agreed to exchange the paint for me free of charge but we did have to paint over a wall and wait for it to dry before starting over with new colors.

• Remember that the texture of your walls will dictate, to some extent, what faux painting techniques you can and cannot use.If your walls are smooth you can do just about any technique you want. But textured walls are very common, especially in newer homes.

  You may see striped walls in a brochure or on a sample wall and decide that’s what you want to do in your home; but if your walls are textured it’s going to be nearly impossible to achieve straight lines for your stripes.

  Keep in mind that faux finishes on paint chips from a store are done on a smooth surface. They will look a little different (but may still look very nice) if you do that same technique with the same colors on a textured wall.

• If you’re going to do a faux technique in an entire room don’t start on the wall that people will first look at when they walk into the room.

  That means don’t start on the wall directly across from the doorway.

  Unless you’re a professional, it takes a little while for you to get your technique perfected in a room. Put that less than perfect start in the least noticeable part of the room.

• If you get tired while painting and need a break, don’t stop in the middle of a wall. Stop at a corner. If you stop in the middle of the wall and don’t come back to work on the project again until after the paint is dry, you’re going to have a noticeable line on the wall. It won’t be pretty.

• Think twice about mixing your own color with paint you have at home unless you are absolutely positive you’re going to have enough paint to do the entire job.

  If you mix your own color and run out of paint before you finish it will be time-consuming and challenging to match that color.

  You might be able to match it because many paint stores have specialty machines that can match a paint chip you take in, but if you’ve mixed together two different sheens of paint (for example let’s say you mixed a flat paint and a satin paint together) you’re going to have a hard time reproducing that same sheen. In some cases it may not be noticeable; but in other cases it will.

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Dorrie Ruplinger is a featured writer for
http://www.decorativepaintingzone.com. Visit the web site for more information on decorative painting and
faux painting.

The Art of Faux: The Complete Sourcebook of Decorative Painted Finishes (Crafts Highlights)

I’m always striving to organize my home office… It’s a daily struggle. I hate paperwork. I have lot’s of systems and solutions – if I would just use them consistently. Is my office organized in everyones standards? Nope… but I can find what I need to find quickly.

First – I want to explore why more and more home offices are becoming a necessity in almost any home:

More and more people are starting to work from home, either to replace a “real” job or to supplement the stretched budget. One of the best ways to improve your chances of success is to establish a home office.

Not only is it a tax write-off (be sure to check with your accountant as to what you can and cannot deduct), but it is also a way to help stay organized and be more professional.

The type of business you are running will dictate the type of office you need.

• Will you be having clients meeting you in your office?
• Will it be your workspace?
• Will it be a multi-purpose room?
• For example, if you have a business based mainly on a computer and internet, then you won’t need as much space as you would for a craft production or product distribution business.

The steps I took to get my home office organized – and you can do these quickly and easily -

First, eliminate anything from the room that isn’t directly connected to your business (unless it is a multi-purpose room, such as a wall that serves as the family library). The fewer distractions you have, the better. It also helps reduce unnecessary clutter. Store things in boxes or move them to another room.

Get a Filing System

There are many nice filing systems – from the traditional filing cabinets, to hanging folders that can attach to the back of a door.

• Sort through all the papers in your office. Decide what you need to keep and what can be thrown away.
• When in doubt, set up another folder or box for things to look at again later. I have a “I think this is cool” box. It’s a box that all the catalogs – stuff I print off the internet – old cards (business – greeting- etc.), Nothing important goes in this “file” box. If I don’t look in this box for anything in at least 6 months… the box and all it’s contents goes to the dump!
• Once you establish a filing system, keep up with it on a daily basis. It is too easy to become overwhelmed if you don’t. Color-coded systems work nicely. One color for tax-deductible related items, another for invoices to clients, another expenses, etc.
• Then you simply place the papers or receipts in the appropriate color folder.

The Desk Needs To Be Clutter Free

The workspace is often the most difficult to keep organized, but if you have a handle on the paperwork, it helps reduce one area of clutter.

Make sure the workspace is large enough, and comfortable. Whether you have to sit or stand do to the work, make sure the surface is at the correct height. This will help reduce back strain and allow you to work for longer periods of time, thereby increasing your productivity.

There are many nice desk organizers that allow you to keep items close at hand but out of the way. If you only keep the items you need most often on the workspace, it will also reduce clutter.

Keep the rest tucked away in storage units in your desk drawer, shelf or box. There are drawer organizers that can be customized to meet your needs.

If you use a computer, make sure you have enough space for the computer itself, the monitor, printer and any other hardware you may need, such as scanners and fax machines. Many companies produce multi-purpose units that combine those features into one machine, which takes up much less desk space.

Don’t forget to organize the computer itself.

There are many organizational software programs that can help you track appointments, clients, and your work. By using these programs, you can keep on top of things and waste less time. Set up special folders in your documents folder, so you can file things away for easy retrieval. Databases and spreadsheets are also very helpful tools in tracking your inventory and other business related needs.

If you aren’t using Google to help you organize your computer… you’re missing out on the best of the free stuff. Google has calendars that keep you on time ( I mean they will even email you a reminder of an appointment). They have an online document service (just like microsoft word) and of course Gmail – is by far the best email system – Bar None!.

• Want to conquer your office clutter once and for all?
• Ever wondered how you can have a happy, organized, clutter-free desk?
• Do you want to know the secret to finding anything in your filing cabinet in seconds?
• What about keeping up with your business reading, making every second you spend in meetings count, or how to delegate without stress or worries?

It’s time to get organized! Get 1,875 simple organizing ideas to help you organize your office:

Click Here To See How To Organize My Home Office

I just have to share some of the great “Holiday” ideas from Rachel Paxton. She is one of my favorite “decorating on the cheap” ladies. She is also pretty dog gone smart with meals on a budget as well. Something we all need to learn these days.

Anyway… she wrote this great article about creative “seasonal” decorating and storage for the entire year. I love to put out a few things during the seasonal changes… because I don’t have huge weather changes. Nope… the leaves don’t change and I don’t get snow where I live – so I change a few things around the house to make me “feel” the change!

I already follow the storage advice she gives here… but the really good tip she gave on “what to do with those decorations you find after you have put everything away” is something I am going to use. Very cool Rachel!

Here we go with her great advice:

I don’t spend a lot of money decorating my home. Many people don’t want to spend the time or money to decorate with the seasons, but over the years I have learned some ways to creatively seasonally decorate that have cost little or next to nothing.

Because I work a lot, I don’t spend very much time decorating my home. When I’m updating my home to a new seasonal theme, I do not spend more than a couple of hours arranging and rearranging to get a nice seasonal effect. Here are some of the ways I’ve learned to organize my seasonal accessories:

• I store my seasonal decorations in several large stackable Rubbermaid containers: two for Christmas, one for Easter/spring,and one for autumn/Thanksgiving.
  • When I’m ready to change themes, I get out the one(s) to put things away in, dust or otherwise clean the area(s) where the new decorations will sit, and then get out the new decorations.
  • The storage containers get put back away, and everything is still organized for next season.
  • Make sure you mark the containers in some way to know which one is which. Color coding them buy buying different colored containers works well.
• You will inevitably forget to put something away and stumble across it when you’re cleaning another day.
  • In each bathroom I have a corner of a closet shelf reserved for miscellaneous seasonal decorations.
  • Or if someone gives you a seasonal gift you don’t have anywhere else to put at the moment, this is a good place to put it.

If you find the task of re-decorating your entire home overwhelming, look for certain areas of your home that would be good for displaying seasonal decorations. In my home the kitchen, dining room, and living room are the focal areas of our home.

There are certain areas where I concentrate when decorating for the seasons:

• Kitchen: I don’t do a lot of seasonal decorating in the kitchen, but there are a couple of easy things you can do to liven it up a little.
  • Seasonal dish cloths and hand towels are really cute, as well as seasonal floor mats.
  • If you use the towels for decoration only, like hanging from your oven door handle, they will still be nice for the next year.
  • Seasonal refrigerator magnets are also easy to update.
• Dining Area: Our dining room table is the focal point of our dining room. We have a long oak table that is great for seasonal decorating. A table runner makes a nice seasonal addition.
  • I have one made out of Easter fabric for spring, a floral one for summer, and one of Christmas fabric. I just need to get one for autumn.
  • You can accessorize with seasonal place mats, napkins, and napkin rings. These you can make yourself or pick up at yard sales or clearance sales off-season.
  • I also like to decorate the center of the table for the season. A lot of times I will use a vase of seasonal flowers. For autumn I have a vase of artificial fall foliage. I accent the vase with Indian corn, gourds, and artificial fall leaves.
• Living Room: The main areas of the living room I concentrate on are the fireplace mantel and hearth, a corner curio shelf, and the entertainment center.
  • I lay a garland across the top of the entertainment center that can be changed with the seasons: fall foliage for autumn, flowers for spring and summer, and evergreens for winter.
  • On the shelves of the entertainment center and the curio shelves I rotate my seasonal knickknacks.
  • The last place I decorate is the top of the piano.
  • Sometimes I just decorate with houseplants and photographs, but it is also a great place to showcase collections, like my angels at Christmas or my bunny village in the spring.
  • I also have a piece of fabric draped over the piano that I can change with the seasons.
• Other:
  • Window clings are great for any season.
  • Door wreaths can also be rotated any time of year.
  • My grapevine wreath goes up in the autumn and is soon replaced by my Christmas wreath. You could have one for every season.
  • Although I don’t have one yet, a lot of people have seasonal flags or banners displayed outside of the house. These you could buy or make yourself.

These are just ideas to get in the mood of seasonal decorating. Learning to bring the outdoors indoors can be fun and there are many easy, inexpensive ways you can change the look of your home to get in tune with the seasons.

Guest Article by:

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What’s for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at www.creativehomemaking.com.

“Finally…”

A Quick and Easy Way To Get Dinner On The Table and Enjoy More Quality Time With Your Family…