At the end I had achieved a nice subtle ombre. I let the paint dry completely.

Next up, I pulled out my FrogTape® and cut 1.5 inch pieces. I then sliced each chunk into narrower pieces of tape. I created hexagons.

I squeezed as many as I could onto the canvas.

I pressed the tape down as firmly as I could, but canvas is uneven and painters tape isn’t made to be sliced. I wasn’t going for perfection – on the contrary – I was going for something a little rogue.

I painted the Vanilla paint over the entire canvas.

I let the paint dry and then painted one more coat. Using an X-Acto knife to help me lift the tape edges without destroying the paint, I removed all my tape hexagons.

The result is the bottom layer of canvas – the ombre Robins Egg Blue – peeking through the hexagons.

I’m loving how the ombre is both subtle and noticeable at the same time. The piece is now living on the shelves in my office, right above my computer monitor.

Disclaimer: As a member of the FrogTape® Blog Squad, I want to thank FrogTape® for sponsoring this post. All opinions, projects and ideas expressed herein are my own.

It’s the beginning of a New Year; and for a lot of people, that means a fresh start. Whether it’s at work, in the gym or at home, it’s the perfect time to refresh and revitalize a tired routine and infuse your life with an extra dose of style. To help homeowners up the ante in every room of the house, we teamed up with HGTV designer Taniya Nayak to determine trends that will be hot in home design and décor in 2013.

1. Patterns
“Everyone wants their home to showcase their unique personality,” says HGTV designer and television personality Taniya Nayak. ”The easiest way to infuse your style — while being on-trend — is with an impactful pattern.” According to Nayak, there are a few prints to be on the lookout for in 2013:

• Chevron: a bold, dramatic, V-shaped pattern
• Geometrics: graphic, colorful shapes, delivering a vintage-modern look and feel
• Ombré: subtle color gradation of similar shades that’s extremely versatile
• Ikat: tribal, swirls and diamonds reminiscent of tie-dye
• Moroccan: culturally-inspired, timeless and exotic motifs

“These powerful patterns can be easily achieved with a fresh coat of paint and a premium painter’s tape,” she added. ”FrogTape can be used to create these new, intricate patterns for a haute interior to kick off the New Year. And best of all, FrogTape will help deliver sharp lines, making your handiwork look like that of a professional.”

PaintBlock Technology allows FrogTape users to achieve crisp, clean paint lines and save time and money by eliminating the need for touch-ups. PaintBlock is a superabsorbent polymer that gels instantly to form a micro-barrier, sealing the edges of the tape and preventing paint bleed. FrogTape Delicate Surface can be used on surfaces that require a tape with lower adhesion to prevent surface damage, such as fresh paint (at least 24 hours old), to help complete your project even faster.

2. Mixed Materials
“The key to updating your home with the latest trends is finding a balance,” says Nayak. ”It’s all about making it personal and adding elements that fit your lifestyle and design personality, without breaking the bank.” Another trend for 2013 — that can make a big impact on a small budget — is to mix materials, creating a blend of polished and raw in a room with modern and industrial elements. “The rustic look will be extremely popular in homes in 2013, as it’s elegant and comfortable,” adds Nayak. ”It provides a feeling of richness and warmth, while still being comfortable to actually live in the space.”

Mixing materials can also mean utilizing different finishes throughout a room. In the kitchen, using contrasting materials makes your space look personalized and custom. Try a mix of wood and painted finishes for a more layered and collected feel. By resisting the urge to perfectly match every piece, you’ll have a space that looks current and works nicely together.

3. Unexpected Treatments
The final trend Nayak predicts for 2013 is re-imagining how to use materials. ”Just because a product is made for a specific purpose, doesn’t mean you can’t use it in a different way,” says Nayak. ”For example, placing flooring materials on a wall can be breathtaking. Wood planks or concrete panels, featured vertically and not just on the ground, add richness and texture, keeping your look fresh and stylish for the New Year.”

With the help of FrogTape and Nayak, make your home more personal, stylish and memorable in 2013.

This year I whipped up a fast and easy Irish flag to celebrate the holiday.

You’ll Need:

1/8 x 6 x 12 in piece of Balsa wood (Joann’s, $1.49)
craft paint in green, white and orange
FrogTape
pencil
ruler
paintbrush
printer
scissors

Start out by assembling your supplies.

Paint one side of the balsa wood white and let it dry completely (around 15 minutes). If there is any moisture from the paint in the balsa wood the painters tape will not stick.

Use your ruler to measure out 4 inches from each side of the wood. Make two small tick marks at the top and bottom and connect them with your painters tape. Place the tape inside the tick marks (so that 4 full inches of wood exist on the right and left sides of the board). Be sure to press the tape down firmly.

Paint to one side of the tape green, to the other side orange. Be sure to pull off your painters tape while the paint is still wet.

FrogTape left, as always, darn crisp lines.

Now time for a little embellishment in honor of Saint Patrick. I found a shamrock stencil online and shrunk it to 2 x 2 inches. {download the shamrock stencil for printing}

Cut out the shamrock with scissors and place it on the lower right hand corner of your orange color block (the Irish flag goes in the order green, white, orange). Trace around the shamrock lightly with a pencil.

Use a small paintbrush to fill in your stencil with green paint. Mine took two coats for good coverage (this image is taken after one coat):

Display your Saint Patrick’s decor with pride! I have mine on my office shelf, bringing me a little Irish cheer as I work.

Disclaimer: As a member of the FrogTape Blog Squad, I want to thank FrogTape for sponsoring this post. All opinions, projects and ideas expressed herein are my own.

Back when I glanced at the thrift store junk stash, I saw two of these calendar displays. I can’t pass them up – wood, great DIY material. Ya know?

Bri had scored these fun wood cut out shapes. I snagged the ‘badge/crest’ looking one thinking it was a great owl-shape. {pardon the lighting in the dining room turned work station for the tutorial}

And a Valentine DIY craft and decorating idea was born.

Materials:

•     FrogTape
•     wooden calendar frame
•     badge-shaped wooden cut out
•     wooden heart shape
•     craft paints
•     wood glue

I started with tracing my camera lens cap for the owl’s eyes.

I drew a pencil line vertically down the center. Using 2 ” pieces of FrogTape, I created a chevron pattern on the owl’s body working from the center out…

Once the tape was burnished (rub the edges of the tape with a credit card to activate the FrogTape’s paintblock), I painted my pattern. Then immediate removed the FrogTape…

Once that was dry, I continued painting my badge to look like an owl.

I used FrogTape to protect the frame and painted the background white and let it dry…

My wooden heart was painted brown {FolkArt’s burnt umber}. Once everything was dry, I laid out the placement of the owl, heart and used adhesive stencils for my lettering…

Then gathered some decorative accents…

I’m not so into lots of Valentine’s Day decorating but hey, I am a fan of “Owl you need is love & chocolate”!

A little paint and wax and it’s the perfect addition for Young Miss.

I forgot to take a photo of the before but found this photo on the web and mine was exactly the same.  Love the curves and the caning.  Do NOT love the boring brown wood.

I used my trusty FrogTape to tape off the caning that met the parts I would paint.  If you use a good tape it will seal the edge that you want to protect and I don’t think you need to bother covering off the rest of the seat.  Unless you’re a sloppy painter and then you might want to go the extra mile.

Here’s my roundup of the goodies involved in the transformation.  I had some leftover chalk paint but it was a bit too dark for this project so I added some white paint.  Have you ever wondered if you could lighten your own chalk paint?  Well, now you know…yes, you can.  I l-l-love the finish that wax gives but I will say that it’s a pain to wax something curvy like this chair.

Don’t you just love how fun and girly it looks now?

This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

It’s officially time for Christmas decorating in our home! I know! By blogging standards, I’m late to the game. With a family room makeover in progress, it’s at a point where plans for completion can be put on hold until after the holidays and I can still decorate that room to be pretty once I put away the ladder and some tools. I really loved the chevron garden sign I made for summer {here}. I decided I wanted to create a fun colorful Christmas sign incorporating some of the fun colors in the fabric I chose for the curtains.

Remember the tabletop I replaced on the kitchen bar for the apartment? {If not, you can see my post on my DIY wood plank kitchen bar top.} Time to recycle it! I knew it’d be a great material for a DIY sign one of these days. Tabletop to holiday decoration. Why not? To prep for making a sign, I scuffed up the finish with sandpaper and gave it a coat of left over teal paint and let it dry. I’ll call it my “canvas”.

This is what the top looked like before:

Tips for creating a chevron pattern using FrogTape:

It’s hard to explain how to create a chevron pattern words/pictures {next time I’ll do a video} but some tips:

My first row is measured. 5″ strips of FrogTape.

Depending on how it would line up, I creased the edges of the tape (non-sticky side) to create a line for cutting.

Cut on fold.

I placed the angled side on my center pencil line and cut the bottom flush with the bottom of the canvas and smoothed it into place.

I drew vertical lines with my pencil from the peaks and “v’s” of my first chevron row.

Once my first line was in place, I used a piece of FrogTape for spacing, I worked from the center out by placing another longer piece of tape angled from the center pencil line down to the right pencil line.

Then I pulled up a corner and folded it on the pencil line so I would know where to cut. Most of the time, the pencil transferred to the sticky side of the tape, creating a cutting guide.

I repeated those steps until I reached the top and finished.

I used pink and white craft paint to add more color.

My plan was to paint the blue area showing green and peel away the FrogTape, but I decided to keep the FrogTape in place. {Paint colors: Benjamin Moore Pacific, DecoArt Pretty in Pink “Hope Pink” and Americana Warm White, Green is FrogTape}

Using my Silhouette Cameo, I chose a reindeer from the online store and my Cameo cut it out {brown vinyl}. I created my letters for “Reindeer Games December 25th” using the software and chose the premium dark red vinyl and LDI Fancy Font. I peeled away the negative vinyl (the parts that are not the design) and applied my transfer paper. I made sure the transfer paper was secure by rubbing with a credit card.

Peel away the backing {the vinyl is transferred to the tacky transfer paper} and place on canvas. Rub the design with a credit card to get it to stick and peel away the transfer paper. In my case, all of the design wasn’t transferring, so I had to be careful and some of my reindeer was applied just as I would a sticker.

I followed the same steps for my lettering, however, knowing that the transfer paper was tricky for my project, I chose to use Delicate Surface FrogTape (the yellow tape) to help transfer my letters. This worked a little easier than applying by hand like stickers and kept my lettering evenly spaced and level.

I haven’t had time yet, but since I have FrogTape and vinyl on my sign, I’m going to seal everything with a coat or two of ModPodge. Ta-da!

Non-traditional. Colorful. Fun. I love it. It fits in perfectly with my eclectic colorful family room.

What do you think? I just sort of quickly staged for photos so I could share this today. I’ll be re-arranging, re-decorating. In fact, this mantel is even moving to another wall. More on the family room renovation and Christmas decorating coming soon.

I will attach a saw tooth hanger to the back and hang and rearrange but…I wanted to get this done to share and to tell you something important:

This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience. Results may vary.

I used MyColor Pantone paint in the very bright color of Vermillion orange.

Lightly sand each charger with 220 grit sandpaper. If you want to take the step, prime the chargers with a latex primer. Any darkly finished wood will take quite a few coats regardless of paint type, but primer makes it a little easier.

The first two coats went on thin but I knew things would perk up soon. Let each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next. After two more coats I was rewarded with an amazing bright orange.

The chargers screamed for a metallic accent, don’t you agree? I mixed metallic rust and metallic light gold craft paint two to one (heavier on the rust). You can use any metallic you’d like, find them in the acrylic paint aisle at your local craft store.

Pull out some painters tape (I use FrogTape!) and tape off a corner of your charger. I wasn’t too specific with this step, I eyeballed the tape line for each charger and threw it on.

Apply your metallic paint with a brush. I put on two coats (craft paint dries fast!), let it dry overnight, and applied two more coats in the morning. Fun tip: the plastic FrogTape container makes an excellent bowl for mixing paints!

Remember, peel off your painters tape immediately after applying the last coat so you don’t pull paint with the tape. This is crucial!

Let them dry overnight and coat with polycrylic. I used matte polycrylic, but there are many finishes available.

I paired my bright chargers with muted fall colors to really let them pop: black plates and olive napkins with natural elements as the centerpiece. (and yes, that’s snow in the yard…winter is here!)

The metallic accent gives the bright chargers a nice focal point.

This is a post sponsored by FrogTape. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are my own.

That little wall is kind of awkward and it was hard to figure out what to put on there – it’s not big, but big enough that it needed something substantial. I couldn’t do a mirror because of the mirror on the mantel. So I ended up with a collage of family photos.

I loved having them up there, but there was something about it that drove me a little batty every time I walked by – it just seemed too busy. There was a lot going on on that side of the room.

So for months I’ve been trying to come up with something to put on that wall. I couldn’t think of a THING for the longest time. The frames stayed till a couple weeks ago when I had had it and took them down. But the blank wall was almost as annoying for me as the frames…so I got started on an idea that had been growing in the noggin for awhile.

I was inspired by these rustic wood art pieces at Pottery Barn:

The one on the left is 50 inches square and costs $400 – yowza. I liked it but putting it together looked like I’d have to actually use some math, so I decided against that one.

I liked the one on the right even more anyway, and it looked wayyy easier to copy. I had some scrap luan plywood in the garage, and the width was perfect – I just cut the length down to about 36 inches with my jigsaw:

Then I grabbed some scrap pieces of lattice wood and started laying it out:

This wood is pretty cheap and I use it quite often, so I had a decent amount of leftover pieces. I just laid out them out, figuring out what needed to be cut down as I went:

It was like a puzzle and actually quite enjoyable to figure it all out. I did need to go buy a few more of the lattice pieces to finish it up, and I cut those down in random sizes too.

I went ahead and nailed it all on the board when I was done laying it out, and like ALWAYS, saved my painting till after it was put together. I know some of you think I’m crazy for doing that, but it’s just one of my things…I need to see it together and get that accomplished before I paint.

And I wasn’t even sure what paint colors I wanted to use – I figured that out after it was nailed together. It wasn’t a big deal to paint afterwards, I just used my Frogtape to tape off each one:

I was able to reuse the tape over and over. If I had painted beforehand I would have had to wait for each piece to dry before installing – so the time I took to tape off was the same that I would have had to wait for the paint to dry. At least that’s what I tell myself.

I wanted to use paint I already had, so I used a red color, a grey blue that I used on the back of the dining room built ins called Storm Cloud, the color we had painted in our living room and stairway, called Analytical Gray, and I was trying to figure out a fourth color to use as well.

I dug through the paint stash in the basement and found the wall color for the family room, called Sisal. It still needed some more color so I also threw in the peacock color I used in the Bub’s book nook:

I know it looks random, but I had a plan for it later that I knew would help make it work. The red was bothering me though – it was just too bright. So I grabbed the Chocolate Cosmos color I used on the front door and repainted those boards:

Much better!

Like I said, I had a plan to make them a little more cohesive still, and the first part of that was to use my Annie Sloan clear wax to cover the whole thing:

It gave it more of a matte look, which is what I wanted. It took less than two minutes to wipe it on quickly and wipe off any residue. When that was dry I went over the whole thing with the AS dark wax as well, just to tone down the colors even more. If you don’t have wax, stain would work much the same way, but you need very little of it!

(Sorry I don’t have pics of the dark wax part, I did that at night. I just wiped it on, wiped it off.)

After it was dry I painted some extra lattice the Storm Cloud color and added a frame around the art:

The waxes took away the shiny look, but left the (toned down) color:

The size is PERFECT for that spot, and the colors work perfectly in our family room!:

I went out on a limb with that peacock color, but I’m so glad I did! I love the added pop it gives the whole thing! And I use a bit of that color in the kitchen, so it helps to tie the rooms together.

It has different looks based on the direction you look at it – more subdued this way:

But deep and rich from the other direction:

It matches the colors in that little bowl on the mantel perfectly!

I thought about sanding it down like the PB version, but it was rustic enough as it was, so I didn’t want to do anything more to it. I love mixing up styles like this – the rustic look of the art with the more contemporary rug makes this space interesting to look at but still cozy. (At least I think!)

I love how it turned out – even better than I imagined! Although now I don’t know if I want to keep it there — I think it would look awesome in the basement! But for now it’s staying.

The PB version is 22.5 inches square and $150! My version is 26 by 36 inches and cost me $15 in wood (I had most of it already):

Not bad, eh?? I love this because you can customize the colors to work for your space so easily!

This one did take me some time – figuring out the layout went pretty fast, it was the painting that took a couple hours. It was nice, mindless work to do while we watched the Colts (win!!) yesterday though.

Don’t forget our fall linky parties kick off tomorrow at Layla’s place! For more info go here.

This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

When I toured the Southern Living idea house down in Senoia, GA earlier this year, I fell in love with the gingham paint treatment in one of the rooms and filed it away for reference.  And as plans began to unfold in my master bedroom, I decided this paint treatment might be just the thing to give my room some pizazz and add a bold look to the headboard wall.

I decided to use the same paint I already had used in the guest bath and my vanity area, Sherwin Williams Windsor Greige. It’s a bit deeper color than the color that the Southern Living house used and mine is bolder, but I do love how it turned out and it should be a nice backdrop to my blues and greens.

I used these instructions from the Southern Living site for my project.  It was very detailed and worked perfectly for me.

Here’s my headboard wall, walking into the master bedroom.  The base color is the same as the main areas of my house, Moderate White, by Sherwin Williams.

Tools of the Project:  long level, plus laser level, Frogtape, and measuring tape and pencil.

Begin by measuring your walls.  I used the same spacing as the Southern Living house and they did 12” wide stripes both vertical and horizontal.   My ceilings are 8’ tall.  I began by using my laser level to shoot a level line and then used a long level to draw my lines horizontally across the walls.  I had a friend come over and hold the laser level for me. Thanks, Tammy!

Drawing lines across the room, keeping them level.

After drawing all the lines, I then went back and used my fab Frogtape to tape off the lines for painting.  You can see some lines are the whole 12” deep and some are shallower.  That’s because you want to tape inside and outside the lines depending on where you will be painting.  I’ll be painting INSIDE those 12” spaced lines.  The top will be kept white, then I’ll start painting my stripes on the 2nd row.  If you count every other stripe, I’ll be painting 4 stripes with my darker color, with the bottom row being painted too.   Be sure and press down the Frogtape very well to avoid bleeding.  The tape works great!

I used Windsor Greige, a pretty gray/beige (a nice Khaki color) and mixed it with glaze.  The directions say mix 1 part paint with 2 parts glaze and that’s what I did, just eyeballing it.

Mixing it in a paint tray, I used a paint stick to mix it all together.  The glaze gives the paint a more translucent look when dry and it keeps the paint open longer.

All mixed together.  Using a paintbrush to cut in near the ceiling and corners of the wall, and a small foam roller for the stripes, I began the treatment.

Rolling all 4 stripes across the wall, painting right over the Frogtape.

I immediately peeled off the Frogtape to reveal a nice crisp line.

See!

And the horizontal stripes are done!

With a big pile of FrogTape left behind.

Next, I did the same exact method and taped off the vertical stripes.  There were more of these to tape.

Mixing the glaze and paint, I painted these too.  Where the 2 blocks intersect, the color is darker, creating a gingham look.

And here it is with the tape removed.

I love it!  It’s a bit of a bold statement, but wait until I get all my stuff in here and my drapery panels in place.  I have 3 pairs of Ritva panels from Ikea that I’m going to stencil and hang in here along with my blues and greens on the bed and rug.

I can’t wait for it all to come together!

Thanks to FrogTape for sponsoring this post.  I’m blogging projects for FrogTape for the next year and will be sharing all sorts of ideas on using this versatile tape.  I was planning to do this project anyway and it’s a great one to demonstrate FrogTape!