Tools of the Trade

I will start with my paint brushes since most of my work is painted.  I am fussy about my brushes.  I love Purdy paint brushes, which are available at most hardware stores. I will admit that I am slight obsessive about them.  My husband even gave me a short handled model for Christmas and I wanted to cry I was so happy.  Sick right?  When Purdy’s are on sale (they are expensive I know) I buy them.  Amazon has a 3 pack in the 1″, 1.5″, and 2″ for under $20 which is not bad though and to be honest if I needed bigger than a 2″ brush I would use a roller so these are all you’d need.  Take care of these brushes and they will last for a very long time.  I would say forever but I haven’t been alive that long . . . YET!

As long as I mentioned rollers those are Purdy too.  I have cheap roller cages (just go to the hardware store and find one that fits – or the dollar store) but the roller covers are Purdy.  I have a reason though! Lint.  I hate lint in my paint from roller covers and all covers have them but these seem to shed less.  Hit the cover with a little packing tape before you start and you should be all set.

Paint.  There’s a wide topic. That one is harder to nail down because for me it depends.  I LOVE chalk paint.  That being said I am not married to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP), BUT I don’t like the latex paints that pass themselves off as chalk paint.  I do like the chalk/mud paints that are out now like Country Chalk and I love their colors. And Annie Sloan’s paints are wonderful but hugely expensive.  To me the Country Chalk paint is as good as ASCP and less expensive.

Then there’s spray paint.  Some things just have to be spray painted.  Like anything with an intricate pattern or twists and turns – HELLO baskets! I’m looking at you. Don’t pretend like you’re not a total pain to paint.  I love spray paint and my favorite is 2X by Rustoleum.  It’s the best. It covers so well.  And when my local Menards has it on sale I can get it for $2 a can! Love it! I dare you to grab a can of yellow of any other brand and a can of the 2x and paint the same frames with them.  I did this because I was in a hurry and my hardware store didn’t have any 2x yellow so I bought the next leading brand. What I was able to cover in 2 coats of 2X took me a WHOLE can of the other brand.  I am not kidding.  I was so frustrated with the coverage that I will never use anything else.

Unless of course you’re Krylon chalky finish spray paint.  That I will use on occasion. You can get the same texture with matte spray but if I can’t find the matte in 2x (sometimes it’s a challenge) then I will break down and buy the Krylon which is soooo expensive that I cringe when I do.

If you’re curious about other products I might use please post in the comments below.  I’m happy to share.