paint Archives - Mummy's Little StarsMummy's Little Stars

Valspar paints from B&Q have a vast range of colours available and I’ve become a huge fan having used the paint in several of the bedrooms in my new house already. It covers beautifully, gives a good finish and is very durable. I was really excited to try out their Garden Colours on an old shed that was left in my new garden to see how it faired.

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Unfortunately the existing shed had seen better days, but my dad helped to bring it back to life by carrying our several repairs. He replaced a number of the lower slats that were rotten and also completely recovered the roof with new board and felt.

valspar shed makeover

Then it was time to try out the paint. I chose Dusky Lilac for the main areas and Moonglow for the accents. First I enlisted the husband to wash down the woodwork before I started to work the makeover magic.

So onto the first brushstroke of paint and as you can see below, the coverage is amazing. The paint appears fairly thin but as can be seen the finish is perfect leaving a smooth, even film that dries really quickly as well.

InstagramCapture_db3fd30b-43e4-4d47-a54b-2304cfae056b The Valspar paint brushes I used look great and were perfect for the job, I used the 2 inch brush for the bulk of the shed and it was perfect, the paint glided off it, there was no shedding of bristles and it looked as good as new at the end.

valspar shed makeover 8 With the paint being so easy to use, I managed to get around the entire shed in just a couple of hours. It really was a dream to use, so easy to cover large areas quickly and with quick drying times it made it easy to manage. I did do a second coat the next day to really help protect the shed and ensure every area was covered but the coverage was instant on the first coat.

valspar shed makeover 2 So with the two Valspar paint coats done, here is the result.

valspar shed makeover 3 Although I was really pleased with the finished result, I wanted to add a few further touches to make it look a bit more special and quaint. First I got my dad to add a few strips of scrap wood to the edge of the windows to frame them and give me somewhere else to add my accent colour.

valspar shed makeover 5

I then also found an old, unused picture frame in my attic which I removed the glass and backing plate from and then painted it up in my garden colours.

valspar shed makeover 4 And this is the finished result that I was aiming for.

valspar shed makeover 6

I’m really pleased with the result and I think it looks great in my garden. I love looking at the before and after pictures to remind me of how good my revamped shed looks. It was a much easier paint project to do than I expected, the Valspar garden paint was so easy to work with, I’d highly recommend it to anyone and am looking forward to finding something else to paint for my garden now I know what a pleasure it is to use.

valspar shed makeover 7

Being a water based paint the brushes are easily washed in water. The brushes I used, you’d never know they’d been used to paint a shed and I can’t wait to continue using them around the rest of my house. My garden shed is now a pleasure to see at the end of my garden. We’ve also added some shelves and storage boxes inside and it has become a garden toy store and a place to keep gardening equipment. I’m hoping we’ve extended the life of shed by a good few years with a combination of the replacement wood, new roof and fantastic new Valspar garden paint colour.

InstagramCapture_c520df79-335e-4bbc-a69e-5dc5ae3b09f0 All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

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Suteki! Mega Stencil Station by Cool Create is the new Japanese stenciling art craze using a golden ninja stamper aimed at children aged 5+. The set comes with 9 stencils, 3 picture frames, 4 coloured paints, a ninja stamper and a workstation.

Suteki! has everything you need to produce three finished framed pictures although the paints, stamper, stencils can be used again and again.

The stencils are layered using different coloured paints on each stencil to create a picture. You receive enough stencils to create three different pictures, three stencils being used for each. Also included are three picture frames consisting of a front frame, backplate and sticky pad on the back to adhere to a place of your choosing.

As soon as 6 year old Miss M caught sight of this, her eyes lit up. She loves her arts and crafts and the Suteki box really appealed to her. It was the golden ninja stamper that really caught her eye and she was eager to try it out.

The first design she tried was of a girl. You start by placing a blank cardboard square into the workstation, then put the first stencil in place. The stencils are cleverly coloured the same as the paints so you know which colour paint to use with each one. Although this is only a guide and you are free to colour them as you wish. The workstation has four areas to squirt each coloured paint into – a job Miss M thought was great fun!

It’s then time to start by dipping the golden ninja stamper into a coloured paint. The stamper is a great size to hold and comes with 2 screw on sponge applicators at the bottom. This allows you to swap to use a different colour without having to wash the sponge every time.

Once you have paint on the applicator then dab it on top of the stencil ensuring all the cut out bits are covered in paint. It is then best to allow the paint to dry for about 5 minutes before continuing. During this time we carefully lifted off the stencil and washed it along with the sponge applicator.

When the paint is dry, you cover the picture in the next stencil and use a different colour repeating the dabbing process as before. Finally repeat with a third stencil to get the finished picture.

As you can see above, the finished result of the Suteki is very effective. Miss M absolutely loved doing this and it was easy for her to produce a great piece of art without it being too involved. I like the idea that frames are included as this really brings the picture to life and it’s ready to hang on the wall. This is perfect for her age of 6 years and requires minimum effort for a fabulous return. Anyone can do this, I think the age of 5+ is correct though in terms of keeping the template steady and not over dipping the stamper in the paint.

Miss M was keen to create another picture straightaway, so she got to work creating the monkey picture. By now she was well away on her own, happily following the process I’d guided her through on the first picture.

And look how proud she is of the finished result!

I have to say Miss M had a huge grin on her face the whole time while doing this Suteki activity apart from a few moments of concentration here and there. She throughly enjoyed it and was eager and keen throughout. I like it because it something a bit different, it has an element of fun with the golden ninja stamper and has been designed well with a plastic workstation tray that keeps any mess contained.

Here is Miss M proudly showing her finished pictures!

Suteki has been a hit in this house, a fun activity that I think is great for children to enjoy. It is a lovely to have a finished piece at the end that can be admired and enjoyed long after it was created.