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Albion Gould

Albion Gould

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Don’t Mow, Paint!

June 23, 2014 by Albion

You know how you always wish you had more time, or at least a few extra hours to work on the growing list of projects on your wish list? Scott and I only have the weekends together to work on house projects. On a normal Saturday morning, Scott heads out to mow our lawn. I’ll follow him to take care of the trim. We don’t have the biggest yard ever, but it’s enough that it takes precious time away from doing the fun stuff. Here in the Chicago suburbs, we’ve gone from thunderstorms to 90 degrees to tornado warnings and back again, which has made for a very unpleasant time doing yard work. I recently discovered TaskEasy, who not only took care of our yard needs, but gave us time to do the fun stuff.

TaskEasy is a great way to find reputable service providers without having to do the legwork yourself. Every provider is a licensed local contractor. The website is really easy to use (and you know that’s a big deal for me!) and you can easily get and approve a quote before you agree to the service. They offer services for lawn care, snow removal, and hanging holiday lights. The frequent communication and reminders also help scattered moms stay on top of things. My favorite part is that they bring up a google map of your property once you input your address and you outline the areas you want taken care of. And, when you mess up and outline the entire property instead of just the grass, they are incredibly polite and have already taken care of it before you sheepishly bring it up.

taskeasy map

corrected taskeasy map

Because we didn’t need to worry about yard maintenance, Scott and I started tackling some of the painting that has been on our list. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen that we’ve started a bunch of projects recently. I want to show you a fun little project that we did for our bedroom.

boring bedroom

Our house was built in 1988 and everything is oak. Everything. We want to paint the majority of the oak white.

painter's tape

We decided to test our skills on the divider between the bedroom and sitting area, where we have our desks. I’m going to ask you to please overlook the mess in these pictures, because we have everything going on at once. I will post clean room pictures when it’s all finished.

Anyway, Scott got to work taking care of the first bit of oak and I got to work on some color. I received this stencil from Royal Design Studio at SNAP this year and have been so antsy to use it. Scott agreed to a mustard color after we saw a color swatch that featured the purple and grey in the rest of our room with it.

stencil

The wall above the bed was bare, so I decided to use the stencil to make some artwork in the same color scheme to bring the room together. I used a set of canvases I had bought from Michael’s during a sale and paint from sample pots. Love me some paint samples! This is a very inexpensive and easy way to bring in whatever color and style you need.

canvas

I used the purple as my base color. (You paint over your bathroom sink, right?!)

purple

I used grey paint for the stencil color on the first canvas.

stencil

stencil

And yellow for the other two.

yellow

We have a long ways to go in the bedroom alone. Door and window frames, baseboards and doors all need painted white. I need to find the yellow and grey bedspread that is hiding in the basement. But, I’d say that we’re off to a great start, and I know that we’d still be only thinking about painting in here if it wasn’t for TaskEasy giving us a few extra hours.

artwork and wall

I can’t wait to show you how it all comes together. Soooon!

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Category: live

About Albion

I’ve wanted to be an archaeologist, in theatre, a judge and to run a museum. I’m now in my mid-30s and have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.

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Comments

  1. Anna

    June 23, 2014 at 2:02 pm

    I love that stencil! And the purple goes so well with the yellow and gray. I just followed you on IG so I can keep up with all your decorating. 🙂
    Anna recently posted…Adventures in Pinterest | Hand Drawn Yoga Mat with SharpieMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Alli

    June 23, 2014 at 2:34 pm

    Looks great! Love how you tied them both together. Looking forward to the finished product!
    Alli recently posted…Be You Not ThemMy Profile

    Reply
  3. Melanie

    June 23, 2014 at 2:57 pm

    Everything looks great Albion! What a great service that provides you extra time to work on your house projects. Great job painting the oak too!
    Melanie recently posted…4th of July LeiMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Alyson M

    June 23, 2014 at 2:58 pm

    I really love the pattern from that stencil! Can’t wait to see it all done!
    Alyson M recently posted…Dining Room Gallery Wall & a big discount for you!My Profile

    Reply
  5. april @ illistyle

    June 23, 2014 at 6:56 pm

    Love the fun new bedroom decor! Can I just mention how jealous I am.? yard work – ugh!
    april @ illistyle recently posted…Free 4th of July PrintableMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Pauline Molinari

    June 23, 2014 at 2:10 pm

    Love this! I had no idea about TaskEasy, and I love the stenciled art you made!
    Pauline Molinari recently posted…12 Patriotic Ideas + Monday Funday Link PartyMy Profile

    Reply
  7. JEss @ Chaos & Love

    June 23, 2014 at 2:58 pm

    I’ve never heard of TaskEasy but I’m pretty sure I need it in my life. I also need those canvases!
    JEss @ Chaos & Love recently posted…DIY Tent for Kids | Adventures in PinterestMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Lynnee

    June 24, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    Cool! I love the stencil and I love how you are spending your time more wisely!
    Lynnee recently posted…Glass Etched Upcycled Wine Bottle CandlesMy Profile

    Reply
  9. [email protected]

    June 27, 2014 at 5:48 am

    Its awesome that you have the time to work on projects together. How exciting! I love the color combination you chose for your bedroom . I can’t wait to see more progress. :):)
    [email protected] recently posted…Life Quotes to Bring HappinessMy Profile

    Reply
  10. [email protected]

    June 27, 2014 at 9:17 am

    Oh, will they please come mow my 5 acres?? It seems that I am mowing every other day and not getting anything else done I have a question about your paint and stencil. Since you used paint sample I am assuming it is regular house paint. Did you add anything to the paint to make it a little thicker for the stencil? Yours came out so nice – what is your secret?
    [email protected] recently posted…Go Junkin’ In Garrison TexasMy Profile

    Reply
    • Albion

      June 27, 2014 at 11:28 am

      It has been so nice to not need to worry about mowing! Yup, I used regular house paint samples. I kind of collect them. Give me all the pretty colors! I used them because it’s what I had on hand. The Pantone paint (the purple) worked great. The Glidden paint (the grey) was naturally a bit thicker than the Behr (the mustard) and went on a bit better. For all of them, I rolled most of the excess paint off using the tray before I painted the stencil, so the roller was pretty dry. Does that make sense?

      Reply
  11. Ashley @ My Craftily Ever After

    June 27, 2014 at 10:15 am

    I got the same stencil at snap and I have been dying to use it too! I love how your room is coming together!
    Ashley @ My Craftily Ever After recently posted…Road Trip Survival Kit for Kids!My Profile

    Reply
  12. Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple

    June 27, 2014 at 10:42 am

    Those turned out great!
    Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple recently posted…Kitchen Vinyl Subway Art and Expressions Vinyl GIVEAWAYMy Profile

    Reply
  13. mrs Major Hoff (sara)

    June 27, 2014 at 11:50 am

    How fun! It’s amazing what paint can do!
    mrs Major Hoff (sara) recently posted…Quick summer updateMy Profile

    Reply
  14. Randi Sowders

    June 27, 2014 at 11:51 am

    How fun! I love the colors you picked out!!!
    Randi Sowders recently posted…Hogwarts; A History, built with LegosMy Profile

    Reply
  15. Lisa at Mabey She Made It

    June 27, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    Lookin’ Good! The stencil is so fun!
    Lisa at Mabey She Made It recently posted…Ruffled Neckline T-shirt RefashionMy Profile

    Reply
  16. Dee @CupcakesandCrowbars

    June 27, 2014 at 1:38 pm

    Beautiful! I have a different stencil from Snap, and have been itching to try it out somewhere. You’ve kicked me in the behind to do it! I can’t wait to see the final results of all your hard work.
    Dee @CupcakesandCrowbars recently posted…Recipe: Herbed Roasted PotatoesMy Profile

    Reply
  17. Steph @ Crafting in the Rain

    June 27, 2014 at 1:43 pm

    That’s a great stencil, and the purple and yellow are perfect together!
    Steph @ Crafting in the Rain recently posted…Pink Grapefruit MeltawaysMy Profile

    Reply
  18. Royal Design Studio

    June 27, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    Such a fun DIY project! Stenciled canvas art makes for fantastic wall decor!

    Reply
  19. laura londergan

    June 27, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    LOVE that radiant orchid color. I am getting ready for a master bedroom makeover & chose this color + steel grey + white. Great minds huh? Hopefully we both can get these rooms done before the end of summer. 😉

    Reply
  20. Heidi @ Happiness is Homemade

    June 27, 2014 at 10:08 pm

    Wow, you’ve been a busy lady! I just showed TaskEasy to my hubby so that maybe I can take back a little bit of our weekend time, too. I’d LOVE to paint instead of mow! 🙂
    Heidi @ Happiness is Homemade recently posted…4th of July Kids Craft: Popsicle Stick Star StreamersMy Profile

    Reply

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I’ve wanted to be an archaeologist, in theatre, a judge, and to run a museum. While I try to decide what I want to be when I grow up, I spend my time crafting and exploring the world. Read More…

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