Linen and Twigs

Hello Friends and welcome to the first edition of Tips, Tricks and Reviews. As a diy’er, I’m always on the lookout for new products, tips and techniques that will make my projects go smoother and turn out better. I would like to share these with you as I discover them.

The first of this series will be about painting. As a little back story, my husband and I decided that we were going to paint our stairwell going up the stairs to our second story. When I say “we” decided, I actually mean “I” decided. My husband would have been just as happy to leave it the color it was…the color that we (I) decided on seventeen years ago. (I know…gasp.) Now my husband will be the first one to tell you that he does not like painting…not even a little bit. I will be the first one to tell you that I do not like heights…not even a little bit. This made for a bad combination and a recipe to put off this project for far too long. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have heard that we are expecting our first grand baby in June. I am over the moon about this little one and everything that goes along with it…including the baby shower that we are going to have at our house…so you can understand why we needed to finish painting our hallway.

While gathering my supplies, I found a couple of new products that made this job so much more convenient. First up is a really good paintbrush.

I can’t recommend enough the importance of a good quality paintbrush. I really like Purdy brushes. I especially recommend an angled brush to paint up close to the trim. They have them in several sizes. I recommend finding one that fits nicely in your hand. If you clean it well after each use, it will last you a long time and be worth paying a little more for.

Second up is this rubber paint can lid.

In the past I wouldn’t have even thought this was important but this has been a game changer. You simply remove the metal lid that comes on the paint can and replace it with the rubber lid.

It has a spout with a cover that makes it easy to fill your paint pan or container without the paint dripping all over and oozing into the paint can rim. When you’re done painting, the spout pushes down and the cover goes back over the spout. It’s then ready to store for future use. No more rusty paint can lids! Also, when you’re done using the lid on one paint can, the paint just peels right off once it has dried and can be used again. (As a side note, hang on to your original paint can lid where they put the paint color sticker on it for future reference in the event that you need get another can mixed.)

Third up is a disposable paint pan liner.

I love these things. By the time you are done climbing up and down a ladder a million times, the last thing you feel like doing is cleaning up your supplies. This makes it so much easier and they’re very cost efficient. It’s also nice to start with a clean paint pan every time.

Fourth up was life changing.

I just discovered this one on our last project. It’s this handy container that has a handle that fits over the side of your hand.

In the past, I had a container that I used as I was trimming out the wall but it didn’t have a handle on it. By the end of the day, I wouldn’t even be able to open my hand from grasping it for several hours.

This one also has a magnet on the side of it that your paintbrush sticks to when you’re not using it.

It also helps when you’re climbing up and down a ladder to have the container resting on your hand and holding your brush. Where has this been my whole life? And, it’s made of the same material that paint can lid is so you just let the paint dry inside of the container when you’re done and peel it off. It’s the best!!!

I hope these tips, tricks and reviews have helped you. This is not a sponsored post so all opinions are my own. I will share how the painting project itself turned out a little later. Spoiler alert…we didn’t fall off the ladders and we are still married so it went rather well. Haha

Thanks for stopping in! If you have any tips, tricks or reviews regarding painting, please let me know! I would love to hear about them!

Love,