Using Oil Paint as Furniture Stain

A Quick Tutorial on how to Use Oil Paint as a Wood Stain:

1) Gather materials of tubed oil paint, mineral spirits, rags or paper towels, a container for mixing the stain (disposable), a stirring utensil (plastic fork), linseed oil, a little patience and elbow grease;

2) Now squeeze out about a two inch ribbon of paint from the tube and mix it with about a 1/4 cup linseed oil and 1 cup minerals spirits. The mineral spirits will help dissolve the oil and allow the paint to spread more easily.

3) Mix the paint, the oil and the minerals spirits really well. But don't worry if it does not have a thoroughly incorporated texture, because that is where the elbow grease comes in (by rubbing the paint mixture onto the wood);

4) Apply the paint, mineral spirits and linseed oil mixture directly to the wood. In this case, I purchased a table top from the local home improvement center;

5) Allow to dry for a few days as the linseed oil needs to soak into the wood;


6) Apply an acrylic protection over the stained wood - - even a spray acrylic covering works fine. Let the acrylic dry for several hours before final use.

The finished table topper is shown at the left as used on our pato to hold colorful summer annuals.

This particular batch of stain made enough to cover the table top, and to give a spring refreshment of stain and oil to the accompanying patio rocker.

Name to the Moon

Want to learn about the Lunar Reconnaissance Project?

Sign up to send your name to the moon. Names will be collected and placed onboard the LRO spacecraft for its historic mission bringing NASA back to the moon. You will also receive a certificate showcasing your support of the mission.

The deadline is June 27, 2008 for the submission of names.LRO's objectives are to find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology.

Here is what I received as confirmation that I am going to the moon...

Certificate of Participation
This certificate recognizes that Nancy McCarroll has joined the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter "Send Your Name to the Moon" Project
Date: June 15, 2008 Certificate No: 1297879
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is built and managed by NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center for NASA. "Send Your Name to the Moon" is a partnership with NASA, the LRO Project,The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Planetary Society.

Try the Lunar Reconnaissance Project link and add your name!

Corsets or "How to Make Your Own Girdle"

This illustration is from VintagePatterns. The type is in a small font, so you might not be able to clearly read it. The caption says:

"NOT ONLY HAVE I LOST MY SHEEP, THIS CORSET IS KILLING ME."

This picture and caption are too good not to use as a whimsical embroidery piece on a purse or quilt square.

With the advent of Oprah and her endorsement of Spanx, corsets have made a comeback, but in a much more comfortable venue.

The owner and founder of Spanx is Sara Blakely. What a gal. She had a great idea, and produced a successful company making comfy, workable girdles. Blakely even gave back $1 million to the OprahWinfreyLeadershipAcademy in 2007 in appreciation for Oprah's bringing Spanx to public attention back 8 years ago.

Not wanting to take anything away from Sara, I found a less expensive alternative HERE which says:

Starting at $25 a pop, they (Spanx) are a rather pricey solution to an embarrassing problem. But with some scissors, and old pantyhose, you can achieve the Spanx effect without paying the Spanx price!

Basically, you buy a pair of control-top pantyhose, cut off the legs, and you have made your own sized-to-fit corset. Granted, it would not look too attractive when undressing in front of your favorite person, but it could save some dollars.