Paint

1. Buy white emulsion as you can use this to mix up with your acrylic paint, to make lots of different shades, at half the price.

2. Flies stuck on newly painted surfaces .
Don’t try and pick the flies out of the wet paint. Leave the paint to dry overnight and the flies can be wiped away with a damp cloth next day often without any trace.

3. After you’ve used all that glitter on your Christmas cards, don’t just put it back into the drawer until next year, mix it in with clear varnish and paint over sections in your mural, all of a sudden seahorses sparkle and there’s a milky way in your space scene.

4. To save re-plastering a room, paint over the existing wallpaper in white or cream paint. If it’s still up the next day, then you can just paint your mural right over the top.

5. Store your pots of paint upside down. This ensure’s the. ‘skin’, forms at the top of the paint, so when you turn it over to use the, ‘skin’ is now at the bottom of the paint pot. This storage will ensure that you can use your paint over and over again without it drying out or spoiling.

6. To keep paint only on the desired surfaces, use masking tape to cover woodwork or hardware. There are many brands designed for delicate surfaces such as wallpaper and drywall. They feature a low-tack adhesive to allow easy removal without damaging the surface.

7. Need a stone effect look for your Magic castle theme? Mix stone coloured paint, sand and paper glue together then paint on. Instant stone effect complete.

8. Wash out and keep old baby food jars, then when you paint your room put a small amount of the paint into the jar and label it. This will help you to remember your shade of paint if you need to buy more at a later date.

Also if you need to do a quick touch-up, you’ll have the exact colour available so saving money on buying expensive tester pots.

9. To avoid having to wash out paint trays after use, place tray inside a plastic bag before pouring in the paint. When the job is finished simply remove the plastic bag and discard. The tray is ready for next time.

10. Pizza Boxes make great spatter-enclosures when you are spray- or brush-painting small objects.

11. Remove the ball applicator from a roll-on deodorant bottle. Refill the bottle with paint, and replace the ball applicator for easy roll-on painting. Great if your painting straight lines.

12. When filling the cracks in walls before painting, mix the filler with some of the paint that you are going to use. Then the repairs will dry out the same colour as the wall, and after a second coat will become invisible

13. When painting a ceiling, paint drips down the handle of your paint brush can be a problem. As a quick remedy, cut a slit in the centre of a large bath sponge and push the paint brush handle through it all the way to the top. Problem solved, as the sponge will now soak up the drips.

14. Before painting a door, rub a little petroleum jelly on the hinges and handles. This makes it easy to wipe off paint splashes. Do the same around window panes when painting frames.

15. To remove the smell of paint from a newly decorated room, cut an onion in half and leave in the room. The smell will disappear.

16. If you get hair’s or other bits of dust in your paint whilst painting, dab them out with putty

17. When chosing paint for a mural, buy the Dulux tester pots at only £1.90 each from a DIY shop – these are much larger than a standard tester pot and can be mixed to a selection of different shades to match your desired picture

Paint Effects

1. Add a splash of colour to your child’s room by painting large brightly coloured circles on the wall/ceiling using inexpensive tester pots. Take a pencil and attach a piece of string. Put a tack in the wall to mark the centre of your circle. Attach the string to the tack then extend. Next draw your perfect circle and fill in with paint. You could even paint circles within circles

2. If you are painting with a coloured oil based gloss and need a matching under-coat then use white oil based under-coat and mix with a cup of your coloured gloss.

Brushes

1. If you get a bristle in your paintwork don’t try to pick it out with your fingers. Turn the brush and gently pick up the bristle with the very edge of the brush. Even very small bits of hair and bristle can be picked up this way.

2. Old Make Up brushes are great to use for painting all those fiddly bits.

3. If your paint brushes have hardened, simmer in full-strength Vinegar and remove the softened paint with a wire comb or brush. After cleaning your paint brush, a few drops of oil worked into the bristles will leave the brush soft and ready to use.

Fabric

1. If you have old material left over, don’t throw it away, buy fabric dye’s and dye the fabric to match your room. These are easily available and can be used in your washing machine.

2. Keep old pieces of fabric such as felt, velvet and even brightly coloured clothes. Then cut into squares and sew together to make a cheerful, fun bed throw. Or buy low priced white bedlinen then cut out shapes or letters from your remnants and attach to make a cool individual bedspread, for half the price.

3. Keep old ribbon or fabric bows. Then glue, in pretty patterns, to the bottom of your curtains or blinds, for a quick and simple make-over.

Carpet

Splash out on some bright hardwearing carpet in a colour to match your room. Cut circles and squares out of the carpet and fit the holes with bright contrasting colours.

Accessorise

1. Keep old CD’s that you either don’t use or those that are sent through the post. Get some CD Labels, stick them onto the CD. Then decorate the CD label with fun stickers available at stationers. Once your happy with your design, paint over with a coat of clear varnish to seal and water proof your mats.Now you have fun, easy and cost effective coasters or place mats for your room.

2. For a brilliant and individual border to brighten up any nature/garden or outdoor theme use skeleton leaves as a border to finish off your room. Skeleton leaves are available in packs of 12 from any good Art shop.

3. Take your skeleton leaves, brush PVA glue on the back, then stick in a random line around the room. A quick, simple and cost effective border.

4. Don’t throw out old shelves, give them a brand new look in two easy steps. Lightly sand then take a can of Plasti-Kote spray paint and spray the shelves a new colour. Choose an enamel, vinyl, fluorescent or metallic look for brand new shelves at a fraction of the price.

5. Brightly painted Bulldog clips hung on the wall make a great and inexpensive way to display your little one’s art work.

6. Recycle an old picture frame with bright coloured buttons glued over the entire frame. You can spray paint the frame first, and then hot glue buttons randomly. Use old buttons from the clothes your little one has out-grown.

7. Don’t throw out old CD cases as they can make great photo frames. Why not decorate them to match your theme, stick on pretty ribbon bows or buttons or how about felt circles or shells. You could even use glass paint to paint on your very own design.

8. Jazz up a plain paper lampshade, by decorating it with cars. Just buy the stamps of your choice and ink from any Art shop, then apply randomly by hand to the shade.

9. Jazz up the edge of a wooden shelf by adding decorative beading or trims using a hot glue gun. Give your shelf any look you want—a pretty ribbon, sequins and glitter, an elegant look, etc. Hang the shelf on the wall then add accessories.

10. Don’t throw out old babies booties. Instead, for cool curtain tie’s, buy some pretty ribbon to match the room decor. Then take your booties and brush lightly to clean them. Then make a small hole in the center of the heel of each shoe and thread the ribbon through. tie a small knot to secure.

11. For pretty curtain tie backs, hunt out some old costume jewelry bracelets and necklaces, look especially for glass or sparkly pieces. Make sure the clasps are working and attach around your daughter’s bedroom curtains for that individual & eclectic look.

Furniture

Sand down your wardrobes and other bedroom furniture. Paint with two coates of white paint, then stencil on your design to match your theme.

Storage

1. Hang decorative baskets from hooks to provide extra storage.

2. Take a large yellow rubber inflatable ring, like the one’s you take to the sea-side and blow it up. Then fill the ring with all those soft balls you have lying around. Viola you have a great ball diving game plus bright storage combined

3. Hang bright daisy painted flower boxes on the inside of each window. You can fill these with stuffed animals and lots of other toys, to make a great storage solution.

4. Wicker or cane linen baskets make a great toy storage solution. Why not spray paint the baskets in bright colours, using one colour for the base and another for the lid and then reverse the colours on another basket.

5. This is a great idea for a bit of extra toy storage which doubles as a display. Take a transparent plastic shoe holder and hang it from the wall using bright hooks, fill with toys, your done.

6. To make a bright and cost effective children’s coat, towel or bag hook take a wooden garden trellis, easily available at any garden shop. Cut the trellis to the required size, then sand, prime and paint the trellis in the colour of your choice. To make the hooks screw in some fancy drawer knobs, finally hang.

Other

1. Use toothpaste to fill small nail holes in your wall.

2. Buy a tub of PVA glue, this glue is great to use in all areas of your home, it’s cheap and best of all it dries clear so no need to worry if you go over edges as no one will ever know.

3. When painting new plaster, or similar porous surface, paint on a solution of water mixed with PVA glue first. This will seal the surface and stop the paint from soaking into the plaster, thereby making it go a lot further and giving a much better finish.

4. Screws go in much easier if you first screw them into a bar of soap

5. Need to fill cracks in your wall with Filler? Place filler in an icing syringe and fill.

6. Cleaning Hands After Applying Oil Based Paint. Use washing up liquid and sugar under running water.

7. To remove a picture rail without disturbing too much plaster, run a large hacksaw blade between wall and rail to dislodge it.

8. To make a fun border with no painting, cut out the large elements from a patterned children’s wallpaper or border and paste them creatively on the walls of your room.