Reviews

Closet Makeover Part 1: PaintStick Review

March 21, 2013 By Stacy 18 Comments

I get emails asking me to review products a lot. Most I pass on for various reasons. But I got an email the other day that I decided to look in to a little bit more. I watched the videos on HomeRight’s site for their PaintStick and was actually really excited to try it out, so I said yes. After I said yes (I am going to be honest here folks) I worried it was a case of “infomercial hype”. You know, you are watching TV late and see an infomercial and you HAVE to have the pasta maker, juicer or ab roller thingy? But then when it comes you realize it is not all it was cracked up to be?

So I was a little hesitant to use it. I am an old school person and I don’t usually use “gadgets”.

BUT…..

I love it :)

Here is why I said “yes”:

One of the biggest selling points for me was the fact that I would not need a paint tray. I am always paranoid that the paint tray will spill or I will step in it. Any mess I have had while painting was because of a tray. It is also so awkward to try to balance a paint tray on a ladder while painting high.

Also I loved the fact that you waste less paint doing it this way. I hate having to try to get all the extra paint back into the can. If you watch the video you will see how cool it is that you can “spit” the paint back into the can.

They have a paint stick that has a push handle, one that has a twist handle, and they even have a short handle for tight spaces. I used the Easy Twist handled one since it was the longest. SO no matter what project you are doing, it will work for you.

I had a closet that needed a major overhaul. I decided to put the PaintStick to work in there. I put the special top on that they provide. It has a tube. Then you stick the valve onto the tube and pull the handle to fill it with paint. The paint sucks up into the handle so easily as long as you hold the handle high enough. (It helps to watch the videos)

You have to slowly push (or twist) the handle to send the paint to the roller. It takes a bit so be patient. When it first comes out it will be spotty. It will take almost a whole handle-full to get it going. Then I filled it again and really started painting! It was awesome! The coverage was amazing. Part of that is because probably because of the Behr Ultra paint, but a lot is due to how this roller system works. I did ONE coat and then minor touch ups.

You can’t see it in these pictures but my closet is over our stairs so one side goes up in an angle. We have shelves on that side too. So I was worried that painting it would be difficult. But the EZ Twist was long enough to reach the ceiling and waaaay back inside the shelves.

I can’t wait to show you the completed, newly organized, pretty closet. But this is all you get for now :) Doesn’t that color rock? The color is Peacock Blue by Glidden but mixed in Behr Ultra.

Okay, so what is my overall thoughts on the PaintStick now that I am done? Let’s break it down.

PROS:

No paint tray! Less mess :)

It was not as heavy as I thought it would be

It took a lot less time to paint and the coverage was a lot better

It was very easy to use and their site has excellent videos/instructions

CONS:

I normally throw away the roller covers when I am done so the clean up (while easy) was more than what I normally do.

The roller covers are more expensive that a typical cover. You can’t use regular rollers covers. Since the PaintStick needs to feed paint to the roller, there needs to be perforated holes. They sell for $5.97 at Home Depot. But given the amount of time I saved I think I am okay with it. Plus, I washed this one so I will get multiple uses out of it. I may end up evening out since I am not throwing them away as much :)

So this time the product lived up to the hype for me. I am happy I tried it and my husband can’t wait to try it out for himself. He is not old school and LOVES gadgets :)

What do you think? Would you ever try it? Or have you already?

This is a sponsored post on behalf of HomeRight but the thoughts and opinions are all mine baby! See my disclosure for further details.

Filed Under: Painting, Reviews, Tutorials 18 Comments

The Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home

December 7, 2012 By Stacy 12 Comments

I walked into Home Depot the other day and went to pick out some light bulbs. I saw the giant wall of all the different types and was intimidated. I am not a complete idiot, I knew that the twisty ones were better than the regular ones and that LED are the best. But beyond that…. nuttin’. So I decided that if I was a little lost by it all, maybe some of you were too. I took it upon myself to do a little research and figure it all out. And because I found it interesting and learned some cool things, I thought I would share it today.
I know, I know. A post on light bulbs is not ubber exciting and I highly doubt this bugger will go viral. But I think it can help and it is somewhat DIY related. Maybe I should have turned it into a rap…… Anyway, here we go.

(source)

A real quick run down…..

INCANDESCENT BULBS: The standard light bulb that you think of when you you of light bulbs. Pro: They are dirt cheap Con: They consume energy about as fast as I consume potato chips and Utah Truffles on a Friday night. And they get really hot to the touch. They also do not have a long life.

FLUORESCENT: These light are really bright and are typically used in work spaces where you need to see well. Pro: They don’t get as hot as a incandescent and they have a longer life. Con: The light is not very flattering. The are long and straight and are not used in lamps or many other light fixtures.

COMPACT FLUORESCENT: The “twisty” ones :) It is just like its name suggests… compact. They took the long straight fluorescent one and twisted them into a shape that is compact and able to be used in more household light fixtures. Pros: They are 75% more energy efficient than a standard incandescent light bulb and lives up to 9 years longer!!! Cons: Sometimes when you turn on a light they take a sec to turn on. They flicker or slowly get brighter until they are all the way on. Ummm *cough* They are not super attractive. This one is obviously my opinion. But I am not a fan of how they look in light fixtures. BUT I learned during my little research that they now have other looks. We will get to that later in the post :)

LED: The gold standard of light bulbs. They have no filament. They have light emitting diodes. Basically that means they don’t get hot. Okay so there’s a little more to it than that but I figured if you really wanted to know the deets you could google it. Pros: Like I said, they don’t get hot. Which comes in handy if you have little kids and lamps. Or is it only MY kids that touch everything…..? They use the least amount of energy to run out of all the light bulbs. They use 85% less energy than an incandescent light bulb and live 20 years longer. 20 YEARS!!! Dude. They also turn on instantly. They don’t have the flicker problems most Compact Fluorescent bulbs do. Con: They are the best but they also cost the most. But it could be argued than since they save you so much and last so much longer that it SAVES you money. It is an upfront cost you will get back. But it still makes it hard to hand over your card.

I thought That when it came to Compact Fluorescent bulbs that there was only the twisty kind. But I found that they have all sorts of shapes and looks. There are even more than I have pictured here. There are globe, flood, candelabra, oblong, etc. If you look closer you can see the coils on the inside of the ones that look “normal”.

There are lots of options with LED as well. In fact there are more options than the Compact Fluorescent bulbs. I have the one that is yellow. I am not a fan of its look but the company says the reason it is yellow is so it will have a more flattering light. It is meant to mimic the light of the incandescent bulbs.

Things to look for when shopping for a light bulb:

*The Lumen count. The bigger the lumen number the brighter the light.

*The type of light (soft light, bright light, daylight, white light, etc) This it a matter of personal preference.

*The life of the bulb

*The energy cost per year

And finally, some fascinating fact about energy efficient bulbs.

Residential lighting uses 12% of a homes energy use. That is more than the refrigerator, dishwasher, and laundry combined.

Energy Star Christmas lights use 65% less energy than traditional incandescent ones.

By replacing your home’s 5 most used lights you could save $75 per year!

(This information is from The Home Depot’s website. They have a TON of information about all things energy efficient.)

TO SUM IT ALL UP…….

Here is my take on the matter. I have replaced the lamps in my front room with LED because of the fact that they do not get hot (kid safety) and they get used the most out of all our lamps. I will eventually replace all the lamps with LED. I have replaced all my other bulbs with the compact fluorescent. I do have two new light fixtures that are clear. I decided to add clear bulbs to those. They are not as energy efficient but since I changed all the other ones, I figured it was alright.

SO what are your thoughts??? Have you made the switch?

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me for their Celebration
of Service Blog Network. As part of this program, I received compensation
for my time (ie. travel, accommodation). They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about
any product mentioned in these posts. The Home Depot believes that consumers
and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their
own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC
guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Filed Under: Reviews 12 Comments

My Vintage Bathroom gets and UPDATE

September 17, 2012 By Stacy 21 Comments

I have something fun to share about my bathroom but first a little back story…….

(A little sneak peek! Can you guess what the update is?)

A long time ago (alright, 2 years ago) my faucet broke in my bathroom. In order to get it off of the sink we had to take the sink out. Once we took the sink out and got the corroded faucet off the sink clips broke. Because they were SO OLD I found out they no longer made those clips. We bought several other kinds of clips and none of them even came close to working. We had no way to put the sink back on the counter. So we now needed a new sink. But because the sink was SO OLD it was an odd shape. No sink on the market would fit the hole. So then we were faced with needing a whole new counter top. But at the time my husband was unemployed. We didn’t really even have money for a faucet or sink let a lone a counter top!

I wrote a post about my DIY counter top. I made it out of MDF, painted it, and sealed. It worked great for a temporary fix but I knew at some point we would need to get a real counter. It would only last so long.

After two years it was showing wear and tear so I reached out to a local granite company and I was able to pick out a remnant piece of granite. Eeeeeek! Tell me I am not the only one to get this excited over cold hard granite…. and no Twilight jokes, mmmmkay?

MGS By Designs was amazing to work with! I went to their shop in Lindon, Ut and looked through all the slabs of different stone they had available. They had a TON of choices. They also had a lot of remnant pieces to choose from. Picking a remnant is a very cost effective way to get a counter top. I was surprised how quickly we picked out our favorite. Once we saw it we just knew it would be perfect with the colors in our bathroom.

My boys collect rocks and were enthralled with all the different types of stone. We even got a full tour!

The machine that cuts the slabs

Once I picked out my granite and chose the edge, a template guy came and measure. Then was install day (or as I like to call it…. early Christmas).

I wasn’t the only one excited! My boys loved watching :)

Isn’t is so pretty!

I chose the ogee bullnose edge and I LOVE it. It makes it look even more high end.

I want to thank MGS By Design for the beautiful counter top. They were amazing to work with and I HIGHLY recommend them if you live in Utah and are considering getting granite. If you have any questions contact Stephanie [email protected] and she will help you out.

You can visit their site to see galleries of their recent jobs and they also have a blog where they share facts about the stone they use, design inspiration, and current specials.

***I was provided the counter top as compensation for writing this post for which I will love MGS By Designs forever and ever. The thoughts and opinions are all mine, as usual :P

Filed Under: Decorating, Reviews 21 Comments

Celebrating The Entrepreneurial Spirit {Easy Make Bedding}

August 1, 2012 By Stacy 4 Comments

We use to live in Las Vegas, Nevada while my husband was going to school. While we were there we became friends with a fun family. We loved hanging out with them because they had the same values and goals for their young family that we did for ours. And guess what? They have SIX children ages 9 and under!

Danny contacted me a little bit ago to tell me about a new adventure their family is taking on. They have started a business together!

You know that moment when you come up with a genius idea that you know would be awesome and then you never do anything about it? Or is that just me….. I forget about it until I see the late night commercial about the kit you can get to help you patent your invention. Ha! But seriously, I love that Danny and his son came up with an idea and actually made it happen. I am so proud of them!!!

I wanted to take a minute to let you know about their super duper brand new company Easy Make.

Danny and Jen were having a hard time in the morning before school getting their oldest to make his bed. He was struggling to get the sheet and comforter to be straight and it was taking him too much time. They came up with a new bedding system to help little kids be able to easily make their beds themselves. And you all know I LOVE teaching my kids to be self reliant :) I think this is wonderful!!!

Check out how it works!

When I first saw it I had one of those “Why has someone not thought of this before now?” moments.

The bedding sets come in pink and blue.

I would love it if you could check out their site and Facebook page. I know from experience when I started my blog that it is hard to begin something new that you care so much about. There is anticipation to see how it will be received, and you want people to be as excited about it as you are. I love the Jensen family and I hope this adventure is successful for them. If nothing else, they are teaching their children a great lesson about going after your dreams, and trying something hard. I love that :)

Filed Under: Kids Activities, Mom Stuff, Reviews, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Oreck Magnesium Vacuum Giveaway {$500 Value!}

July 30, 2012 By Stacy 246 Comments

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

When I went to Haven, Oreck was a sponsor and had a booth there. I was looking forward to meeting with them because my mom has been a huge Oreck fan for YEARS. Her old Oreck is still going strong after I don’t even know how long.

I got home from Haven and found out that I had won an Oreck Magnesuim vacuum cleaner!!!!!!

If you would have told me when I was a teenager, or even in college, that I would get THIS excited over a vacuum I would have laughed my rear end off. But A) I am a clean freak now and B) I have been using a shop vac as a vacuum for over a year now. Yes, a shop vac. I have been trying to vacuum my whole house with the attachment on my shop vac. And it sucks (pardon the pun :P).

How sexy is this vacuum???

You heard me. Sexy. This ain’t my momma’s vacuum :)

Have you ever seem such a cool design for a vacuum?

Well, it is not all about looks……

This vacuum is the lightest, full powered upright in America. I told my husband that and he said “So, why would that matter.” Clearly he was not impressed with my infomercial-ish introduction I gave him the second he walked in the door from work.

But as soon as he tried it he was sold. He was impressed with how it felt as he vacuumed. And guess what else…..

Dude. This vacuum lays FLAT. It can go under your furniture in a way no other vacuum ever has.

(I am not sure why my pictures are uploading lately with grey lines across them……)

My one concern with this vacuum was that it does not have any attachments. With all the other vacuums I have owned I use the hose a lot to clean along the baseboards.

I swear my kids walk along the edge of the room every time they eat fishy crackers. How else do all those crumbs get there???

Anyway, I was VERY surprised and impressed that it managed to get the crumbs along the baseboards. I don’t know if it is because of the design or the powerful suction, or both. But I did not have to get out my handheld to do the baseboards. I am sure that every now and then I will want to use a hose when I am deep cleaning. But for everyday vacuuming it did wonderful.

I am happy to say that I get to giveaway an Oreck Magnesium vacuum!!! That is a $500.00 value!

The giveaway winner must be a resident of the U.S. 48 contiguous states. Here are the ways you can enter…..
a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Oreck Corporation provided the prize for the sweepstakes but is not the sponsor of the sweepstakes.”

Filed Under: Mom Stuff, Reviews 246 Comments

What in the world is Fish Foam??? {and a cute little video}

July 25, 2012 By Stacy 85 Comments

Alright, in the spirit of honesty I must confess something upfront. I got an email a year ago from the company Fish Foam about doing a review. I ignored it. But in my defense, I get TON of random emails asking for sponsored posts. And I had never heard of Fish Foam and had no idea what it was. I started seeing reviews around blogland and I was curious. And then I got the chance to meet with them at the blog conference Haven. They were so NICE their cleaner seriously rocks. I was hooked (pardon the pun :P ).

I flew to Atalanta for the Haven conference so I was unable to take my can of Fish Foam Cleaner home with me. They sent some to me soon after I got home. I still wasn’t sure I was going to blog about it.

Then something happened.

My 10 year old used it.

You can ask my kids, I am the Chore Nazi. When my 4 boys leave the nest I want them to be self sufficient. I want them to be hard workers. I want them to know how to cook, scrub a toilet, and sew on a button. You get the picture. Anyway, my 10 year old is in charge of the bathroom most days and I deep clean it a couple of times a week.

I struggle with allowing my kids to clean. I am a clean freak/control freak. I want to follow behind them and “fix” everything. And when my son cleaned the mirrors in the bathroom they look worse than they did before. He is old enough to notice and care. He would get frustrated.

When my son used Fish Foam the mirrors looked fabulous! And he felt good about himself because he felt like he was doing a good job.

Here is his video debut. . . . . . . . . ( he may be a tiny bit of a nerd like his momma)

After my experience I was MORE than happy to write a review for Fish Foam. Honestly I think you will love it too. It ammonia free, drip free, and streak free. Oh, and on a side note, my 5 year old is in charge of wiping down the (stainless steel) fridge. Because of the foam, he will write a different letter everyday on the fridge before cleaning. It makes me smile :)

Fish Foam has a deal right now with their 3 packs. It is cheaper than buying individual cans PLUS they have $3.00 off shipping. Oh and P.S. They also have profession window cleaning services in almost every state.

AND………..

Today they are offering to giveaway (2) three packs!!! I love when we get to pick more than one winner!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

****The giveaway is open to people living in the 48 contiguous states due to shipping restrictions.****

Filed Under: Mom Stuff, Reviews 85 Comments

Paint Sprayer Review AND Giveaway!!!

June 13, 2012 By Stacy 271 Comments

I love when I get to try out a new tool and it is even better when I get to give one away. Black and Decker sent me an airless paint sprayer and I went to town with all the things that needed to be primed and painted!

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Black and Decker has several kind of sprayers and after looking through them all I picked the 6.9 GPH 2 Speed Quick Clean Paint Sprayer. And this is the one that I will be giving away as well.

Dude, this was my first time using a paint sprayer and WOW! I have been missing out. I am old school and like brushing paint on but when you have a ton of projects to paint that have been building up over time it was AMAZING to spray and have it done in minutes! I got the sprayer for when we stain our fence. Staining the fence has been a project I have put off and DREADED because we have over 500 feet of it. But now i am actually excited to do it :)

I ended up finding a couple more things to add to the pile. And then I realized after I forgot a few more :P

It has been so windy here that by the time I was able to do it, my husband had started his new job and I didn’t have a photographer to take shot while I sprayed. It was fun :)

Here are my favorite features:

It has 2 different nozzle options.There is a green and a blue one. One is a cone ( more concentrated in one spot) and one is a fan (sprays farther out).

It has an easy fill canister. Lay it on its side, take off the cap, and fill her up! Easy peasy.

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It has a quick clean option for if you are working a long time and the nozzle needs to be cleared out. Just pour in either water or mineral spirits (depending on oil or water based paint) into the top and turn the dial to quick clean. Spray out the cleaner and you are good to continue painting!

(source)

So do you want one???

I am trying out rafflecopter for this giveaway. On Facebook you guys said you liked it and my blogging friends all love it too so here we go! Email me if you have any issues with it. Thanks!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Painting, Power Tools, Projects, Reviews 271 Comments

Novica

June 8, 2012 By Stacy 13 Comments

I was contacted by a company called Novica about trying out their site. I am not going to lie, I almost hit delete. I get a lot of random emails and I thought this was one of them. But I am so glad that I didn’t ignore it and that I emailed them back. You will see why….

All you people who love to create and love to support the handmade will love this!

“Novica works with National Geographic to give talented artisans around the world a place to express their artistic talents and provide access to the world market.” Basically this site give people in other countries the chance to sell their handmade creations and earn money for their families. This is an opportunity they would not have if it were not for Novica. The things they create are STUNNING. I especially fell in love with their jewelry.

I also chose a beautiful vase.

Gorgeous, right???

The vase was hand carved a man named Gulam Rasool from India. It was wrapped up nicely :) And you want to know the best part? He sent a postcard with the order written in his language and in English thanking me for buying his work. How sweet is that!?!

The vase is called ‘Moonlight Jasmine’ and since it has holes it obviously can’t hold water. But I picked up a glass vase at the dollar store and it was a perfect fit!

I also chose a hammock.

We had a hammock last year. A cheaply made hammock. It did not last long I am afraid. But it lasted long enough for me to get addicted to hammocking (totally a word, dear spellcheck). When I was perusing through their site I found they had a HUGE selection of hammocks. Plain and simple all the way to fancy shmancy ones.

We have been enjoying ours for the past 2 weeks and I LOVE it. And let me tell you, if it can handle my four kids and 2 strays, errr I mean neighbor kids, as they swing and twist and flip it around….. it can handle anything!

I encourage you to check out their site and see the amazing things they have available. Like the women’s accessories from Indonesia, the alpaca shawls, furniture, area rugs, painted silk scarves, and home decor accessories.

Filed Under: Decorating, Reviews 13 Comments

Porter Cable Lithium Drill Review and Giveaway!

May 11, 2012 By Stacy 330 Comments

**** THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED ****

I am excited for today’s giveaway!!! I know a lot of women get giddy when they hear a designer’s name like Louis Vuitton ( I totally had to google how to spell that…) But I get all fired up when I hear the name Porter Cable :) Porter Cable is offering one lucky winner a Lithium Drill that comes with 2 batteries, a charger, and a carrying case. That is a $150 value! A drill is one of the MUST have tools.

(source)

Remember my side yard transformation I keep going on about? The one you have only seen the before of and zero sneak peeks? Well, you are getting a tiny one today :) I decided to use my new drill and build a table for my side yard.

This drill is like butter! It is so smooth. I am in love…..

And here is my VERY rustic table for my side yard! You all know I have an affinity for barn wood. And the grey of the barn wood fits in perfectly with the color scheme I have going on with my new space. I built it the same way as I did the side table I have a tutorial for on my sidebar.

So here are the details……..

This drill has amazing features:

All metal 1/2 in. keyless chuck offers excellent bit retention and job site durability

Integral L.E.D. work light provides additional light to work area for greater visibility

2-Speed high torque/high speed gearbox (0-350, 0-1,500 RPM) for increased productivity and for heavy applications

High output motor delivers 424 in/lbs of torque – The power to complete job site applications more efficiently

22 Position clutch allows the user to properly set torque which reduces overdriving and stripping of fasteners

Compact 8.1 ” Drill length easily fits into tight drilling and fastening applications

3.8 lbs with LX battery pack reduces user fatigue during extended periods of use

Contoured handle with over mold provides better fit in user hands and minimizes rubbing and vibration

Low Impedance 1.3 amp/hour Lithium Ion Batteries optimizes drill performance by providing more energy to tool during heavy applications

30 Minute Multi-volt charger quickly charges both Lithium Ion and NiCD batteries to keep the user working

Compatible with Porter-Cable Lithium Ion and NiCD battery packs allows user to use all Porter-Cable 18 volt batteries regardless of chemistry

If you would like to enter to win this drill pack, you can do one or all of the following. PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH THING YOU DO

* Leave a comment telling me why you would love to try the Porter Cable Lithium Drill

* Tweet about this giveaway

* Post about this giveaway on Facebook

Check out Porter Cable’s Facebook page where they post about other giveaways and special deals.

Good luck!!! This giveaway will run until May 18th midnight (MST).

Filed Under: Power Tools, Projects, Reviews 330 Comments

Black And Decker Steam Mop Giveaway!!!!

August 1, 2011 By Stacy 310 Comments

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

I was very excited when Black and Decker contacted me about reviewing their new steam mop. I had been thinking about getting one. The whole “kills 99.9% of germs” thing was very appealing. I told my husband that I was going to be getting one and my 4 year old got SUPER excited. “I’ve seen that on TV!” and then he proceeded to tell me everything about it. Right then and there I KNEW I had to make a video of him and the steam mop.

My sweet little guy is such a clean freak. He has been that way since he was teeny tiny. He can’t stand things left on the floor, cabinet doors left open, or messy counters. He always cleans up after himself too. (I know, I should shut up before you ALL hate me)

So here is my first ever video for my blog and my first ever video that I have edited. So be kind.

Also, he is a soft spoken kid so turn up the volume.

My OCD 4 Year Old and His Steam Mop

Thanks for taking the extra 2 minutes to watch that :) Now for the giveaway!!!

You could win your own Black and Decker Steam Mop with Smart Select!!!

TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment telling me about the biggest mess you have had to clean up.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

*Like Black and Decker on Facebook and then leave a comment here saying you did.

*Follow Black and Decker on Twitter and then leave a comment here saying you did.

*Spread the word about this giveaway by doing one of the following: tweet it, post it on FB, post it on your blog. And then leave a comment saying you did.

And that is it! Easy peasy. I will announce the winner next Monday (August 8th). Thanks and good luck!

Filed Under: Mom Stuff, Reviews 310 Comments