Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Paint Mixology and a Great Party

This topic is probably old hat to some of you seasoned furniture painters, but it's a good one that I thought everyone could benefit from.

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A lot of bloggers have been talking about "using what they have" as far as supplies. I, for one, am one of those people that can't walk away from the "oops" or "mistint" paint section without purchasing something...whether I need it or not. What I end up with is this:
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Lots of paint, but only a few colors that I LOVE...and most of those are colors I paid full price for anyway.

So yesterday as I was working on this huge buffet, I decided I didn't love the color I had on this piece. It was too dark for the look I was going for.
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I needed something much lighter, but I wanted gray-ish...and I wanted it cheap. So I hit the mistint section at a local hardware. I found a quart that was kinda gray and the guy was super helpful and said he'd add black to it to make it more gray. For $2, I went with it. What we ended up with was this:
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It's a great color...just not what I was looking for. So I Googled "how to make gray paint" and I found a very helpful site and not just for gray...for mixing any color! For example, to make pink, my guess would've been mix red + white, right? Nope! Dark magenta and white. Who knew? Maybe most people knew this, but I didn't. So below, I've pasted the info and also given you the URL so you can pin it or bookmark it. And the next time you want a certain color, maybe you can use what you have to make your own.
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Here's how to make bright colors (You need bright colors to make bright colors, so make sure your paints are not light, dark, or muted colors).

Magenta (fuchsia, rose, bright pink): Magenta can't be mixed from other colors. You will have to buy it.Red: Add a small amount of yellow or orange to magenta.
Orange, Schoolbus Yellow: Mix yellow with magenta or red.
Yellow: Yellow can't be mixed from other colors. You will have to buy it.
Lime Green, Chartreuse: Add a small amount of green or turquoise blue (cyan) to yellow.
Green: Mix turquoise blue (cyan) and yellow.
Teal Green: Mix turquoise blue (cyan) with a small amount of yellow or green.
Cyan (turquoise blue): Cyan can't be mixed from other colors. You will have to buy it.
Blue: Add a small amount of purple or magenta to turquoise blue (cyan).
Violet-Blue: Mix magenta with cyan or blue.
Purple: Mix magenta with a small amount of cyan, blue, or violet.

Here's how to make light colors (tints, pastels). Adding white lightens colors.

Pink: Add a small amount of magenta to white.
Salmon pink, coral: Add a small amount of red to white. More red for coral.
Peach: Add a small amount of orange to white.
Cream (ecru, off-white): Add a small amount of yellow to white.
Mint Green: Add a small amount of green to white.Aqua: Add a small amount of teal green to white.
Sky Blue: Add a small amount of turquoise blue (cyan) to white.
Light Blue: Add a small amount of blue to white.
Lavender: Add a small amount of violet to white.
Orchid : Add a small amount of purple to white.

Here's how to make dark colors (shades). Adding the opposite color on an accurate CMY/RGB color wheel will darken a color. Or just add black.

Dark Magenta: Add a small amount of green or black to magenta.
Dark Red: Add a small amount of turquoise blue (cyan) or black to red.
Brown (dark orange): Add a small amount of blue or black to orange. Or mix red and green.
Olive Green (dark yellow): Add a small amount of violet-blue or black to yellow.
Dark Green: Add a small amount of magenta or black to green.
Dark Turquoise: Add a small amount of red or black to turquoise blue (cyan).
Dark Blue: Add a small amount of orange or black to blue.
Dark Violet-Blue: Add a small amount of yellow or black to violet-blue.
Dark Purple: Add a small amount of lime green or black to purple.

Here's how to make muted, or grayish colors. Adding both white and black (or the opposite color) will give you a grayish tone.

Muted Magenta: Add both white and green (or black) to magenta.
Muted Red: Add both white and turquoise blue (cyan) (or black) to red.
Light Brown (dull orange): Add both white and blue (or black) to orange.
Light Olive (dull yellow): Add both white and violet-blue (or black) to yellow.
Gray-Green: Add both white and magenta (or black) to green.
Gray-Turquoise: Add both white and red (or black) to turquoise blue (cyan).
Gray-Blue: Add both white and orange (or black) to blue.
Grayish Violet-Blue: Add both white and yellow (or black) to violet-blue.
Muted Purple: Add both white and lime green (or black) to purple.




And the website is this http://www.wikihow.com/Mix-Colors



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You'll have to wait until the buffet is finished before I show you the color I created today...it's not exactly gray, but I'm pretty happy with it.



And if you haven't heard, WhisperWood Cottage is having a "First Project of 2012" party. You can win fabulous prizes...so hop over and link up!





~Allison



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15 comments:

The Midwest Cottage said...

Very good post. Thanks for all the information. I too am a mistint lady. I have about 50 cans of paint in my garage. I only buy certain brands though!

thecriminallyexpensive said...

This is really informative. I am myself a mistint and oops addict and there are quite a few colors that I was wondering how to alter a bit so this post really helped me a ton!

xx
Krissie

http://thecriminallyexpensive.blogspot.com

Full Circle Creations said...

Very informative. Most of the time I mix my own paint color from what I have on hand. But then I took EVERY art class that I could in school. But it's nice to see it all spelled out.
Holly

Cassie Bustamante said...

these are awesome tips! thanks, friend!

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

Oh what fun! I love mixing colors together! I usually find a way to use every last drop of paint in a can! And without totally taking over the garage, I need to sometimes use what I have before I buy more!

Lisa said...

Superb information my dear! Thank you for sharing this. My oops paint shelf will thank you for it :)

Courtney ~ French Country Cottage said...

Great post- Thank you for sharing at Feathered Nest Friday!

Vicky @ Mess For Less said...

This is a great tutorial on making your own colors. Thanks, I am sure this will come in handy. I am a new follower visiting from Ginger Snap Crafts. Vicky from Mess For Less

WhyCuzICan said...

Great tips, as always! :)

Visiting from Crafty, Happy, Scrappy linky party :) Thanks for sharing with us!
~Smiles, Suzanne in NW Illinois

Ruth said...

Great post for all the great colors we want. Thanks for sharing.
Ruth

Sondra said...

Great post with info I can really use.

Sondra @ Rosemarythyme.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Great find, and super useful post. This will save me more times than you know! Much appreciated!

The mum of all trades said...

I love this! I would love if you would link this to my blog party this weekend. Hope you can join in!

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

wow! very helpful! I know nothing about getting paint colors to blend. :)
thanks for sharing this info!
gail

Is said...

Hi Allison, stopping by form Crafty, Scrappy, Happy me link party. That it's soo useful! I'm always wondering what can I do to get the colors I want, I knew the usual ones but here we have them all! Thanks for sharing
Greetings from Spain