Paint Mixology and a Great Party

Tuesday 24 January 2012

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.

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:

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.

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:

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!