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Dulux Paint Silk
by broxi3781
For years I have argued with my husband that with paint - you do get what you pay for. Better paints give better coverage, and last longer. But being female, I couldn't possibly know - despite the fact that I did as much painting as he did in our early years together. He always insisted on using the cheapest paint he could find - and he ... usually ended up with several coats.
However, when the time came to repaint my son's room last year, even he was dreading the number he would end up having to go over the walls. When my son was very little, he loved Pingu. So we had painted the top half of his walls with huge Pingu murals. Obviously, Pingu is mostly black, but we hadn't been able to find any black silk emulsion, so we had used black gloss paint. We knew it would be a nightmare to paint over - but it seemed like a long time away at the time. In all honesty, I'd have been happy to keep Pingu up forever, but by age 7 - my sons was far too old for Pingu and Pingu had to go.
I was able to find some Dulux at the time on special offer so it was only slightly more expensive than our usual B & Q paints. We bought 2 buckets each of Putting Green and Cookie Dough. Each bucket was 2.5 litres. We bought so much paint because we expected to have to go over the walls several times, and we were using the paint for other items in the room as well and to create a camouflage pattern for the border.
Now my husband has a theory that by going to great lengths to get as thin a coat of paint possible it will save money in the long run - despite the fact that he usually needs at least 4 coats to cover anything. Apparently he did use slightly more paint with this, as he said it brushed on so smoothly and easily, with no drips and very little effort. But we were still shocked that after one coat - the Pingu murals were almost invisible. Only by getting a very bright light and the angle just right could you barely make out even the slightest difference where the gloss paint lay underneath, and this was more a difference of texture than colour. He decided on a second quick coat anyway and it would not be impossible to guess where the Pingus have been covered up. In addition, after a year with two little boys playing in the room, plenty of black footprints and various other messes scrubbed from the walls - they still look like they were painted yesterday. I've found marks wipe of easily and this paint is incredibly durable.
After having painting my sons room and furniture -- we found we had used less than one bucket of both colours - so it seems I will soon be having my room painted in military colours as well! Seeing how easy it was to use these paints, my husband ran out and bought more paints for other rooms in the house as well. He said this made painting so easy - he might as well do everything - but it has taken him a year to get to the next room. Our living room walls are in pretty rough shape under the paper, as the house was empty for many years before we moved in. The existing paper had been painted over too many times as well, so we ( or more accurately he as I did nothing) re papered the wall with a thick very absorbent textured paper which is meant to be painted over. Again - we really could have made do with one coat despite the fact that this paper drank paint, but he ended up putting on two.
I'm completely sold on Dulux now. It takes my husband less than half the time other paints took and the finish really does look different. It looks thicker, smoother and more luxurious. But I don't even feel that we would be spending more money on this paint, even if we did buy the paint at full price. I feel that because this paint goes further, it saves money, and I have every reason to believe it will last much longer. We have never had paint look so fresh after a full year, and the fact that it is very easy to wash should make it last longer as well. I can't tell you how many times I have washed the paint off a wall trying to clean mold, dirt or general stains away. Of course being the skin flint that I am, I will still make every effort to look for a sale before buying this, but I do feel even at full price, this is still good value for money. In fact I feel that because this requires less paint and lasts longer it will worker out better value for money than the cheaper paint we had been using.
Dulux usually sells for £19.99 for 2.5 litres. By contrast, B & Q Paints are only £13.99 but my bedroom took 3 - 4 coats of B & Q paint the last time it was painted depending on whether it was covering an almost identical colour or a darker one, and was already showing serious signs of wear after 1 year. Our hallway was painted 3 years ago and is an absolutely horrible condition. I believe if we had used Dulux the first time, neither would need repainting now.
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Card Factory Balloon Weight
by butterflywings
Product: Balloon Weight
From: Card Factory
Price: 49p
I bought my fiancé some helium balloons for his birthday so wanted a balloon weight which would hold them all down.
I was browsing in my local towns Card Factory shop one afternoon when I came across their Balloon Weights ... priced at just 49p each. The Balloon Weights are available in the following colours; Red, Gold, Purple, Pink, Silver and Blue.
A balloon weight is used to keep the balloon kept securely in place without it wondering around or floating up to the ceiling.
I chose the Blue Balloon Weight as I thought this was the one most appropriate for my fiancé, a very man-like colour plus it was of a gorgeous metallic blue colour the exact same one as pictured above.
The beautiful blue shiny foil is wrapped securely around the weight and is tied with a matching blue curled ribbon. There is a discreet small plastic tag with a small hole punch which allows you to thread the string from the balloon through and then simply tie.
These are lovely, really effective and they look fabulous when attached to the balloons.
These can be perfect for any occasion; birthdays, weddings, christenings and all different kinds of parties. What is better is that they are extremely purse friendly therefore suitable for all budgets and will hopefully have a colour to suit everyone.
I for one will definitely be re-purchasing these again.
Dooyoo Star Rating: 5/5.
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