A coat of fresh paint when skillfully applied can transform an ordinary object into a customized piece of art for your home. It's so easy to pick up used pieces of furniture and other items at garage sales for almost nothing and paint them to suit the color scheme of your home. If you want your handpainted items to be even more distinctive, why not create interesting textures and paint effects on the objects you redo? This can elevate them from simple home décor to unique pieces of art. Here are some ways to create custom paint effects on furniture, vases, cans, paper, boxes, or anything else you care to decorate:

Use a Sponge

To add interesting texture and interest to an object, paint it with a base coat of paint. Allow it to dry. Purchase a natural sea sponge at your local craft store. Dampen the sea sponge with water and remove any excess so that the sponge is only slightly damp. Dip the sponge into a color and dab it randomly on the surface of the object to create an abstract design. For even more depth and interest, sponge paint with several different colors. You apply sponge décor to a variety of objects, even the walls of your home.

Doily Designs

Another way to achieve an interesting effect on objects ranging from wooden boxes to paper is to spray paint using a doily to block out certain areas to create an abstract effect. To do this, place your doilies on the objects to be painted. You'll want to anchor them down so they don't move from the air flow created by the spray paint. Once they're in place, lightly spray paint around the doilies. Allow the paint to dry for five minutes and remove the doilies. You'll have a totally unique, one-of-kind design on your object. For a more complex design, you can change colors, reapply the doilies in a different area and add another layer of paint. This is a fun way to decorate paper for a variety of projects. Be sure to use spray paint only in areas with good ventilation.

Combing

This technique work nicely on wooden boxes and picture frames. First purchase a large comb at your local hardware store. Give the object to be decorated a base coat of paint. Allow it to dry before proceeding. When the basecoat is dry, apply a color glaze in a contrasting color. Drag your comb through the wet glaze to create wavy lines. Allow the glaze to dry before handling.

Crackled Finish

Do you like furniture with an aged, weathered look? This look can be quickly and easily achieved by giving the objects a crackled finish. To do this, purchase crackle medium from your local craft store. First apply a suitable base coat to the object in the color of your choice. Once this is dry, apply the crackle medium to the painted surface. Allow it to dry overnight and follow up by applying a top coat. When the top coat is dry, your object should have a weathered appearance with subtle cracks which allow the underlying base color to show through.

Don't forget that you can combine these techniques on a single object to give even more interesting and varied custom paint effects. Have fun experimenting!