If you’ve been painting for any length of time, you know that even after years of experience, it’s easy to fall into little bad habits. These sneaky mistakes may not be a make or break for your door hangers if done once or twice, but over time, they can cause frustration! 

Like the time when I left for vacation and kept my paint brushes sitting in dirty paint water for an entire week. The water had worked its way into the wood handle, making it swell and split, and ended up ruining my favorite brush. Oops!

Like I said, done once or twice, not a big deal. But over time, it can really hinder the creative process! So today, I’m sharing seven bad habits every painter needs to break, coupled with ways to improve your door hangers by breaking each one

Bad Habit #1: Overloading/Underloading Your Brush

With overloading, you don’t want to dunk your brush so deep that paint gets all the way up to the ferrule (the metal part). This can cause a build-up and make your brush harder to clean over time. It will also make painting smooth, even strokes more difficult, too. 

Instead, only load your brush to about half of the bristles. 

With underloading, you don’t want to get so little paint on your brush that you’re just dragging it across your surface without getting good coverage. If the paint isn’t spreading easily or you notice there isn’t enough paint, just redip your brush!

Bad Habit #2: Not Letting Your Layers Dry

I know when you’re excited about your door hanger project, it can be hard to wait to see it all come together. But patience is key! Mainly because a smoothly painted door hanger requires ample dry time in between layers. 

Painting a new layer on top of wet paint can cause colors to muddy and prevent you from achieving crisp lines, no matter what design or pattern you’re going for. 

If you start painting another layer and notice the previous one isn’t dry yet, smooth out the wet paint as best you can, and then dry it completely before adding another layer. Smoothing the paint will even help it dry faster!

Bad Habit #3: Ignoring Brush Care

Just like I accidentally did while out on vacation, leaving your brushes sitting in water can ruin them. Even just a little bit of water can tear up the wooden handles, causing them to swell, crack, and chip.

To avoid this, rinse your brushes thoroughly under running water as soon as you’re done painting. Soaking them in water isn’t enough — you need to rinse all the resins out of the bristles. 

If you notice some build-up, you can also do a deep clean with a special brush soap like Jack’s Studio Soap. You can also use a lice comb to break up those clumps way up in the bristles (unconventional, I know, but it works!). 

Bad Habit #4: Skipping the Base Coat

The base coat can make a big difference in how your final result turns out.  A base coat will help you achieve more even coverage and save time, especially with lighter colors or tricky colors like red (try a gray undercoat!) and metallics (try a similar solid color underneath). 

Bad Habit #5: Being Too Hard on Yourself

We can really be our own worst critics! I even pick apart my projects sometimes, but you have to remember…it’s just paint! Don’t get discouraged by imperfections. Every project is a learning experience. 

If you accidentally get paint where it shouldn’t be, you can usually clean it up with a baby wipe or a wet brush if the paint is still wet. If you really don’t like something, you can paint over it or touch it up. You might need to lightly sand if there are a lot of brushstrokes.

But in the end, it’s just paint. You can learn from your experiences and move forward!

Bad Habit #6: Stopping Before You Add the Finishing Touches

Adding in the extra details, like glitter, paint pen outlines, or even 3D embellishments, can really make your piece feel complete and more personal. I love adding foil elements and using paint pens for outlines. 

Little details and lines can even help distract from imperfections, and it’s a great chance to get extra creative with your project!

Bad Habit #7: Letting Fear Hold You Back

This is the most important one. If you’ve been wanting to try painting but have been too afraid to start, now is the time to take the leap! Don’t let fear hold you back. We all start somewhere. 

Even starting with a small, inexpensive project from a place like Dollar Tree can be incredibly fulfilling. Don’t worry about it being perfect; just trust the process. The more you paint, the more confident and skilled you’ll become.

Put Your Newfound Skills to Work and Come Get Crafty With Me!

Now that you’ve learned a few new tricks of the trade, it’s time to put that knowledge to work! Come get creative with me at my upcoming Highland Cow Door Hanger Workshop.

We’ll be painting the adorable design you see above! And when you sign up, you’ll get access to the printable template, supply list, and access to our private Facebook group. 

If you’re interested in joining, follow me here to learn more!