Five uses for spray paint

Rust-Oleum has a product it's calling Universal -- with good reason. It's a spray paint that works on just about any item, inside or outside the home, including things made of plastic, metal, wicker and glass -- in most cases without a primer.

Colors include eight glossies, two satins (black, white), a flat black, silver and gold metallics and three hammered hues (black, brown, silver).

Find it at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace and other stores, at prices ranging from $6 to $9 a can, depending on promotion.

And get going:

-- Paint old ceramic or plaster planters Canary Yellow.

-- Give plastic patio furniture some zip -- Cardinal Red, maybe, or a rich Espresso Brown.

-- Paint the shelves on a bookcase in a kid's room -- Hunter Green, perhaps, or shining Titanium Silver.

-- Unify a wall of family photos by painting all the frames the same color.

-- Freshen up any garage-sale or flea-market find: stemware, accent tables, lamp shades, plastic trash cans, metal or wooden chairs, even track lighting.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)