Saturday, July 23, 2011

Busy, busy

Good Saturday, everybody! Hope all is well since the last time we were all together. I have been busy, busy since I checked in the last time. Still trying to get projects finished and rooms put back together. I think once kids get back to school (4 more weeks!!!!) things will be much easier and go much faster. The kids have so much stuff that I didn't want to put back in their rooms, that I decided to have a yard sale today so I could get rid of some of their things and also make some money to help pay for all my projects I am wanting to do. It was kind of stressful. My oldest is handicapped and a "wrong" box was put out with yard sale stuff and as it was getting unpacked, she was having a fit. As fast as I was setting things onto the table, she was pulling them off and packing them in the house telling me "Those are my movies and games you are not selling them." Next time, I'll do a yard sale when the kids are with their dad for the weekend. Anyway, it turned out pretty well and was a little successful.

The other day I posted about a project I had just finished and how I was going to share some easier ways to do somethings. So, I will be sharing that project with you today. Can I just say that, so far, it has been the most difficult project I have done. Not, because it was hard, but mostly because it wasn't working the way I wanted it too. 


                                              Before


I had this toy-box/bench that I have been hauling around for about 15 years. It is made from pine and I had never painted it. So, the other day I was trying to decide if I was going to clean it up and put it with the yard sale, take it to the local thrift store, or just what. I was kind of being board and wanting something to do. So, I took the toy box out to the carport and started working on it. 

So, I sanded it down. Not by hand this time. I borrowed my dad's electric sander (I really need to get me one). I Just sanded enough to get the crayon and dirt off of it so that the primer would stick to it.


                                       Ryobi electric sander- I used 100 grit



After sanding, I wiped her all down with a damp cloth to get all the dust off of her. I then primed her all good. 

                                       All primed & ready for paint

I was having a hard time trying to decide what color she needed to be and I really didn't want to spend a lot of money on paint when I already had some at home. ShaneyLou wanted her yellow. But, I wasn't sure that is what I wanted. So, after a day or two looking at colors I had at home, and seeing how well they would work in the girls' bedroom. I decided that I would have to go and buy some more paint. Back to Wal-Mart I went. I found this really pretty green that I really fell in love with and decided that it would be the one. I is Krylon Pistachio. So, I gave her a couple of good coats of that.

The next step is where I started having my problems and was just about ready to give up and just get rid of her. She was being a very big pain in my patooty. Anyway, I taped the front and the back of her so that I could paint the hearts, because I wanted them a different color. So, I taped everything up really good (so I thought) and used Krylon Almond to (spray) paint the hearts on the back, sides, and also the bottom one on the front. When I took the tape off, some of the paint had run under the tape and onto the Pistachio. After the paint had dried (about 6 hours), I re-taped the hearts, sanded where the Almond paint had run, and then painted the Pistachio again. After going back and forth like that for 2 days, I was really getting upset with the whole thing. I know it shouldn't have been that hard to do, I just needed to figure out the way to make it work. I finally taped (really, really good) everything that was Pistachio, then I got out some paint that I had gotten from the hardware store to do the walls in my hallway (sorry I don't know the color), it is kind of an almond color also. Then I got a small foam brush that I had and brushed the paint onto the hearts (instead of spray). That seemed to work much better. Yay!
                                            After

Isn't she the cutest thing you have every seen? Even though she gave me so much trouble, I really do love her! After she got all dried, I put a couple of coats of clear coat on her to protect her. I don't like the spray on clear coats, I like the brush on much better, except for the brush strokes the brush leaves. So, that leads me to my next problem solver. I love these cheap little throw away  "hand painters," they work very well with the clear coating.


Well, there you have it. My newest completed project.



                                           Once again, Before

                                             and After
                                       
I have a "matching" piece I am going to start working on tomorrow.
Hope you enjoyed the visit and you come back soon.
Until then, have a great day!                                      

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