Hello Everyone!  I have been very busy these past couple of weeks with end of the school year activities, jury duty, projects around the house and a trip to Maine, just to name a few.  But, I wanted to share one of the projects I completed last weekend.

In preparation for my upcoming kitchen project, I wanted to practice using a paint sprayer on something other than my kitchen cabinets.  Did I mention before that I plan to paint my cabinets myself?  Well, now you know!  So, I decided I would practice on Gavin’s dresser and night stands.  When I started this project I was thinking, “How hard can this be, really?  All I need is a little time and patience!  I’ve totally got this!”  All I have to say now is Hmmph!

Here is what Gavin’s night stand and dresser looked like before…

In preparation for painting I read many, many, many tutorials, blogs and online articles.  In general I followed the advice I found on Young House Love, a favorite blog of mine.

I used Jasco Easy Liquid Sander Deglosser (found at Lowes) on all the surfaces.

Then I filled all the holes from the drawer pulls with wood putty and sanded everything.

After I wiped down all the surfaces with a cloth I sprayed the dresser and night stand frames and drawers with the first coat of paint.  I used Benjamin Moore Advance paint in White Dove.  The folks at the paint store assured me that with this paint I did not need a primer, so I skipped that step.

After I gave the first coat ample time to dry, I sprayed the second coat.  I did NOT do a great job.  Wah, wah, wah.  I had drips on the sides of the dresser and night stands and most of the drawers had thousands of tiny air bubbles that dried into the surface.  So, after that coat dried, I used a fine grit sandpaper, sanded everything and applied a third coat.  Although I avoided drips this time, I still had tiny air bubbles on most of the surfaces.  I again repeated the sanding and painting process without much success.  By this point I had run out of paint and I was pretty frustrated.  This was not how this was supposed to go…I was SO sure that I had an inner professional painter gene just waiting to be unleashed!  I guess I have some more practicing to do.  Oh, and there was this…

I’m still trying to get the paint off my feet!

So, after running out of paint and patience I decided to call this project done.  It is NOT perfect, but it’s good enough…for now.  That inner perfectionist is screaming some pretty choice words right now!  But, here’s the finished product….

So, In the next few weeks I plan to practice some more on other things in my house.  Although Gavin’s dresser is good enough, it is not good enough (in my opinion) for the kitchen cabinets.  I am going to try priming my next project first to see if that makes a difference.  I think I’ll also try adjusting the pressure setting on my sprayer and maybe thinning the paint a little.  Hopefully I get this dialed in so I can attack the kitchen.  I’ll keep you updated!

Hi Everyone!  This weekend I finished another DIY project that was waiting patiently for me in my laundry room (somehow that’s where all my half-completed projects end up, even though I have a designated craft space elsewhere in the house…Don’t ask!!).

A few weeks ago I bought this mail holder at Michaels for half off.I loved the shape of it but didn’t have a need for a mail holder.  I bought it anyway not knowing exactly what I would do with it or where it would go.  That seems to happen a little more frequently than I’d care to admit!  But, as I was dreaming up ways to spruce up my mudroom, inspiration hit!  I decided it would be a perfect plant holder for an empty space I had on the wall of my mudroom.  I hung it up just like it was to live with it a few days and decide how I wanted to alter it.  Even though I liked the blue color, it didn’t exactly fit the vibe I’m going for, which I guess I’d describe as modern farmhouse (is that even a real style???).  So, I decided to “age” it.

First I removed the silver name plates and filled the holes with wood putty.  Then I grabbed my handy dandy palm sander and roughed up the surface a bit.  After that I cleaned it well with a soft white cloth.

Next I raided my ever growing collection of paint samples and half empty paint cans in the basement and came up with three colors; Benjamin Moore Advance paint in White, Benjamin Moore Aura paint in Coachman’s Cape and a Benjamin Moore sample in Calypso Blue.

Once I had my paint I just took a brush and haphazardly brushed the colors onto the holder.  I didn’t try to cover the entire surface, just brushed the colors on here and there, allowing each color to peak through.  This wasn’t a time for precision painting, however I tried to keep all my brushstrokes going in the same direction.  After the paint dried I went over the holder again with my sander to rough up the edges and take off any excess paint that I wasn’t happy with.

And, Voilà!  Here’s the finished product!I really love how it looks with the plants in it!  I’m now looking around the house to see what else could use a little “aging”.  Anything but me…time is taking care of that all by itself!

I still have a few other updates I’m planning for the mudroom, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted with my progress!