2 steps forward, 3 steps back

So I thought I was insanely close to finishing the bench - just one more coat and touch up a few spots. That's when the hubby pointed out that I hadn't fine sanded it and I would need to do that if I wanted it to look nice. I tried to pretend like he was wrong. But after looking closely, I realized that it was already getting dusty and the dust sicks in the rough part of the wood.

Now I'm fine sanding it. The good news is that it isn't taking off as much paint as I thought, so I think I'll be able to finish it this week for reals - that is if it will stop raining!! It's just frustrating to think you are almost done and have to redo it!

The good news is that we've made tons of progress on the kitchen. All that is left is to paint the ceiling. I was hoping to finish Saturday, but with all that we had going on (church Halloween party, football game to watch!), it didn't happen. Tonight, we'll be painting while we watch Biggest Loser. Hang up accessories on Wednesday and then it will be time for the big reveal - YEA!

2 coats down, 400 more to go

It's time to share our "after" pictures for The Inspired Room's Procrastinator party!
I took on two projects. (See my "before" post here)

My $7 garage sale find toy bench and painting the kitchen (it has only taken a year since we had a water leak in the ceiling!).

First the bench.

This project was much harder than I thought it would be! Stripping off the yucky paint, then sanding, then using the orbital sander, then sanding some more. Did I mentioned that it has rained in Atlanta for like 2 months straight? (Don't worry, the bench only got rained on 3 times!) But I am pleased to report that I got *most* of the yucky paint off and managed to start painting. I started off with one can of spray paint. Really? I am not sure what I was thinking!! This is the biggest spray painting project I have ever taken on. My trigger finger is starting to hurt!! I managed to get enough paint on to show the color it will be soon. But yea, I have about 400 more coats to do. Luckily it has finally stopped raining, so I am hoping to be done with it this week. Also, I learned that when spray painting red it is best to wear gloves. Otherwise you come out looking like you just killed somebody. :)
Before:During (after stripping the paint):

And currently.Don't worry, I bought more spray paint! I am considering painting some chalkboard paint on the underside of the seat, so when you flip it open, it shows the chalkboard. Or perhaps some black polka dots (little bit's room is decorated with lady bugs) Any thoughts?

The kitchen-
Well, I can't blame it on the rain. I didn't finish this one either. Priming took longer than I thought. But it is all primed and there is paint on the walls!! And I LOVE the color. I want to paint all the ugly flat builder's cream in my other rooms with this new great color!!

Before:

During (the part that is painted). You can see the new color (brown), then the primer (white), ugly flat builder crap (cream). What a difference!! And when it is done, I am going to hang these awesome plates that I got from Goodwill for $.25 each on the same wall in the "before" picture (I took down the elephant plates). They go perfectly with my candy-apple colored dining room!

Though I didn't declare this one, we did finally get shelves up in the attic!! Yea!! Now all my classroom things have a home that we don't have to trip over every time we go in the office!Though we didn't finish, it is great to have made progress, and I am certain that we'll be done by this weekend. Check back! :)

The hard part is done!

I learned how to use the orbital sander and got most of the yucky white paint off of the bench! Now a little hand sanding for the rest and we are ready to paint. I also discovered why the previous owner painted it. There was crayon all over the beautiful maple wood!

Please excuse my messy garage... :)
The seat. If you look closely, you can see the faint traces of pink crayon all over.

Now the question - do I paint it blue or green? I have about 1 1/2 gallons of each. Ellie's room is a very light green, and the green I have is darker. I am thinking that at some point, I would like to paint the bottom of the seat with chalkboard paint, so when she opens it, the chalkboard will be facing her. Any suggestions?

Diaper Cake

Thanks to Google and You Tube, I made a diaper cake for my cute SIL's shower last night. I thought it turned out pretty well. I used 1 1/2 "jumbo" packages of Pampers size 1 diapers (about 60 diapers). I put the extra diapers in a gift bag to give to her. I thought it turned out pretty well!

Homemade Halloween

I made a few things to add to my Halloween decor this year. I have several other crafts started... I'm starting to think they'll be for next year. :)

$1 frame from Michael's, spray painted black. Glue a few chipboard stickers (from the Target dollar spot) and add some paper and another sticker (also from Target) as the "picture.

My husband has this little crockpot that I thought looked like a cauldron. So I added some green foil shreds, eyeball candy, skeleton hands (all from the dollar store!). I think next year I'll add a little sign to the pot. Here's a view from the top.

My favorite, though the picture didn't turn out. Some little orange pails from Target dollar spot (2 for $1) that I used a sharpie to draw faces on. Add some foil shreds that I had left over.

Simple, easy and cheap. I like it!

Progress?

So I made an attempt at stripping the bench today. I put both little ones (my own and the one I babysit) down for naps with full tummies, clean diapers and sleepy eyes. Gruby clothes on, I took the bench and headed outside. An hour later my little one woke up and I had discovered -paint stripping is no easy task. Here's what I learned - for those who haven't done it before (like me!)

• It is never thick enough. Even when you think you have put enough stripper on, it still is probably not enough.
• If you accidentally get some on you, go wash it off quickly. (Not "after I finish this side"). That stuff burns!
  
• When the bottle tells you to "wait till it is dry", um do it. Don't think it is dry enough and try to scrape it off. You just scrape off all the stripper, leaving the paint as is.
• It doesn't dry fast enough (does anything?)
• The jury is still out on whether it is faster/easier than sanding.
• No matter what you are doing, round dowels and small corners will always be a pain.
• Even on "simple" paint jobs (just one coat), you will probably need more than one series applying, drying and scraping.
  
• Instead of focusing on all your screw ups while you are working, think about how you can write a blog post about all you learned.
  

So, I didn't get as much done during naps today as I had hoped, but anything is better than nothing, right?

Procrastinators Party!

The Inspired Room is having a procrastinators party! Everyone has to declare their projects and then report back in 2 weeks to see if we finished them. Since my family blog is private, I decided to start a blog so I can participate. I really have been getting more in to a crafty mood lately, so hopefully this will be a good place to document all the things I have made.

So here is my declaration!

I bought this adorable toy bench in April at a garage sale for $7! So cute, it will be perfect in Little Bit's room. The paint job was horrible - drips and uneven coats. The seat was mismounted, so it didn't close and open properly. The hubby said it would be no problem to fix. I figured a little paint and some screws and it will be good as new.

It sat in my foyer for about 4 months before I removed the seat. Then I started sanding it, but got tired and quit - too many nooks and crannies!

I am refocused, ready to get it done!! I'm going to strip the yucky paint, paint it blue and have DH help me fix the hinge. Then it will be ready for toy storage galore!

Since I am feeling bold, I am going to attempt a second project as well. We had a water leak in our kitchen ceiling last year that created several large holes in our ceiling. After repairing the ceiling and walls (had to cut in to the walls to get the new drywall up), the room was in desperate need of a paint job. We have the paint and the primer, we just haven't gotten around to doing it. But I want to get it done. So we'll add that to my procrastinator's party! It won't take long, we just need to buckle down and do it. Here goes nothin!