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!