Lately I've been taking steps to update areas around the house and while it is still VERY far from perfect, there are a few things which have come to excite me. Namely, finished projects. Like a nicely decorated mantle over the fireplace. Like a couple spray painted lamps. Each and every time I peak at these little creations of mine, I grow excited!!! I feel so accomplished! (The IDEA of finished projects is quite exciting too, even if they haven't been started yet.) haha
Recently, my days have been a haze of shopping for different cabinet stains and paints (hoping to redo the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room cabinets), varnish deglossers, grout stain (yes indeed! make that white grout white again, or tint any other color - sooo much easier then chipping up old grout and applying new stuff), edging for the lawn, painters tape, spray paint, and ALL kinds of thrifting.
Now, did I mention spray paint? Spray paint is a DIY gal's best friend and my current project is a big one and it requires spray paint!! ~~~I'm repainting a brass chandelier!!~~~ I found Ashley's awesome blog Make it & Love it with almost the same fixture I was redoing and have copied her method right down to the letter... Be sure to check out her Chandelier blog post!
Now, after doing a bit of research I figured this was a pretty easy and straight forward project. 5 hours later.... Not so much. Straight forward, Yes. Easy.... Well, that depends on your definition.
The work involved is easy. Just TEDIOUS. So beware, all you who are faint of heart and crave quick and easy DIY gratification. But here are a few tips to help you along your way...
- USE Newspaper when taping up the glass panes. Believe me, at first it might seem harder, but after you get into the swing of things, it pays off in the end. The process becomes faster and so much less of a headache.
- USE an Exacto knife. Don't even dream of starting without one. For some reason, all the blogs I read neglected to share this life-saving detail (or I missed it, which is probably more likely). Seems like a given but holy, it makes so much less hassle and fussing.
- Play Music, or listen to an audio book while taping. Some people have patience. Some don't. I'm pretty middle of the road, but because the taping has to be done so carefully to ensure straight, clean edges, it can take hours.... And I'm not even that much of a perfectionist! The inside is especially tricky to tape because it's hard to access.... Playing music helps the time pass more pleasantly and gives your brain something to do!!!
New Mommy
No comments:
Post a Comment