A Hint of Grey {Painting a Bathroom Cabinet}

SO....

Apparently "tomorrow" means "next week or whenever I get around to it" to me. Sorry. Spring Break meant 4 children needing to be entertained, fed, cleaned up after...and a trip out of town had been planned too. Then it was my oldest boy's 9th birthday. NINE. Can. Not. Believe.

Anyway - I had complained a while back that the kids bathroom vanity was getting dinged up and I had been planning on painting it a creamy white. Alabaster by SW is what I used in the kitchen and I had planned on using it in the bathroom too. 

Then an idea hit me. I already had a can of SW Repose Gray from my master closet redo. So, why not break all of the rules and go ahead and use it on the vanity. 

Here is the awful, horrible way over exposed picture I took when I remembered that these are things I should probably take pictures of. What's a good after if there is no before?

 And here are the afters.

 

I think it looks so much better. Some other things I've done in there, and apparently never documented, are painting the walls SW SeaSalt, which is probably the most accurate color wise in the last picture. I replaced the builder's light globes with seeded glass from Lowes, which sends little sparkly shadows all over the room. The rug and wire towel holder (actually a flower box) are from Big Lots. The shower curtain I thrifted but it's from the Target Shabby Chic line.

All that is left to do is get some knobs on those cabinets so little fingers don't eventually wear the paint. I also am planning on getting a frame built for that mirror. And building shelves above the toilet that are more than 9 inches deep! At the rate I'm going, it will be done next year! 

  

Another finished project. Progress is progress, I'll take it!

xo-Chris

 

A Finished Product {The Deck}

There is nothing like publicly embarrassing yourself (and your inability to actually complete anything) to get the wheels in motion and finally get something done. 

The deck and the pergola have been looking pretty terrible since last summer, but I think winter did them in. I'm not sure which part of winter, because the only snow I can remember having this year was on Christmas Day, then it promptly melted.

I begged for a power sprayer (am I the only girl who loves house equipment? Get me a vacuum over jewelry any holiday and I'm happy happy happy!) and when we got it, I spent a few days spraying the paint off the deck and pergola (and onto the house, yard and everything else within 20 feet). 

Before:

Pretty awesome, right? It doesn't help that nothing has greened up or come back to life yet. There is a Wisteria on the pergola, but it's still dormant. 

This spot isn't even very bad compared to the rest of the deck. Have I mentioned that I have 3 hens? Then wander where they please. And poop where they please too. 

Ok, this isn't really the deck, but it was on the unfinished projects list. And it's going on the deck. So this is it's before.

After

The color is "Seal Skin" by Sherwin Williams. It's on our shakes on the front of the house as well. The rug is from Walmart.

The fountain came from Grocery Outlet last year. It was just under $100 and the sound of water is so nice on the deck. Plus, apparently the dog and the chickens think it's their personal waterer. So bonus.
 

Here is my thrifted chandy! I painted it red, to tie in with colors in the rug and brighten it up, and used solar crackle lights from Walmart. I cut the wires from the top, but left the bulb holders because I needed them to hold the base of the solar lights. I used hot glue around the side of the lights to hold the lights in place. It's pretty at night!
 

We are getting there. At least the painting is done! See that pesky chicken admiring the design on the rug? She agree's with my choice. 

 And another one bites the dust. Project that is. It feels good to get things done. 

Tomorrow, I have another one to share!

xo-Chris 

 

Linking up to:

Making the World Cuter Monday

It's So Very Cheri: It's Party Time

Painting the Deck {Opening a can of worms}

You know how when  you have a project to do, and every intention of starting AND finishing the project, other things somehow pop up that you have to get finished too. Ok, finished isn't the right word. Started is the right word for sure. Because let me assure you, nothing is finished. I came to this realization when I had a play group here the other day and found myself saying "yeah, that isn't done" more times than I care to count.

After writing my last post, I had every intention of starting and finishing refreshing/repainting/re-everything the deck. And I started. But I have to do everything during naptime, and by the time I got to having to move the grill and the picnic table, well, time was up. And then the next day it rained. And it has rained a drop or two most days since then, or, I haven't found time to do it.

 

If you look out this window it look finished!

 Why didn't I find time (my husband asks constantly because he is tired of looking at umpteen unfinished projects that have similar stories)? Well, you see...it's because I started another one when I couldn't finish the first one. I decided it would be a good time to spray paint a thrifted chandelier that I have big plans for.

And then a baby woke up.  

So, then the bathroom cabinet in the kids/guest bathroom was really looking dinged up I thought to myself. So I started just the end of the cabinet.

See that paint can "hiding" down by the toilet hoping no one will notice it? Geez-hello super terrible picture!

 And then a baby woke up.

Even before I decided the deck needed work (I blame the nice weather!) I finally had it with my disaster of a closet. Disaster isn't the right word. I blamed the horrible wire racks the builder put in. 

 

And then...well, the baby got sick. 

You see the pattern, right? I could probably count about 8 more of these with my eyes closed. 

 So, if you find yourself thinking, how does one get all of these things done with 4 littles, I don't know. Because I don't get them done either. In between laundry, vacuuming, meals, and many multiple etc's., I find just enough time to begin something. And that's it.

But you know what? I would rather start something (and eventually find the time to finish it)  than never start it at all, waiting for the perfect opportunity, the perfect idea, the perfect whatever.  

And just because the baby went to sleep, I ran up and actually finished a project! I KNOW!!! Ok, actually, it still needs a couple things. 

Dang.

xo-Chris

 

  

Randomness {Spring is here!}

I am still here - blogging has taken a short term backseat until I get my sea legs again. This little baby and the bigger baby require so much time that I rarely have time to get my thoughts together enough to put a blog post together. 

Let's face it, I haven't even been able to do much that is interesting enough to blog about. Nope, not so interesting. I have done a few projects that are quick and fun...but man, sitting down to right the post, every single time...a baby cries. Oh my. I don't want to miss a second of the little sleepy baby spit bubbles and dreamy smiles either...so I've tried to do less projects around the house and just sit and stare at little faces. 

In my brain, however, I have put together several blog posts. Now that our old laptop is fixed, I don't have to give myself carpel tunnel trying to one finger type on my I-phone...seriously. painful. 

And now begins the randomness.

I've taken up freezer cooking since baby #4 was born

...why did it take me so long?! It's amazing...well, as amazing as filling your freezer with food can be. But it really is a huge time and money saver, so I'm going to share all of the recipes I've used and hints and tricks too! 

Spring is here in Eastern Washington! We used to live in Michigan (it's still Fa-reee-zing there)

Now we live here

Ok-well, not really HERE

 I don't take the early Springs here in Washington for granted. No-sir-eeeee.  I don't know what it is when the spring clocks move forward, and the little green buds appear on the lilacs and we get a day or two of warm weather. It's like I really thought it would never come back, seriously, and I feel SO THANKFUL!

Since Spring is finally back - I have come to realize that our deck is in need of MAJOR attention. It's bad. Real bad. I plan on repainting, hanging a repurposed and thrifted chandelier fitted with solar lights, sewing new covers for the chair cushions and creating a new roof cover for the play structure...and maybe a few other things. I'm excited to get the backyard back into shape. 

xo-Chris

Painting Fabric {A sun-faded stroller}

I've been writing and working on this post for some time...apparently being a mom to 4, with 2 of those being under 2, is a full time job. Who knew? I'm excited to get back to regular blogging and projects, but it may be a slow process!

Since I was going to have 2 littles that needed to be in a stroller, I decided a double stroller would be handy for those trips to the zoo, walks, etc.

For several months I've been stalking Craigslist looking for this:

Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller

And I found it several times, but it was always  in super great shape and kind of expensive ($125-$150). Not that I didn't want one in great shape, but I am sort of a stroller hoarder, and I didn't want to pay a lot for a stroller I would only need for another year or so.

Then it happened - you know if you are a Craigslist stalker what I mean - If you hunt long enough, what you are looking for will find you. It's the best feeling ever!

I should of taken a before. What was I thinking? Geeeez.  It was in sorry shape. It was left outside for summer and winter for a couple of years and looked like it. It was filthy and the fabric was really faded. Did I mention how much I paid? $40! 

When I got it home, I cleaned it all up, put WD40 on all of the mechanisms and polished the metal frame. It looked pretty good.  But that faded fabric really was bugging me.

Ok, so the picture is horrible. It was 20 degrees outside and I wasn't about to open the garage door. But that color isn't washed out by the flash. Nope. It was faded to a weird orangey peach color, with red spots where the sun didn't reach - see the back of the seat. 

I found out I can get replacement parts from the manufacturer, and the seats and canopies weren't a bad price, but then it's not a $40 stroller anymore. I started looking on the internet for options...what do other people do when their stroller is faded and they don't want to get a new one? 

Apparently they post questions all over the internet.

I did find this one and only real post about another mom using a fabric spray paint on the fabric - The Mom Buzz . I love a good spray paint project!

I tracked down the paint she used Simply Spray Upholstery Paint-  at my local Hobby Lobby. I used a coupon so it was around $6. I figured that was an ok price if it failed. 

I used red because my stroller was red - they make a ton of different colors though.

  

I was excited to try it out. I did learn a few tricks along the way. Here is the first seat I sprayed.

I'm sorry for the terrible pictures - it really was FREEZING outside. But you can see the difference, can't you?? 

I had to rub the paint in with a napkin or my fingers (use gloves). It sometimes sprays globs and it was easiest to just rub those in the areas that needed more paint. I used newspaper to cover the areas I didn't want sprayed because it does have a decent overspray. 

Here is a good comparison photo - the seat on the right hasn't been painted yet.

   

It is supposed to dry for 72 hours and then is ready to use. 1 bottle pretty much covered both seats and canopies, but I need to get another so the second seat is as dark red as the first one I painted. So a total $12 investment with a big giant improvement!!

I haven't been able to take it out yet since our newest girl is only 3 weeks and it's just so cold. I don't know how it will hold up to the sun, but everything fades after being in the sun, so I'm not concerned with that.

This isn't limited to strollers...no no no! I've seen all over people all over blogland use it on real furniture! How fun would that be? 

 

Source: thegoldenoctopus.com via Armeen on Pinterest

Source: betterafter.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

 

Source: decoratinginsanity.com via Scottie on Pinteres

I promise to take a better picture of my project when I put on something other than sweats and an oversize tshirt when it's warm enough to open the garage door and take the girls out for a spin.

Just so you know, this post was not sponsored, and I did not receive any compensation or product for my awesome opinion. 

Have you got anything lying around that you don't mind experimenting with upholstery spray paint on? I'd love to hear what you think!

xo-Chris

 

Shared at:

Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

The Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday 

Beyond the Picket Fence - Under $100 Party 

Domestically Speaking - The Power of Paint Party 

Introducing...

My favorite project of 2012...

xo-Chris

Still Cooking!!

I'm still here - after all this time. This whole being pregnant thing got a lot more difficult after the last post. And I decided I would just focus on keeping the house clean and the kids alive and not worry about projects and posts until after this baby comes. Which could be any day. Or not. I'm ready. Baby not so much. 

I hope you had a Merry Christmas! I will be back when I can see my toes again :) 

xo-Chris