Friday, August 29, 2008

Makin' a Mess...

that is what I've been spending a lot of time doing here lately...
this how I bake*...and Fall must be on the way because I cannot make myself bake unless I start to feel like the worst of Summer has come & gone...please let it have come & gone...

although this afternoon has been hot enough to fry just about anything you'd care to put on the driveway...makes me want to cry...and cuss...but ya'll already knew that about the cussin'...yes, I'm still working on the cussing thing...I am getting better...slowly slowly slowly...

so this is what happens when I snap and start a project half-you-know-what-ed...
sick of staring at this stark white king-sized bed, I hit the paint store with a vague idea of what I wanted...sort of Prim-Meets-Pottery-Barn-ish with a dash of Been-In-the-Family-A-While...oh, the Project Gods were clutching their stomachs they laughed so hard...

the paint I chose first couldn't be done in a little can...too much pigment for the can...so I picked another colour...couldn't get that in anything but a gloss...tried again...I was able to move to a semi-gloss for my third choice (I'm workin' in oil so it can be difficult or maybe the Paint Chick just Hated Me on Sight)...

man...I thought I had something akin to honey mustard...not SCHOOL BUS YELLOW...

School Bus Yellow from a school bus with 10 years of Georgia Dust ground into the surface...

I believe I can say without fear of the Heavenly Lightening Bolt that I haven't botched a project this badly in a long long long while...

so now we're callin' this The Base Coat...okay, the only coat I hoped to have to do...hah...

now I've re-thunk my strategy...I've bought some white oil-based paint that mix with the SBY so I can attempt to tone this mess down...then I may go back with a coffee-coloured glaze over the top...we'll see...

if this flops, I will be visiting the furniture store very shortly...

this another project one eighth half-done...first coat of poly on the oak table I'm refinishing...the sides are proving to be a nightmare to strip...
and this project...well, let's just say I'm learning to live with Imperfection...the shades are monster-sized on this little dinky chandelier ***...and the chandelier does have to be dink-sized because the ceiling is so low...I kind of like it tho'...so either it looks better than I think or I'm becoming more adept at lyin' to myself...and let's keep it that way...(so what do ya'll think about adding a few amber drops to the bottom center piece...that section is wood so I can screw some little eye hooks in there and jazz it up a little bit without makin' it a hazard to anybody over 5'10 (my height...the DH and DS are, respectively, 6' and 6'5-ish)Chubby Bubby isn't quite sure what to make of all this foolishness...

********************************************************
*giving a gingerbread biscotti recipe a trial run...it is okay but I've had better...of course, I replaced the dried cranberries with raisins and the walnuts with pecans...I know better than mess with a recipe on the first time out but I'm also too lazy to drive to the store and too cheap to pay for walnuts and dried cranberries right now environmentally aware* that driving to the store for 2 ingredients is Not Good...

and, yes, I actually do have my spices in an old old old Popsicle box...I almost cared enough to cover it in some cute Rooster Contact Paper before I shot this photo...almost, but not quite...

**pretending that oil-based paint is not an Environmental Nightmare...but, she whined, latex paint just won't hold up on furniture or cabinets that is used more than once in a decade...at least not around this household...

***originally bright faux brass, brown wood and bronze metal...and shadeless...replaces a flat ceiling fixture with daisies in bas-relief...

5 comments:

The Berry's Patch said...

Hi Sheila,

How are you? Looks like your up to your ears in paint. I bet it turns out great and everyone will want to know how you did it. Then you will have to give everyone step by step instructions...using all layers of paint. Or you could just say you have no idea how you got it that way...the project gods felt sorry for you and had their project angels come down to help. ;-)

I'm sick and tired of sweating around here. If Fall doesn't get here soon, I may move to Alaska.

Have a safe holiday weekend Sheila!

Brandee :-)

Lettered Cottage said...

I am NO stranger to trying out 4 different paint colors til I get it JUST right. Matter of fact, I'm off to pick the perfect shade of dusty apple green today...wish me luck!

Layla
The Lettered Cottage

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

Goodness where were you having all that trouble getting paint? I'v never used oil - I use latex but top it with poly if it's a heavy use item.

I'm with Brandee, I'm sick of sweating. By the time I finished pruning my bushes today I was dripping with sweat (attractive image of me running through your head right LOL).

I will definiately let you know when we go to visit SCAD and we'll rendevous!

Manuela

Deb said...

Hi Shelia, I think it will turn out just fine, because you won't stop until you have it just as you imagined it. Stay off that driveway! Deb

Julie said...

See? To me, Honey Mustard is exactly the color it looks. If it doesn't in real life, it sure does photograph beautifully!

You're cracking me up with your comment about "almost" caring enough to cover the popsicle box!
You're too funny!

Blessings,
Julie

it's all about the journey...