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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Projects at My House (A Reality Check)

I don't compare myself to others. Honest. I'm just not competitive. But, I do WANT to be MY best. If you have a secret to making amazing dinners then I want that secret. But, if your secret is that you have a full time cook...it is good for me to know that and know that I can't afford to do the same and move on.

I see these amazing home projects on people's blogs and I am in awe. Melissa pointed out that it, at times it takes her months and months to get it done and that we don't see the in between. Kristen told us that the secret to her amazing kitchen redo was sanding during nap time and painting until midnight every night. Edie said that her kitchen WAS a big deal and she also worked along side a hired professional. I get that. My rose colored glasses are off.

I got these pictures from someone on freecycle.......Floral prints. Matted and framed in peach wooden frames. Circa 1980 Home Interiors.

I had these amazing pictures of my boys from a photographer friend.

And I have a very plain bathroom: no decorations, not even a towel bar.

I asked my husband to paint the frames. He said, "you can't paint when it's windy." It is ALWAYS windy here. Seriously. I laugh out loud every time someone comes to visit and says, "Gee, it's windy TODAY." I finally learned to smile and say "Yes it is." Then I remembered Kristen saying that when she redid her amazing kitchen she sanded during nap time and painted until midnight. HEY!! We have nap time! I am up past midnight!!

Sooo....I took TWO days worth of nap times (Yes, that IS kind of like a "month of Sundays." It took that long just to get the frames separated from the prints and matting and glass. Then I sanded. I also went to buy spray paint. I dis ask the hardware guy if I needed a special kind of paint. he was convinced that I didn't want black spray paint. I am not 13 and needing to be talked out of an EMO phase, honest. I bought black. I contemplated buying the little plastic nozzle attachment. I didn't though.

So, I painted. I had originally planned to paint in a cardboard box but I forgot about that when it came teim to paint. no big deal. Just two quick frames.... In retrospect I am glad that I chose the grass and not the garage floor. I checked the direction of the wind. Checked and rechecked. Yet, my feet and calves are now speckled black. Noticeably. And my hands--did I need to know that my hands couldn't indeed get uglier? Wouldn't have believed it.


AND. I thought that I could just place the pictures OVER the matting. NOPE there are funky cut outs....and 12x12 scrapbook paper didn't work either........

Why do seemingly simple thigns always ahve to get sooo complicated? I'm full of energy and eager and a hard worker. Why is nothing done?

I was going for HGTV, DIYer..not I LOVE LUCY. Yet here we are :) You want to see the finished product? Yeah, so do I.















Photobucketo

8 comments:

Helen McGinn said...

Aw, hon! Such is life; sometimes, the most difficult tasks are done simply and the simple tasks become a nightmare of seemingly gargantuan proportions. I know, I've been there. Of course, before we had kids, everything seemed simple...but it all balances out in the end. But still. Black fingernails and feet....a little white spirit (or nail polish remover or ethanol) and then lots of moisturiser to stop your hands turning white!
Good luck and well done.
Helen xx

Housewife Savant said...

I am a wreck with spray paint, but sometimes there's no other paint medium that'll do.
For me there's always painted grass and fingertips. It'll be gone by August.

I love crafting, but I'm never going to post tutorials or pix of my finished projects. Even the Best Stuff ends up looking dreadful in my photos, and by the time it's done the dining room table is buried and the dog's ear is glued to the top of his head.

I love crafting.

Anonymous said...

Hi Kathy! I'm stopping by from SITS to say hello :-) You have a wonderful blog!

Jennifer said...

haha! Oh man that stinks! Did it not wash off your hands? And the grass... aww, when it grows you can cut it out right?

Don't worry I'm not the best at planning for those kind of things either, but YES I want to see the finished project!! :)

Night Owl Mama said...

painting fun. Stoppin in from the sits to say HI

Grand Pooba said...

Ha, those stains on the grass make me laugh! With you of course, it's totally something I would do!

And I too am in awe at all the crafty things that people on the blogosphere are doing! It's good to know that they aren't all perfect!

Melissa aka Equidae said...

I am not good at DIY..love it and sometimes I get ideas ewhich I shove to my husband lol....i am better at writin, cooking and breing a mother...so be it

mamammelloves said...

This sounds like something I would do. I plan things out in my head, but then when it comes to actually doing them, I sometimes forget a step or two... I'm learning to just laugh at myself and say, "what a dork I am..!" Life is funny. :) This is a cute story! Thanx for sharing!