Scary Honesty

Sometimes honesty can be scary.  Especially if you are like me, and incapable of being serious...ever.  Seriously.  Its a real problem.  You'd think that was a good thing to always be happy, but you see I'm not one of those rainbows and giggles type of girl.  I'm more sarcasm and sass. One of Señor Hotness's most uttered phrases is, "Can you be serious, for just a minute?"  The answer is almost always an emphatic and enthusiastic, no.  So I think it can be frightening for people when they ask if anything is wrong, and instead of joking about it or laughing it off I simply say, yes.

What could possibly be wrong when you have such a rosy outlook on life?

I'm going to get real for a moment, and lay down some truth bombs.  Kids can be huge jerks.  True story.  Parenting is often a crappy job.  Sometimes quite literally.  Sometimes a toddler tantrum coincides with the teen pulling epic amounts of righteous angst.  All while the moody seven year old is choosing to still be moody...about nothing, and I haven't even mentioned Joanie aka Destructo Girl who is often bouncing so quickly between things (translation: fiascos) that its hard to keep track of what she's getting into/destroying presently.  You know the jerkiness is especially high if you've ever said, "I don't negotiate with terrorist"...during church, in response to willful and vigorous pew kicking.  The tween is a pretty stand-up chic right now.  She's choosing to fly under the radar...I'm sure until I least expect it.

Sometimes parenting feels a little like trench warfare.  Especially when going head to head with the most willful five year old on the planet (and feeling like you are losing no less).  I always feel awful for whining, but whining is kind of my thing.  I enjoy the whining...it completes me.  But in all honesty I feel awful to complain when my life does more closely resemble the sunshine and rainbows than the doom and gloom.  I am not doing this alone.  I do have a partner in crime.  Maybe you've heard of him...Señor Hotness, and who doesn't want to a husband that is willing to be called Señor Hotness.  He is also a pretty stand up guy.

At the end of the day, even with the occasional heap of jerktitude floating about, I have five of the coolest dang kids around (don't even try to compare...mine are always going to be cooler than yours).  I feel it an honor to be their mother, and consider myself blessed that I am able to be such a huge part of their lives.  Even if I am often embarrassing to them. (Which is something I go out of my way to do because that is my job as their mother, to be a huge embarrassment, and I aim to excel at life.)  

In the end these people are mine, and I am theirs and I wouldn't change anything about it.  These girlies are my purpose for being, and I'll always pick them any day of the week and twice on Sunday. 

So make sure before you go to sleep to give a jerky kid a squeeze and a kiss, and just remember they aren't always the jerks...sometimes its you.  :)

Remember when...

Remember when you had a laundry DAY?  When you took one evening during the week to get all the laundry done, and then you were good for another week.

Now you have to do two LARGE loads a day just to keep your head above water, and heaven forbid that anybody gets sick on the bedding when its not bedding wash day.  That's right, it gets its own day, and if you become lazy even once it starts looking like this almost immediately.

Remember when you and your honey decided to take an impromptu trip somewhere?  Remember how you were able to fit all you both needed for the weekend into a duffel bag?  Then you were ready for whatever adventure lay ahead.

Now you are lucky if you can squeeze all you need into TWO large suitcases, and that's only if you will have access to laundry facilities.  Then you will also have to bring along extra diapers and wet wipes because if its one thing you don't want to be caught being short on, its diapers.  If your little darling suddenly gets a serious case of the diarrhea (which on a road trip is completely awful) you DO NOT want to be caught lacking the supplies necessary to contain the situation...trust me on this one.

Remember when you could cruise in a small compact car that used almost no gas?

Now the only vehicle that can transport your super sized family, and all of the accompanying equipment is a suburban that you are lucky if it gets 17 miles per gallon in gas.

Remember when all of your groceries fit very comfortably in the bottom of the shopping cart?

Now every shopping trip looks like you are hoarding food for the zombie apocalypse because you have not one over flowing cart, but two.

Remember when you and your darling could eat out for less than $25 at a fairly nice restaurant?

Now you can't get away with spending less than $30 at the cheapest fast food joint around.

Remember when you had a personal clothing budget so that you always looked like a snappy dresser in public?

Now you are a pro at finding awesome deals at garage sales, clearance racks, and know exactly which thrift store has the best gently used clothes and lowest prices.

Remember when you got to eat food off your own plate?  Without sharing unless you were feeling charitable.

Now the food you prepared for dinner isn't eatable from anywhere but off of your plate.

Remember when you cheered because your child learned to open doors, and you were so proud because it was further evidence that they were progressing in their development?

Now you want to cry in a fetal position because your youngest has mastered the fine art of door opening, when her older sister hasn't beat the compulsion to get into and destroy everything she encounters.  Now they are two against one.  Those aren't odds you are happy about.

Remember when you needed a specific recipe if wanted to cook anything other than spaghetti, oatmeal or scrambled eggs?

Now you have gotten so inventive in your meal making that you have made crazy yummy tacos,  sloppy joes, and spaghetti with meat sauce...all from left over meatloaf.  Just so you don't waste food when there are starving children in the world. (My kids still don't know.   So don't rat me out.)

Speaking of leftovers...remember when you had some?  Remember when you struggled to eat them all before they evolved to the point that they sprouted eyes and walked out of the refrigerator on their own?

Now you are lucky if there ARE any leftovers.

Remember when you got your child fully dressed daily with their hair completely fixed.

Now pants on the younger children is completely optional, and hair doesn't get fixed unless you leave the house.

Remember when you went to the bathroom by yourself...IN your own home...IN your own bathroom?

Now you are lucky to sneak off for a quick pee without World War III breaking out in the hallway as all of your children vie for your complete (and captive) attention.

Remember when you got tired, and went to bed for your requisite 8 hours?

Now you are lucky to rack up 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but more often than not its really more like 4 hours.

Remember when you only needed to run the dishwasher a few times a week because thats how long it took you to fill it up.

Now you run it a few times a day, and still wash some dishes by hand.

Now life IS more complicated, but it is also infinitely more rewarding.  I'm ok with not getting as much sleep, getting to eat off my own plate, go to the bathroom in peace (by myself), or getting to travel with a manageable amount of luggage if it means that I get to be mother to the best bunch of ladies ever.

DISCLAIMER:  I will say that my family of seven, parents included, barely quantifies "super" sized. Having five children hardly makes a blip on the super sized family spectrum.  Also, the views and experiences expressed in this post may or may not have happened or are currently happening at our house.  I'll let you be the judge.  

If It Looks Like a Duck, Smells Like a Duck...Sometimes That Means it Could be a Stinking Skunk!

There are a few things that I have always had absolute convictions in.  One, people can have a true love/soul mate, and I found mine. Two, being a mom is fun, but being mom to the female horde is AWESOME.  Three, if your husband has a cleft chin, big ears, and somehow still manages not to look goofy he will help you produce 5 of the prettiest girls EVER.  An added bonus is they will be able to use their hair to cover up their inherited ear size.  Four, if your honey is willing to be a complete dork, just because it makes you smile, and then post evidence of those dorky activities on your social media/blog page, you, my friends, are truly blessed indeed...for example.

See what I mean...he's fantastically awesome!

Fifth, any ad on craigslist that possesses the words "solid wood" and "antique", but looks like it needs a little love is usually worth the long, gas guzzling trip to get it.

Today my good friends I find myself on a somewhat shakier foundation.  I have finally found a piece of furniture that I needed to walk away from.  The ad said it was a "solid wood", "antique desk" that needed a "little work".  Probably from the "30s or 40s".  What the ad neglected to disclose was that it was an antique piece of junk, and I'm not talking about that junk you buy then restore and wow your friends with.  No I'm talking about J-U-N-K, JUNK!  The man with the ad said through our email correspondence that it was "hand crafted with reclaimed wood".  What he meant was dude pulled stuff out of the burn pile, and made what could have possibly passed for a desk if you have a serious stigmatism, a lazy eye, and early onset glaucoma.  My sincerest apologies if this describes you.  

The moral of this post is, first and foremost, that Señor Hotness is super crazy awesome.  Secondly that sometimes when something looks like junk, sounds like it could be junk...it possibly really is junk.  The clincher is some of the coolest treasures have been potential junk.  So I guess I'll just have to keep playing with fire, and hope I don't get burned too terrible often.

The (Brutal) Honesty of Children

Everyday millions of random people become victims of childhood honesty (this statistic is purely fictional).  As any parent you learn quickly that your child's honesty can be brutal.  So I thought I would just share some brutal gems that my own children have laid on me over the years.

You know you have been a victim of childhood honesty if...while sharing a public restroom stall with your child they decide to announce to the other occupants exactly how big your bum is.  For the record mine is 7 'bigs', as in, "Mom you have a big, big, big, Big, Big, BIG, BIG bottom".  This may be accompanied with a chorus of snickers from the other patrons, and a few may even try to check out exactly how big your bum really is.  Good Times.

You know you have been a victim of childhood honesty if...when you serve up soup for dinner you over hear your children say, "Hey, lets pretend that we live in a orphanage.  That should help us eat this stuff."  Good to see them using their imagination more.

You know you have been a victim of childhood honesty if...your child snuggles up to you.  Gently lays her head upon your shoulder, while wrapping her arm around yours and then whispers lovingly, "Mom, when I grow up I hope I have super fat arms just like yours...they make cuddling super comfy." I'm happy to oblige, dear child.

You know you have been a victim of childhood honesty if... you've ever heard the phrase, "Mom, I was sure dinner was going to be nasty, like the last time you tried something new, but it wasn't all the awful."  You know dinner was a success when it "wasn't awful".  I live for those glowing reviews of my meals.

You know you have been a victim of childhood honesty if... you've ever overheard your child tell her classmate, "My mom's tummy always looks that big...maybe its because she's always pregnant."  Those recently lost five pounds didn't feel like such a success anymore.

You know you have been a victim of childhood honesty if... your child has ever asked, "If I become a mom is my stomach going to have those weird stripes on it?"  Yes, dear child, unless the genetics I passed to you radically mutated you too will fall victim to...stretch marks.

Childhood Honesty is a real thing, and does affect real individuals daily.  The best remedy for childhood honesty is the record all these little moments of brutal truth letting for posterities sake, and because revenge is sweet you should commit some of the more notorious moments to memory.  Then many years from now when you are a gray haired grandmother (or have clairol hair), you can snuggle with your grandchildren, and help them come up with their own little nuggets of brutal honesty to share with their parents.  Turnabout is after all fair play, and then another generation will carry on brutal (funny) honesty.  That my friends is a legacy to be proud of.

Adventures in Thrifting: The Good, The Bad, and the Insanely Ugly

Okay so when we moved here four years ago I discovered that Tyler has a Goodwill store, but not just your average Goodwill, a Super Goodwill.  For years I have wanted to go in, and for years I haven't been because dragging my poor husband, Señor Hotness, in there while I browse would only be cruel and unusual punishment for us both.

So the stars aligned, and by chance Señor Hotness and I were in Tyler...alone.  Anytime we are away from our horde we are playing a game of beat the clock.  So we split up.  He dropped me at Super Goodwill, and then went about his merry way.  So I had significant time to kill in there.  Happiness!

So I found some good stuff, some bad stuff, and some insanely ugly stuff.  Then I realized that it was my duty to pass these little gems on.  So first lets go with the good!

This one has a beautiful scroll like detail on the edges. $1.50

This pretty basket weave is actually part of a pair. $1.50 each.

This pretty metal serving dish will add a nice shiny metal to my wall. $1.50

Lets not talk about how weirdly fat my hand looks in this picture.  This is a plain plate, but the colors were absolutely what I had been looking for. $1.50

Plates, plates and more PLATES!  I love plate walls, and have been trying to collect plates on the cheap for eons.  You know, or ever since I activated my Pinterest account and fell in love with the idea.  Which is actually kind of difficult given the over abundance of ugly crap people purge straight from their house into the nearest donation center.  If I had a nickel for every time I passed up a plate sporting a goose with a flashy neckerchief I would be insanely rich now.  I found all these plates and a few more for next to nothing.  I chose them for a variety of reasons.  I picked them up based on color, or the over all shape of the plate.  If they were an unsightly color, but had an interesting shape I grabbed it anyway.  You can always dress the plate up later with a little spray paint, and/or decoupage and craft paper.  I'll let you know how those pan out later.

That brings us to the next good find.

I loved this twisty lamp immediately.  I almost lost out on this one too.  There was another savvy shopper in there at the same time I was.  She had been eyeballing it, but passed it by.  At which time I immediately hopped on it like the cheapo I am, gleefully placing it in my cart.  I was thinking about another lamp when she circled back around, only to see it in my cart.  You could tell that for a crazy wild moment she thought about knocking me down, and jerking it out of my cart, but then she realized that I was twice her size so she moved on.  Bargain shopping can be brutal.

At only $6.00 there was no way I was passing up on that deal.  The only thing I had against this was that I wasn't hot on the color.  I'm not a crazy big fan of silver, but again with some spray paint and a cool new shade this pretty lamp will get a new lease of life.

Now for the bad.

This lamp was also $6.  It also had a mild case of the uglies, but it was not without potential.  It will also get a face lift with a new color.  I'll let you know if it was salvageable when I get to the facelift.  For now it is happily passing time in my laundry room.

Then there were the ugly-ish plates...

This one had great bones, and a great message.  The color, however, was all wrong for what I wanted, and vinyl letter was peeling off this thing...it was $.50.

This one is actually kind of cute, but in a dated 1980s sort of way.

I loved the color of this one, but the picture makes me think of the Johnny Appleseed video.  That makes me sound crazy though so forget I mentioned it.

This one would have been AWESOME...if it was still sometime in the 1990s.  It also makes me want to talk like a leprechaun which makes no sense since this is covered in ivy and not clovers.  Further proof that I need to stop burning the midnight oil to write blog posts.

Now, the moment that you have all been waiting for...the insanely ugly.

BAM!!!

Look at it, and let it all soak in, but don't make direct eye contact.  The retinal damage could be permanent.

Okay so this was a tragically ugly clock.  You know those commercials about magic fat pills.  You know the ones where they have a nasty glob that is supposed to represent "what 5 lbs of fat" looks like.  Well this clock looked like someone had taken the 5 lb fat glob, and molded it into this little treasure. Honestly it was a bunch of little pebbles placed into some kind of mold, and it felt like epoxy.  Which makes me think it might have had the potential to look really cool with a quick redo with spray paint.  That being said it would have haunted me until it was done, and I have far cooler projects to do than redo an insanely ugly clock that I don't really want nor have a place for anyway.  The potential nightmares was the real reason why I passed on this.

No matter what category they might fall into whether that be the good, the bad, or the insanely ugly, thrift store shopping is an awesome place for the the cheapsake DIYer in all of us.

Throw Back Thursday: From End Table to Night Stand. The Ambitious Tale of Little Tables Wanting To Be Something More.

Okay so after writing out the title I inexplicably started singing The Black-Eyed Peas, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the post.

Have you ever wanted to try something that could be cool, but there was also a good sized chance that you could fail beyond all reason?  So instead of doing your awesome stuff first, and possibly messing it up forever, you decide to do it with a crap piece.  Okay so maybe not "crap" per se, but maybe something you were considering putting in the donate pile (because you are too lazy to try to make a profit by having a garage sale).  One that you wouldn't be heart broken if it didn't turn out how you wanted.  That's what this little project was about.  I had recently purchased two rad antique tables that were in desperate need of some love, but I didn't want to screw them up forever.  Therefore I decided to redo our old living room end tables (the ones that were going to be displaced due to the awesome antiques), and give them a new life and new purpose as our new and improved night stands.

We had had these two end tables for eight years, and they had been well used and loved.

See here is my 3rd when she was a baby taking a crawling break in this nice relaxing drawer.

Back off ladies...he's mine!  This picture doesn't demonstrate anything other than Señor Hotness's keen sense of style.

When we had been married nine years we treated ourselves to a new mattress.  This time however we decided to get a kind size mattress instead of the queen we had had prior to that.  Our queen bedroom suite was about 8 years old, was still in great shape, and was a mission style set.  I had been so in love with mission furniture when we were newly weds, but about two years into ownership I was over the mission style love I had been having.  So I had been more than up for a change for years, and was excited that we were finally getting one.  We just got a simple bed frame from Ikea until we found THE ONE...we're still looking coincidentally.  Then because we were moving to East Texas we sold our mission bedroom set, and only held onto the bed frame and mattress.  We fast forward to us living out here now, and we were seriously classing it up by using storage tubs (full of girl clothes, what else) as night stands.

It was about this time that I discovered design blogs, and became unbelievably hooked.  Shortly after I discovered a little site called Pinterest, and that was the beginning of my down fall.  So armed with Pinterest Courage I started scouring craigslist to get some newer (to us), cooler end tables so that I could shift our old ones as night stands.  Then I found the perfect ones to refinish, but picked our old end tables as my first official project to cut my teeth on, so to speak.

The first thing I did was remove the drawer and hardware.  Then I dusted, and cleaned them because my are kids are gross so they were gross.  Its a simple case of transference.  The I hit them with 220 grit sand paper to rough up the surface for paint.  Then I completely sanded the top down to bare wood, and used the funny papers from my Sunday edition paper to cover the top.  The I took them outside and used Kilz oil based spray primer on the bottom, and drawer front.  If I had this to do over again, I would have made sure to have taped off the drawer slide hardware, both on inside of the end table and on the outside of the drawers.  After everything was said and done the drawers still work, but don't slide as smoothly as they once did.  So after the primer dries it will have a sand papery feel to it.  So I lightly sanded again with 220 grit sandpaper.  This step is super quick.  It doesn't take a lot of time or effort to smooth down that slight rough feel.  Then its time for the paint.  I used Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze spray paint in gloss.  It came out looking very smurfy, but don't worry I wasn't done yet.  So because I was seriously nervous about glazing them I decided to dry brush them with Krylon Leather (really dark brown) in a quart size can.  While I really liked the blue color of the Blue Ocean Breeze it was still just a little to bright for Señor Hotness.  So dry brushing on the brown toned it down considerably.  This was a new and exciting experience.  I figured out pretty fast not to leave very much paint in your brush.  I let that dry, and stained the top Minwax Dark Walnut.  Just a heads up.  When applying stain glop it on there, and then wipe off the excess.  This also will remove brush strokes.  I didn't do this on these, but thankfully the weird brush strokes are subtle.  That and these are our night stands so Señor Hotness and I are the only ones to see them.  I allowed that to dry for 24 hours, and then put a few coats of polycrylic on the top.  This was what they looked like then.

Not bad for a beginner.

There was still something off about these though.  Then it hit me.  I wasn't loving the shiny nickel finish of the knob.  So I changed it.

So we've had these kicking around our house for a few years now.  They have not been coddled, or gently treated.  They have also been subject to a move, and I think they have held up nicely.

I'm not sure why the color on the newer photo seems off, but they still look like the older photo color wise.

Lessons learned from this redo:  Be careful not to leave too much excess polycrylic in one area as it will leave behind a milky quality on some areas of finish.

Along the very edge here.

When redoing two pieces of matching furniture, that you still want to match, do them at the same time.  I did these one at a time, and the dry brushing was slightly different on them.  One was slightly more heavily dry brushed than the other.  It is a subtle difference, but one that drives me crazy when they are sitting side by side.  Thankfully they have a king size bed in between them.  So I do have one question for you all

are you as in love with the crate as me?  It needs something, but I haven't figured out the finish I want to do so I'm just going to leave it natural for now.

Opinions are welcomed and appreciated though.  Thanks for letting me share my first real furniture redo with you all.

Linked up at: internationalbloggersassociation.com

Throw Back Thursday: We put every last penny in the remodel, literally.

So anyone who has ever been to our house knows that we have unique counter tops in our kitchen.  When we were redesigning our home we wanted to have as many upgrades as we could, and save where we could.  The counter tops were going to be a challenge.  What is it that every person wants more of in their kitchen?  More counter space, right?  Well we were going to have that and then some, but with that awesome long run of counter space came a problem.  If we really wanted to rock we could do quartz (pun intended).  Let me say I really wanted quartz, but it came with a huge price tag.  The price was a deal breaker.  Our kitchen was going to have to be attained on a budget.  We could have picked to do lower grade cabinets, and have crazy awesome counters.  However, I personally think thats insanity.  So my goal was going to be to have awesome cabinets (mission accomplished), and figure out how to still have cool cabinets.  Counters can be changed fairly easily, but doing a full kitchen remodel wasn't something I was willing to endure at a later date.

So the first thought I had was that we could just put on regular formica.  That was the most cost conscious option, but then we ran into a big problem.  We had such a long run of counter that we couldn't even get formica without having a seam in a weird place.  Here is a little known fact about me.  I'm kind of prissy.  A weird random seam in my counter wasn't acceptable, and would have driven me insane...see?  Prissy.  So the best idea I had was...wait for it...PENNIES! This should be read like the showbiz pigeons on Bolt (moms will totally get this reference).   Honestly I thought of pennies, and then poured over Pinterest for any information I could on how others might have accomplished this.

My first step was calling the bank.  The teller I spoke with thought I was crazy, and was majorly skeptical of whether or not we could pull it off.  Which I thought was somewhat uncharitable since she didn't know me, or how stinking awesome I can be.  She was feisty though, and I liked her a lot.  We talked about all kinds of things.  How they don't keep $500 in pennies on location (because I was initially going to do the island as well).  How they order their money (don't know why I never thought of this but made sense).  How they could order that many, but that I may have to pay a fee for them ordering so many (I didn't have to pay a charge).  How they come in boxes of $25, and how that box would be freakishly heavy (no joke).  Her biggest quandary was if it was illegal to use pennies as a counter top.  We never could decide.  So just in case it is...don't rat me out guys.  Using pennies for new, and creative ways though is all over the internet.  So if they ever decide to prosecute...I'll have company.

So then I started sorting out the clean from the dirty.  FYI money is filthy, and most of the pennies fell into the filthy category.  So I greatly lowered my expectations.  This was tedious and gross.  Then I decided to try to clean the dirty ones that I had left over.  Just an FYI they don't clean well, and the ones that do get slightly cleaner then have a weird pinkish hue to it.  Just a random bit of knowledge, if you soak pennies in straight white vinegar for 24 straight hours when you go to rinse and try to rub off gunk (scientific technical term) most of them will disintegrate.  My advice would be to just redeposit the dirty ones, and get another box.  

Then it was time to prep the surface.  We had put down 3/4 inch ply wood as a base.  I didn't want a light background so I stained the background with Minwax Dark Walnut.  We allowed it to dry overnight.  We used a red oak piece of wood as trim that my awesome brother-in-law, Señor Senior, routed the edge of, stained again in Dark Walnut.  We then put clear caulking around all the seams, and taped around the hole cut out for the sink.  After that dried it was time to lay out the pennies.  This also was super tedious.

I actually really loved the color variance that my lowered expectations resulted in.

Then it was time for the epoxy (here).  I don't have any pictures of this step because sometimes I'm a loser, but in this case I was busy helping Señor Hotness spread the epoxy.  We had to mix it in small batches and put it on thin.  You have to be careful about bubbles.  A butane torch, or a blow dryer should generate enough heat to pop the bubbles.  Make sure not to hold the torch in any one place to long as it will burn it.  This required two coats.  You have to follow the directions precisely, and once you get it all mixed together the clock is ticking.  You have to move fast.  The epoxy takes 8 hours to set up to touch, and 3 days to cure.  It is self leveling so it just needs to be spread.  It will dry super shiny since it only comes in gloss.  The only downside is that the finish isn't very heat resistant, but that isn't any different than your standard formica.  So if putting a hot pan down, use a trivet, and if your need to cut something use a cutting board.  I'm going to try to sound modest when I say that it looks awesome.

See?  AWESOME!!!  Ignore the lack of wall paint (this picture is old), and try not to be jealous of my crazy awesome mixer.  It'll be hard since Bertha is so big, red and beautiful.

The final finished product took only $125ish worth of pennies, and two standard sized boxes of epoxy from Lowes.  So all total we have crazy cool looking counters, and we only spent roughly $300 for the whole thing.  So the moral of the story is with a little imagination, willingness to do dirty tedious work, and put in the sweat equity you can get something cool for not a lot of money (again pun intended).

Here are some pictures of it while I was painting the wall.

Its held up beautifully this last year, and is still a big conversation piece.

Linked up at: Kammy's Korner, internationalbloggersassociation.com

Its Mime Time!

Okay so at this time in the "Week of Redos", Señor Hotness was losing patience.  He wanted me to be done with my incessant projects.  So imagine his surprise to find out I had not only been working on, but had practically finished a project without him even taking notice.  Remember those two french provincial end tables that were remade into a vision of gray (here)?  Remember how they were FREE?  Well there was more to the set then just the two tables.  They actually came with a coffee table that would turn out to look like this.

This craigslist freebie I loved because it was the absolute perfect size for my narrow formal living room.  The tables in this room were some antiques that I had redone a few years back, and they looked like this.

So this was a mimic job.  I had done the original tables using Kilz spray oil primer.  Then followed that up with Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze spray paint, and the top was stained straight up Minwax Dark Walnut stain.  This is what I was starting with though.

Can you say YIKES! (to both the room AND the table)

Again no nudity was happening in the background of the middle picture.  Destructo Girl has super fair skin, and a fondness for pale pink.

The tops were awful.  Mostly because my awesome three year old had finger painted the tops on the sly two separate times.

  She was saved from a beating simply because both messes were discovered immediately, and we were able to wash off most of the wet paint.  So the first step was to lightly sand the bottom that was going to need priming.

Just a light sanding

I had a little help with the task.

After a very light sanding I lugged out my primer.  For this project I brushed on Kilz oil based primer using a foam brush.  Then let it sit and dry for the rest of the afternoon.

I don't put on really thick coats.  If I had really put down a better layer I probably would have been able to spray less paint.  My lunch break was over though so I left it as it was.  My next step was to hit it with spray paint.  I used Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze on the bottom in gloss.

Already it was looking fantastic!  It is always amazing to me how different a piece of furniture can look with just a little bit of paint.  I let this dry for a day.  Mostly because I was working on other projects that needed to be finished up, like, yesterday (hello barstools).  Next I sanded the top down.  I sanded the top of this at the same time I did dresser (here).    The table top was in rough shape so it sanded off really quickly.

Then I stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut stain, and then let it dry for the next day while I worked on another project (hello dresser).  So I have to say that at first I wasn't happy with the results.  Different types of wood will take stain differently, and have slight variances in color.  My antiques that I was mimicking were made out of Maple, and so the way the stain looked initially on what I think is Oak wasn't what I was looking for.  It had a slight orange/yellowish quality is certain areas.  After painting the edging in the black it really brought it all together.

I don't have a picture of it, but after this step I hit it with glaze.  After letting it dry for a day I also clear coated the heck out of this.  While working with the furniture it looks super dry and very matte until you get it clear coated.  I personally prefer a bit of a shine to the finish of my pieces.  That gives me piece of mind that my paint won't chip, and it will be more kid friendly in that it is easier to dust and polish.  Which is good because more times than not this is how things look around here.

So there you have it.  It looks awesome in the room.  It is no longer an eye sore, and really flows with the funky eclectic look I'm going for.

And now its time for a rest...or a smaller project.

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