I’ve been a busy lady with some home projects and even though I’ve taken pictures I’ve not had any time to share them with you all. I’m going to try, yes try, to set aside a few minutes to share some of the DIY projects that I’ve completed over the past couple of months.
Recently, I was right in the middle of a little update of Posey’s room. There was a couple of items that were driving us crazy….like the white walls with little butterfly rub-on decals that she had totally outgrown and floor to ceiling “u-g-l-y” closet doors. She was sitting there one day…looking around and said…how about we paint my walls a soft gray. “Oh my goodness I had never thought of that…”we were on it!” And just like a “mouse and a cookie” (you gotta be a mom or a grandma to understand the whole mouse/cookie relationship) one thing led to another and we were in the middle of a project.
I wasn’t real sure how I was going to like this idea that Posey had for one of the walls. But I compromised, and actually she compromised a little too (thank goodness we don’t have pictures hanging from strings all over the wall…..and this is what happened.
The scariest part was painting the faux frame. Painting all those straight lines! And the really bad cell phone pictures. Here’s the details I hope they make sense!
1. I measured and taped off a big rectangle on the wall I needed to tape off two areas so I could get the grey stripe in the center of the white.
I started to paint and then realized I needed a picture…oops
2. In order to get straight crisp lines I painted the grey color of the wall at the edges of the tape to seal the edges. Paint will usually bleed underneath, so painting the grey (color of the existing wall) ensures that the “bleed” will be the same color as the wall. It also seals the edges of the tape to make sure that no other color will bleed when painted, hence, no bleeding makes for beautifully straight lines.
3. Next I painted the whole rectangle white (this way I had a white base for the coral)
4. The next step was to tape off the middle section where I wanted to paint the coral color. I used a long level to make sure that all of my taped off lines were level. I let the white paint dry overnight before I taped off for the coral. I didn’t want the tape to lift off the white paint. Again I painted the inside line of the tape with white paint to seal it.
5. Once I painted the coral I allowed it to dry for short time. It’s better to take tape off while a little damp there is less chance of tape pealing when it’s damp. And taking the tape off….that’s the fun part, well and a little nerve-wracking.
Look at those clean crisp lines! I gotta tell you, I did a little happy dance when I removed the tape!
And the wall decal….a Valentine’s day gift from Sis which was the perfect addition!
We added small eye bolts along the edge of the faux frame and tied some grey twine to make our “clothesline” for hanging the pictures. I really want to paint the clothespins but Posey’s not really up for that so we’ll leave it alone…for now.
It was the perfect addition to the big blank wall in the room and ….We love it!
10. A torn shirt wasn’t a disaster — it was an opportunity. – Kinda Check – A torn shirt would definitely not be a disaster because I grew up in a time where mom’s taught daughters to sew and home economics classes like cooking and sewing were a part of school curriculum. BUT…I absolutely dislike sewing. Every time I think “Oh it’s not that big of a deal” and decide to tackle a sewing project, I realize that I seriously should have thought longer and harder and made a different choice. When will I ever learn?
