Spray Paint 101

OK, OK, so here is my confession. I might be cute, but sometimes lack a little common sense. Or street sense, if you will. Whereas, my lovely husband Rob is full of little tidbits of "sense." Things like, if there is a national emergency, one can drink the water from the back of the toilet. Not this girl. I said I would die of dehydration before you see me drinking from the back of the toilet. Rob could survive for weeks in the bush without food or water or shelter. Me, not so much, I'd be looking for the nearest Motel 6. Or you'd find me petting that cute furry bear (well, not for long!). So you see, I'm cute, but sometimes...well, I think Rob just shakes his head at me.

See I wanted to do some spray painting. So I set up a little table, a drop cloth, wore gloves (although ventilation was a bit of an issue, but come on, at least I had gloves and a drop cloth!). And got to work. When Rob came home, and I brought him downstairs and proudly showed him my work, he said "Where did you paint these?" I said, "I know, I know, the fumes." And he said, "NO, where did you paint these?" "Um, right here?"

Then he said, "I'm only going to tell you this once, and I'm going to tell you nicely." "NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" What?!? He pointed out that I was happily spray painting two feet from our furnace...

Oh...

YIKES! Then the reality hit me. The proudness faded (for only a moment). I could have blown up our house, my kids...and well, my beautiful frames!

So those of you who didn't realize "open flame" meant a furnace, raise your left hand. Those of you who did, stop shaking your head, and give a girl a break! I thought open flame was like don't dangle your can over a bon fire, not don't use it two feet from a furnace."

Anyway, lesson learned, thankfully no one was injured (although I likely lost plenty of brain cells in the process). And hopefully those of you who raised your left hand will know better if you ever get your hands on a can of spray paint in your basement.

So back to my project. It occurred to me yesterday morning. I had the frames painted and done by dinner (although I had to pop out to Wal-Mart halfway through to get another can). This afternoon during quiet time, I got all the pictures cut, the glass cleaned, and got them hung. Considering my hanging techniques, or lack thereof, I think it looks pretty splendid. I really have an eye when it comes to seeing if things are level. Often I am equally as accurate as a level. I always tell Rob the level is wrong when he is hanging things for me. More head shaking occurs...

So here is my project, step by step. I got the frames on the left at the Bay years ago. This line was being discontinued, so I think they were 75% off of prices like $6.99 to $4.99. AKA, super cheap. I've held onto them through 5 moves, just hoping I could do something with them. And voila. I also found this blue "scroll" picture frame at VV (Value Village) for $6.99 with 30% off about a month ago. I immediately fell in love with it and knew I had to find something to do with it.

Next I took out the glass, sanded them down. Got rid of any scuffs or nicks. Wiped them off really well (all the dust). Then I started spraying. I learned quickly that even strokes and keeping the can a good distance away was the key to a nice finish. Only one frame has a bit of a funky spot, but thanks to matte black paint, its pretty forgiving.

This is my work area (furnace is two feet to the left, eek!).
Then I hung them. And again, I can't say I am an expert at this, but seem to have been blessed with an eye for it. I used a tape measure, some tape, a pencil, and got out the Hubby's level just to be a little more professional about the whole thing. And well, there are just a few extra holes in the wall, but really, who is ever going to see that anyway!!!

I'm quite pleased with the end result, and can't wait for Rob to get home to see them. I find pictures really make a place feel more like home, and have wanted to hang our wedding pictures forever. I'm quite pleased with the layout. I kind of wish I had something small and cute to hang on the four outer corners, but even as is, I'm pretty pleased. Here are some more pics, a little more close up.

Apparently in the world of blogland I'm pretty hip. Two of the websites that I frequent both are featuring spray paint projects today. You can check them out here and here.