You DIY-ers will appreciate this post. I nabbed an awesome antique dresser mirror minus the mirror at a local Goodwill store for less than $10, thinking it would make a great sign for the wedding. All it needed is some off-white paint and some chalkboard paint and we would be in business. I stuck it away in a spare bedroom until the weather cooled off. I don't do ANYTHING outside when it is above 90 degrees.
So a cold front finally moved in, and when the accompanying showers stopped, I grabbed the old, cracking veneered piece and a can of spray paint from our utility room and headed outdoors. All set up with the piece leaning against our propane tank, I uncapped the paint and pointed, waiting for paint to spray. It didn't happen. I'm sure Lucy the cat wondered what I was doing as I shook and shook the can, turned it upside down, and retried spraying over and over. I even did the no-no and stuck a pin in the spray cap. No luck, so I hauled the odd-shaped piece of old wood back into the house. The project would have to wait.
A week and a trip to Walmart later, I decided to try again. I took my newly purchased can of Krylon spray paint and the piece back outside, shook the can vigorously, and began spraying. The paint came out this time, all over the wood--where it ran down in streams--and all over my fingers! (Sorry, Krylon people, but that's the truth!) Not to be deterred, I continued spraying, ignoring the runny places. When there was a reasonable first coat, I recapped the can and returned to the house where I tried to wash the paint off my hands. No luck.
You can see the results of the first spraying here. Not too good, huh? But I am going for a rustic, imperfect look anyway, so I think it will turn out okay. Today I gave it a second coat, and the spray paint sprayed almost everything BUT the wood I was aiming at! At least this time I thought to put on a disposable glove first, and the wood is pretty well covered.
I love the detail at the top, and the bottom part will be perfect for planting in the ground. Isn't the bell shape perfect for a wedding? I couldn't believe I found it. Several ladies at the Goodwill store asked me what I planned to do with it, and they agreed that making a sign out of it was a good idea. I will show the finished product soon.
The photo below shows the back of the piece. I'm thinking about painting it as well so I could possibly use it as a two-sided sign--perhaps for setting out by the road to direct folks to the wedding. What do you think?
See the lettering on the back? Very cool. Stay tuned for the results of this really cheap project!
xoxo
Labels: antique, DIY, Krylon, paint, project, spray paint, wedding
