Front Stoop Update

I really wanted to update my front stoop from old dirty brass fixtures.  They were looking a little shabby, plus  you can hardly see the gold address numbers against the tan house!  I priced out a new light, a new mailbox and new house numbers and if I got the lowest end stuff, it would cost a minimum of $50.

Well if I'm spending money on it, I would want to get exactly what I want, right??  That would be more like $120.  Boo.  (As in Boo-hoo, not Boo! like my Halloween decor suggests.)

So, instead I bought a can of black semi-gloss spray-paint for $3.50 and got to work.  I could just buy a light later and save some bucks.

I removed the mailbox and house numbers and painted them with two coats of paint.  Once I put them back up, I wasn't satisfied because the light still looked like junk-ola.  I'm not interested in messing around with electricity (although I have installed a ceiling fan before - Bravo).

I removed the lower portion and unscrewed the fixture and placed a plastic bag around it.  Painted that with a couple of coats as well - being very careful to NOT spray my siding!!

Once back together, I thought it looked nice and fresh!  You can definitely see the address numbers now!  What do you think?!

The Aqua Crib

Here is the crib I refinished for my baby son's room this spring.

I honest to goodness got this crib for free on the side of the road.  I almost bought it at a garage sale near my home, but decided to keep looking.  The next day I drove by and they had a bunch of furniture sitting on the side of the road.  I was in such a state of disbelief that I knocked on their door to make sure I could take it! YES!!!

I put it together and made sure that it would be safe and secure for my son and then got to work sanding the wood.  I did it by hand because my palm sander is too big to fit in between the rungs, plus I think my brother "borrowed it" so I may never see it again.

I painted it with Olympia Premium paint that I got from Lowe's.  I used "Caruso" in semi-gloss which I like for furniture. The zero VOC and low odor is NO JOKE!!!  I even used it indoors while I was pregnant and let my 4 and 6 year old sons help!  I could hardly smell any paint odor and that is even with pregnant-lady-super-sense-of-smell.  Perhaps I should mention now that I could accurately sniff out a smoker three cars in front of me on the road??

It took two+ coats and on more than one occasion I wished it had flat rungs.  The detail was a pain in the rear to sand and paint (especially since I had a huge belly at the time), but is my favorite part now that it is finished since it gives the crib so much character.

 Here's where the story gets interesting.  I finished painting the crib and set the blanket I crocheted for my son inside.  I hung the counting bird pictures (from Anthropologie circa 2005) and laid out the green and white rug. That night my water broke - a whole MONTH early!!!  I think he must have sensed that I was ready for him...the crib was in place and his room was lookin' good.  Funny thing is he doesn't even sleep in it yet.  It seems too giant of a space for his tiny little body, so for now he sleeps in his bassinet or his little swing.

Hope this can help inspire your own painting projects!

Letecia