First project of 2012 - FINISHED!!

Painting the Front Door

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(Project...COMPLETE)

Cue the angels singing...I have FINISHED the front door!  My first project of 2012 COMPLETE!  Wow...gosh...I just didn't think it would ever happen.  Oh my gosh...who do I thank first?  Let me see...my husband, Mr. AKM for always standing by me and supporting me when I'm being so totally OCD that no one else can stand me...my kids for telling me that the color is AWESOME even though they would prefer that I paint it camouflage or orange or any other color besides turquoise blue :)  But most importantly I want to thank Wagner for making the most incredible paint sprayer like EVER!  Seriously, having that paint sprayer made this project soooo totally worth my time!  LOVE IT!  You can read all about this little piece of paint spray heaven here.  It took me all of 10 minutes TOPS to paint this door.  It sprayed on like velvet.  2 coats and it was over...I almost felt a little cheated that I didn't get to spend more time getting to know my paint sprayer better. 

So here is a before in case you forgot what it looked like...

and now...lots of photo love for you....

Remember these nasty scratches???

TOTALLY GONE!  Isn't that awesome?  I so love this color!  I want EVERY door in my house this color! 

Check it out in all it's glory...

I love how the colors from the rug are all tied together now.  I was a bit nervous when I saw the door finished leaning against the wall in the garage but having it hung up in my entry...I. AM. IN. LU-OVE!  I just love the pop of color it gives to the space don't you?

So tell me, what do you think of it?  Do you think you could bring a bright pop of color to an area in your home?

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday:  Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday:  Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes

Wednesday:  Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday:  Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh          

Friday:  Finding Fabulous - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Fingerprints on the Fridge - Shabby Nest - Whipperberry – Miss Mustard Seed - French Country Cottage - Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), 

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

Shut the Front Door!

Painting the Front Door

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(making progress or is it progress in the making?)

So when does a project ever go as planned?  Uhm, like NEVER!  I thought that choosing the front door as my first project of 2012 would be a smart, easy project to undertake.  That was my first mistake...thinking.  Ugh!  

So it started of pretty plain and simple.  Take the door off the hinges, remove all hardware and start sanding.  This went off without a hitch, for the most part.  I started using 120 grit sand paper to take the finish off but quickly realized that the people who owned our home before us must've put like 20 layers of shellac on this baby.  Jeesh!  So I busted out some 80 grit paper and went to town again.  After about an hour of this, I removed as much of the shellac as I was going to be able to.  Then it was time to start filling in all the lovely gouges that my dog left for me.  How sweet he is...

This part too went off without a hitch.  I just used some standard wood filler and slapped it on there with a putty knife.  Easy breezy lemon squeezy.  Then I let it dry and sanded it again.  I think I may have developed tendonitis in my right shoulder from using my palm sander a little too much...if you know-what-i-mean :)

So that part was finished.  The door went back on the hinges to wait for my much anticipated paint sprayer to arrive. 

The paint sprayer arrived in the middle of the week…then Mr. AKM ditched us for the weekend alas I had to WAIT (I do not wait well when I have a project that I want to finish).  So Sunday arrived and so too did Mr. AKM.  Squeals!  I danced around like a little girl that needed to go to the potty whilst I waited (impatiently) for him to take the door back down again so that I could start that painting process.

Sir grumpiness with the door, kindly (yea, right) taping the windows up for me so I can spray on the 1^st coat of primer.

His back is to the camera because he DID NOT have a smile on his face...but I was all kinds of filled with giggles and giddiness.  Can you see my paint sprayer on the tool chest to the right?  Yea...such excitement!

Whilst he was finishing the taping I busted into my paint sprayer to put it all together and get it ready for priming.  I filled up the little paint can with primer.  This is the stuff I used.  Valspar Multi-purpose primer.

I have found it to be the best stuff EVER for priming just about anything but especially slick surfaces like this (thanks previous owners for the shellac covered door).  It says that you don't have to sand...but obviously I needed to.

So back to the paint gun...I got it all put together and then realized that something wasn't right.   The spray nozzle did not look like what was in the picture. After further inspection, I realized that it was missing the air cap...the very piece that is needed to adjust the spray.  (Insert small temper tantrum here).  By this point, I no longer have a smile on my face.  I am quite devastated to be honest.  After I beat myself up for not checking the contents of the box when it arrived, I decided to move forward with priming my door the old fashioned way...brushes and foam rollers BAY-BEEE.  

So that is what it looks like as of today...but reattached to my front door.  It's a work in progress.  I have spoken to the wonderful people at GleemPaint.com about the missing piece from my paint sprayer and they are rushing it to me ASAP!  LOVE THEM!

With a hope and a prayer, this door will soon look like this...



Source

 



Stay tuned for more! I promise to show you the big reveal next week!

Do you have any projects that take longer than you expected?  I'd love to hear about them...you know misery loves company and all :)

 

Say it don't spray it...

Paint Sprayer

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(Wagner HVLP Conversion Paint Sprayer)

Mama got a new toy!  WOOOHOOOO!   I can not WAIT to bust this bad boy out and start spray painting EVERYTHING in my house.  Not even the kids or the dogs are safe from this new toy.  Be afraid...be very, very afraid!

Just looking at this paint sprayer makes me want to go all Tim the Tool Man Taylor with his manly Uh, Uh, UH grunts.  Don't laugh...I had NO idea how to spell that sound out.  LOL!  But if you know Tim the Tool Man, then you KNOW the grunt I am referring too :)

My front door is about to meet its new coat of paint by way of this very sprayer!  SQUEALS!  I can not WAIT to see how it works.  I'm so very excited! 

And if it is a monumental failure, you will understand my absence while I mourn in peace. 

Until then, may your head be filled with visions of spray painted Happiness!

First project of 2012 - The Front Door

Painting the Front Door

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(Benjamin Moore – Wythe Blue)

 

I have struggled with the decision on what project that I wanted to tackle first during the New Year 2012.  My list of projects grows by the second so this was not an easy decision to come by.  Do I go with what NEEDS to be done or what I WANT to have done.  Such a quandary.  Need and want really are the same thing...right?  I mean I WANT to be skinny healthy just as much as I NEED to be.  See...the same thing!  Mr. AKM begs to disagree though.  BOOO!!!  Sometimes I do not like him very much (but I still love him even when I hate disagree with him).

Several months ago our sweet little Australian Shepard, BlackJack, decided to do this to our front door when his cute little girlfriend (the yellow lab next door) walked by our front porch. 

NOT COOL!  He had never done this before, nor has he done it since.  While I was pretty mad at the time about it, I decided it was fate that it happened.  I had long since wanted to paint the door since we moved in but just never got around to doing it.  Its been on my LONG list of to-do's for 3 years.  Really I'm NOT a procrastinator.  I'm Not!  There were just other things that needed to be done 1st...like baking brownies or painting my toenails.  A girl has to have priorities ya know :) 

Sooo the dog ruined the door...then I got this sweet little coupon in the mail for a FREE pint of Benjamin Moore Paint at Ace Hardware.  Umm..SCORE!  So my want to paint the door turned into a "need"...see how that works out?  I'd been eyeing some pretty sweet doors on Pinterest that were all sporting the same color (Benjamin Moore - Wythe Blue).  Coincidence?  I think not!  So in about a week my front door will go from this...

To something more like this....

Cottage and Vine

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I just love that color don't you?  It's like the PERFECT blue/green/turquoise-y shade (yes, turquoise-y is a word).  LA-UVE it!  So off to Ace I went and got my FREE pint-o-paint.  Squeals!

This weekend I shall begin the process of painting the front door to include sanding, filling in the lovely gouges that my dog left behind, sanding some more, taping off the glass and FINALLY priming and painting it.  Whew! So much for a small little door doncha think?

Tune in next week to see the progress....