During the summer, Zoey's table lived on our porch, where it was exposed to pretty warm temperatures. I brought it in to play tea party today and noticed that the finish had gotten kind of rough and it has a few dings in the finish just from setting things on the table.
I do not recommend the DIY chalk paint. Thought I'd share. Someday when I have time, I'll sand it down and paint it with regular paint.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Zoey's "New" Table-Part 1
My mother gave Zoey an amazing gift. It's a child sized table and chairs. That's pretty cool in itself, but what I love about it is that it was my mother's table and chairs! My grandfather, who I never got to meet, bought it for my mom in 1948 when she was a little girl. It was hand crafted in their small town by a toymaker, who happened to be blind. My mother loved that little table, and when she married my daddy, she brought it to the marriage. My siblings all played with it, and it lived in my bedroom for many years when I was a little girl. I bet this table has hosted more tea parties than the Queen of England. My nieces and nephews played with it, too, and it went into storage when they all grew up.
There's 17 and 19 years between Zoey and her next-youngest cousins on my side (my siblings' grandchildren-my grand nieces and nephews-are closer to her age). My mother retrieved the table last fall from my sister's garage and gave it to Zoey for Christmas this year.
The table has seen better days. It's still rugged, but the paint and finish were pretty worn. 3 generations of children, years of storage, and proximity to a house fire will do that. Heck, I hope I'm in such good shape when I'm in my sixties! My mom agreed a fresh coat of paint was in order.
Because it's a vintage piece, I decided to try using "chalk paint" for the first time. Chalk paint dries quickly, and you finish it by waxing it. It's supposed to have a softer finish, is durable, and best of all, you don't have to sand or prime first. I was sold! I followed a DIY recipe from Lowes with a quart of mistinted Dutch Boy paint I'd found at a local hardware store. The paint is a purply-blue, like a hydrangea. The recipe called for 1/3 cup of plaster of paris, 1/3 cup water, and 1 cup paint.
The paint covered well, but I learned a few things the hard way.
1. Use a little more water than they recommend. I found that the paint dried a bit too grainy. I think the plaster of paris didn't dissolve completely, even though I mixed like crazy.
2. It dries FAST. You can't really go back and touch up sections without roughing up the finish. Let it dry completely before you go back.
3. It's great if you want to distress it by sanding. My finish was so grainy, I had to sand between coats, but since I don't want a distressed finish, I had to go back and touch up the edges (see #2).
My table took 2 coats on the legs and I did 3 on the top. The chairs got 2 coats underneath and 3 on the seat and back. I finished all the painting in under 2 hours, including mixing the paint. By the time I painted the underside of one chair and did the underside of the other, the first one was dry.
Tomorrow I will wax the finish, and Zoey and I will have a tea party. I'll post some photos tomorrow!
There's 17 and 19 years between Zoey and her next-youngest cousins on my side (my siblings' grandchildren-my grand nieces and nephews-are closer to her age). My mother retrieved the table last fall from my sister's garage and gave it to Zoey for Christmas this year.
The table has seen better days. It's still rugged, but the paint and finish were pretty worn. 3 generations of children, years of storage, and proximity to a house fire will do that. Heck, I hope I'm in such good shape when I'm in my sixties! My mom agreed a fresh coat of paint was in order.
Because it's a vintage piece, I decided to try using "chalk paint" for the first time. Chalk paint dries quickly, and you finish it by waxing it. It's supposed to have a softer finish, is durable, and best of all, you don't have to sand or prime first. I was sold! I followed a DIY recipe from Lowes with a quart of mistinted Dutch Boy paint I'd found at a local hardware store. The paint is a purply-blue, like a hydrangea. The recipe called for 1/3 cup of plaster of paris, 1/3 cup water, and 1 cup paint.
The paint covered well, but I learned a few things the hard way.
1. Use a little more water than they recommend. I found that the paint dried a bit too grainy. I think the plaster of paris didn't dissolve completely, even though I mixed like crazy.
2. It dries FAST. You can't really go back and touch up sections without roughing up the finish. Let it dry completely before you go back.
3. It's great if you want to distress it by sanding. My finish was so grainy, I had to sand between coats, but since I don't want a distressed finish, I had to go back and touch up the edges (see #2).
My table took 2 coats on the legs and I did 3 on the top. The chairs got 2 coats underneath and 3 on the seat and back. I finished all the painting in under 2 hours, including mixing the paint. By the time I painted the underside of one chair and did the underside of the other, the first one was dry.
Tomorrow I will wax the finish, and Zoey and I will have a tea party. I'll post some photos tomorrow!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Zoey's "Big Girl" Chair
So my little Zoey is now almost 18 months old. I have been neglecting my blog for almost a year.
I've achieved a ton of home improvement projects in the past year, working during naps and school vacation time when daycare was open and I was off work. (We have to pay for daycare even if Zoey doesn't go, so she went to visit with her pals there while I got some stuff done.)
My latest project was another inspired by Young House Love. (If you haven't read their blog, you totally should go check it out.) They had a hand me down tall toddler chair that Sherry painted for their daughter Clara. Zoey likes to sit at the table with us, so I kept my eyes open for a similar chair for Zoey. I found one secondhand from a nice lady who retired from my school district and I went to work to update it.
Last year, Marden's had a HUGE sale on spray paint-the good stuff, so I stocked up on some fun colors figuring I'd do something with them some day.
I cleaned the chair and deglossed it with some TSP substitute, then set to work. I primed it with Rustoleum 2x primer (it took 2 cans). I kept the chair upright and tried to bend my arms in crazy ways to get underneath. I should have done the underside first, then flipped it upright. I ended up with lots of drippy primer that had to be sanded off. Live and learn.
Once it was dry enough to recoat, I painted it with Rustoleum's "Lagoon," a dark turquoise. I did the underside first, then flipped it upright to do the rest. It took 2 full cans.
I've achieved a ton of home improvement projects in the past year, working during naps and school vacation time when daycare was open and I was off work. (We have to pay for daycare even if Zoey doesn't go, so she went to visit with her pals there while I got some stuff done.)
My latest project was another inspired by Young House Love. (If you haven't read their blog, you totally should go check it out.) They had a hand me down tall toddler chair that Sherry painted for their daughter Clara. Zoey likes to sit at the table with us, so I kept my eyes open for a similar chair for Zoey. I found one secondhand from a nice lady who retired from my school district and I went to work to update it.
 |
| Ready for paint! |
Last year, Marden's had a HUGE sale on spray paint-the good stuff, so I stocked up on some fun colors figuring I'd do something with them some day.
I cleaned the chair and deglossed it with some TSP substitute, then set to work. I primed it with Rustoleum 2x primer (it took 2 cans). I kept the chair upright and tried to bend my arms in crazy ways to get underneath. I should have done the underside first, then flipped it upright. I ended up with lots of drippy primer that had to be sanded off. Live and learn.
 |
| Primed! |
Once it was dry enough to recoat, I painted it with Rustoleum's "Lagoon," a dark turquoise. I did the underside first, then flipped it upright to do the rest. It took 2 full cans.
 |
| Watching paint dry. |
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| After 2 coats |
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| Dry enough to move into the house! |
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| Zoey seems to like it! |
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| Zoey learned a new word! "Chair!" |
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The danger of reading blogs
So I'm becoming a bit of a blog-reading junkie. I love reading about real people. Mainly I like the blogs about doing cool home projects, like Young House Love. When Sherry, one half of the couple who write Young House Love, wrote back to me after a blog comment and email I sent them, I felt like I'd gotten a response from someone famous. I hope Santa brings me their book for Christmas. I like doing things myself, and frugally when I can. That also means that I get way too many good ideas from reading blogs about frugal decorating, painting, and making a house a home.
Today I'm painting the brass chandelier that was in our dining room. My brother took it out of a house he was remodeling about 8 years ago. We replaced a *cough* lovely *cough* wagon wheel chandelier with it. I've never been a fan of brass, and it doesn't fit well with our decor. I've been shopping for a new chandelier, but thought before I bought a new one, I'd try to paint this one. It's all Sherry and John's fault at Young House Love. They painted their brass chandelier and it looked so nice I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I hung the chandelier in our creepy basement to paint because it's too cold outside. Armed with white Krylon spray paint from Marden's, I went to work.
Unfortunately, Zoey's customary 2 hour nap lasted about 45 minutes. That has made this easy project challenging because Daddy is Christmas shopping. That means I spray a coat, run upstairs to the second floor to comfort Zoey, run downstairs to spray a coat, run back upstairs, etc. It's good exercise, I suppose. She doesn't want to nap today. I gave up and now we're on the couch having a snack. Well, she's snacking. I'm writing. I'll put her in her playpen in Daddy's office (on the first floor) when I need to go add more paint to my chandelier. There are a couple of imperfect spots, but it looks better than before, kind of shabby chic or like it belongs in a cottage.
My next big project is certainly big. I'm going to paint the living room/dining room. I've never liked the fake wood paneling much, so after ten and a half years, I'm going to paint it. It will look like a cottage with the grooves in the walls. I think it will look nice. I'm going to tackle that during February break. We have to pay for daycare anyway, so Zoey will go to daycare for a couple days while I paint. She's not so helpful during painting!
Today I'm painting the brass chandelier that was in our dining room. My brother took it out of a house he was remodeling about 8 years ago. We replaced a *cough* lovely *cough* wagon wheel chandelier with it. I've never been a fan of brass, and it doesn't fit well with our decor. I've been shopping for a new chandelier, but thought before I bought a new one, I'd try to paint this one. It's all Sherry and John's fault at Young House Love. They painted their brass chandelier and it looked so nice I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I hung the chandelier in our creepy basement to paint because it's too cold outside. Armed with white Krylon spray paint from Marden's, I went to work.
Unfortunately, Zoey's customary 2 hour nap lasted about 45 minutes. That has made this easy project challenging because Daddy is Christmas shopping. That means I spray a coat, run upstairs to the second floor to comfort Zoey, run downstairs to spray a coat, run back upstairs, etc. It's good exercise, I suppose. She doesn't want to nap today. I gave up and now we're on the couch having a snack. Well, she's snacking. I'm writing. I'll put her in her playpen in Daddy's office (on the first floor) when I need to go add more paint to my chandelier. There are a couple of imperfect spots, but it looks better than before, kind of shabby chic or like it belongs in a cottage.
My next big project is certainly big. I'm going to paint the living room/dining room. I've never liked the fake wood paneling much, so after ten and a half years, I'm going to paint it. It will look like a cottage with the grooves in the walls. I think it will look nice. I'm going to tackle that during February break. We have to pay for daycare anyway, so Zoey will go to daycare for a couple days while I paint. She's not so helpful during painting!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The Beam
I never was great on the balance beam. Uneven bars? No problem. The rings? Sure. But the balance beam? I'd jump up, using the nifty springboard thing, stand (none-too-gracefully, I imagine), and take a few tentative steps. I'd do OK for a bit, but sure enough, I'd try to turn or bend, and I'd fall off. I tried and tried. I got bumps, bruises, abrasions, and sprains. I came to loathe the high beam. After spraining both my wrist and ankle in the same spectacular fall, I started to fear it. It was my nemesis. I'd dread going to PE because I knew my teacher would make me try again, and my classmates would see me fall. The after-school gymnastics program included the beam, too, but at least there I could avoid it without it affecting my grade!
Right now, I feel like I'm on that balance beam again. I'm the pudgy 5th grader trying and trying to successfully walk from one end to the other, and back again, but I fall every single time. Balancing work and home is becoming more and more of a struggle. To be a good mom, I end up neglecting work. To be efficient at work, I need to put in lots of hours outside of the school day, which means less time with my family.
These past two weeks I was faced with 60 essays, 60 quizzes, and 60 projects to grade. I stayed late, I worked through planning time and when the students were working quietly, and graded while sitting on the living room floor with Zoey while she played. It got done, but it was pretty awful. It didn't help that I was getting emails and phone calls from parents asking when these things would be graded and posted to my online gradebook. I just couldn't seem to catch a break. I got the stuff graded, but I was so stressed. The trouble with being an English teacher is that, for most assignments, there is no "right" or "wrong" answer. Essays and stories and projects need to be read, edited, critiqued, and scored. If you rush you'll miss things. Having 60 students makes it very challenging to get anything graded in a timely manner, unless I give up my life to get it done. I'm not willing to do that anymore. Before Zoey, I'd give up a weekend day (or sometimes the whole weekend) to get my grading done. I won't do that now. Zoey needs her mumma, and I need my Zoey. Teaching is my profession. It isn't my life.
Right now, I feel like I'm on that balance beam again. I'm the pudgy 5th grader trying and trying to successfully walk from one end to the other, and back again, but I fall every single time. Balancing work and home is becoming more and more of a struggle. To be a good mom, I end up neglecting work. To be efficient at work, I need to put in lots of hours outside of the school day, which means less time with my family.
These past two weeks I was faced with 60 essays, 60 quizzes, and 60 projects to grade. I stayed late, I worked through planning time and when the students were working quietly, and graded while sitting on the living room floor with Zoey while she played. It got done, but it was pretty awful. It didn't help that I was getting emails and phone calls from parents asking when these things would be graded and posted to my online gradebook. I just couldn't seem to catch a break. I got the stuff graded, but I was so stressed. The trouble with being an English teacher is that, for most assignments, there is no "right" or "wrong" answer. Essays and stories and projects need to be read, edited, critiqued, and scored. If you rush you'll miss things. Having 60 students makes it very challenging to get anything graded in a timely manner, unless I give up my life to get it done. I'm not willing to do that anymore. Before Zoey, I'd give up a weekend day (or sometimes the whole weekend) to get my grading done. I won't do that now. Zoey needs her mumma, and I need my Zoey. Teaching is my profession. It isn't my life.
Friday, September 14, 2012
The balancing act
"You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are. ”
― Fred Rogers
I went back to work August 27. I'll be honest. I would rather be home with Zoey. I miss her smile, her cuddles, her giggles, and being Mommy full time. It also makes it hard for me to take time for myself, because I get home from work, relieve my husband of parenting duties so he can have some time to work or relax, and the next thing I know, it's time for bed. Zoey and I snuggle, talk, and play. Somewhere in those precious few hours, I prepare bottles, change diapers, and maybe toss in a load or laundry (baby-puke-soaked clothes really shouldn't sit in the hamper too long...trust me). If I'm feeling ambitious I'll cook something for supper; more often it's something I can pop in the oven or it's take-out. Luckily, I haven't had anything to grade at home, but I know it's coming. Haven't figured out how to do that with a baby on my lap yet.
Yesterday, I took an hour to go out in my kayak. It was nice. I wasn't the teacher, I wasn't mom, I was just me. Our local community theater is having auditions for a fun musical next weekend. I'm so torn. I'd love to audition and be on stage again. It's been far too long. But that means giving up time with Zoey. Rehearsals a few times a week, and then once the show draws near, rehearsals almost daily, and 2 weekends of performances. I can't decide what I want to do. I love being on stage, singing, performing, making people smile and laugh. But Zoey's only a baby once. I'm afraid I'll miss something.
I try not to let fear drive me, but it sneaks in there sometimes. I'm horrible with the "what if's." What if she crawls for the first time when I'm at a rehearsal? What if she's sick and needs me and I have to miss a rehearsal? They're counting on me, too. What if I teach all day, stay after for a detention or to grade or make copies, come home, eat, and go to rehearsal. I will see Zoey for maybe an hour that day. What if she's napping during that hour? Plus, hubby will have her all day and all night too. He's SuperDad, but he needs some down time on occasion.
It's harder to balance working and momming and being me than I thought it would be. I sometimes feel I can't be all 3-the teacher, the mom, the Me. There doesn't seem to be enough time for all of them.
I'm trying to think of other things I enjoy that I could do that wouldn't require quite so much time away from my family. My hobbies consist of music, theater, musical theater, refinishing furniture, kayaking and camping. The last three don't work so well in a Maine winter. Sigh.
I'd love input out there from other working moms! How do you make time for yourself, without feeling like you're missing out on precious family time? How do you balance it all?
― Fred Rogers
I went back to work August 27. I'll be honest. I would rather be home with Zoey. I miss her smile, her cuddles, her giggles, and being Mommy full time. It also makes it hard for me to take time for myself, because I get home from work, relieve my husband of parenting duties so he can have some time to work or relax, and the next thing I know, it's time for bed. Zoey and I snuggle, talk, and play. Somewhere in those precious few hours, I prepare bottles, change diapers, and maybe toss in a load or laundry (baby-puke-soaked clothes really shouldn't sit in the hamper too long...trust me). If I'm feeling ambitious I'll cook something for supper; more often it's something I can pop in the oven or it's take-out. Luckily, I haven't had anything to grade at home, but I know it's coming. Haven't figured out how to do that with a baby on my lap yet.
Yesterday, I took an hour to go out in my kayak. It was nice. I wasn't the teacher, I wasn't mom, I was just me. Our local community theater is having auditions for a fun musical next weekend. I'm so torn. I'd love to audition and be on stage again. It's been far too long. But that means giving up time with Zoey. Rehearsals a few times a week, and then once the show draws near, rehearsals almost daily, and 2 weekends of performances. I can't decide what I want to do. I love being on stage, singing, performing, making people smile and laugh. But Zoey's only a baby once. I'm afraid I'll miss something.
I try not to let fear drive me, but it sneaks in there sometimes. I'm horrible with the "what if's." What if she crawls for the first time when I'm at a rehearsal? What if she's sick and needs me and I have to miss a rehearsal? They're counting on me, too. What if I teach all day, stay after for a detention or to grade or make copies, come home, eat, and go to rehearsal. I will see Zoey for maybe an hour that day. What if she's napping during that hour? Plus, hubby will have her all day and all night too. He's SuperDad, but he needs some down time on occasion.
It's harder to balance working and momming and being me than I thought it would be. I sometimes feel I can't be all 3-the teacher, the mom, the Me. There doesn't seem to be enough time for all of them.
I'm trying to think of other things I enjoy that I could do that wouldn't require quite so much time away from my family. My hobbies consist of music, theater, musical theater, refinishing furniture, kayaking and camping. The last three don't work so well in a Maine winter. Sigh.
I'd love input out there from other working moms! How do you make time for yourself, without feeling like you're missing out on precious family time? How do you balance it all?
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
So, who really approves the life jacket?
I was shopping for new life jackets and noticed that they all have a logo inside that says, "USCG Approved." That got me thinking...who in the Coast Guard is in charge of approving life jackets? How do they approve them? I have a friend who is a Coastie and I asked him that question. He didn't know.
In my imagination, companies ship life jackets to the Coast Guard, where Coasties are strapped into them and tossed overboard. If they're feeling like having some fun, they make the Coastie walk the plank first. If they float, the life jacket gets approved. If they sink, the life jacket doesn't get approved. I hope the next step is rescuing the sinking Coastie.
Zack, my Coastie friend, said they likely test them on dummies, but then they probably are tested by real people for functionality. I feel bad for the guy who has to test the big orange brick life jackets. You know, the basic ones every summer camp makes you wear? All his pals are in the nice vests from LL Bean and he's stuck in the orange square thing. Those "brick" life jackets aren't very comfortable, and if you are a female or have a round belly, you can't see your feet past it sticking up past your curvy parts. (This is why I bring my own life jacket to camp now!)
Does anyone know what the testing and approval process is for a life jacket?
Oh, and if you're looking for a decent life vest that's pretty comfy, Cabela's has their basic vests on sale online this week.
In my imagination, companies ship life jackets to the Coast Guard, where Coasties are strapped into them and tossed overboard. If they're feeling like having some fun, they make the Coastie walk the plank first. If they float, the life jacket gets approved. If they sink, the life jacket doesn't get approved. I hope the next step is rescuing the sinking Coastie.
Zack, my Coastie friend, said they likely test them on dummies, but then they probably are tested by real people for functionality. I feel bad for the guy who has to test the big orange brick life jackets. You know, the basic ones every summer camp makes you wear? All his pals are in the nice vests from LL Bean and he's stuck in the orange square thing. Those "brick" life jackets aren't very comfortable, and if you are a female or have a round belly, you can't see your feet past it sticking up past your curvy parts. (This is why I bring my own life jacket to camp now!)
Does anyone know what the testing and approval process is for a life jacket?
Oh, and if you're looking for a decent life vest that's pretty comfy, Cabela's has their basic vests on sale online this week.
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