Monday, April 4, 2011

Forgive me, I'm in a mood


Things that I am annoyed by right now:
1. That I did not remember to take a "before" picture of my rusty shower caddy.
2. Wind
3. La Cucaracha

That being said, here's today's post. :)

I guess I should mention the fact that I got a job. I have been job hunting for about a year now, so this is a welcome surprise. It is not, however, in my field. I will be a receptionist at an office in D.C. So, I have spent the last week or so getting ready to go back to work. Trying to get the house in order, buying work clothes, getting my hair done, etc. It's rather unfortunate that I got a job right after I started a craft blog! I'll have more money, but less time.

With all these things in mind I have been eager to get some crafts done lately. I have had the supplies to work on fixing my rusty shower caddy for weeks now, but the weather has been uncooperative. When I saw that we would be in the high 70s to 80s today I was elated. FINALLY, I would get to spray paint.

I got out the camera, Rusty Metal spray primer, spray paint, drop cloth, shower caddy and toothbrush holder (also rusty). Meanwhile, all of the stuff from our shower caddy is sitting in the tub. I also grabbed a cheap wooden frame and a can of white spray paint. I figured while I was out there I would spray that bad boy too.

This was my first time trying this, so I followed the directions on the primer.
First, you wash the rusty metal. I used an SOS pad. It worked really well. Let it dry.
Then, I got all set up and started to prime.

Oh, FYI- I took these pictures in really bright sunlight, so I couldn't see what they would look like ahead of time. Just keep that in mind. :)

Surprise #1- The primer is RUST colored. I know the cap was rust colored but I thought they were being ironic. For some reason I expected it to be clear. Oh! I know why. Because the directions talk about going back and doing a top coat. I thought that this would be a primer/topcoat like unto nail polish. I feel kind of stupid about it, but whatever.

Surprise #2- As I take this exact photo I think, "AW CRAP! I forgot to take a before picture!" It was a faux brushed nickel finish with rust accents. I'm still annoyed with myself. Oh well.

Surprise #3-The wind. Oh, the wind. It came out of nowhere. It has been beautiful all day. I wore a really, really lightweight skirt without problem until...you know...nowish. Since I don't have a garage or anything I have to do this outside. Also, I bought a $ 0.97 plastic drop cloth instead of a canvas one. I didn't want to have to store it! This raised more issues because it kept flying up and hitting the wet spray primer. But, it's too late to turn back now! All our crap is in the tub, this thing is primed, so I have to go all in.

Here's the "drop cloth" flying everywhere.

Here's my brilliant solution:

Are you asking yourself, "Are those the world's lightest flip-flops that she is using to hold down that tarp thing? Is she worried about spray painting them rust color?" Valid questions. The answer to both is, "Yes." Fortunately, no flip flops were harmed during the making of this post.

So the flip flops don't work and I have to stand on the edges of the tarp to keep it down. That got me a lot closer to the shower caddy than I wanted to be and I ended up with a drippy spot. Only one though! My FIL taught me well!

After it was dry to the touch I jumped the gun and tried to prime the back. It wasn't too tragic or anything it just got annoying. I had to stand it up, which worked REALLY well until a gust of wind knocked it into a nearby bush. No big deal. I'll prime the bush if I have to, because at this point I officially entered stubborn mode.

As I sit on the edge of the tarp allowing my masterpiece to dry I try to reclaim a sunny disposition. Although I'm frustrated by the wind blowing cherry tree petals onto my freshly painted caddy, I try to appreciate the beauty of the Cherry Blossom. I love it.

Why no, they haven't mowed the meadow grass. Good catch! Also, I was frequently visited by the world's fattest bumble bee. I tried to get a picture but since he was clearly too fat to fly on his own, he was enjoying pretending to fly thanks to the wind. I got bored so I imagined a bumble bee Bob and Jillian from Biggest Loser. That made me laugh.

Here is the caddy standing up!

Then I started to whole process over with the ORB spray paint. I didn't take any pictures because at this point I had flashed the neighborhood kids (and 1 creepy dad) about 8 times. If Chance had been home he would have taken a picture of me holding my skirt down, Marilyn Monroe style, with one hand and spray painting with the other. Ridiculous.

Now, I'm hot, annoyed, and bored.. I waited the necessary 10 minutes until the caddy was dry to the touch and then I set it in my tub on top of a bag to finish drying. I couldn't sit out there for another hour.

Oh and the toothbrush holder? Totally ruined by the flying drop cloth. I tried to save it. It's a hot mess. I was thinking about buying a new one anyway.

Then I sit down to talk to my man on G-chat and I realize that my feet are RUST colored. GAH. Where should I wash them? My tub is full of stuff! So before hoisting my leg into my bathroom sink I took a picture for you. Forgive the blurriness, I was standing on one leg trying to angle my foot into good lighting.



They didn't wash completely. I'll have to pumice stone them as soon as my tub is free. I'll get you a picture of the finished caddy as soon as I got buy a real Rust Prevention Topcoat and hang it back up.

**Good thing I "Preview" all my posts. I almost forgot about La Cucaracha. The ice cream truck in our neighborhood plays that song. First of all, annoying song. I'll be singing it for the next two hours. Secondly, it grosses me out. Cockroaches and ice cream don't mix. It makes me seriously question the cleanliness of the van. Plus, he's a grown man, in a panel van, luring kids with ice cream. As if I don't have enough of a negative vibe about him, he adds thoughts of cockroaches to the mix.

1 comment:

  1. Came over from TDC to check out the shower caddy. First of all - love how it turned out (love ORB)! Secondly, hilarious!! Sorry about all the wind and trouble, but your story sounded just like how it might have gone for me and cracked me up! Of course if it was me in the story, I would've been in a mood too! ;) Anyway, thanks for the laugh - and the idea to paint my shower caddy!

    Mara @ Super Savings

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