It's a Process...

This post could also be titled, "Highly Distracted".  Remember last week?  I started cleaning up old chairs and sanding to get them all ready for a fresh coat of paint....

I was working with minimal supplies.  I had a few sheets of sandpaper and a sander that was broken.  Its motor worked but only one side had the little teeth to lock the sandpaper in.  No worries, I can jimmy-jack that with duck tape (my dad has taught me well).  As my dad so eloquently put it, "it would be boring to be rich."  Surprisingly, it worked for the most part.  If I worked more than a few hours it would get too hot and melt the tape off.  I did not want to spend money on this table.  

Well, I sanded those chairs until I was covered in green paint dust, and then sanded some more.  I insisted that sanding would be better than using a paint stripper, because quite frankly that stuff scares me.  For some crazy reason I thought this project would take about a week to do all the sanding, painting, and varnishing for a table and 4 chairs (insert sarcastic laugh, cause it's been more than a week, and I haven't finished painting yet...).     

This table top was bad.  Varnish had come off in spots and people spilled coffee or some other dark liquid on it and the stains were very tricky to get out.  In fact, I still have not got them all out.  Fear not, I have a plan for that....

At some point on day 3 of sanding I decided to try my hand at another project cause I was sick of sanding. The sander and tape was just not working.  

Keeping with the kitchen/dining theme, I decided to spruce up some very plain white tea towels.  I pulled out my fabric markers and started doodling all over them.  Then I got the brilliant idea to put song lyrics on one.  Well, that was even more tedious than sanding with a broken sander.  

I used O's light box so I could see the words I printed and trace over them.  After an hour of that, I felt like I was blind, but I finished.  Next project...

We went to the store and looked for the wall color in our kitchen (Aqua Inlet, if you are wondering).  I skipped down 4-5 shades for a darker blue that matched and came up with Robin's Egg Blue.  Sure. That seems like a good color for a table and chairs.  So, I painted, and then I got distracted.  Swiss Days is this weekend.  I think we need a break. 

We walked around and looked at all the crafty things for sale.  We found our friends.  

We ate ice cream.  

Then I got really distracted, and somehow we ended up in another city buying a couch.  

O's room had a tornado pass through, so that needed cleaned up.

All Better.

Then it was Sunday, and we listened to my dad preach at a local state park camp ground.

Then I needed to visit my little brother.  While we were there, I decided the blue on those chairs was not working, and I really like the blue on his walls much more.  So, I pretended to take a photo of my husband while I was actually getting the wall color.  :)

We couldn't leave without playing a game of Gin-Rummy.  For the first time in history, I won!  :)  Notice the paper is all crinkled up?  That's because neither of those guys wanted me to take a photo of it.  I had to though, this never happens.  Really now, I need to get back to those chairs sitting in the back yard.

I went to a different store to find some way to darken the paint I already painted.  Glaze?  Sure. 

$40 later I walked out of the store.  This dining set was getting expensive.  After discussing it with my husband, I returned the glaze and decided to just repaint.  Back to that store to return all those supplies.

I took the paint back to the store, explain that I didn't like it, and I found a better color.  Not quite my brother's walls, but not glow-in-the-dark-blue either.  Much better.  

Oh but to throw some more fun in, my friend came out with her daughter to help and we started prepping laminate bookshelves to paint that color too.  

 To sum up the last week, I have...
::sanded chairs, and table
::painted chairs
::repainted chairs (but still not done).
::wrote some words on a tea towel
::bought a couch (ordered rather, it will be two more weeks before we get it)
::sanded bookshelves

At this point I have no real completed project that I can say, 'yes that is done'  Oh me, oh my!

I think a game of connect four is in order.