Not much has changed since last month but I finally did two "Dude Get On That, Already" projects.
I bought a dresser at a garage sale a few months ago for $15 that I knew would look great with a little love.
I borrowed my dad's sander and got to work. My neighbor came home and told me he had a more powerful one if I wanted to use it. I figured he knew more than I did, so I gave it a try. I went from a little hand sander that I was just barely getting the hang of to a belt sander. Guys. It is powerful. I had no idea.It almost got away from me the first time. Good things my new neighbors weren't moving in across the street and don't think I'm a crazy person. Whoops. Anyway, I finally got the thing sanded down.
Don't laugh at me if you know anything about sanding furniture and think it looks wonky.
Also please disregard my mess of a garage.
I was thinking of doing a gradient effect, and then saw it in the YHL book- so I took the plunge. It was pretty easy, just took some time to paint. It would have been faster if I was a little smarter and bought more paint brushes. Washing the paint out after each coat was the worst part.
I spent Veteran's day painting. There really isn't a better feeling than being productive doing something you want to do on a day off. Love it.
And final product.
I had also bought a door at an estate sale a few months back. My poor dad. I think every time he finishes a project I have a new one for him. He may be rethinking encouraging me to buy a house. I think he misses the handyman that rental properties come with. Thanks, Dad!
Here's the original. I really liked the color, but it was a really weird paint. If it was even paint at all. It was almost like someone had just rubbed an insane amount of chalk all over. If you ran your hand over, your hand would be green. It even puzzled the paint guys at Sherwin Williams.
This is after several "coats" of paint thinner trying to wash it off. In the end, water was the best thing. Weird, right?
He came over last weekend and we hung the door. When I bought it, I really thought "I can just take the old one off the hinges and throw this one up there. No big deal."
Well, turns out I know nothing about doors. Whoops.
There was a lot of sawing, chiseling, and trial and error.
But, fast forward a couple of hours and it's hanging! And beautiful!
Well, not quite beautiful yet, I'm still trying to get paint stragglers off. It's been a process.
It might be weird that there's a window, but I'm a little weird. I have plans for a little curtain when I need there to not be a window into my bedroom.
And speaking of "Dude Get On That, Already" projects, I also took a little trip down to Dallas to meet John and Sherry Petersik. I know, you're jealous.
There are several of us at work who religiously read their blog. I can't remember who read it first, but it spread quickly and we generally talk about them like we're family. Is that weird?
Only two of us were able to go to their book signing at West Elm. One of the downsides of working at a bank is having to work on Saturdays. Sorry Heather!
Jordan and I drove down there thinking we were pretty early, but the line was already snaking through the store and then around the corner outside. We ended up pretty much in the middle of the line when the doors opened. I felt a little silly waiting so long to see people for a total of 2 minutes. I kept telling myself, they're just people, just like you. (because our blogs are so similar. They have millions (!) of blog hits a month, I might have 5. Thanks Mom!)
But despite my inner pep talk, I got totally flustered when it was our turn. I rambled (about paramedics and firemen?) as I tend to do because I'm awkward in most situations. Hopefully I wasn't much worse than everyone else.
This one's excited.
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