The heirloom painting continues

Grab your family heirlooms and put up gramma's china...cause I'm in an heirloom painting mood!

One of my grandmother's paintings, this is a canvas print.

I have never liked the gold on this frame, and it has kept me from hanging this lovely print of Notre Dame.  The original is hanging in my grandmother's sister's home (I guess that would be my great aunt's home) and I had admired it once.  In that sweet little way that grandma's do, she heard me and took it to heart, and had this made for me the year she passed away.  Which I treasured.  But just not feeling the frame.

So I did the fireplace special on it (you know what I am talking about if you have read my posts about painting brass fireplace frames.)

That's right, I spray painted it.

I am just now realizing how tacky that sounds.  Robert Earl Keene should write a song entitled, "I spray painted it."

Anyway, this is how it looks over the bed.

Again, it is really not that shiny in person.  

So happy to hang this treasure and share Granny Nelle's fabulous work of art with others, not to mention the warm feeling it gives me knowing what a gift this painting was and is.

Another Brass Frame Painted

A couple of weeks ago, I painted our fireplace frame.  This marks my forth consecutive fireplace frame spray-painting.  We have owned 5 homes.  That is a ratio of 4/5.

Actually, our first home didn't even have a fireplace.

I used some steel wool to scratch the lovely golden surface and taped some newspaper to the glass.

Carly was making the rounds in the neighborhood with her school fundraiser.  Poor neighbors.  You can't resist that smile.

Final product.  Let's be honest here - this room is still ugly.

This is the last large room that I need to paint.
There's so much...
WOOD....
It's too woody.  Or woodsy.  Or whatever.
Plus with the tree and the bird and the wheat.
I'm feeling a little lumberjackish.
Which is not the look I am going for.
I am un-inspired.  Ideas?
Maybe I can find some plaid flannel wallpaper to complete the look?
And I can order some wall words that say:
"How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood."
And I can order one of these 4' chainsaw bears - for the  corner.

Here's a video of me spraypainting.
Why?  I don't know.

Watch it, then give me some ideas for my living room.

Getting Crafty-ish

I am not very crafty.  

I don't like to scrapbook.  

I have a sewing machine, 

and the people who have used it

tell me that it's a good one.

 

 

But I did take this:

 

And turn it in to this:
 

A bulletin board for Carly's Room!

btw those are txt 

whether or not this thing stays "put together" is TBD

when it falls apart, I will not be rotfl

I spray painted the frame, 

(love me some black spray paint)

making sure I destroyed the ugly picture in the process.

Should've worn gloves.  

 

Then I covered it with Cork Squares,

which strangely enough smelled worse than spray paint.

Don't inhale, sweet baby girl.

 

Then I hotglued the fabric on.

Making sure to burn myself a few times in the process.

Because it's not considered a successful hotglue-ing

unless you are peeling hotglue off your blistered fingers.

Then I hung it!

FYI- tour of this room to follow 

as soon as window treatment is finished

by my mom

using my sewing machine. 

Black is Beautiful!

This blog was supposed to be about painting, and I actually do paint when I'm not baking a Yoshi cake and rescreening my porch.  Today's painting tip involves My Boyz:  Black Spray Paint and High Heat Black Spray Paint.*

Lowe's Home Improvement, circa 2000.  

*Must be 18 years or older to purchase. 

The last three houses we have purchased have had shiny metal on the fireplace.  I am not a fan of shiny metal, unless I am wearing it.  I am about to show you why.  You might want to put on your sunglasses now.  You have been forewarned.

Look at it glaring at me in these photos from our San Antonio home:

 

Ouch!  Completely ruined my photos!!!  

And it's winking here at our Big Spring Home, where apparently the builders could not afford the COMPLETE brass look, so they went with the racing stripe effect:

 Even my dog looks confused.  

I don't know why anyone would purchase that, Rex.  I just do not know.

Using my High Heat Boy, which is made for painting your charcoal grill (like, really?  people do that?)  I have remedied my problem.  This is the redone Big Spring fireplace:

Amazing results from an aerosol can!

I think I was feeling the San Antonio Cultura when I went with this look:

Oh, Molly, no.  But at least the brass is gone.  

This is the second brick fireplace that I have painted.  On the first (before my digital camera existed) it was so bad that we overheard our realtor tell potential buyers, "They have kept the house in great shape, but they painted the fireplace burnt orange."  

I have also used the Boyz to update light fixtures,  this used to be brass:

It's still kind of ugly, and it took me forever.

In closing, sometimes resisting the Boyz proves itself difficult, what with their tempting ways from the back corner of the garage.  Case in point:  my daughter is outgrowing her bike.  My son needs a bike.   The Boyz want to convert Carly's pink and purple bike with heart treads on the tires into a very masculine, testosterone-charged SuperMarioBros/Yoshi bike for my son.  All I need is a seat cover (pretty sure paint won't stick to the vinyl seat cover without leaving some black sediment on the hind of rider) and some sweet decal stickers.

Who's with me on this one?  

Anyone?  Anyone?