winter white, a before and after.

okay, get excited.
my big weekend project is complete and i cannot wait to show you the finished product!

so...I have been wanting to do this forever.
like since we moved in.  . . 4 1/2 years ago.

so i sold finley's old crib bedding set on craig's list and i had some extra cash just burning a hole in my pocket.
as soon as i learned of the snowy/icy forecast in store, i knew this would be my weekend.
i needed some free days with nothing on the agenda, and this was my chance.

so i gathered my supplies. . .

and using this tutorial, got busy on this:

 i have never been a fan of this orangy stain on our table & chairs.
we got it b/c it was a great deal at Sam's and it matched the cabinets at our old house and someone told me to.
b.t.w. . .   don't do stuff just b/c people tell you to.  do what you like.
well they don't match the cabinets at this house at all....they actually really clash.

thursday night i decided to get them all sanded and ready to go.
lucky for me some parts of the table were already taken care of. :)

yes, that is where Avery has sat for the last 7 years.

i used medium grit sand paper and some elbow grease and just sanded them enough to give them some "teeth."

on friday morning i laid out all my supplies & put the tarp under the table & chairs.

Sawyer takes two good naps so I painted like a crazy woman during both of them.
 Avery & Finley entertained themselves by building forts out of cardboard boxes in the living room.

since I was using oil based paint, I cracked the window and turned on some fans.
It was a bit cold, what with the snow storm going on and all, but I figured that was a small price to pay for preserving the few brain cells I have left and not giving my children an asthma attack.
boys, you are welcome.

i took a break for lunch.

whenever i had to stop painting for a while, i put my paintbrush in a zip lock bag (with all air pressed out) in the fridge.
that keeps the paint nice and wet so you don't have to wash it out until you're project is complete.
that trick has saved my sanity on more than one occasion.

on saturday morning i put a second coat on the table and chairs.
i must say it was a bit tedious going over every part of those chairs.
but seriously, so worth it.
a few days work and i am so so happy with it!

sunday morning i took the sanding block & med. grit sand paper and distressed the edges.
we use our table so i thought i'd beat the boys to the punch.
and i love the farmhouse/chippy paint/casual-we-actually-live-here look.

then i went over every thing with a micro-fiber cloth to make sure there weren't any dust particles.
then i did two coats of the poly on the table top and one thin coat on everything else.
the poly was the easiest part of the whole project and about a bazillion times less smelly.

here she is in all her glory.

wooty-hoo-hoo!  i love it so much!
it's not perfect, but it's done and i love it.

i think this creamy white table is the perfect background for my wintery jars.

and because everybody loves a before and after:

  

bonus notes:

1. i hated the paintbrush i used.  i spent $20 on it at Sherwin Williams hoping it would give me a really great finish.  and maybe it did.  but bristles fell out constantly.  i was always having to pick stray bristles out of the paint. annoying.  was it because it was ox hair?  it said it was for oil based paint. and the guy (who was new) at sherwin williams suggested it. should i have used synthetic?  let's just say that by the time i was done, i trashed it.  bummer.

2. all that time alone with my thoughts gave me lots of time to pray.  i prayed for everyone and everything i could think of.  that was nice. 

3.  doing one project just makes me want to do another.  the list is long.

4. the color is "creamy" by sherwin williams

i am so happy with how it turned out. 

it makes me smile every time i walk by it. :)

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