Spray Paint Love

I have found a new love.  Spray paint.  In fact, I love it so much I might be looking at a new career as a tagger.  I used to shy away from spray paint.  I was  brush and roller kind of girl.  Let me tell you, I was missing out.  Spray paint is fast, spray paint is easy, spray paint doesn't leave brush marks, spray paint can paint anything, but best of all, spray paint is almost instant gratification.

Take this lamp here for an example.  It was hanging in the kids' room.  I was going to chuck it and put up a newer, less hideous light fixture.  But then I got to thinking.  Could this lamp be salvaged?  Could it be saved?  Could it be cute?  I believed that it could be.  A little paint works wonders.  And I'd much rather reuse than rebuy.  With prodding from my friend, Alicia, I decided to go for it. 

The first order of business was, obviously, to clean it.  It was hanging in the house like this for a looong time.  Those light bulbs used to be white.  Ewwww.  (The whole house was pretty much that dirty.  That is why EVERYTHING got repainted.)  I actually thought the middle glass globe had turned brown over time as glass sometimes does.  Nope.  It was just disgustingly dirty. But, after a few minutes of rubbing and scrubbing, the lamp was far more presentable.  A little cleaning goes a long way.

Now for the fun part.  The helpful sales associate at Loews counseled me to use a gray primer under the yellow.  He said otherwise the brass would bleed through.  So I covered it in gray, just one coat, and then hit it with the first coat of yellow.  It looked great!  It only took a few more coats to finish it.  William, whose favorite color is yellow, loved it.  Even Aaron and James, who are harder to please loved it.

The next day we hung it in the kids' room.  I was so jazzed by the finished product that I bought a few more cans of spray paint and began painting everything in sight.  Well, actually I just painted the mailbox, a terracotta pot, a pair of beat up wooden clogs from Holland, and the picnic table.  I still have another lamp to do.  At $3.95 a can, it is an economical way to go.  And like I said, the results are fabulous!

I am sure there is something in your house you can spray.  Give it a try.  I am certain you will be delighted.  Share with me when you do.  Have fun spraying!