We have a new friend hanging out in our kitchen. I found this guy at Hobby Lobby during one of their all-the-time 50% off sales for $12. You know me and faux animals. Faux sho they’re mine.
Then he sat in our playroom for a while (a while = 6+ months) and I recently walked in there and had this moment where I said to myself “Self: you have got to stop hoarding things in this room. Use them or lose them.” Which led to an initiative I like to call “Dude, Get On That Already.” The dude being me. Naturally. So I’ll probably revisit this initiative over the next few weeks and months (at least I hope I will) as I systematically pare down the hoarded playroom clutter and decide whether I’m going to keep things and actually use/hang/enjoy them or craigslist/donate/yard sale ’em. A lot of things end up in there for one of two reasons:
- I’m not quite sure where to hang them (so I stick them there and say “I’ll get to it later” and later turns into never)
- I plan to somehow alter things by painting or staining them (so I stick them there and say “I’ll get to it later” and later turns into never)
Well not anymore, folks. I dug in and grabbed my horny little friend and marched his antlers all around the house, trying to find a spot to hang him up and actually enjoy him instead of hiding him away in The Room Of Chaos (yes, that’s its formal name these days, so it gets capital letters and everything). Anyway, after walking around for a while I decided it’d be fun in the kitchen next to the fridge, but the original black color (although very cool in its own right) wasn’t working there. So I dragged my buns outside with a piece of cardboard and some leftover white primer + spray paint.
You know my “thin thin thin and even coats” catchphrase when it comes to spray paint, so I snapped these three in-progress spraying shots to show you how each coat is a nice thin mist. You definitely don’t get full coverage with one thin coat of spray paint – which is a good thing. You’re doing it right if it takes about three of them to slowly accumulate. And always keep your hand moving and hold it 8-10″ away. No thank you drippies. Not on my watch.
Speaking of spray painting tips, this guy’s antlers were still looking dark on the underside, which I knew would be seen when we hung him up, so I waited a full day for his front to cure and then flipped him over to give him a nice deep tissue massage with spray paint on the back.
John and I actually considered a few crazier colors (plum, navy, yellow) but thought that the white would look nice on our grellow walls- especially with the gold mirror in the laundry room so close by (it’s on the other side of the doorway, so we didn’t want it to have to fight for attention). But I have big plans for some of the other things lurking in the playroom. Oh yes, plum, navy, and beyond…
Don’t mind the paint touch ups we have been meaning to do for over a month. I’ll get to it sometime. Unless I’m too busy spray painting various faux animals.
Work it, antlers. Work it.
As for how I hung it on our paneled walls, anchors are a gal’s best friend.
Here’s the box we’ve had… oh… maybe a year?
They seem to last, which is nice because it’s so annoying to run to the store for little hanging stuff. Boo to that. Anyway, for those who might not know how they work, this might sound like “health class” in 5th grade, but the anchor is the white thing and the screw is the silver thing you know what a screw looks like. So you drill a tiny pilot hole into the wall, hammer (or push) the anchor into the hole, and then screw the screw into the anchor.
A into B, baby. Oh but just leave a little bit of the screw sticking out for hanging whatever it is you’re hanging on it (the anchor should be flush with the wall, but the screw might stick out half an inch). Das it.
I gotta tell ya, it took less than an hour of actual time (drying time doesn’t count because you don’t have to stand there and watch it). And that not only includes my little spraying trips in and out for those thin coats but also the whole hanging shebang after he was fully dry. So I have high hopes for my little “Dude, Get On That Already” project. I might just keep this up! And if I ever want to pop it off the wall for a fabulous royal wedding, it makes for a great fascinator.
So are you guys with me on this weird little self-imposed challenge? Any items (or an entire room full of stuff) that you’ve been putting off? Wanna tackle it with me as I go? I’d love to get to at least one thing a week but with kitchen/kid/book stuff I’m not sure if I can stick to that, but it’s definitely the goal! Oh and what should I name this guy? Or is naming white faux animals weird when they don’t have faces? Malcolm? I keep getting Malcolm.
And speaking of projects… surprise!
My apologies for the crazy lighting (oh yeah and the ladders and the dropcloths) but we’re in the midst of getting new lighting! Hah. So there’s just one floor lamp illuminating the back corner of our windowless interior room. Which explains why it looks like a glowing Katy Perry alien is hiding back there or something. But as crazy as it looks… wahoo, it’s progress! More details about the whole process as soon as it’s a wrap (and it’s all cleaned up, photographed, and written out) on Monday!
My “Dude Get On That ”
go thru my IPhoto and delete all the blurry, duplicates, not so good pictures of my son (he’s three) and make a photo book of his first year and then start a family yearbook…I’ve been saying this for the last 2 years.
Oh let’s see…there’s a painting that needs to be hung, some frames that need to be spray-painted and then filled…and then there’s the scrapbook paper collection. I realized I’m not a scrapbooker, but only after I had a crap-ton of paper. So I’m working through that by doing other projects…
Woo to the hoo(hat)! Wait, what sound do deer make?
Anyways, normally I can’t wait til the weekend but now I can’t wait til Monday!
I love him (it?), but the only thing that bothers me is that it’s not hung in the middle of a panel. I know it’s probably centered on the wall, but because it’s not centered in the panel, it appears off to me.
In the pics the panels seem more defined (probably just how the lighting reflects to the lens) but in person the panels are so subtle that he felt the most centered in person when he was actually centered (we tried both placements and went with this one since it made the most visual sense to us). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I have a 3ft tall wooden reindeer named Malcom. He is fabulous.
I also name all our houseplants.
So I vote no on you being weird, haha.
Oh man, I only have a few house plants but they need names stat.
xo,
s
Noun 1. lumber room – a storeroom in a house where odds and ends can be stored (especially furniture)
I came across that term while reading A Christmas Carol and had no idea what the heck it meant, so I looked it up. As soon as I read the definition, I thought, “Oh! It’s like Sherry and John’s playroom.” Kind-of classy sounding, no?
Haha, I love it.
xo,
s
yay! lighting! I can’t believe how much lighting costs?! I should have been a lighting designer.
The antlers look great! You have me here wondering what I can spray paint next. I did our chandelier a little while back and I enjoyed it so much that I can’t wait to paint up something else….maybe I need to find me some antlers.
Hi Sherry, love your blog–just wondering, how do you handle spray painting in the winter? In the sunroom, or do you go outside? I have things I need to spray paint.
I go outside but we have been having the best mild winter ever! It was 65 degrees and sunny when I sprayed Malcolm!
xo,
s
..annndd it was literally 2.7 here this morning.
Ohhh yay for new lighting! You guys are totally energizing me to keep going on my kitchen. I have the base cabinets all painted! Now to tackle the doors/drawer fronts and install my new range hood!
http://retroranchrevamp.com/2012/01/18/bases-loaded/
I love your challenge too! I have a pile of stuff like that. Maybe I will try and do one piece a week like you. It is so much easier (for any project) to break it down into bite size chunks! I wonder if I have any wall art that would double as a hat…hmmmm…
Looks so good already in there! You go girl.
xo,
s
Looove it! And love the Dude Get On That Already challenge, haha. My husband makes jokes about my pile of chaos in the sunroom, something about Where Crafts Go To Die. I have to v. carefully point out the ones that DO get finished, hehe. :D I have three small (real) antler sets that we inherited from my husband’s grandpa when he lived in Africa and hunted African antelope – I’m so excited about them but they are currently in my Crafts Go To Die pile because I can’t decide whether to spray paint them white. What do you think?? Do you know if spraypaint comes off antler bone, if someday I didn’t want them white anymore? It’s a terrible conundrum.
Hmm, I’m not sure it would. Anyone know of something less permanent? Could you wrap them really tightly with white yard or something? That could be fun!
xo,
s
LOVE the “Dude, Get On That Already” Initiative!
I’ve got an attic full of stuff like that.
Looking forward to seeing what else you’ve been squirrelling away in the RoC!
I’m really excited to see your lighting project reveal! We inherited 2 ugly track-lighting fixtures in our kitchen and I really want to replace them. Most of the bulbs are burned out too (boo!).
When I saw the spray painting pictures I thought, “Hmm, wonder why they are going with light blue.” Then I saw the final product (as white) and realized my screen color must be pretty off or it’s Thursday and my mind is loopy waiting for Friday to get here. None the less, nice quicky project!
Malcolm is awesome!
Sheesh, as long as you have all that stuff drop clothed up, you should paint the ceiling! (didn’t you want to do that?)
Yes! We have a bunch of holes up there to deal with once electrical is done and then it’s next!
xo,
s