March 28, 2009

foiled again

Paint hates me. 

I don't know why I thought it would be different this time.

I thought it would be feasible for me to paint a branch on my living room wall(my front room). I really did. I somehow convinced myself that it would be easy enough.

And at first things seemed to go ok.

I found an image of a branch and printed it onto a transparency sheet. I borrowed a projector.


Here is the image projected onto the wall, above my couch.


And here I am, tracing the branch with my favorite mechanical pencil. I was so happy and optimistic.


And then comes the paint.

I bought some paint brushes and acrylic paint at Michaels. I thought I was going to outsmart the paint. I was just going to buy a tube of paint, that was the perfect color and be done with it.

I bought some burnt sienna.
And a lighter shade of sienna. Just in case.
Right there I should have had my brain checked. Mixing paints=nightmare.

But the first nightmare was the cheapo brushes I bought. They mercilessly dragged the paint across the walls in clumps and lines.

DON'T SKIMP ON BRUSHES. I knew this. So I am not sure why I bought them. Thankfully, I was able to return them tonight and buy better brushes.

Back at the home front, I mixed the two acrylic paints. 

Bad news. Wrong color. Too brown. And still too gloppy.

Doesn't that look just ghastly?????

I went to the garage and found some regular orange wall paint.

The color was still off. It didn't have enough red. Looks too desert-like and makes me thirsty.

But the good news? It went on smoothly.

Unfortunately Home Depot is closed for the night. I really wanted to cry. I have to wait till tomorrow to buy the proper color. I will just color match to something I already have that I think is the right color. 

We shall see if this project ends in disaster or success. The suspense is killing me. Sometimes doing things yourself is NOT better. 

So here I am, blogging instead of painting. I'll let you know if this whole project pans out.

15 comments:

  1. Your project looks much better than mine would. I am too scared to even attempt it. Can't wait to see the finished product!

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  2. have faith friend. you wouldn't be as proud of yourself or enjoy it nearly as much when it's completed if it weren't such a challenge!

    you're so stinking crafty that I just KNOW it will turn out amazing. who knows, maybe you'll even stumble upon some amazing craft secret that'll make your project even more amazing than you had first intended.

    on the edge of my seat to see how it turns out!

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  3. I am sure it will be great!

    Don't judge too harshly during the painting process. The color I find most "liveable" in my house, I was convinced was baby poop brown while it was rolling on.

    Of course, the downside to that is the colors that I loved during painting and now can't wait to change.

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  4. Oh man, sorry you have to do it over. It's very creative though and I'm sure once you find the right color it will look fantastic!

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  5. Well, the branch looks amazing! Why is nothing ever as easy as it should be?!!

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  6. should I come help?? I would be glad to! henry and I could spend our pj day with you!=)

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  7. Yeah, wall paint probably is going to go on better. That is what I used on the branches I painted in our office. Let me know if you want help!

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  8. I love you and your projects. I wish I had a fraction of your creativity. :) Thanks for everything this weekend. You are the sweetest. If there is anything you need just let me know.

    P.S. We need to have another coffee/lunch date before the babes arrive. ;)

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  9. jenn-thankfully i only painted an inch before realizing i had the wrong color!

    lorieloo-enjoy your pj monday at home cuz finn and i have a hot date at the dentist office:)

    becca-thanks for your help offer! i was thinking about you whilst painting!

    alisha-i was thinking the same thing! i am pretty free the next few weeks. are you almost done with school?

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  10. I was totally hoping for a follow up post before the end of my blogging reprieve day. I know it will look great when it is all done with, but good call on switching to regular paint. Sometimes that plain old acrylic just doesn't cut it ;)

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  11. Oh LOL! My sil used acrylic paints to do a mural in my son's room when he was a baby and it took coat after coat, so don't feel bad! It looked amazing when it was finished, though. Good luck!!

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  12. Oh my goodness I am so impressed! I would make such a mess of that! I too have learned to get the nice brushes =) Can't wait to see the final product!
    PS
    Can you e-mail me the link to the site you check all the products on that you were talking about on Saturday??? Thanx!

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  13. Oh snap! That branch is pretty awesome.

    I'm very optimistic about the turnout.

    P.S. Hi! I'm Ashley, I've been lurking around your blog for a while.

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  14. I'm highly intrigued and can't wait to see it all done! Oh, and then I'm going to pay you to come paint something on my wall K? K! :)

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  15. That looks like a LOT of work, but it's turning out awesome! I'm imagining all of the compliments of that focal point when people come over to your house!

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