I hope everyone is well and enjoying what remains of Summer. I am not ready for Winter, putting coats on and freezing our butts off but I am ready for slightly cooler temps. How is the weather in your neck of the woods?
Before I introduce you to my nemisis....I'd like to show you an amazing project by CDT member Johanne.
Cutting File:
Card Base 6 from Shelly's Art
Paper: Bo-Bunny Jazmyne Effloresce
Stamp:
Magnolia Wish Granted Tilda
On the circle: Delicate Pattern from Hot Off the Press
Sentiment: Juste pour toi (Just for you) from the collection Merci from Bonnidée
Colored with Copic Markers
Inside card translation:
...To make you smile and brighten your day
... To encourage you and make you grow
... To remind you that people who love you are around and are thinking about you
Have courage!
I love that Magnolia image and Johanne colored it sooo well. That sentiment is great too!
If you would like to purchase the file Johanne used to make your own tag card please click on the photo to be taken directly to my store. It's a steal at 30% off this month.
Okay I have mentioned how we decided to remodel our porch. We started working on it July 5th I believe..and we are still working on it. Is that nuts or what!?! Seriously, I am not slacking we truly are still working on it. I hope to be able to paint on the primer this weekend. I thought I'd share some photos with you of what I have been doing all this time.
...the porch is covered in the crackle paint you see above. It is very hard to remove and can't be done with just a traditional scraper. We tried a paint stripper but didn't have much luck with that. Finally I took out my crafting heat gun and realized the paint could be removed by heating it first and then scraping it off. We bought a heat gun designed for paint removal and that is what hubby and I have been working on for ages now.
Okay now meet my nemisis........
I have been working on this wall of windows forever now! I do believe this little wall is taking longer than the whole rest of the porch because of all the nooks and crannies. I can't wait to tackle this beast! I am still having a few problems with my foot so I can't stand on the ladder a long time and must take frequent breaks plus the kids always seem to need my attention. This is one instance where I wish we lived closer to family who could watch the kids while we work. I worked on this wall a good bit this weekend and have most of it done except for right up against the window. I could not take this down to bare wood..just this grey stuff but at least now it's paintable! My goal is to finish this up today and start sanding it. Then I will celebrate because that will mean we have scraped all that darn crackle paint off the porch and can move on to sanding then pressure washing and finally priming! We've had to return two heat guns soo far because of the switch breaking and the store we got it from is about 2 hours away. So I'm hoping the heat gun hold out until we finish. Also, there is this weird substance coming out of the wood when I heat it...almost like a sap consistency. Very weird and I'm hoping this won't cause the new paint to crackle or flake off.
So....I haven't been slacking. I do have new files I want to get into my store and more projects to share with you on here but we must get this porch done before we leave on vacation. We are in the home stretch now though. After we get the painting done hubby is going to put two more posts on either side of the front steps and vinyl railings around the perimeter. He also is going to put sofet on the ceiling. Thanks goodness as that look even worse then the crackled photos I showed you. I will share with you an after photo once we complete it. I'm thinking it will look awesome and really boost the appearance of the house!
Okay well I've gotta eat lunch and get back to the porch! Thanks for stopping by and have a good week!
6 comments:
It looks good Shelly. I can see why it is taking you so long.
What a job! Hot work for the summer. You deserve to celebrate when you're done.
You might try taking a close up of the oozing and show it to the experts at the paint store, to be sure you get a primer that won't allow the crackle.
Is there any way to rig a tripod or music stand or something to hold the heat gun for you? Duct tape might even attach it.
That's a LOT of work you've got done and it's going to look quite lovely when you're done! I KNOW you're not a slacker but you still have to be careful with your foot, my dear friend!
Johanne's projects are always SO incredible! She has an eye for detail like no one else! She did an outstanding job with the card...as always! :D
Thanks for the tips Lisa. I'm afraid the hit gun can't be propped as it is important to keep it moving so nothing catches on fire. I did discuss with the experts at the store about what appears to be sap but I didn't have any photos. He thinks the wood may have had a clear varnish on it at one time and when I heat it up..it gets pushed to the surface. We have actually finished all the scraping and sanding. Now you can't see the "sap". The heat guns gets much hotter than the sun would heat any area up so I'm hoping we are good now. The painting experts did recommend a good primer so we will use that and hope our work wasn't for nothing!
Thanks Johanne...hopefully within two weeks it will look even better!
Thanks for the concern about my foot. I am taking frequent breaks and doing my exercises plus adding as as needed so I'm taking care don't worry sis!
Post a Comment