Spring Projects

My Mom bought me this little shelf when my kids were small.  It's one of the last gifts she gave me.  I have always loved it.  When my "colours" were burgundy and black, I painted it burgundy and attached a ribbon and some dried baby's breath for decoration.  Then I found these cherubs and I loved them too.  They perched perfectly on the shelf with a perfect mix of innocence and cheekiness.

When we moved to The Pokeaway, I brought them with me, but tucked them away in a drawer because my colours were no longer burgundy and black, and they just didn't fit in anywhere.  I couldn't quite bring myself to getting rid of them, because I still loved them.  So they sat in the drawer for almost three years.

Then one day, just before company came over, I had a brilliant idea. While I was waiting for the company, I would quickly paint the shelf white.

[What was I thinking????]   I shouldn't have started it that night. I didn't have enough time;  I didn't have the right tools.  I needed a sponge brush but I didn't have one, so I grabbed a paint brush.  It  left large streaks of paint in the wrong places.  Sighhhhh.  And then the company arrived, and I had to leave the project staring at me in recrimination.   Every time I looked at it, I felt bad that I had tried to do the project in 3 1/2 minutes, with the wrong tools, and now I was left with a horrible-looking mess.

I left it on the windowsill for quite a while.  Then one day, when I had more time, I decided to try again. I just couldn't throw it away.  I still loved it.  I began to sand it down.  And that's when the miracle happened.  As I sanded, the streaks disappeared, and the burgundy colour started to come through and suddenly, I had a shabby chic shelf on my hands.  I was inspired (and relieved!).  After sanding it to the desired effect, I hung it up and put the cherubs in their rightful spot.

Serendipitous!