All you Pinterest-addicted ladies with toddlers, I know you've seen this pin and drooled over it.
And you think "Wow. That looks easy. I can do that!"
That's the point that you need to take your meds and lay down because you're talking like a crazy person.
This is coming from a woman that tried this. I temporarily lost my mind and tried this. And, of course, I failed miserably. Would you like to hear the story?
Once Upon a Time, a crafty young princess was perusing Pinterest and found this beautiful playhouse fit for a magazine. She immediately thought "I can do that!" and convinced her husband to make a trip to their local store to pick up some paint.
Oh. Too flashy? Sorry, I'll tone it down.
When I first saw this idea, I put out some feelers on Facebook to see if I could actually find a playhouse. I'd found a couple of them in Louisville for over $100 apiece. Not ideal, but it seemed to be the going rate for a plastic house. Long story short, I ended up getting pointed in the direction of a girl who actually lived two minutes down the road from my parents. Someone saw that I wanted a playhouse, someone saw she had a playhouse for sale and hooked us up. It seemed like fate.
Once I had a playhouse and decided on what color I wanted to paint it, Marty and I went to Wally World and picked up a couple of cans of Krylon Fusion paint made especially for plastics. I wanted a navy house, with black roof and black shutters and a white bay window. So I picked up two cans of navy, one can of black and one can of white, thinking it'd be plenty. HA!
The week of Avery's birthday, Marty pressure washed the entire thing, wiped it down and it was ready for me to start painting. One afternoon, my sister in law very graciously watched Avery so I could get things ready for her party and I decided to tackle the playhouse. Dear Lord.
Let me start by saying: I'm not good at spray painting. I don't know what length I should hold the can away from the object to get optimal spray coverage. I usually end up going too close and leaving drips all over the place from excessive amounts of paint, or I hold my hand too far away and it goes on too lightly. So, word to the wise...if you're like me and you are a terrible spray painter, this project is NOT for you.
I started by spraying the shutters first and then moved on to the navy blue siding. After doing half of one side of the house, I had the thought "Um...this looks kind of crappy."
After finishing a complete side, I had the thought "There is NO way I'm going to have enough paint." I had to send Marty to the store to get more. This should have been the point that I stepped back, realized that maybe spray painting plastic houses is not my strong suit and let my husband step in. But no. I was determined to finish that stupid house.
Seven cans of blue, four cans of black and one can of white later, I was crying and wishing I had a large bottle of Moscato wine in my fridge. It. Was. Awful.
You could see every single spray mark I made. I sprayed with a heavy hand and went over each spray multiple times and it still looked like crap. And, even though I'm obsessed with navy siding and black shutters on houses in real life, when I sprayed it on this little house, the combination was just too dark.
I didn't even want to give it to her. Not that she cared, she'd be happy if I threw paint all over it and let it leave drip marks. But I wasn't proud of it. It didn't turn out the way I wanted and I was ready to set fire to it and start all over again (and by "all over again," I mean "buy one brand new with pretty colors to start with).
I ran inside to scrub the paint off my hands (and my nose....and inside my nose....and my cheeks....and my legs.....).
And then I texted my husband.
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Did you notice the very last line? That's why I love him. I have a harebrained, ridiculous idea and screw it up and his only instinct is to ask how he can help me. I seriously take him for granted.
Because, later that night, he ran to Walmart, picked up primer and MORE paint and went out and fixed my mess. I peeked out my bedroom window to see my husband, earbuds in place, spray painting our daughter's birthday present...and I cried. I cried because I don't deserve him. Because he totally saved the day.
Once again, I have a crazy idea (Avery's first birthday present, the mantle I wanted mounted on a wall without a fireplace.....) and Marty steps in to make it a reality. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.
One last picture:
Avery's first birthday present parked next to her second birthday present. Marty's exact words to me: "You have an obsession with painting plastic things." Maybe so, Marty.....wonder if there's a twelve step program for that kind of addiction.....
11 comments:
does it have curtains??? how precious!
It looks sooo good!!
It does have curtains Holli. I plan on doing a shower curtain or something that holds up better to weather in the future, but there's real curtains now.
Thanks!
So my daughter's first birthday is in a week and I am taking on the car project (we are doing Minnie). Do you suggest that I use a primer first on it? The car we got is already brightly painted in its original colors (red on bottom yellow on top). We got two cans of red and two of black (I am painting her little trailer too). We also got 2 cans of sealer. (All cans are for plastic) We also got some glitter spray paint too in red and I want to see how that comes out. I am sooo jealous you were able to get both these projects done!
My husband painted both the house and the car and he didn't use primer on either. If you're not great at spray painting (like me!), I couldn't see how primer first would hurt anything! Might cover up the original bright colors. Good luck!!
So what did he do that you didn't do? Can you tell us what he did exactly? Perhaps a painting playhouses for dummies lol? Thinking of doing this for my daughter, but like you I think my try would end up looking alot like yours! :)
Honest to goodness, I don't think he did anything special. I think he just knows the correct way to spray paint! I'm just handier when painting with a brush. I think I was spraying too close and wasn't spraying in even strokes. If you do try...good luck!!
Did you paint the inside also? I just bought this house and decided what I want to do. How many cans of spray paint did your husband use after you?
Didn't paint the inside. Now that we've had it for almost a year, I wish we had gone ahead and painted the inside because it's starting to look really dingy. But I probably really would have lost my mind then!!
And, I think my husband used two cans of blue and one can of black. Prime example of why I shouldn't have been doing the spray painting in the first place. :(
How has it held up so far? Was it all the Krylon fusion paint?
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