Ode to spray paint.

I absolutely love spray paint. I do. I really, really love it. I'm sure I could come up with some spiritual parallels (since the spray paint covers over all our previous flaws and makes the old item into something completely new, so that when you look at it all you see is the fresh coat of paint; all the old ugliness is covered over!) buuuut the truth is that I love it even without any inferred deeper meaning. I love how easy it is, how many options it gives you, and I really love seeing the results of it!

Today on my way home, I stopped at the good old Depot and bought 2 cans of semi-gloss black spray paint, practically skipping with anticipation at the thought of all the things I was going to refinish when I got home with my goodies. (However, any actual skipping would have been quite detrimental to my leg's healing, so sadly, I was only skipping in my mind.)

The items I was most anticipating painting are as follows (pictures to come later):

*a set of 3 lamps (one floor and two table) that I scored for a total of $29.99 at Target. Yes, that includes the lampshades! I know!
*8 metal 8x10 picture frames that I found on clearance for only $1.47 each, probably because they were magenta!
*and last but not least 4 mirrors in gaudy gold plastic frames that I purchased at some dollar store or other cheap & cheerful place--I saw the potential they would have in their new black robes, and happily bought all I could find. However, they have been waiting to be painted for a while, now. A long while.

When I got home, I rushed inside (carefully), grabbed all my materials and went back out to the patio to set up the spray-paint-arena. Yes I do mean arena, because if you have ever spray-painted, particularly on a windy day, you know that spray paint has this nasty habit of riding any and every breeze and ending up in places you definitely did not mean for it to end up! So to prevent this I had a small arsenal of tools with me: a plastic dropcloth (also purchased at the Depot), several paper grocery sacks, and a laundry basket. (Yes, a laundry basket. They are the ultimate multi-purpose item at our house!) I used the plastic to protect the patio (ground, steps, walkway), cut the sacks open and laid the paper down as a base for the items-to-be-painted, and set the laundry basket behind the sacks, covered in the plastic, to form a handy backdrop for the items to lean against. Clever, wasn't it? ;)

To those of you who are new to spray painting, this may seem like a lot of work, but setting up is usually the hardest part. That was certainly true in today's case. And well worth it, because the transformation is truly stunning! Now, for all my hard work and a whopping $3.44, I have 3 gorgeous black lamps (did I mention they were faux (read: ugly) bronze before, which looked more like green and brown smears than any possible sort of metal) that coordinate with my living room & dining room perfectly, a lovely set of 8 black metal frames just waiting for me to find the right bit of beauty to fill them with, and 4 high-class looking mirrors with ornate black frames, ready to brighten up a dark corner with some much-needed light.

Where else can you find such a bargain for only $3.44 and 2 hours time, I ask you?! Nowhere!

I hope that this little ode has inspired you to try a bit of spray-painting yourself, and if you do, I would love to hear about the outcome. And, if you ever feel inclined to compare the art of spray-painting to the gracious and redeeming work of our Lord, I certainly won't stop you!