I'm always surprised when someone thinks I have it all together. I know how it happens. I only post the stuff that turns out right. I realized it, because I was struggling today and yesterday to think of something to post. All of my recent projects have gone all wrong. I usually don't think anyone is interested in reading about how messy my bedroom is right now, or that sometimes my kids don't eat breakfast until 9:45 in the morning.
I have aspirations to be better and I really try to be. Here are some photos of things that turned out wrong this week. Hopefully it will help in some way. We are all human and have things that go less than stellar, but I'm working to be the kind of person that is willing to pound out the ugly nails and try again.
I got a new 2" finish nail gun. And found out it's not just a point and shoot tool, sigh. It looks so easy on youtube. Now my mdf is a mess and full of holes, but it's nothing a little caulk, sandpaper, and paint can't fix–I hope. On the bright side, I learned an easy way to pound out finish nails: Grip the trip with plyers on the underside and pound on the plyers with a hammer. When enough of the head has popped through, grab it with the plyers and pull. I think I pulled 14 nails or so before calling DH for help to work the gun right.
This is a corner of my daughter's bedroom. I tried laying a white paper floor right on the particle board subfloor like I had done with brown paper and wood stain successfully in the bathrooms. Unfortunately the oils from the particle board seeped into the white paper and made an ugly mess. So, I primed over everything with Kilz and then layed a second layer. Double yuck! The stains still came through and now the "texture" from the wrinkled paper is more enhanced looking like a really bad plaster job. I have peeled off all the paper layers and now need to start again with a new idea. Hopefully it will work and I can tell you about it in a few days.
I have pictures of my bedroom, but I'm not strong enough to post them yet. You really don't want to see it anyway…believe me.
All this stuff is what makes it life, y’know? š
Hang in there.
So glad to know I’m not alone. Trying, and sometimes failing, is how we learn! Good for you for giving it a go.
Thanks for keepin’ it real. š Makes your blog more endearing, something I want to read.
Hang in there – the process is putting “hair on your chest”, so to speak!
LOVE your blog.
Do you have any pictures where that process worked? It looks amazing!
(A new reader, haven’t made it through all your archives yet!)
Found it! (Am now plotting….)
Oh my life just doesn’t always go as planned. Anywhere!
Oh Angela! Keep your chin up- you know it will all work out in the end.
We currently have all of our hangup clothes piled on top of the dining room table (for 6 people!) a full sized mattress standing against the wall in my bedroom (where there’s only 20 inches of clearance on the 3 open sides of the bed) and my screened porch (which I made pretty a week ago) is now full of scrap plywood, the pieces of our kids’ double-decker double bed, crib mattresses, dining table leaves and a whole tabletop. Did I mention I am almost 38 weeks pregnant? Nobody cares if you only post the good stuff and nobody cares if you post the bad stuff either. You are awesome!!
Also, try to find yourself a pair of Knipex pliers. My husband LOVES his and they are amazing at pulling things out without punching yourself in the nose like regular pliers can make you do. He calls them his “danger pliers” because you can also crush your finger in them if you set your mind to it (not accidentally though).
I’ll take you word for it…just switched bedrooms so I know what you mean.
Would painting the subfloor white with kilz first work? Just wondering because I think the idea of the white paper would be super pretty in my girls room too š
And thanks for posting the “oops” photos, it is nice that not everything works perfectly, but I have learned so much from you and I come here to get motivated to be more creative. I love to sew and I successfully changed my daughters tan slacks (with a hole in the knee) into a super cute skirt. She calls it her “everyday skirt.” It was a grocery shrink kind of moment š
I can’t wait to see the finished products of your amazing projects. It is nice to keep it real, but even so you are still a super woman!
I enjoy reading your blog. Thank you for sharing all your great ideas and also the projects that don’t work out as planned. I have lots of projects that seem to fall in this category. Thanks for being real!