Teal, Doggonit!

Even though we don't have a house yet, that doesn't mean that there aren't still things I'd like to change about our decor. The issue at the moment is that we live in an apartment which, like most apartments, doesn't have a yard...or garage...to work in or on. We have a patio, yes, but it's cramped with the seating that's there (Which also doesn't make it spray paint friendly).

But I make due. Large pieces of cardboard are never thrown away. They're perfect for covering the grass right outside the patio and allow me to spray paint smaller objects (and itch that decorator's itch!).

Our awesome friends Leah and John gave us these adorable bookends for Christmas. If you don't know us very well, we're big on the hounds, especially the bassets and beagles, so these were PERFECT for us.

Unfortunately, because they were a shiny black, the details of their faces (and general adorableness) were pretty obscured.

That's when I spotted this color when I was perusing the isles of a hardware store. BAM, it hit me...the bassets shall be teal! It'll be bright enough to liven up the book shelves and show off their details. This Valspar was a great color, could spray from any angle, and was plastic/metal/wood/whatever-other-surface safe, too, which meant better coverage in general.

 

First, I found the smallest grit sanding sponge I could find in our ahem organized storage room. I honestly don't think it matters exactly the grit, the piece just needs to be roughed up a bit to take the paint better. Even if the paint IS safe for all surfaces, that doesn't mean that a light bit of sanding won't make it last longer and cover better.

I roughed up those puppies, real good, yeah. Well, I roughed up the bookends. The sponge was great to use because it allowed me to get into the nooks and crannies and knock off that glossy exterior.

See? Not so shiny. I only got the parts I could reach, so under his belly wasn't as roughed up, but is also more hidden, so it didn't matter as much. Before breakin' out the color, I wiped both pups down with a paper towel. Using a paper towels allows you to get rid of any of the dust from sanding, but is also rough enough to not buff it and undo your sanding.

I then grabbed my cardboard, pups, and paint and headed outside.

And realized just how familiar the bookends are:

Then FINALLY came the painting, huzzah! First, a light coat. This made them look a little marbled, but I knew that after a couple more coats, they would get really high quality color with an even shine. Coat #1:

It really helped bring out those details in the face. It was starting to look even MORE like someone I know.

Coat #2:

Coat #3:

Coat #4:

And they're done! I let them dry for around 40 minutes, which was just enough time to take the real pups outside, eat a couple corn dogs, and throw in a load of laundry. They are so much brighter and they look great on the shelf!

Now I just want to paint everything! Ironically, I also want to un-spray something, so there may be a post in the future about to to remove spray paint.

Have you ever had anything you loved, just not the color? Let me know in the comments section!

House Update: We met with our wonderful loan officer last night who had us sign a mountain of paperwork, but made us feel better about the length of the process. Next week I'll have to let you know how the inspection went!