Spray Paint

In the last post I mentioned I was going to spray paint the changing table and toy box.  I already bought a can of primer and a can of paint.  Since I have to sand the changing table, I figured I would go ahead and paint the toy box to make sure I like the color and the finish before I bought more of the same spray paint.  I was told by several people that spray paint is so easy and so quick and it looks really good, so I was super excited to have the toy box done today.  Ok, this is where I get pretty moody so beware! 

I HATE SPRAY PAINT WITH A PASSION!  The scriptures say that all evil things come from the devil and I am convinced spray paint fits that criteria.  First of all, the primer didn't even cover the entire toy box, so the back is only primed in spots.  Honestly, that doesn't bother me too much because it's the back so it will be against the wall, but it's just the icing on the cake.  It was really drippy so the paint didn't go on evenly in some parts.  The paint didn't go on over some parts where it was primed, so its solid gray in a few small areas.  So after I put the primer on, this is what it looked like:

I was told to use gray primer instead of white so I will know what I have painted and what I haven't.  Made sense to me.  After the primer dried, I put 2 coats of the white paint on and this is what it looked like:

 It didn't even cover the entire toy box all the way around.

I was told and I read that you usually only need a couple coats of spray paint to do the trick...does that look like the case to you??? PLUS the spray paint got all over me.  My hands and arms were covered in it and so were my feet.  I was in the shower for about 45 minutes scrubbing with a brillo pad trying to get it off.  It took 2 good long showers with the brillo pad to get everything off.

 So now I have to go BACK to Home Depot and get regular paint.  I did read that as long as I use the same base of paint that the spray paint is, then I don't need to sand it down to have a clean slate.  To put that clearer in case you have the same problem in the future, if the spray paint is water based, then you need a water based paint.  If the spray paint is oil based, then you need to use oil based paint.  I don't know how accurate that is, so I will definitely ask the paint experts at Home Depot. 

Needless to say I had a very frustrating morning.  I detest spray paint and will never ever ever suggest anyone use it.  Hopefully I will have a much better experience with regular paint.  If I don't, you just might see me on the 6 o'clock news.

Bargain Shopping 101

Last weekend my mom's housing subdivision had a community wide garage sale.  I totally forgot about it, but she asked me if I  wanted to go to a member of our church's house on Thursday night because they were having a sneak peek/presale for all of the members of our church.  I had nothing else to do, so why not?  I'm so glad I did!  I bought:

1.  Changing table $7
2.  Baby gate $2

The changing table is older, nothing fancy, but I don't need anything fancy.  And I told Tony a couple weeks ago that we may need to break down and buy one because it's starting to get harder getting up and down when I change Gabby on the floor.  So for $7, heck yeah! I really don't like the color of it, so I went to Hobby Lobby on Friday and bought some white spray paint and some primer.  That will match one of the colors in Gabby's room, and it's a neutral color so if we have a boy, perfect!!  I'll need to sand it down first, so I went to Home Depot and got some sand paper. 

Then on Friday morning my mom found a contour changing pad for the changing table for only $4!  It's a nice one too.  She told me that the house she bought it from was about to put out all their baby toys, so I might want to go over there soon to look.  I'm so glad I did! 

I bought these toys for Gabby (which she will get at Christmas) and baby carrier for only $20! 

1.  V tech Move & Crawl Ball
2.  Fisher Price Go Baby Go Bat & Wobble Penguin
3.  Infantino Safari Roller
4.  Leap Frog Learn Around Play Ground with Tube Topper
5.  Baby Carrier
Then I went back to the house from Thursday night to get a better look at the toys.  Gabby fell in love with this bed of worms type toy.  There are no music and lights, very simple.  You push a worm down, and another pops up.  Then you push that one down, and another pops up, etc.  I don't know why she loves it so much, but she does and if she hits one enough times, she actually pushes it all the way down!  So I bought that and a grocery bag full of the brightly colored alphabet refrigerator magnets-both for a total of $2!  With all my purchases, I felt like I had hit the jackpot :) THEN...

On Saturday  I went to Canton for the first monday trade days with my friend Beth.  She wanted to get ideas for her wedding, and since I am a bridesmaid, Gabby and I went along.  I honestly wasn't planning on buying anything, but the first "booth" we stopped at I found this toy box for only $10!!!

It's about 3 feet long, by 1 1/2-2 feet wide by about 2 feet deep.  I thought it was a pretty darn good deal for only $10! It isn't finished, so I'll need to go back to Hobby Lobby and use my 40% off coupon this week for more spray paint and primer...no biggie at all!  Between the toy box and the changing table, I'll finally be able to say I'm crafty!  I also bought this Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube for only $10-another Christmas present for Gabs.  If you clicked on the link, you can see I only paid 50% of the retail cost.  You can get it cheaper on Amazon from other sellers, but I still saved money, which I am very happy with. 

So, I bought all that stuff for a grand total of $51!!!

With everything I could price, the retail price of these items equals $202 which means I only paid about 25% of the actual cost and that doesn't include the changing table, bed of worms toy and the toy box.  I think I am becoming quite the bargain shopper!  I'll be working on the changing table and toy box this week so stay tuned for my craftiness!