The Cupboard of Determination.

My five year old son was lying on my bed looking at books before his bed time.

 I was finishing up a project in the room.

 It was this cupboard, a Craigs List deal,

and it was taking a bit more time than I had expected.

 In planning the new paint colors for the room,

I was not certain what color to paint this cupboard.

So I looked at what I had for the rest of the room.

There were these plastic birds from a yard sale.

(My Roman numeral skills needed some brushing up,

but I figured out

they're about as old as my husband.

Obviously they were meant for him to have in our bedroom!)

 I spray-painted them white,

and then painted them to try to make them look Victorian.

 These are some other things I have acquired that I plan to hang up in the room.

Seeing this lot,

I decided to take a risk,

and try black and white on the cupboard.

(Of course,

I used Annie Sloane's Chalk Paint in Graphite,

so that I wouldn't have to sand this giant piece.

I only used one coat, with a few touch up spots,

so it really does go a long way.)

 I finally found a design I wanted on the internet:

it was on a lace curtain.

I printed it in black and white, scanned it into my computer,

enlarged it to the size I needed,

and then printed it off.

Using charcoal pencil, I colored the entire back of the image,

taped it in place...

traced over the design,

and then carefully pulled off the paper.

 This was when I realized it was going to be a progressive project.

During the kids' evening baths right next to my room,

and before bed while they read their books,

I worked on this bit by bit.

It never dawned on me that they were keeping an eye on the process as well.

 Of course, keeping Lillie's little hands off of the charcoal tracing

at risk of it being wiped away

was a little nerve-wracking;

but she was kind to me,

this time.

As I finished the last of the cupboard the other night,

I was grabbed back from my daydreaming

by my son's voice:

"That's really pretty, Mommy.

I like watching you paint."

I glanced at him and saw him peeking around his book.

I hope that he might get something from this:

perhaps that determination and persistence pay off.

I was afraid I was spending too much time on something

that perhaps I could have been better using my time elsewhere.

Time seems to be a valuable gift that needs to be used wisely when the kids are little.

But if they can learn the rewards of sticking with something,

something I had to really work on myself for all the half-finished projects

I had to overcome when I was younger,

then I will feel like it was even more worth it.

 Regardless,

 his words were sweet,

and I had to get up and plant a kiss on that little face!

(For the bottom drawer,

I used an ironworks graphic from the Graphic Fairy website,

transferred in the same way.

 The circular design on the top drawer is another of her images.)

(I am not quite sure what kind of shade to put on the prism lamp I found at a yard sale.

I suppose I'll wait and see what turns up.

Any suggestions?)

It has been fun seeing the room slowly make progress...

 

Now I need to go use my time to can some pickled peppers.

Thanks so much for stopping by!




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