spray paint | Operation Home

Okay, so it all started with this guy…

A wood-lidded jar that I found at Goodwill for 4 bucks. I liked it, but wasn’t totally digging the orangey tone of the wood. So, I decided to darken the stain. I sanded the lid with medium grit sandpaper and followed it up with fine grit to smooth it. I didn’t really worry about sanding with the grain like I normally would because I wanted a more rustic, aged look. Then, I stained it with some Ebony stain that I had on hand.

Which left this…

I liked this darker version just fine, but decided to add something a little more. A little bling. I used this metallic spray-paint….

Taped off a strip in the middle with painters tape….

Spray-painted my lid with one thin, even coat….

(I was also spray-painting a seen-better-days wood candlestick holder that I got at Goodwill for a buck… I forgot to take a before pic of that one, though. My bad.). I left the lid in the garage for three days to cure up. Which left this….

At this point, I decided that the silver was too crisp for what I was going for, so I sanded it a bit with 220 grit sandpaper….

Which left this….

Then, since I already had my Polyshades out for my basketcases…

….I decided to apply a coat to my lid to further age the silver patina and to seal the entire surface. I applied the stain+poly mixture with a brush and immediately noticed that my silver spray-paint started to bleed into the wood portion of my lid (sorry, forgot to take a pic). So, I used a paper towel to remove the excess Polyshades (thinking that it would simply clean up the wood portion). But what it really did was (ready for this?)…..

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That’s right. It REMOVED EVERY TRACE OF SPRAY-PAINT!!!!!!! Fully cured, dried-for-three-days spray-paint. And, I just want to stress this point…. I did not scrub the lid with the paper towel in the slightest. I gently wiped the Polyshades off (’cause remember, I was only trying to clean up the wood portion) and all spray-paint went with it. Every bit!! I mean, I’ve seen some paint-bleeding in my life… I’ve seen dry paint rub off after being exposed to wet paint to some extent. But ALL of it?? So easily??? Never. Never in my life. I nearly fell over. But decided to talk to myself instead. “What the…??? Are you Serious?? O.M.G!! No. Friggin’. Waaaay.” could be heard coming from our backyard if one was prone to listen.

So, I’m taking this experience as a cue from the decorating gods that the lid should stay without embellishment. Which leaves me with this….

Which is fine. At least it’s not the ugly orange color anymore. And I learned not to apply Polyshades to a painted surface. Unless I want to remove the paint. Jeepers.

So, I mentioned in this post that I wanted to DIY a wreath for our front door. And this weekend it actually happened (insert pat on back with fist pump). During the brainstorming stage, I decided that my wreath of choice must fulfill three criteria:

1. It must be versatile so we can utilize it for multiple holidays
2. It must be cheap
3. It must be easy

I also wanted something a little different than a traditional wreath. I’d seen different types of frame wreaths on Pinterest and was intrigued by this prospect. So, throughout my various thrifting trips I kept an eye out for chunky frames with a somewhat streamlined design.

This weekend, we did a few thrift store drive-bys in search of a dresser. Literally, drive-bys. Joey pulled the truck up to multiple thrift stores, I jumped out, ran in with the promise of texting him to join me if I found The One, took a quick gander for dressers, and hopped back in the car if it was a no-go. All within a period of two minutes. So, you should’ve seen his face when I climbed back into the truck after a quick peek at Thrift Town and broke the news that we’d become the proud new owners of this beaut…

He was $3.99 and worth every penny. The frame style and size immediately grabbed my attention as I walked past. It was chunky, streamlined and cheap. Bingo.

For the actual wreath making process, I didn’t follow a tutorial per se. I just mainly used things I already had and figured it out as I went. First, I de-wildlifed the frame by removing the staples on back with a pair of needle-nosed pliers…

I thoroughly cleaned the grime off the frame with a water/vinegar spray. And believe me, this guy was grimey. Then, I used this spray paint in Ivy Leaf which is a nice sagey green color to spray-paint the frame….

I allowed the frame to dry overnight, then the next morning I assembled my materials….

Some twine and burlap ribbon. I purchased the burlap ribbon a while back for a different project at Walmart for around five bucks if I’m remembering correctly. The twine, (I kid you not) I’ve had since college. Almost 10 years ago. And I didn’t even buy it. It was given to me by my roommate. And I’ve kept it all these years. Crazytown.

So anyways, I wanted to create that puffy, loopy burlap look around one corner of the frame only. I started by looping the burlap under at my desired starting point and wrapping the twine around the frame and burlap tightly to secure it . Then, I knotted it….

I continued to form loops of burlap and secured them by wrapping the twine around the cinched part of the burlap. The twine went around both the frame and burlap. It’s hard to tell from the pic, but I literally just spiraled the twine around and around the frame. It’s all just one long piece.

I worked my way down and around the corner until I reached my desired stopping point on the bottom of the frame. I formed one last loop of burlap and tucked it under. Then, I wrapped the twine around the cinched part tightly and knotted it behind the frame (just like I did at the beginning). I trimmed the excess and played with the loops a bit until they laid how I wanted them to. Then, I called it done. Super easy. This part seriously took 10 minutes once I figured out how to do it.

I added these felt pads to the back of the frame so it wouldn’t scratch our door…..

Now, for hanging. I saw this tip on Pinterest once and thought it was an awesome idea. I don’t even think I pinned it, actually. It was one of those, “Oh what a great idea!” and then I got distracted moments. So, to whoever came up with this idea, kudos!

Anyways, I used this command hook…

And mounted it upside-down on the back of our front door. I waited the recommended hour for the Command hook to set, then I grabbed Joey because this part was a two-man job. I looped some thick cream-colored ribbon that I had on hand around the top of the frame. Joey, held both ends of the ribbon flush, looped it over the top of our door and held the ends of the ribbon while standing inside the house (I’m sorry, I don’t have pics of this part, but it’ll be more clear once I show the final pics) . I stood outside and had him lower and/or raise it until it looked good. Then, once the placement was right, I grabbed the ribbon from him and tied it around the command hook. It looked like this when it was done and trimmed….

And the final product….

I couldn’t be more happy with this wreath. It’s simple and versatile. And I know exactly how I’m gonna jazz it up for Christmas, too. Gosh, I love Christmas. Anyways, this wreath ended up costing me around $17. Four bucks for the frame, four bucks for the spray paint and around $9 for the Command hook (although, I have half a can of spray paint left and can reuse the hook). I splurged on the nicer hook because it matched our door but I’m sure you could get a cheaper one if desired. I already had the burlap ribbon, twine, cream ribbon and felt pads, but my guess is you could probably add another $15 if you had to purchase those things, less if you struck with a 50% off coupon at Michaels or Joann.

And one more pic, just for fun…