Monday, March 14, 2016

Politically Correct? Not Usually!

Am I the only one who struggles with this? Probably not....

When I'm creating yet another new pin or magnet, there is always (I won't even say 'usually', because that is not the case...it's 'always') a sarcastic, or at the very least, dark, snarky remark right there with a somewhat innocuous picture from the 40s/50s. 

It's just what I do, lol.

Politically incorrect? Or just a little bit of fun?


ANYway...there have been times where I think to myself, "wow, this is a funny saying, yet somewhat horrifying at the same time...is this politically correct?" And I'm in a quandary at that moment, wondering to myself, "Is this going to offend someone/everyone?". Truth be known, everything we say at one time or another is going to offend someone, somewhere. You just can't get away from it. So what is the measure that we use to figure out where that line should be drawn? Oh, I know, there could possibly be a list somewhere, pages and pages long, listing all of the things we can't/shouldn't say. But I have a better idea. 

Common Sense.

When you know that something you say/write is going to be truly offensive, I mean, truly offensive, when you know that it is wrong (and yes, deep down? We know...), well...you don't say it. You don't write it. 

Now, there are going to be people (and I've run across them) who are going to find something to be offended about in either what you say, or what you write. And there is just not a thing you can do about that, it seems to be what some are about, you know? But by using some good old-fashioned common sense, we can pretty well figure out what it is that we should and should not be saying. What was it Jiminy Cricket said? (Yes...Jiminy Cricket!)


And honestly I think if we all do that, unless we're some sort of mindless, hideous, brain-eating zombie (just kidding, lol), it won't let us down.

God bless! :)

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Refinish Like A Boss!

I think I can safely say I actually accomplished something this last week. Well, wait a minute, I accomplished a lot of things this week....I mean, I'm typing, aren't I?! Heh...anyway, I'm talking about starting out with an idea...following up on it, and seeing it through to completion. That's what I did this week, and I have pics to prove it! Let me back up a little bit here...

When I was a kid, my mom always had one of those old Cosco metal carts in the kitchen. I mean...she always had one. It wasn't always the same one, but she always had one, and so did my grandmother and every other person we had ever known. And you know what, those things were made to hold up, back in the day when they actually made things to last!
Retro Cosco products, made to last like a tank!

I really needed some storage room in my tiny kitchen, and when I started looking around for some sort of kitchen cart to put in there, I was really disappointed by what I was finding. Cheaply made, just...blah. And if they were made a little better? WAY more than I was willing to spend, lol. And then I remembered the days of the Cosco metal kitchen carts (well, I couldn't remember the name- I don't think I even ever knew the name back then, haha), so I started looking around online for one. 

Having an Etsy shop myself, I like to 'buy local' when I'm looking for something, like craft thingies for my own shop, or things like this cart. And wow, I found a lot of them! Pretty reasonably priced, and I wasn't looking for one in pristine condition, but something that I could refurbish, and not have it look like someone tossed it down 10 flights of stairs. I found an Etsy shop called FromTheSeller with lots of 'vintage treasures' to choose from. 

And I chose! 
Retro 60s kitchen cart prior to working my magic, lol!

Here is the cart I purchased from FromTheSeller and the condition it came in. Although it had quite a bit of rust and things on it (what can you expect, the thing is old, lol!), it had great bones, no dings, it was totally workable.

Now...you know how a lot of times you go into a project like this with high expectations, telling yourself you're going to do this and that to it, fix it up, etc., etc., and then....it goes into a closet or something and you totally forget about it, or just don't have the time to get around to doing anything with it?

Well...that DIDN'T happen here, lol!

I was psyched, and I got right on it~ I went out and bought the following supplies that I figured I would need:

1. Paper masks - last thing anyone needs is to be breathing in dust while sanding on an old, rusty    metal tray, yes?
2. Sandpaper/Stainless scrub pad - the rust wasn't too horrible on the trays, worse on the bottom than the top so I wasn't sure what I would need to use in order to get the stuff off, or manageable, at least...so I bought both.
3. Krylon Cover MAXX Ultimate Coverage spray paint - no particular reason for this particular one...I was in 'A Big Box Store' (haha), and I've used Krylon brand in the past for other projects, I like it...and this one has rust protection as well as being a paint AND a primer, and it's for metal as well as other things. I bought Blue Ocean Breeze/Gloss

So now, I was ready to go. The cart was mailed to me (SO quickly, seriously...this etsy store had it to me in three days!) unassembled which was good, so I started out by washing the trays - VERY carefully, on these Cosco carts the underside of the tray can be sort of sharp- and with rust in the mix, I wasn't up to a trip to the doctor for a tetanus shot, haha - anyway, I washed them well with soap and hot water. Then....

1. I put on the paper mask, and got to work lightly sanding the worst rust spots with the steel wool - and going over it with regular medium-grit sandpaper. You want to lightly sand everywhere with the sandpaper in order for the paint to really adhere to the surface better.

2. I re-washed with soap and hot water again, and dried the trays well.

3. Time to bring out the spray paint!  Since the paint I bought already had a primer built in to it (in my opinion, this is the way to go!), there was no need to primer the trays before painting them. You want to shake these things up well, so you don't get splotchy color blobs, you want the paint to go on evenly...I had two cans and probably should have attached one to each hip, and merengue'd to some music to shake things up a bit, haha!
Where are the paint cans?
4. I sprayed in vertical lines, then horizontal lines- keep your can moving somewhat slowly but not TOO slowly, so the paint doesn't pool in one spot. You won't have great coverage at first so don't expect it... but it will be even coverage. Let it dry, repeat two or three times. After you are finished, you'll have really nice, even coverage that looks awesome! I also sprayed the underside of all of the trays as well.
And here is the finished product!

The paint looked awesome, and I was really happy with the end result...even though someone told me the cart itself and the color made it look like I should have medical instruments laid out on it...

Pffffft....what do they know?!

Just goes to show you that with a little bit of elbow grease, a vision, and by paying less than you would if you bought a (much cheaper) version in a 'Big Box Store', you can have something that is a quality product, and that you finished yourself! Nothing like a sense of accomplishment, and the proverbial pat on the back!

God bless! :)