So what do you do in the summer?

I get asked that question often.  That is because the beauty of teaching is having the summer off.  I have always cherished this time with my family, an awesome compromise between career girl and stay at home mom.  I did the stay at home mom thing while the kids were little though, until they all reached school age.  I don't regret it, tough as it was at times.  It was lonely...but I digress. 

To answer that question, there are several things.  It will take more than one blog.  I'll start with crafting.  My first big project this summer is dedicated to my mom, lover of all things old.  She was a painter and a crafter and I can remember stopping on family trips at antique stores for her to find just the right piece to paint.  Somehow mom acquired two old milk cans.  One of them still sits in my dad's basement.  The other I brought home a while back.  It sat on my porch and got a little rusty.  I decided to help it out a little this summer. 

This is what I started with.  It was actually solid red...a favorite color of mom's and my grandmother Nanny's, but since I let it rust I had to do some scraping first.  I did not remove all of the old paint because I wanted there to be a bumpy surface to preserve the "old" factor. (you see so many of these around these days)  Ha Ha!  Next, I spray painted the entire can white. 

My plan was to create a stool for our movie room.  The movie room is red...Nanny used to live there...and it is a transformed bedroom.  It has a dual theme, sports and movies. 

After completing the white I was ready to tackle painting a houndstooth pattern.  Then I saw the light.  There must be an easier way.  I own a roll of houndstooth wrapping paper.  That will cover the base nicely.  So off to Wal-Mart I went and purchased some ModPodge. My favorite craft spot is Hobby Lobby, now within walking distance to my house I might add, but I needed something else at Wal-Mart.   For some reason I decided to try the spray ModPodge.  Not my favorite product.  It just doesn't work the same as the kind you brush on.  And the smell is different.  Part of my ModPodge obsession is because of the smell.  Again, it reminds me of mom who was into "decoupage".  I don't know if she used the same product but the smell was the same.  It reminds me of growing up around a crafter.  Our dining room used to smell like oil paints and turpentine, too, because that is where mom painted.  Anyway...back to the milk can. 

Here it is looking a little rough after the wrapping paper was applied.  I had to trim the edges, and push out some creases.  The spray ModPodge mixed with the rust on the can and left some yucky brown stains.  I ended up cutting patches of paper to cover the brown and applying them with the ModPodge that you brush on. 

Once finished with the houndstooth, I found some embellishments online for the top and sides of the can.  I printed them, ModPodged  (is that a word?) them on, and then hand painted them.  

 So here is the finished product. It looks like there is some blurriness...these may have been cell phone pics, but you get the idea.   Roll Tide!!! Only 37 days until kickoff!!!