welcome to an epic crafting fail. and a fix!

prepare yourselves, friends... 

this project was actually going to be included as a photo prop in my 'posie pots' post.

and then everything that COULD go wrong WENT wrong.

so it wasn't included, and it's taken some time and effort

to reverse the damage and proceed with the project as intended.

ah, the joys of creating LOL! this is what you DON'T see on social media!

i've decided to feature it in its very own post

because this stuff happens - and for those who don't create a lot all the time,

it's helpful to know that 'ruined' does not equal 'toss it in the bin'.

there's usually always a way to save a project gone wrong!

continue reading to see the before, the scary during, and the after...

dwk

the before:

purchased at Target a few years ago,

this sweet enamel garden sign just needed a color change - from red to green -

to fit my current aesthetic and work with my project palette.

however, my 'easy fix' of using a green paint pen over the red didn't work -

the red discolored the green. on to plan B: paint the whole sign gloss white,

then use the green paint pen on the raised (previously red) areas.

simple! no. decidedly NOT simple.

the during:

👀😲😱

the can of spray paint i bought was labeled 'gloss white'.

it was not, in fact, gloss white. it was FLAT white.

and as it sprayed out of the can onto the sign and immediately began to PUCKER,

i made sounds that belong in a British murder mystery show.

(think Lady Felicia's screams when discovering a dead body in 'Father Brown'.)

my advice:

BEFORE you spray paint on your project surface, TEST IT on another surface.

 shake the can, spray onto a wood scrap or posterboard

and make SURE that the paint is the color and finish that you need.

i could have saved SO.MUCH.TIME. if i had done that!

so, plan B is now plan C: remove the paint. ugh.

i didn't have mineral spirits or paint remover - but i DID have Goof Off!

i sprayed a very thick coat of it onto the sign, put it into a plastic bag,
 and let it sit for about two hours...

left: the Goof Off helped the paint to buckle MORE, loosening it from the metal surface.
center:  i used a small scrub brush to loosen the raised paint,

right: then wiped the remaining loose bits off the surface with paper towels.

then i did it again. and again. and thanks be, it finally worked:

the paint was removed - um, including a lot of the red paint on the raised lettering!

then i washed the sign with Dawn dish soap, rinsed well, and let it dry.

plan D: repaint the sign... with the RIGHT paint!

i returned the faulty can of spray paint and got a new one -

i chose a different brand, and i had the paint pro at Lowe's

test the paint FOR me in the store before i paid for it. 😉

after returning home, two light coats of GLOSS white did the job:

yes, i tested it again when i got home before spraying the sign!
and then i held the sign at an angle, just to be SURE that the paint finish was glossy. it was!

after the second coat dried, i went back to plan B and grabbed my green paint pens, 

selected the color i preferred, and began covering the raised lettering and edge stripe:

tah-dah! it worked! whew. 

my 'regular' paint pens have a rounded tip. 

my alcohol paint pens have a chiseled flat tip - which fit the size of the raised areas better,

so i used one of them. yes, they look a bit 'water-color-y', but i like it!

now that the sign was right,

i added some green garden twine to hang it up...

and then took the photos i had originally planned

with the sign being a prop for the 'posie pots':

yes, please! thank you very much!

they turned out exactly as i had envisioned.

it just took a LOT more work to get there than i had planned!

this is why i am sharing this 'behind the scenes' story:

it's actually pretty rare for a project to be imagined, planned,

and then actually created without any changes made.

in the process of making something,

i often find a better, easier, faster, more efficient way to do it

OR i find out my plan did NOT work,

so i have to re-calibrate and try another approach.

funny thing is, usually that 'other approach' is better!

the project turns out much improved over my original idea.

i create at least three projects every week - 

you don't see them all on the blog, but i'm constantly

decorating and re-decorating and creating for our home.

one out of three each week morphs into something else!

i've just learned to roll with it - but if you create only occasionally

and a disaster like my paint mess happens, don't give up!

stop, sit back, and give yourself time to think of solutions.

or a different approach. or, yeah, maybe a complete 'do-over' like mine.

often, it's just a 'tweak' that will solve your problem...

so stick with it, and 'everything will be alright in the end'

as my sweet Dad used to say. 

related content:

vintage enamel flower jewelry 'posie pots'

rustic sign post from scrap wood

signs made from bed parts??!!

shared online: 

funky junk interiors | new upcycled ideas #725

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