Chrome Animals…Best Spray Painting Ever?

So I don’t know if I’m the first to think of it, but little plastic animals would probably make some pretty cute name card holders. Don’t you think?

I’ve kept an eye out for some plastic animals in various stores that I like to visit (cough cough Target cough). No luck…until I stopped at Party City to see if they had any for favors.

Eek! They did! And for just thirty-five cents a piece?!

Of course, I got carried away. I dug through the bins to find every possible animal that was in stock. I ended up with an entire army of various jungle animals!

Like lions, and tigers, and…seals?

I fell in love with the elephant instantly. And I think we already know that this moose has a special place in my heart, so he made his way into my sweaty little shaking-from-excitement hands to bring home.

And, of course, several large cats received representation today as well. And a gorilla, which would shortly become a silver-back gorilla.

Who knew that they aged so quickly?!

This poor guy ended up being the guinea pig today, simply because I grabbed a few extra rhinos. I tried to boil them and then saw them while soft. But that didn’t work.

Thanks for nothing, Internet.

So I had to patiently wait for my manual labor to get home from his real job. He dug up a utility knife to conduct surgery on the back of each animal.

I wanted a slit in the back to hold a name card, or place card, or business card. But the slit needed to be stable enough to hold the card in place, too.

I should have known that he would be good at sawing plastic animals…he’s good at everything else! Why not this?

It’s so nice to have Hubby’s help with these projects. He usually thinks through every option, where as I sometimes get impatient and just want to see the end result.

I appreciate the rhinoceroses giving their lives in the name of science arts and crafts today.

Here is the gorilla getting a test run with a business card to see if the fit was working.

We tried the fit with all of them before taking them outside. I am already loving how adorable these are, but I don’t like the red eyes on half of the sweet, little, cuddly animals.

Sweet, little, cuddly animals don’t usually have red eyes, you see. At least they don’t in my book.

You know what will fix that? Spray paint.

Hubby helped me set up these little guys for their first coat on the bottom. To hold them in place, we used little finishing nails in cardboard.

Even upside-down, they are so cute! Can you tell already how great this is going to be?!

Man, I need to get out more.

And, of course, ever since he got it for Christmas, I have faithfully used the tall turkey fryer box as my professional spray painting booth.

Soon, these little beasts (ha! literally!) were ready for some painting. This is my favorite-favorite part, if we’re being honest here.

I really love spray painting things. Or have I mentioned that already?

A few weeks ago, I discovered how incredibly awesome chrome paint is on lamps. So I knew immediately what paint finish these little animals would be getting this beautiful afternoon!

The Ace Hardware paint has cheap little spray nozzles, but buying this clip-on gun makes them purr like kittens! The paint comes out even and fine…and it allows me to buy any paint and not just Rustoleum with its perfect spray nozzle.

Several light coats are better than one thick coat. This is where patience would probably come in handy, I’m assuming.

Once their bellies were dry, it was time to turn them over for a spray on top. Aren’t they oh-so cute already!?

This hippo is my favorite of the bunch. Isn’t he wonderful? Imagine him holding your name card at a dinner party! Eek!

And the giraffe is looking pretty good, too. Once these get some paint on top, I let them dry for a whole two nights before I use them for a party that I catered!

Eek! More on that to come tomorrow!

Consider these puppies jungle animals sprayed! And they look really great. Of course, I was pretty elated by now. The hard part was letting them dry so that I could see them with a card in place.

I waited, though. Can you believe that?

Oh my goodness. I really love this little elephant, too. Look at his textured skin! Not too shabby for a third of a dollar, huh?

And a few days later…here we are!

Even better? These are the name cards that I used for the party that I catered. Wouldn’t you want to eat a bunch of desserts if they came presented in such a cute manner?

     

Hello, Lion! You look rather sharp when you’re all chromed up. And I still heart this little elephant.

Can it get any cuter than a giraffe holding a Mint Oreos name card?!

And it’s only appropriate that Lemon Drops should be displayed from one of my favorites…the little moose.

But the hippo is still my most favorite. I love his open mouth and fat wrinkles. It’s almost like he’s opening wide for some Rolo Cupcake goodness!

I had way too much fun with this project, but it was cheap and easy and turned out just how I hoped. They will last me a long time and be useful for many different reasons around my house.

Most chromed animals are useful around my house, after all.

I had good help (thanks, Hubby!), and I am thrilled with the end results. What do you think of these shiny little buddies?

House Tweaking – Yellow Lamp Edition

   

I have had this lamp for years and years, and it was passed down to me from family when they moved out of our shared apartment to get married. I painted it green about three years ago to try to update the look of it.

But if we’re being honest here, and why wouldn’t we, I’ve never been crazy about this lamp shape. So Deseret Industries to the rescue!

I recently found this bad guy while we were out shopping some sales. Who knew that twenty years ago, they would know that this year’s design color is emerald green? As much as I love green, I’ve never been much of an emerald green person. But I saw this lamp and knew that it could solve all of my lighting dilemmas!

Especially with a price tag of $5.

    

It had potential, I must say. I was immediately imagining these brass pieces a different metallic finish. And I loved that the light switch was located on the base of the lamp, so it was easy to use without reaching up inside the shade.

Because that’s so much work?

I still haven’t jumped on board the brass wagon. But I did go outside of my Satin Nickel box today by trying some Chrome Spray Paint from Ace Hardware.

And may I just say…I am in love! Where has this stuff been the past few years?! A little hole in my soul was filled when I discovered Chrome spray paint…

I prepped the lamp by giving it a good cleansing scrub. Then I wrapped the bottom portion to prevent it from being chromed. It was a beautiful day to spray paint, so I headed outside to change the metal forever.

Oh my goodness. Really, can it get any better than this?! I love it!

The arch and entire top half got a great coating of chrome. I was so excited thus far, so it couldn’t dry quickly enough to allow me to do the bottom half!

I brought it inside for a few hours to “cure.” Already, it is an improvement. I love seeing projects as they get better right before my eyes. Maybe that’s the best part about spray painting? Instant gratification!

Later that same day, it was dry enough to tape up for the bottom half to get sprayed. I had picked a new color from Rustoleum…Marigold in Gloss. I don’t work with gloss paint very often, but this experience has also changed that thinking forever.

Gloss is awesome!

And in this case, it looks like a big, yellow school bus. I actually dig it, yo. But now I can’t wait to see it combined with the new shiny chrome on top!

But I’ll wait. Because it’s awful to mess up a paint finish by trying to remove tape and plastic before things are adequately dried.

Patience, right? I’ve heard of that…

From what I could see so far, though, I really liked it.

I brought it inside once again to cure overnight. My duck seems to like it, too.

   

I made some lamp switches throughout the two rooms to make the new School Bus Lamp feel warmly welcomed. This blue lamp, another previously-sprayed favorite of mine, got a new home on the buffet.

Stamp of approval.

I have always loved the shape of this formerly-brass lamp. And I get all of my shades from Walmart…they have a gorgeous drum shade in white that works to make every lamp look its best!

This lamp switcheroo is successful! Now, let’s see where the new yellow one is going to fit in!

Can you see it? That bright, fun, happy pop of color on the end table? If you feel like staging a spray-painting intervention, you’re too late.

How can you not love doing something so cheap and easy that makes such a huge difference?!

This is my present view when coming down the hall. And I like it quite a bit.

   

And Mr. Horse got a new home from the fireplace mantel to here. I just wanted some bright colors to wake up this little corner in here.

Green horses and yellow lamps fit that requirement perfectly.

Because I used gloss paint, the surface still looks wet and shiny. And I surprised myself by absolutely loving the effect! Maybe gloss paint and I need to get better acquainted these next few months?

I’m happy to report that the twist switch still works, too. And a wood ball adds some natural texture to this side of our home.

Wha? Green horses aren’t natural?

This is the now-yellow view from the dining room. I really love how we now have a pop of brightness to balance out the dresser on the other side of the living room.

I hate to toot my own horn, but I’m really loving all of this!

Toot toot! (oops)

I’ve been watching for some new pillows these past few months, so maybe we’ll be having a “House Tweaking: Pillow Edition” post really soon!

Being picky and cheap cost-effective is not a good combination when wanting to update several pillows in a home, by the way.

Another “natural elements” spot in the living room. Texture and green plant color. You can’t go wrong with that combination!

Especially if it’s sitting on top of some shiny bling!

These are my winter “flowers.” They are just twigs that Hubby helped me cut to size from one of the countless trimming sessions on our I-passionately-hate-how-it-sheds Honey Mesquite Tree out front.

You know, because nothing says winter more than some dead twigs in a vase…

And we have a family of ducks residing in the living room now. In fact, they are about to be joined by an additional family member, but I’m considering repainting all of them a fun color!

Do I have a problem or what?!

Any House Tweaking going on in your neck of the woods?