DIY nightmare

Let's just start by saying that I am anything but a DIYer. I have such admiration for all of you who can tackle a project and in the process make it look so easy! Since I have become a part of the blogging world I have seen all sorts of great ideas. For example, check out Censational Girl, she is amazing and has inspired me to do a little DIY myself. I started with a very old tray that was given to me from my husband's Nana. It has been in the family for years and I haven't done anything with it since we got it a couple of years ago. It is wicker with a glass top and fabric underneath. Looks pretty straightforward to me. Just spray the wicker in a high gloss white, change the fabric to a piece of left over wallpaper and clean the glass. Sounds easy enough, right?


So off to Rona I went to pick up a can of high gloss spray paint. I found the one I wanted to use and came home to disassemble the tray. I set everything up in the backyard and had it all ready to start spraying the wicker. But when I tried to remove the glass it wouldn't come out that easily. I tried from every angle and it just wouldn't pop out. I realized that I had to involve my husband which I really try to avoid because as we all know once the husbands are involved (or at least my husband) they have many opinions about every aspect of the once simple project! He managed to get the glass out with minimal swearing under his breath and I was back on track.

Okay, back to spray painting. Feeling happy now that the glass was out in one piece I started to spray the wicker. As I was spraying I noticed that it wasn’t really turning the high gloss white that I was expecting. I looked at the can and realized that I had bought the CLEAR protective spray!! Back in the car I go all the way to Rona to buy the white spray paint. As I am driving home I am thinking to myself that maybe I`m not cut out for this DIY stuff and that I am much better at shopping and decorating.

Okay, back to spray painting (again). I managed to spray the tray with minimal drama and let it sit to dry. Things were looking up! While it was drying I laid out the wallpaper and cut out the oval shape I needed to fit the tray. I cleaned the piece of glass and was ready to assemble the tray. My one problem was that I couldn’t fit the glass back into the tray. I guess I thought it would be easier putting the glass back in than it was taking it out. I began to get frustrated with the whole thing and had to leave to pick up my child from something so I asked my husband if he could put the glass back in the tray while I was out. He fiddled with it a little and said that he didn’t think the glass was going to go back in. I said that of course it will, if it can come out then it can be put back in! To make an already long story short I came home to chunks of broken glass sitting on my tray and the wallpaper all scratched up underneath the glass. The only solution at this point was to drive over to my friendly glass place (White Rock Glass - love them) and have a new piece of glass cut for my tray. About $40.00 later my tray was finished. I came to the conclusion that I am not a DIYer but maybe with lots of practice (and I mean lots and lots of practice) I will get better over time ;)

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AFTER