Going Stir Crazy

So as you know, my last post was all about the speed-or lack thereof-at which my bathroom renovation was going. I kind of have to be here because it seems like there are questions every few minutes-apparently there are lots of decisions to be made by someone who really has no idea what she is doing-but, I digress!

In any case, in order to stay available, I am trying to do lots of little jobs that don't require my total, undivided attention and that will keep me relatively presentable-which definitely means gardening is out of the picture. And, one can only fold so much laundry or clean out so many closets without going bonkers. And so in my case, my mind then goes to the next holiday and making preparations.

I bought an extra fence slat the last time I needed one thinking I would make a porch "stander" for the 4th of July. At that time I didn't have a design in mind or I would have gotten a wider board. When I went to draw out my stripes, I realized that the board was too narrow for what I wanted so I made an adjustment or two and got going.

I started by portioning off what will be the field of stars and painting it white.

Then I used my Cricut to cut out three cardstock stars and used spray adhesive to adhere them to the board. I quickly painted all of the rest of the area blue and removed the cardstock to reveal white stars.

I lucked out when I discovered that three widths of my wide painter's tape was exactly the right measurement for my stripes. I put one width down each side and filled the remainder in with white paint.

I pulled the tape off and was pleasantly surprised to find fairly crisp lines. This wood is quite rough-sawn so straight lines are not always possible.

When the white stripe was dry, I taped it off and painted on the red. I will say that while I usually just mask my design and spray paint, this time I am using craft paint and painting it with a brush. I was afraid to try the spray with so much taping off for fear that part of it might shift along the way. Hand painting allows for so much more control but boy does this wood eat up the acrylic paint. I definitely need to make a note to myself to buy more red, white and blue before the kids and I start our 4th crafting!

Then, it was simply a matter of waiting for paint to dry and pulling off the rest of the tape. To finish it off, I wrapped it a number of times with some twine. I am still debating whether I am going to sand it a bit to distress it a little or leave it crisp and clean. We shall see. It's not as if I have to make the decision quickly! Think I might have some time to mull it over! Stay tuned.