Project Update - mail organizer

HERE is my blog post from July 30 (my how time flies...) when I mentioned running across THIS blog post on Beth's blog.

The short version of the story is that Beth and I both bought this ugly vintage doohicky that I have decided is a mail organizer.

When Beth posted her project, she had recently picked hers (top photo) at her local Goodwill. I picked mine (bottom photo) up at my local Goodwill...a year ago! How weird is that?

So Beth turned her ugly plastic faux wood vintage treasure into an adorable organization piece for her quilting!

She went PINK! A girl after my own heart...

And my Heritage White spray paint is still MIA...and I haven't gone to buy more. So I used what I had on hand. And I SWEAR I took photos during the process and yet there don't seem to be any. Such is life...i'm out of memory cards to look at.

First I washed it, then gave it a quick sanding with a sanding sponge. Then I rinsed it off and let it air dry. Then I hung it from a plant hook in the Cedar tree in the back yard and sprayed the heck out of it with a rusty brown color primer (that is actually for metal).  Then I found a can of spray paint that I cannot remotely fathom what it was purchased for - it's only half a can, so we used it on something. The color is a pale metallic gold. Turns out it was more metallic than I thought. I don't have anything in my house this color...woo hoo! Mystery paint!

So after the primer was dry, I coated it with this gold paint. I didn't care for it. At all. So I distressed the high areas with my trusty sanding sponge. Still not loving it. Then it sat on my desk untouched for a few weeks where I would give it dirty looks while I was playing Scramble on FaceBook. 

This past weekend I decided I really needed to do SOMETHING with it. So I whipped out my trusty brown ZIG dual point and detailed all the little grooves. 

There are a LOT of little grooves...better, but not quite there.  So while I was staring at my supplies I did what was natural. Grabbed my brown ink pad. 

I use it for EVERYTHING.

So I went to town on the high spots with my ink pad and ended up with...

 

This...which was then given two coats of clear, even though the ink doesn't seem to be coming off. Just to be on the safe side!

I don't love it, but it's a zillion times better than it was!