she was framed

This all started when I painted the bathroom.

Well, once I chose the colour for the bathroom, it went okay. But I had to pussy-foot around and whine about my choice for awhile first, had to procrastinate and over-think it and then my mother announced she was coming and bam! It was Mango Madness, just like that.

(Mango Madness? Bears a huge resemblance to yellow chalk, by the way.)

But it started me thinking about the walls. About how I had nothing to put on them. And that started me gathering pictures and frames and driving holes in the walls and generally upsetting the husband....

And then I saw the window.

No, not the bathroom window, that was just foreshadowing. Bear with me.

'Round here in the wilds of rural Nova Scotia, we have Large Garbage Day twice a year. So once in the spring and again in the fall everyone hauls out the broken chairs, the unloved sofas, the metal scraps...the rag and bone men come and hunt things out to re-sell, and the college kids do drive-bys to furnish their dorms.

I've gotten good stuff on Garbage Day before. People do, even if they're not college students or in need of seating. I've found baskets, frames, press-back chairs, kettles, sofas, and shelving units. Since my husband prefers things that haven't had other people's rear-ends on them before his (I struggle not to call him a furniture snob) I don't get to bring it all home, but I alert friends, and they get to take the fun stuff home.

Anyway, there was this window. This lovely old four-paned window, set out with the trash two weeks before Large Garbage Day. I'd eye it every time I drove by. Finally, the night before trash pickup? I snatched it and drove home, plotting.
It wasn't much to look at.

I ended up running it through a shower, scrubbing and dispatching all the little spider sacs to a hot watery grave, ending up with some glass cleaner and polishing, polishing...

And ended up with this.

Why yes, there IS a toaster oven on my kitchen table. I.....don't know either. sigh.

Now I'm in the midst of painting this behemoth now that the kids have gone to sleep, and realizing that sending Husband to the store to get paint? Wasn't the best idea. I sent him for a small can of white paint. He did get a small can of white paint. Unfortunately? It's rust-reducing white paint.  Not entirely appropriate.

But...it's working. I knew going into this that I wanted a battered look. This thin paint is soaking into the wood (should I be making this thirsty window a drink too?) and glazing more than painting - I'm eager to see what I finish up with.

And now I'm going to publish this, finish painting, pour myself some wine and watch some tv.

I'll pick this up again later tonight.

Okay! I'm back. It's beautiful. Beautiful, and drying.  Let's hope.

There was one bad moment where I went to clean up and realized holy CRAP this isn't latex paint and oh GOD do we have any turpentine? I made do with a LOT of hand scrub (ignore my palely white hands should we meet in the grocery, okay? I did get most of it off....)

And now my pretty lays waiting. Right now I could do almost anything to it - use it as a window, punch out the glass and put mirrors into the panes, or....my project: Turning this puppy into a big-ass frame. For some of my favorite pictures. (This website was helpful) I'm going to take it farther than that, though - put separate mats behind the glass so I can change out the pictures.

I can't wait.

I'll post pictures next time.

Comments

[Sandra Foyt]

Now, that's a project!

[Ree]

See, that whole non-latex paint thing strikes again, eh?

[Woman in a window]

I can't resist old windows or frames. Got a shed full of them. Hey, here's a good winter thing to do with them too. Last year I sprayed that fake snow on one and strung some white lights up and around it. Kinda looked pretty (til the kids used their fingernails to draw "pretty" pictures in the snow.)

Yours will look spectacular. Show pictures.

[Kitrona]

I can't wait to see how it comes out! This sounds like a really cool project.

[kittenpie]

I have a zillion old frames waiting for the day I get back to glasswork so I can fill them with lovely coloured stained glass pieces. I've done a couple, and the effect is great, but it takes time and space and the ability to use nasty chemicals (ie. preggos need not apply). Soon...