"Family"

This was such a busy weekend that I had to split my posts up so I could get organized.

Let's rewind to Saturday afternoon.

I started off the day with a quick trip to Kohls to make a couple returns. Since I'd still looking for a wall clock for the kitchen and a couple pieces to hang in the living room, I decided to hit the home section and ended up finding this on clearance, Photo 1.

As far as size and sentiment go, it was exactly what I've been looking for to hang over the dining room doorway. Everything has either been too small or over-priced.

The design didn't thrill me and I didn't think the yellow would really work with the (Sherwin Williams) Oyster Bay green that I painted the dining room, but I couldn't pass it up. I took it home and decided to see if I could improve it.

To start, I sanded off most of the "Family" paint, Photo 2. It was looking better already.

Then I painted each of the letters with the Oyster Bay paint I had leftover, Photo 3. It looked like a total DIY, and I wasn't thrilled.

I hit Ace Hardware for black spray paint. Oh, the options. . .I made my choice and headed home.

I popped out the crystals with a small, flat edge screwdriver and spray painted the piece. After letting it dry in the sun on this beautiful 75 degree day, I used super glue to re-insert the crystals.

Here is the finished result, in Photo 4.

I love it, but I asked Sal to hold off hanging it for me. I decided it might look better over the doorway from the living into the dining room, and the living room hasn't been painted yet.