Lessons Learned from Painting a Room

After the " Lessons Learned From A Banana Pudding" post ... (click here) I thought I would start trying new things in my life and remember the lessons I've learned. 

My mother and father have always had a strong work ethic.  They both were very creative.  When Mom and Dad built their house they took up the task of decorating and furnishing their home the "handmade" way.  Mom sewed drapes.  She reupholstered our couch and chairs for the living room.  They put up their own wall paper.  Mom and Dad purchased an older kitchen table, stripped the finish, and stained.  It was a beautiful table!  When they added on to the house Dad laid the brick for the outside, fireplace, and the stairs.  He textured the ceiling himself.  I loved watching Dad drip the plaster all over his head.  Too funny.

Remember this was all from the view of a 12 year old.  Mom and Dad worked hard for their beautiful home.  One thing stood out for me was I Never Wanted to Do Any of It!!!  It was time consuming, very hard work, and required a desire to make sure it was done right.  When we built our first house my mom did the wall paper, Jimmy painted, and I disliked it all. 

Time forward.  Tabitha is in her new home and expecting our grandchild in less than 2 weeks.  They were scrambling to finished everything including the baby's room.  Tabitha had been asking me to paint the baby's room with stripes.  Now the story from above tells you how enthusiastic I was to jump into this project and I drug my feet about painting the room. 

Lesson One:  Friends are gems to be cherished and loved.  Friends are those incredible people who, when in a crunch,  jumps in whole heartily to help.   A friends love is unconditional.

My friend Ruth is an incredible artist and there is not much she can not do.  I gave her a call and she was there.  I had already tried to mark off the stripes to paint with no success.  Ruth comes in and teaches me another lesson.

Lesson Two:  Patience is key to any project or life situation you encounter. 

Ruth taught me how to use a piece of foam board, a 4 foot level, and painters tape to outline the stripes of the room.  Patience was key as it took us about 3 1/2 hours to tape it off. 

Lesson Three:  Adventure with a friend is twice as much fun.

I was put in charge of the roller brush and Ruth did the trim work.  Talk about a work out.  I used muscles in my arm I did not think I had!  Ruth taught me that long strokes covered better than short strokes.  Don't soak the edges of the tape with paint.  Don't panic when you go over the tape to add paint to the opposite stripe.  Don't drip and please watch when you step back not to step in the paint. 

Lesson Four:  Trying something new is inspiring.

Jim and I are now working on painting our house.  I'm in love with painting! 

Lesson Five:  Thank your parents often.

Thank you Mom for teaching me so much.  Mostly, thank you for inspiring me to work hard and enjoy the journey. 

For You
Check this out.  Creating Keepsakes releases a new font every week online for FREE every Friday.  They are available all week until the post the next font.  They are so cute and fun.  Here's the site and they have instructions on how to download the fonts.  Creating Keepsakes Free Font Friday.

Did you know Graphic 45 does a giveaway every Monday.  Leave a comment there on the Monday post and on the Friday they announce a winner.  Go for it!  Their blog is also incredibly inspiring.

Have a Crafty Day!

Gratitude List
1.  Ruth
2.  Tabitha and David
3.  18 years with my incredible Jacob
4.  compromise
5.  God's gift of a wonderful life