Monday, August 3, 2009

It Pays to Read the Label and a Card

Card a Day (CAD) #3:


I think I'm officially a stamper. These product only cards just don't hold the same thrill for me as a stamped one. Good to know :-) On this card I tried a glitter pen for the first time. They are very fun although the card has to be in the light the right angle for it to sparkle.

In our house, staining is a job the kids do on their own. Dad showed them how and we point them at our square foot garden supports - no problems so far. One curiosity was that the two garden beds were stained the same color yet look completely different. We chalked it up to "oh well, must have been a mistake" and forgot about it.

So yesterday I decided to stain the picnic table. I grabbed our trusty can of stain, got directions from my ten year old and went to work. Half way through the table top the stain went from a dark, almost sheer walnut color to a thick, paint like light brown. Turns out that the last few painters forgot to mix the stain and also forgot to make sure I mixed it. So I hustled to mix the brown into the black sections and hope to blend it enough that it doesn't look completely ridiculous. Then I ran out of stain... which should make the rest of the table fun to paint as matching this unmixed monstrosity might be tricky.

When I tried to wash myself and the brush off the boy exclaimed, " I forgot to tell you it's not water based and you need gloves." Scrub. Scrub. Scrub.

So, my advice to you is to only trust your kiddos instructions to a point. Or you'll be scrubbing your skin and puzzling over your furniture for longer than necessary.

When DH came home I told him the whole story and he said he always mixes it before giving it to the boys so they've never seen him do it. But, the stain I used was some decade old mongrel he'd found in a box. It was on his work bench as a reminder to dispose of it properly. The stain we normally used was on a shelf nearby.

DH thinks we should strip the table and redo - I'm not sure you can strip stain and I hate doing things twice.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL!!!! I bet you were scrubbing for days! I love your card and agree, it's just not the same!

Kristen H said...

I like stamps and product cards. I always wanted to quilt but can't sew for nothing, so I think I like the layering of paper the best in card making.
I know there are dunk tanks for stain stripping, but I don't know if there is a home remedy for such a thing. I can ask around and get back to you.
Would baby oil help take it off your hands, or vaseline since they are petro products???

Unknown said...

LOL! That is awesome (not really, but funny nonetheless.)

I don't think you can strip stain, but you CAN pressure wash it off, should you feel so inclined to rent a pressure washer. Ask me how I know this? Could it be because I did the EXACT SAME THING with my wooden fence? No.

Vicki G said...

Sweet Card...................ick..sounds like an adventure...........hope your table recovers!

itsallrosi said...

oh no! my husband is not handy at all so something like this has never happened at our house.

Kerry said...

LOL if he left it out then you can't be blamed for using it so make him do it.

Love the card.