Fantastic and Free #10 - An Arsenic and Old Lace Halloween

I apologize for the lateness of this post, knowing that some of you, my dear readers, won't even see this until tomorrow! I know that a lot of my "Fantastic and Free" posts don't appear until this hour of the evening, and I thought you probably deserved an explanation as to why. The why is because ever since my computer stopped turning on, Derek and I have been using his computer. As such, when evening rolls around, and my project is completed, Derek is at home, and is, therefore, using his computer. So then, I must wait until he (reluctantly) trudges off to bed before I can get the time in to write an entire post. Tonight, it's nearly 11 before I even start writing this, and that was partially because of Derek and the being up thing, but also partially because Derek and I attend a "program" (?) at our church called Freedom Sessions every Tuesday night. One of the good things about it, is that it causes all kinds of conversation with the two of us afterwards. So even though we got home (and Derek "went to bed") around 9:30, we actually chatted for about an hour, and then I still had do some work on today's project.

Today's project has literally taken almost all of the day, because it involved a whole lot of spray painting. Since it's already a quarter of the way through October, I've really been wanting to do some Halloween decorating. My family never did much of anything for Halloween (I was one of those kids who never went trick-or-treating), and while I understand my parent's hesitancy, I've realized that Halloween holds a special place in my heart. I'm not really into the skeletons, and the gore and blood and all that jazz, but I believe that there is a much more tasteful (and tasty!) way to do Halloween. For instance, you could use an Edgar Allen Poe theme, or a pumpkin theme, or in the case of this year - and our home - a theme based on a quirky play about two quirky old ladies who poison people: hence the title, Arsenic and Old Lace (which is, in fact, the name of the play). Derek and I will actually be hosting an Arsenic and Old Lace Halloween party on the 26th, with the fantastic teamwork of my dear friend, Lana. So stay tuned for more delightfully quirky details.

To get things started with the theme, I figured it was time to complete a project that Lana, Vickie and I started way back when we moved into the apartment - making lace picture frames, or, making picture frames with lace patterns. The project today started by me gathering all the frames that Lana, Vickie and I bought back then, sorting them, and then selecting the ones I would be transforming. They got a fresh coat of matte black spray paint (by Rustoleum, of course), and because it wouldn't be a good spray paint without it, I made sure to to many, many thin thin THIN coats, to make sure that the paint didn't drip.

When they were finished, and looking much more dapper, I must say, I set them aside (note: check out that window leaning up against the wall! It was in the basement when we moved in, and I love how it looks! Might have to transform it into a mirror of sorts, or a pot hanger in the kitchen? We'll see!).

I then cut some strips of lace off a table cloth (?) that I bought awhile back from MCC. The strips got a thin coat of spray adhesive....

Before I carefully placed them on my frames. They looked pretty cool like this, and I was a bit tempted to leave them as they were! For anyone who's wondering, the lace comes off really easily after things are done. That's why it's important to do only a thin layer of spray adhesive.

Unfortunately, I only had Krylon white spray paint.... And since this was supposed to be a free project, I couldn't go out and by any of my favourite (Rustoleum). You see, the thing about Krylon is that I've had a number of experiences where it cracks and chips and doesn't leave an even coat. Though for something like this, it could end up looking cool, I'd like to re-purpose these frames after Halloween, and cracked/chipped spray paint is pretty challenging to deal with. In an effort to avoid the fateful chipping, I made sure that I used even thinner layers of paint (which brings another unfortunate thing about Krylon to mind: it doesn't have NEARLY as good coverage as Rustoleum, but oh well... this is an exercise in working with what ya got, right?). So, actually, as I write this, a layer of paint is drying. I'm really hoping that by the time midnight rolls around, my frames will be completed, so I can actually finish this project today! *fingers crossed.

Not quite midnight yet. Excellent. After the frames were painted to my liking, I removed the lace, put them back together, and set them out on my living room floor. Because obviously that's the best place to put frames! Just kidding. Leaving them on the floor is a terrible idea. I have a husband who might step on them tomorrow, then where would I be? But it is a great place to take a picture, because I won't be hanging them on the wall tonight. Might as well wait until tomorrow to do that step. Oh, and don't mind the dusty glass, or the fact that I forgot to paint the inside of one black, or the masking tape on that one frame. That'll get fixed soon. I'm not in any hurry. I'm just glad to have some awesome (almost complete) decorations for my upcoming Halloween bash!

Budget Breakdown:
FRAMES: $0 (have had them for over a year. It's about time I got on doing something with 'em!)
SPRAY PAINTS: $0 (always like to have some good spray paint kicking around the house. Never know when you'll find some use for it.)
LACE: $0 (probably bought it back when I bought the frames. Dude. I need to stop hoarding.)

FINALLY BEING DONE A PROJECT THAT WAS STARTED A YEAR AGO/HAVING HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS: Priceless. *wink