Painted Paddle Art

While I was stranded up at the cabin for Spring Break, I not only spent time working on the big cabin fireplace wall remodel, but I also took the time to check a few of the little projects off my list that have been nagging me for awhile.

Just a few...

 

While most were of the smaller, more annoying variety, (i.e. paint the radiators, fix the screen door, etc...) there were a couple of fun ones, like this oar arts-n-crafts project that Ryder and I did together one afternoon while Bo napped. We started with these seen-better-days row boat oars that my Mom found.

As you can see the old paint was hanging on for dear life, so the first step was to take them outside and sand them down completely, first with a heavy 60 grit, and then with a more fine 120.

We didn't need to get them perfect, I wanted them to still look rustic.  I just wanted to get all the previous paint off. Once that was done we wiped them down and I taped off a design.

Then we simply took some craft paint and I put on the first color while Ryder played paparazzi.

Ryder claimed the blue colors, so he painted those very carefully next.  I immediately pulled the tape off in case any of the colors bled.  Success!

We let those colors dry while we taped off the next one.  I was actually really surprised how quickly the paint dried, and it wasn't long until we could come back with another line of tape on top of our previous paint job to add more colors.

By the time Bo woke up, we had two complete and dry oars.  I drilled a pilot hole in each oar, and then hammered a nail through the hole, into the stud of the wall behind it.  Taking the wall from this:

To this:

I love how the colors work perfectly with our West Elm duvet. Just a couple of fun pops of coral in this otherwise cream and navy room give it the perfect mix of masculine with a pretty touch.

The oars seem like the perfect item to fill this big blank space above that wall, without completing with the shelf next to it our the big headboard that will eventually go on the wall directly across from this one.  Remember this plan?

I left on the hardware that used to connect these oars to the boat, mostly because I couldn't get them off, but also because I like the rustic detail.  #IDidItOnPurpose.

I ended up lightly sanding each paddle slightly once the paint dried to give the paint more of a worn look.  With the condition of the rest of these oars, the paint couldn't look too perfect.

So in one nap time we've made a big step forward in this room.  But not only that, Ryder and I also got to do a fun project together, and he was so excited to hang his masterpiece on the wall.

Now if I could just master getting better photos of the cabin for you guys.  With my time up there so limited, I'm finding that I can't wait until the perfect light conditions to get these shots for you.  Not to mention I think I need to read up on how to use my camera better.  You know, in all my spare time.  If you can hang with me in the meantime, hopefully I'll get a chance to get up there and photograph the whole space in optimal lighting for you soon.