Rockin' the goodwill deal

So a few months ago I took it upon myself to become the "Activities Director" at my mom's little daycare. It has been a slow process, as I'm finding out craft supplies can get expensive! But we have made some really cute little things and the kids really enjoy it. Anyway, these little craft projects have made me start craving bigger, mommy-sized crafting.

So, back in October the family and I went to The Goodwill in search of some cheap but awesome Halloween costumes. Although we didn't find any costumes, we did find this awesome little, Hailey sized rocking chair. At the time she had just learned to say the word "chair" and had entered "the chair phase" as I call it. (By the way, she is still in the Chair Phase.) So of course, we bought it. It needed some work as it was covered in stickers and a horrible pastel purple color that looked more like paint primer than actual paint. Anyway, I promised Jason that I would clean it up and repaint it by Christmas and we could give it to her as a gift.

Well it didn't happen exactly as planned, but I finally found some mommy time and turned the chair into my own little craft project.

First step: Remove ugly stickers and Clorox wipe the heck out of it!!
Step Two: Do a quick sand with Jason's electric sander.

Step Three: Long, intense hand sanding until all of the previous painter's mistakes were sanded away.

Step Four: More Clorox Wipes.

Step Five: Let sit for half an hour to completely dry.

Step Six: Paint the base color. I chose black for this step because it was a good contrast to the top coat that I chose.

At this point, Jason and I were really happy with the chair. It was such a HUGE improvement, that I was considering leaving it like this. However, the crafter in me just had to keep on going.

Step Seven: Let dry for 3-4 hours.

Step Eight: Crackle Paint (a clear paint that reminded me of craft glue) entire surface. This part was a little tricky.

Step Nine: Let dry for 2-3 hours (Paint should still be tacky wet).

Step Ten: Paint top coat in the opposite direction of the crackle paint.

Step Eleven: Let dry.

Step Ten: Enjoy :)

I had so much fun doing this little project, and I can't wait for the next one! Even though Hailey really doesn't need anymore chairs, I would love to do more. I spent around $30 for the whole project and it was well worth it! The small pillow was a gift to me from my grandfather and was actually the inspiration for the crackled texture. I think it fits Hailey just as well as it has fit me for all of these years :)