Let's Get It On

I whispered those sweet words to Brent on Saturday morning.  Too bad I meant that I wanted to get the PAINT color on!  The day had arrived, where things would really start coming together.  Before we could get started, we needed to walk over to our paint store, Diamond Vogel, to get more white trim paint.

We walked through the Scooter's coffee drive up on our way.  Since the four of us aren't big enough to make the drive up sensor register, which I suppose is a good thing, we have to knock on the drive up window every time!  I wish you could see the look on the barista's face when they come to the window.  Let me paint you a picture.  Since I do the ordering, my face is the first thing they see.  No makeup, hair is usually greasy.  Turquoise braces, hopefully without food in them.  A huge grin spans my cheeks because each Scooter's visit is like the best day ever for me!!  Emma is standing next to me but the barista can't see the small child hiding inside all of that crazy red hair.  Owen is in his stroller chanting "hot chocolate, hot chocolate" and Brent looks exhausted because he normally works Saturday mornings at his regular job from 5am to 8am.

As if the morning could get better after a Scooter's visit, it surely does.  Because look at these little beauts I found at the paint store.  For $3.99 each!!  They make perfect crayon and marker holders for Emma and Owen.  I felt like Little Red Riding Hood skipping home with them, minus the berries, red hood and skipping.

I spent Saturday painting trim and got to start painting the actual color on the siding...YEAH!!!  By 1:30pm, it was so hot that I had to quit for the day.  Brent had hung the windows in the meantime.  The first coat of paint was finished by Sunday evening.

She's come along ways in a month!

Hello there, gorgeous, with your sweet little windows open!!

Painting the siding on the dormer was trick-ay trick-ay.  Brent had to hold my feet while I laid on my side/back to get up under there.  Wasn't my finest moment.

I still have to scrape the excess paint off the panes of glass.  

Here's a close-up of the color.  It's called Organic Cotton.  It should get a little richer with the second coat, but this is close to what it will be.

Brent spent Sunday adding stops the the interior of the windows.  Here's what the windows look like without them - see all the gaps around the edges?  We want this shed sealed up tight...like Ziploc tight.

  

Here are what the stops look like.

And here's what that same window looks like all sealed up, caulk and all. 

Our mood can be described as "happy exhaustion" after the weekend progress.  Seeing the paint color go up feels like a huge stepping stone.  THE END IS IN SIGHT!!!

Paint. Caulk. Paint. Caulk. Paint. Caulk.

Spoiler alert.  We spent Labor Day painting and caulking.  I told Brent that NEXT year, we are not working on Labor Day - although we both know that won't happen!

Before I could start priming, a bead of caulk needed to go around all the windows and where the siding met the trim.  Brent has spent an embarrasing amount of time caulking because of his past career choices, so he is as close to an expert caulker as you can get.  Here are a few of his tips.

He says he cuts his tip straight across, not at an angle like many people do.  He may have told me why, if he did, I can't remember what he said.

Start at the top, holding your gun perfectly level.  As you move down, keep the gun still and with the same horizontal form.  You should bend your legs and keep your upper body still.

When you've finished a section, go back and wipe the bead of caulk with your finger to create a tight seal on both sides.  He keeps a roll of paper towels with him at all times to wipe off excess, otherwise, you're gonna be full of caulk.

The caulk needed to dry for a few hours before we could prime over it.  When it had dried, the kids and I started priming.  It's never too early to teach your kids some home improvement skills.

Here's my process for painting a house/adorable workshop.  

1.  Prime trim and siding, working top to bottom.

2.  Paint trim with two coats of finish

3.  Paint siding with two coats of finish

It took me until just after lunch time to have the entire thing primed, with the exception of the dormer.  Brent spent the majority of the day adding trim and siding to it.  He then had to caulk it so it wasn't ready to prime by the end of the day.

I also got one coat of trim paint on.  One more coat to go there and then I can start painting the siding with the house color.

This is what it looks like right now, and will stay this way until we can get back to it over the weekend.