Sunday, February 5, 2012

Exterior Shutters and an injury

I started this project last Thursday and was two boards short of finishing. I planned on going to Lowes and getting the boards on Friday. Then Thursday night my husband and I went to our weekly soccer game at an indoor arena here in Queen Creek. The game was going well until....


Some chick apparently thought we were playing for the world cup and took me out at the ankle.

So I've been hobbling around for the past 3 days. And can I just say that crutches are for the birds? My husband stayed home on Friday to take me to the doctor and has been running around after the kids for me. He even finished my last shutter and laid them out for me to paint. He's a keeper.


I painted it "Tropical Oasis" from Valspar and stained over the top of it with "Dark Walnut" from Provincial. The stain makes the blue paint color more green.


I did four of them for my two windows up front. If my HOA fines me for having too bright of a color will you all send them some hate mail for me?


I also planted tulips in a little red wagon but they're not doing too hot. I think because it's too hot!


Then I  painted a mat at my front door. It doesn't function as an actual mud remover. I guess it doesn't really matter because my front yard is all hideous rock. That will all change over spring break. Anyways, the first time I tried it out it went horribly wrong...


FAIL. I figured I could paint it with regular paint and then seal it quickly but it bubbled and peeled before I could even finish painting. So I decided to use spray paint and it worked much better. They have a bigger selection of colors at Lowes and Walmart than at Home Depot. I used the same stencil on my pantry from Jones Design Co on the mat. You can download it here.


I may have gotten a little loopy using the spray paint because I got it all over the wall. I'll need to touch up that some day. It's the same size as other front door mats so if I need to change the color for a season I can just put another one right on top. I still need to apply an outdoor waterproof sealant on it. Hopefully it won't rain until I do.


And lastly, I changed out my wreath for this ruffled one my friend Jenna and I made. I got the idea off pinterest. It was really easy! That's all the outdoor projects for now. I think adding color will relieve my summer itch for a while. I can't wait for swimsuits and otter pops!

8 comments:

  1. Sorry about your foot and ankle. It looks bad and swollen. I LOVE your shutters and the color is really great on your home. Stop over at my blog for a great giveaway...might make you feel better.

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  2. It's the 5th of February and you're talking about swimsuits and otter pops.

    And the tulips are doing fine, except for the fact that the dirt isn't deep enough to keep them upright. We figured this would happen, though. Oh well. It's not like you're out a bunch of money.

    Also, a spray-painted doormat? I mean, it looks awesome, but...I guess it looks awesome. The end.

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  3. I'll get my pen ready for your HOA and write something like have you ever had shutters shoved up...... (my but I'm sassy today!)

    Hope your ankle gets back to normal soon. I've had two that looked like that and it's no fun.

    ~Bliss~

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  4. Poor baby, your ankle looks painful. On the other hand, your shutters and welcome mat look wonderful. If you get in trouble from your HOA, count me in for a letter ;)

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  5. You are crazy! Have you ever heard of rest???
    All very cute though - you can do in a weekend with an injury what takes me a month - ha!

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  6. Dude that ankle is gnarly! I love the shutters, eff HOA!

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  7. That's funny i just went to home depot today to buy wood to make my own exterior shutters. 1x4x12 pieces of planed pine are on sale today for $2. In case you need more.

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  8. Great job on the exterior shutters! We put polyuretheane exterior shutters on our Houston home two years ago and they add so much. We weren't bold enough to paint them green blue, but I wish we did, that looks great (your HOA better leave you alone!!!) Nice work. http://www.owtraditions.com

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