I shared this little vintage owl lamp on my Facebook and Instagram pages a few weeks ago and asked you guys what I should do with him... "To Spray or not to Spray Paint?"....

On Instagram everyone said to spray; some suggested that a white or gold would look good and Monica from East Coast Creative said spray then glaze him! However, on Facebook the ruling went a bit differently; three said to leave as is, while two said to SPRAY, SPRAY, SPRAY! 

Can you believe we actually left him in this condition for a few years?! 

Well after thinking about it a little while longer and consulting my aunt Eileen, who was his first owner, I decided that spray painting him wasn't the way to go. We didn't want an allover color, nor did we want to lose his awesome features. So instead we decided to use Testors Acrylic modeling paint...

I'm not sure how long my husband has been keeping these around for, but before we met he used to paint model trucks as a hobby and these little bottles have been sitting in the garage just waiting to be used again. 

The paint colors we used were a glossy black, yellow, gold, and a ghost grey that Mike (my husband!) mixed with the black to get a darker grey tone for the face and stomach of the owl. 

As you can see he was very excited to help me with this DIY project, hmm maybe for Father's Day I should stop at Michaels Stores to buy him a model truck or car he can paint!

 In the top right photo you'll notice that at first we kept the black spots on Mr. Owl's belly, but I really wasn't loving the look. 

We went back and forth about the spots, he loved them and I didn't. So I figured we could paint his stomach completely grey and if we wanted to add the spots back on we could! Well, I won that round...the black spots stayed away!  

I really love his transformation and I'm so happy that we decided to hand paint his makeover instead of just spraying one overall color on him. What I love even more is that my husband and I did this together and I can't wait for more DIY projects to tackle with him. 

So, what do you guys think? Would you have spray painted him allover, or do you like what we did? The eyes were the most difficult to hand-paint, we wanted them to be exact but it can be tough to get the shape and size to match up perfectly. The final look of his eyes are probably the tenth pair we gave him!

Remember my owl bookends that I spray painted...

Well, they definitely need an overall color makeover, but I'm not sure that I'm digging the white any more. I wonder how a turquoise or navy blue would look?! 

What are some DIY paint projects you have been up to lately? 

Thanks for stopping by today, have a safe and Happy Memorial Day weekend, don't forget to remember and honor our troops. 

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How to Spray Paint Brass Owl Bookends...

I'm so glad you guys loved my stencil lamp shade I posted about yesterday, I'm really happy that I went with stenciling it instead of one of the other ideas I was considering. It's a timeless look that won't go out of style or one I won't get bored with! As promised, today I'm going to share with you another DIY adventure I took with brass owl bookends.

My husband bought the brass owl bookends for me at Christmas, said he was searching our local antique store for owls and almost gave up when he stumbled upon them! The two love birds look so sweet perched on the branch, but the brass color just wasn't my style and didn't fit with any decor we have in our home. 

They were on my shelf above my work desk in my home office, however I learned the hard way that these guys were a bit too heavy to be sitting on that shelf! Luckily, my laptop wasn't on my desk at the time the shelf came crashing down and there wasn't anything that broke that was sitting on the desk or shelf!

What was I going to do with these things? We only have a small book shelf in our computer room, so I knew they weren't going there. Even if, I still didn't love the brass color! So, this weekend I shared a photo of them on Instagram and asked how I could give them a makeover. My DIY girl Katie over at Busy Bee Kate  tweeted back that I should use some steel wool, self-etching primer, and spray paint. 

While we were out at Michaels Craft Store searching for what to do with the lamp, I looked for the items Katie mentioned. I found the steel wool, but I couldn't find any paint labeled self-etching primer. That's when I found Krylon® Brand Dual Paint + Primer, which works great for Metals, Wicker, Glass, Ceramic, Fabric, Masonry, Concrete, and Wood. Plus the can I grabbed was also a super bond, bonus! 

I took them out to the garage and my husband helped me set up a little space on his work bench so I wouldn't get the spray paint on anything but my owls! I took out the steel wool and got to work removing some of the brass. Steel wool actually comes in different textures, who knew?! You want coarse for tougher jobs like removing paint, and softer for polishing. Ladies, make sure you are wearing gloves to handle the steel wool, it's a little scratchy! Next, it was time to spray paint. 

Well, apparently I don't know the correct way to spray paint, because what I was doing was causing the paint to drip...and we don't want that. That's where my husband came in and showed me the back and forth technique, he's a pro ladies and he's all mine!

At first, he thought we should apply a second coat, but if you take a look at the heavy spraying I was doing at the bottom it looks thick and takes away the details. I loved the way the feathers were showing through and didn't want them to look too caked with paint. 

I love how they turned out and can't wait to get my hands on another item in the house that needs a spray paint makeover! They are currently sitting on the cedar chest in my office, which is probably the only thing that is going to handle the weight of these guys.

What are some home decor items you have spray painted before? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!