A Girl with her Tools!

Well, I've been bitten by the renovation bug. There are a number of small jobs I've wanted to do around the house as of late. Today I tackled two of these projects. They didn't take long and the end result was definitely worth it. 

So, I started in the small bathroom in our basement. When we moved in it had been painted white. I didn't think much of it and assumed the paint was covering something horrific. Over time the paint on a corner had worn off, what was underneath looked a lot better. So, I decided to take all of the paint off and hope for the best.

I forgot to take the before picture...I was too eager to spray it with the paint remove

In Progress

After spraying the counter I read the instructions (yes, I said AFTER) and discovered the paint remover needed to sit for 1-6 hours. Those that know me, know I am not one to wait. So, I decided to sand my railing. It had gouges all down one side.

Some gouges were worse than this

I started the job with my Mouse sander.

When I wanted to change the sand paper I discovered we have a real big girl sander.

The big girl sander worked a lot better. I was smiling and enjoying feeling like a strong independent woman.  Well, during one of my sand paper replacements I came across a nasty brown, hairy 'roided spider. And was quickly reduced to screaming like a little girl and waving my hands about. Don't worry, I managed to kill it (sorry, I am not one of those set it free types).

I finished the banister and rubbed it down with olive oil. I still need to stain or varnish it, but I think it turned out beautifully.

Finished Project

Back in the bathroom I was able to get all of the paint off of the counter and yet another beautiful result!

Finished  Project

Now all that's left to do in the bathroom is the floor and to paint. My next project though is the other railing. It's a dissaster!