Re-purposed Pan

Okay, so maybe I'm better at posting once a month... Well, we have been SLIGHTLY productive. My booger britches is about 95% potty trained! WAHOO!!! Haven't had to buy a package of pull-ups in a couple of weeks because she only wears them at night time! I believe the whole potty prize thing was a great incentive and we eventually took our cue from her when she didn't want to keep her pee-pee pull-ups on RIGHT after she wet them. We kept the potty prize bucket well-stocked for a couple of weeks and now we're just letting them dwindle away since she doesn't expect a prize every time. SOOOO proud of her. Ah, and we graduated from her princess potty to the big potty with the toddler seat. She uses her princess potty as a step :). She does GREAT when we go out and about and lets us know if she has to go potty. So, there is the update on potty training!

Now, let's move on to something new...

Christmas is next month. Still don't know what to get the grandparents? Well, we've got a great, EASY project for you! How many of us have at least one beaten up, rusty-looking cookie sheet? Come on, be honest! When I was little, we used them to sled down our driveway! Oh, those were the days! Now, I have to give credit to my husband for this idea. He knows that our daughter LOVES to be in the kitchen with me and "help" me cook and bake. One day we looked at our very first baking sheet (about 4yrs old) right after it came out of the dishwasher. That poor thing looked like it has had a rough life. Granted, with me cooking, it probably did have a rough life! So my husband gets this look. You know the one, you can hear the gears grinding ;). "Why don't you and Clare paint this? And then you can hang it in the kitchen." Brilliant! Our daughter LOVES to paint. So we got our supplies together and we let Clare in on the plan.

Here's what you'll need:
- Old cookie sheet (Or other overly-loved metal pan/pot)
- Killz base paint (Or any other base paint)

- Clear-coat spray paint

- Acrylic paints

- Paint brushes

- Paint "palette" (we used a scrap of cardboard)

- Water to clean brushes and paper towels to dry them

- At least one creative kiddo!

- And newspaper or a large trash bag to protect the artist's workspace

1. First is to prep the "canvas". I believe my husband put three coats of Killz to make everything an even white.

Step 1: Prep the pan. This is with 3 coats of Killz

2. Let the artist(s) do their thing!

Step 2: Let the creativity begin!

Be prepared for several brushes to be used at once... and be prepared to help the artist clean them... often lol!

 3. Be a good assistant and enjoy the smiles and giggles and listen to what your artist is capturing. My artist eventually painted "Punzel" and "Belle". She's very abstract ;)

Step 3: Soak in that happiness!

4. Let the artist's work dry, then clear-coat it!

Step 4: Clear-coat after the artist's paint dries.

 5. Add the date and any wording you'd like! I used a Sharpie and I'd recommend a paint pen or something else because my Sharpie wanted to quit lol. (I think I actually wrote on the pan before the clear-coat and that caused the marker to "crackle")

Step 5: Add the date and a message if you wish!

I LOVE this. If you're giving as a gift, you could include the "Artist's notes" (aka, a description of what they painted). You can attach ribbon or wire to hang the pan, OR, you can add a couple of magnets to the back and hang it on the fridge!

Until next time,
Stay creative!