Stains! Stains! Stains!

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Don't worry.  I did it on purpose.  

A few weeks ago, I spotted a wooden "T" at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents. Given that my mom's kitchen is needing a little something on the wall (in a small spot the same size as the wooden letter) -- and given that "T" is the initial for our last name -- I grabbed it, deciding I'd figure out what to do with it later.

"Later" was today. Using old wood stain from one of my parents' projects a few years back, I stained the wood in my garage...

Of course, my coffee was nearby... on a pedestal...

And so began the staining.  Notice my gloves switched from pink to blue?  The moment I began, I was promptly warned that the pink gloves are "special" and the blue gloves are for "crafts."  Okay.  Blue, it is.

I used an old dish washing sponge to apply the stain. After waiting for 5 minutes, I wiped it off (most of it was already pretty deep into the wood) with a paper towel. Here's what the stain looked like by the time I was finished...

I'm glad the woodgrain is so visible... but was hoping the overall color would be darker because I was planning to layer white paint over the stain and distress it, allowing a dark color to show through.  I'm still debating whether or not to add another layer of stain before using the paint.  When I get to that tomorrow, I'll let you know how it works out. :)

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Once I was ready for a break (and the fumes had gotten to my head - seriously, wood stain is pretty intense, so I kind of mean that), I walked around to the backyard to find this...

My father sitting on the hammock, smoking a cigar, while his best friend sat nearby.  

Seriously, it looks like my dog is modeling.  

Oh, what's that?  You want me to zoom in?  

    

See? She's modeling. Blue steel.

"Smile!"

See you tomorrow!