Silly Little Things

I have had more than one person tell me that they have never seen anyone get as tickled as I do over little things.  I explained to all those people that due to the financial struggles that we had for the early part of our marriage, I HAD to learn to get tickled over little things or there would have been nothing to get tickled about!  Although life is a little easier now, my ability to get tickled over silly, little things has continued.  I also seem to have the need to decorate common items and to find beauty in places where you would least expect to find it.

I have recently become a fan of the galvanized trash can.  I bought one in which to store chicken feed, another in which to store wood shaving for the chickens’ bedding, and a much smaller one in which to store my bird/squirrel feed.  They are practical and sturdy and fairly cheap, but a little ordinary for my taste.

I had hoped to perk them up by doing a little decorative painting on them.  I have always wanted to sit down and learn the “one stroke” painting method created by Donna Dewberry.   However, I have yet to really take the time to work on it.  Therefore, I just did not feel comfortable enough with my proficiency level to commit to painting something permanent.  One day the can with chicken feed will have a checkerboard design with some baby chicks, and the “bedding” can will have some painted quilt blocks on it.  One day.

However, I lucked out with my can for the bird feed.  A few years ago, Home Shopping Network carried a product called “tatouage”.  A decorative artist painted all sorts of cute things, and then her designs were used to create a dry-rub transfer that you can use to create your own mural on your wall (to learn more, click here).  I had decorated our foyer with some vines and yellow flowers, and I remembered that I actually had some of that stuff left.  Would it work on my bird feed trash can?

I cleaned the trash can first with rubbing alcohol and then with vinegar, just for good measure.  I then rinsed it with water.  I was delighted with just how easily and quickly the tatouage went on.  Before I knew it, my little can was fully decorated.  The only snag I hit was when I sprayed it with a sealant designed for acrylic paint.  This caused a little bubbling in a couple of spots, and the old, perfectionist me would have “trashed” the whole project.  However, the new, tired me just said, “Aaah, this makes it look vintage”, and called it a day.

Is it perfect?  NO!  But I still get a little chuckle over this silly, little trash can every time I see it in the yard: