Or:Β HOW TO F*CK UP A TRAY IN 3 EASY STEPS.
As this is a blog that I intend to share both successes and failures, it’s time for a failure post.Β Ya know, those times when all your intentions are pure, when you think you have followed every step to the letter and yet, well… things just don’t go as planned.
I started with this tray which you may recognise from this post and this one.Β It had been hanging out on my console table minding it’s own business before I decided to pounce.Β Poor thing had no idea what was coming.
I actually bought both W and I a set of these when we were dating and in the throes of new romance and doing a lot of breakfast-in-bed / all-day-under-the-duvet weekends together.Β Ahhh, those were the days.Β Since then, they’ve been sat on the top of our kitchen cupboards collecting dust. [Insert inappropriate joke about relationships and gathering dust here] (Just joking baby! Love you! Even if we don’t do breakfast in bed anymore… *cough*)
I started by cleaning the tray and wiping it down with white spirits and then, because the wood is unfinished with a bit of texture, I just wacked on Dulux Primer & Undercoat, and then, a few hours later, Dulux Satinwood Pure Brilliant White for Wood, which just so happens to be what I used to paint the sideboard.
After those two coats and waiting a full 48 hours for the paint to completely dry, the tray looked like this.Β It was actually rather lovely and I toyed with just leaving it like that but nooooooo.Β I had to press on.Β (Stupid, stupid girl.)
Now, I SPECIALLY PURCHASED ‘Premium Masking Tape’ from Homebase which says on the label (and I quote): “A superior quality masking tape which is both easy to apply and remove, giving a professional finish with clean sharp edges and no residue”.Β Yeah you can see where this is going.
The taping went fine and I started to get quite excited about the final results.
Two coats of Crown Indulgence ‘Little Black Dress’ (2 hours between coats to dry) and about 10 minutes after the second coat (so as not to disturb the paint of course), I removed my tape…
And this, my darlings, is what I was left with.
Sorry, did you need a closer look?
Yeah, I know.
That tape was complete and utter bollocks.Β Considering I did a very similar paint project on my chevron-patterned shoe stands with regular old masking tape and it came out damn near perfect, I didn’t think for one minute that this tape would be so utterly shite.
I’ll be honest, I’ve stuck it under my bottles and from far away, you can’t really tell the lines are so bad or that the paint has peeled off.Β Pretty much.
Closer inspection reveals otherwise.
However, if you dim the lights and squint your eyes and walk into the room backwards, you can’t even see it!
My only consolation is that I have 3 more trays just like it on the top of the kitchen cupboards.Β Take two coming soon…
Had any epic fails recently?Β Please share, I need to feel better about myself.
All images my own.
Oh such a shame sweety…what a bugga about that darn tape! you can try to just tidy up the lines by hand using a thin hand brush..it might help?<br />I use masking tape also…just a gentler tape to you on any surface..and perhaps leaving it overnight before adding the black so the white paint really has time to settle in. <br />I would give it another go lovely..especially if you have more
i love that you posted this. i'm sure you'll find a second wind and fix it right up!<br /><br />michele
@anna… I actually did leave the white paint for 48 hours before I taped it (I've edited my post to reflect this omission) but hey ho, it didn't seem to work. Next time I'm using the good ol' regular stuff ;) Thanks so much for your encouraging words xx<br /><br />@michele… well, you know me, I'm all about keeping it real around here lol xx
Grrr….how annoying is that? I'm surprised the tray is still in one piece. I think I would have taken it to Homebase and told them to put that in their pipe and smoke it. ;-)<br /><br />It was a FAB idea though. I wouldn't say *you* failed. You carried it put perfectly. Just that stupid tape. Grrr again.<br /><br />Sxxx
Bummer! Have you seen my upside down book cover post? Grr!
btw i forgot to respond to the epic fail question.<br /><br />um hello? let's talk about my bright idea to revive an old thrift store velvet occasional chair with white paint–hideous and should have left it as is. donated it back to the store. and it took so much time!!!
@sarah… I was very very tempted to march back over to Homebase and stick it up their collective backsides; instead I just stewed, wrote an angry post and remained quintessentially English about the whole thing ;)<br /><br />@divine… I have now, thanks darling for sharing, makes me feel so much better! x<br /><br />@michele… Oh dear, I'm unaware of this particular fiasco. You really must
Aww, like everyone said, brilliant idea, shit tape, not your fault! Just looked up your chevron shoe-storage and that looks utterly FAB! Good luck with the other trays!
Helloooo,<br />It was an ace idea,sorry for repeating evryone else there, but it looks cool. It is a bit gutting when things like that happen. <br />I am really liking your ideas.<br />Also,thanks for comments on my writing.I It was great to have some encouragement and it has actually spurred me on to write my book and try do some other writing too.<br />You write very wittily I think, which is a
I know it's not meant to be funny but your post made me giggle. I probably would have put the tray through their window! Nevermind, at least it wasn't a wall! Stephie x
great idea thanks for sharing ine for me to try