distressed.

i decided i wanted to "distress" a headboard for my new room in HB (moving in this weekend). i wanted it to be black, but antiqued looking. then i would accent with cute, ornate and colorful pillows with my ivory colored down comforter. anyway...my adventure started at Lowes (the hardware store). so....i have NEVER been to Lowes before, so as you can imagine, i was a bit intimidated. i found the paint section where i began to ask the lady worker what i needed to do to "distress" my headboard. this headboard has been previously white washed with some sort of poly finish (i knew that). she proceeded to tell me what i needed, the grade of sandpaper to use, the finish of paint, how to paint it....and blah blah blah. i started to feel overwhelmed, so i began taking notes on a small piece of paper from my purse. i thanked the kind lady and started wandering up and down the paint aisles. umm...so there was like no colored paint. i didnt realize you have to ask the "paint person" to mix you paint. so, i went back and asked her to give me whatever she had been describing (for the past 15 mintues). after i received my paint, i headed over to get my sand paper. who knew that there would be sooo many to choose from? i found myself feeling the sand paper to decide on which one to get (like i am skilled in that area). then i proceeded to check out. it was a self-checkout, but my checkout station stopped me after scanning my first item. a mid-thirties female employee approached me and asked to see ID. she said she had noticed me purchasing some items that i needed to be over 18 for and that i looked like i was 12. not kidding. she said i looked 12 years old - out of nowhere. i showed her my ID and then she said, "wow - you do NOT look your age." and i responded, "really? 12 though?" she told me she works at a junior high school during the day and i look just about the age of the other girls there, and they are 12. hmmm.....what a boost to the self-esteem. so, i left, paint in hand but head hung low.

now here is the fun part! the stripping - no, not that kind you sickos.

john hawley showed me the ropes. i was a little nervous at first...

but then got hard core. shelly was making random appearances to confirm i wasnt ruining her garage with dust or sanding down her car. she also kept telling me to put a mask on. we live in bakersfield. we breath worse crap every day.

then it came time to "distress"!! this was the fun part. sar - i feel like you would be proud.

TADA!! this is the end result. i swear it really is black, although it looks more brown in this pic. i LOVE it. it looks absolutely perfect and is going to go great in my new room in HB!