(But I love getting ready for Christmas.)
Last Christmas, my mother-in-law was culling her Christmas decorations, and asked if I wanted a two-foot-tall painted nutcracker from Costco. Without knowing what he looked like, but thinking ahead to the larger house we were about to move into, I agreed. After all, if I didn't end up using him, I could take him over to DI just as easy as she could.
I forgot to take a "before" picture, but the box will do, right?
As you can see, he's a very nice nutcracker, but not really in my style or color scheme. After looking around Pinterest (oh, that time suck), I decided to try to change him up. (After all, if I messed up, I wasn't really out much but my time and a little paint.)
First thing I did was rip the poor thing's hair off. It wasn't as easy as I hoped, but with a disposable razor (really), tweezers, and coarse sandpaper, I got most of it off. Then I pried the "jewels" off his crown with a paring knife. (I'm very professional here.)
Out in the garage, I sprayed him with first primer, and then three thin coats of "Champagne Mist" metallic spray paint. (Okay, one of the coats was a little too thick, and I got some drips that had to be sanded away.)
After leaving him to dry thoroughly, I brought him back inside and painted gold on certain parts--the crown, the epaulettes, cuffs, and parts of the staff. Parts of the epaulettes, crown, and staff are also coated with glitter (messy but pretty). Finally, I glued the "jewels" back on, and added some extra "bling" stickers from the bargain bin at Michael's.
I think he turned out pretty posh, don't you?
WOW! Very nice!
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