spray on pretty

I have a secret weapon for decorating...it's called spray paint!  Seriously, this stuff is superbly awesome!  I started using spray paint a lot when I was making things for our wedding.  I got some nasty looking baskets from the trash at work and spray painted them dark brown and BAM they were beautiful!  My husband and I decided we needed an end table/magazine rack.  We originally decided to be on the look out at thrift stores (we go 'thrifting' quite often!).  Though, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law called one day when they were at a yard sale and my husband asked them to be on the lookout.  Low and behold...they found us one!
Once we got the end table, I knew that I wanted to paint it a unique color.  I originally thought a plum or eggplant color then switched to a golden yellow-orange color.  However, when I actually got to the spray paint isle at Wal Mart I went with a color called Jade.  I brought home my less than $3 bottle of paint and got to work.  It probably wouldn't have hurt to sand down my table...but seeing as how it is metal and already painted, I just went with it!  I chose a well ventilated area (our front balcony) and laid out a 'tarp' (old towel) so I wouldn't get it all over the concrete.  Then I sprayed away!  I did as much as I could then let it sit and came back to fill in any missing areas.  Since the table was so detailed I had to wait for one side to dry so that I could flip it over and paint the other side.  My favorite thing about spray paint is that it is so cheap!  If I decide I hate the color in a few months, then for $3 I can change it!  Wonderful!  I chose a place mat (once again from Wal Mart...would have made a great pillow like the others I made) in a contrasting color and put a cute vase with some fake sea grass and a picture of my husband and I (at Morton's The Steakhouse, on our Honeymoon!) to decorate my table with.  I put all my Family Fun magazine, which have some awesome ideas and my Martha Stewart Food magazine, which have some nasty looking food in them in the bottom, and I just love it.  My husband came home from work and loved it too!  Hope this inspires you to get creative!