Stepping Up

In early April I embarked on my very first yard sale trek and came home with this great wooden step stool for a few bucks.

Kendry loved it immediately, and even figured out how to pick it up and carry it by himself that same day.

As you can see, he still occasionally finds himself in the "Help! I've lifted up something heavy and can't figure out how to put it back down" situation.

You know exactly what I'm talking about - we've all been there.

And thats why you will never again find me helping to lift a washing machine.

If only my chiropractor knew how stupid I can be...

But seriously, a week after I brought the stool home it had already paid for itself ten times over. Kendry uses it everywhere, and when he wants to move it he just picks it up and does it himself. He has, however, suffered a few knocks to the noggin' in his efforts to determine the best way to lift a stool that is nearly as large as himself.

PARENTING TIP: If your todder isn't already getting into enough stuff around your house, just give him a handy little stool to access even more trouble.

As for me, I have recently come to the conclusion that hopping up onto kitchen counters to access high cabinets (of which I have plenty) doesn't come nearly as easily to me at age 30 as it did at age 10.

Graceful? Never heard of her.

But this great little stool lets me easily access those cabinets without pulling a muscle or smacking my head on a cabinet.

Again, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Whats that? 

I'm the only 30 year old who still climbs up on counters like a kid?

Well I'll be...

But the solid white color on the stool just wasn't doing it for me.

Nope, she needed a good makeover.

I actually have Shelley over at House of Smith's to thank for this idea. The chevron pattern is everywhere these days, but it was Shelley's chevron pattern painted onto her kitchen rug that really inspired me.

I am so going to paint a rug someday.

After a good sanding, I gave the stool a coat of Kilz primer followed by a coat of Sherwin Williams Creamy.

Then I made my own chevron stencil out of poster board and got to work.

I think I listened to half of the Catching Fire (Hunger Games Book II) audiobook while stenciling these lines.

It look me a looong time.

By the way, if you stencil with pencil onto white paint like this I highly recommend having a Magic Eraser handy so you can lighten your pencil lines enough that they won't show through when you're done painting.

I don't know what is in those Magic Erasers but they are ah-may-zing!

I used my Sherwin Williams Dutch Tile Blue to color in the chevron pattern.

(That nearly got me through the second half of Catching Fire.)

Then, because I still don't have my own Silhouette machine - can you hear my husband asking "Would you like some cheese with that whine?" - I just ordered the vinyl numbers from Etsy.

Although I distressed the paint a bit, I went back over the little peg/button thingies (thats the technical term - I totally checked) with a white paint pen to make them really stand out in all their cuteness.

This pretty little number, which I have fondly named Stella, will reside in my kitchen;

and just in the nick of time too.

This soon-to-be 31 year old is more than ready to retire from hopping onto kitchen counters.


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