Before and After

We have salvaged yet another childhood handmade keepsake from my parents' storage... today, it's the step my dad built me when I was very small to enable me to wash my hands at the bathroom sink. In it's glory days, it was hunter green and very solid. When I got my hands back on it, it was a plethora of colors and stains, and though still pretty solid, had a few nicks and notches missing.

Before the heat of the day descended, my trusty helper and I gathered bucket, rags, brushes, and paint, and set out to restore this handy-dandy booster.

Step one: find some shade, then give everything a good sandin' (the little pink step mysteriously appeared in our garage at some point this summer, we're not sure where it came from... Gramps and Grammy?).

Step two: wash away the dust, grime, and cobwebs (as best you can).

Step three: give everything a good coat of a super-concealing primer.

Step four: let primer dry, take girlchild inside, get boychild up from "nap," feed everyone, play a little, put both Littles down for a nap, go back outside, debate over final paint color, settle on a warm dark gray, paint, sweat, let paint dry, go back outside again, realize that the shade has moved away, move everything back into the shade, sand to transform into shabby-chic, wipe down again, bring back inside, and add felt footies...

...and, ta-da! A two-step booster for a Little Miss to use when the counter is too full or messy to allow for a whole Audrey to sit upon it.

The verdict?

Love.