Making Progress

Today, I worked on painting the frames I already purchased as well as some storage bins I use for my math journals.

Painting Frames
First, I pulled out the insides. This took a minute, as one of the frames had paper stapled around the back. I sanded them all down a bit and wiped them with a cloth to get the dust off. Then, I sprayed them all. (I am not very good at spray painting- I always get drips from spraying too closely or too heavily. I need to learn some patience!) Below are my tools and pictures. The silver is looking very nice! I managed to get only one cut, and it wasn't even from the Xacto knife. I was careless while handling the glass and sliced the side of my finger.

The sanding sponge (not an official term) is one of the best purchases I made. It is much, much easier to handle than sheets of sandpaper and is durable. This one is a few years old.

I wonder which hotel this came from...

I thought I would need this to cut away the edges.

However, because these had been in my car for a week, the glue was loose and it peeled right off.

I even got around to making my homework board. I plan on getting very strong magnets and sticking it up on the whiteboard. Then, I can write out the assignments to the left or right of the frame. Which do you like better- the cursive version or the print version?

The matting came with this particular frame. I painted it green and then went over the cut-out edges with a black marker to make it pop. I'm so pleased with all of my papers, I had a difficult time choosing which to use!

I wrote on the glass instead of on the paper. It looks neat, and it wipes away easily with nail polish remover.  Hand sanitizer also removes permanent marker from glass, which is more likely to be at school than nail polish remover.

Painting Plastic Organizers

So this next project probably won't be as successful as my frames because I am attempting to spray paint plastic with plain old Dollar Store spray paint. I know, they make spray paints specifically for plastic these days. However, I am on a budget, and I am not too concerned if the paint peels off of these.

I have five of them, and they stack up to the same height as my bookcases, which is great. The downside is they are white, and they get extra grimy very quickly. I inherited them from a teacher who was moving up in the world (to an Assistant Principal), and they fit between 25 and 30 notebooks each.   (25 spirals or about 30 composition books. I prefer composition books, but some kids don't buy them.) This makes them an ideal spot for my three class periods' math journals, plus one bin for social studies and one bin for advisory period. More photos to come when I am done with the painting. I ran out of black paint today. Plus, it was really hot outside and I was ready to get back in the AC.