And a Welcome Back to....ME!

All of my garden areas are ready for the winter. Over the weekend I worked on a decorative project. Over a year ago, my husband brought me an old milk can left over from "the old days" on our farm. We both have a long history in the dairy and cattle industry so he thought it would be cool if we painted this old milk can and kept it as a "tip of the hat" to both our roots, so to speak.

It has been here for over a year. I didn't really know what to do with it! But I finally did some research and decided to go for it. It was really nasty looking, rusty and dirty. This is the before:

That is a wire brush on the top, very necessary for the thing that happened next. I brushed. And brushed. And BRUSHED. :)

So, it was starting to look like a milk can instead of a yucky piece of junk. So on I went. Until the detail could be seen and the rust was gone. Sort of. At least the worst of it. You could now see the lettering on the handles that said "superior" and some of the detail including the "solder" seams where the pieces were welded or "soldered" together.

 So it was now time for paint:

I used Rustoleum spray paint. The kind that has primer and paint in one. You can use it "directly on rust" and believe me, this project called for that. It is supposed to be a protectant as well and to "stop rust". Very much needed in this case. I gave it one coat, and I thought it looked pretty good! And, good news! I thought the lid was hopelessly rusted on! But, no. It came off when I was working things over with the wire brush. I took the wasp nests off all around the neck of the can and then..... I hesitated for just a second about looking inside it. But I should have known. Yeah, it lived with my husband before I got here.....and it was totally clean inside. Much better shape than the outside, actually. It made me smile.

I liked the sort of finish that had the "hammered" look. Definitely called for because the can was kind of banged and dented anyway. But I thought it would be good to give it another coat. I am happy that I did!

Here it is, after adding the lid back and placing it on my porch. I think it's beautiful. I can picture a little wreath hanging on it for Christmas, or a pot with a plant for the spring and summer. I just love it!  I so enjoyed the last beautiful fall weekend here. I hope you did too, wherever your home and garden happens to be!  Have a great week! ~JB was here.