When we bought this house there was an old mantel left in the shed that we decided to hold onto and eventually refinish. I'm not sure yet where we're going to put it but I'm sure we'll find a place for it.
In the past week Doug and I have been talking about how we want the kids to have some real practical skills to take with them as they get older and we decided the mantel would be a good place to start.
So today Doug brought the mantel into the garage and then he and the boys - Austin, CJ and Michael went to ACE Hardware (their favorite place) and bought sandpaper. It didn't take them long to get busy working.
We really didn't have a system going into this. This evening was mainly about learning to use the tools, seeing who likes to do what, and having fun.
I'm sure we will develop a more systematic approach as we go along though.
Everyone was fascinated with the colors in the layers of paint as they sanded. There's some blue and some peachy pink color underneath the white.
Michael was only interested in the electric tools and here he is highly annoyed because it's CJ's turn to use the electric sander.
It's finally Michael's turn.
I think this is going to be a great project for everyone. We're learning new skills, having fun and making memories.
I have awesome memories of working in the garage with my dad fixing and refinishing furniture. As an adult, I tip the peices over to see if my "mark" has been left on the bottom of them as my dad would let me write and paint on the bottoms as he finished the tops. What an awesome experience for your kids!
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