DIY with a KISS

What's KISS to you? Keep it simple, stupid? Keep it simple, sister? Keep it simple, sweetheart?

Whichever you choose, keeping it simple is about all I've been up to lately. Life has been complicated, what with getting my son off to college, so DIY projects have needed to be simple. Easy. And quickly finished.

And boy, have I got a KISSable project for you!

Do you have silver-plated pieces that perhaps you received as wedding gifts or picked up at yard sales that are languishing in the cupboard, waiting for someone to polish them? Go get them. And spray paint them. You will love how easily they paint.

But JUST IN CASE you might be the kind of person who gets a little impatient with painting at times but that's-okay-because-you-like-things-a-little-chippy, try this. Spray paint your silver things, then distress the paint job a bit.

I was painting this darling little tray for a hostess gift (yes, I took a photo of the tray before I filled it with truffles and wrapped it; don't you do that?). And a tiny piece of paint flecked off the edge. As I walked to the garage to get out the Heirloom White can again, I realized that I liked the little bit of silver shining through. So I took a piece of fine sandpaper and distressed the edges of the tray. And I loved the result!

I found a couple of other pieces that I knew I wouldn't be wanting to polish. Just look at this oval bowl before--it had obviously not seen the Wright's Silver Cream in a long while.

But look at it now! A great nest for some of our favorite fun-size goodies.

See the edge up close? The silver peeks through in the coolest way.

And this tiny Revere bowl is great for holding pocket change. I decided to go with black for it.

I just loved these projects--so simple, so fast. Almost instant gratification. No, I didn't polish the pieces before I painted them. And now I'll never have to polish them again!

Check out all the fun projects at Kimba's and at Gina's!