Gold Monogrammed Greek Key Bookend

How was your weekend?
My weekend was shadowed with one of our oldest cats, the problem cat, not feeling well again. I know that his time is coming soon and I have been waiting for it. I really thought that last weekend was IT. Whenever he behaves abnormal I go into panic mode. I hate these ups and downs. Why can't our pets just go peacefully in their sleep? Especially since he has such a bad heart and is going into kidney failure. He was throwing up and he sounded like he couldn't breath. Now he lost his voice and sounds choked every time he tries to meow. On top of it he appears to be senile and confused at times which results in litter box issues (thank God only in the basement). Other than that he is still my little man that participates in family life and snuggles on the couch with me, his favorite person.
I try to sit down as much as I can to work on my computer, so he can come and snuggle up to me. Who knows how much time he has left. I'm fortunate enough to have a vet in the family. She is great and I can call her whenever I have a question, but she agrees with me that it is only a matter of time and there isn't much we can do for him anymore. I really, really hate this. I'm an emotional mess.

Needless to say that between my son's wrestling (again) and my fear for my cat, I didn't get much accomplished again.

I really wanted to redo my abused brass auction bookends (or check this link). Take a guess on what I used. Alright, yes, it's another Sharpie marker project. I couldn't help myself. I told you last week how obsessed I was with the Pinterest sharpie projects (like this, this and this one) but I wanted to put my own spin on it this time. No mugs, plates or Sharpie walls.
After running around the house and using the gold magic marker on some flower pots, tea light holders and frames (click here), I had an idea! Since I couldn't get the scratches out of the bookends, I ended up priming them with metal primer and then painting them white.

I have been wanting to incorporate a monogram in our house for a long time. My husband and I are fortunate to share the same initials, JK that is. So I decided to give it a try on the bookends. And why not use some Greek keys as well, right?

(iPhone photo)

I started with making a template in Adobe Illustrator, that I printed out and then copied onto the bookends with transfer paper. If you don't have Adobe Illustrator, I'm sure you can just use a template that you drew by hand. All you need to do at the end is trace your lines with the Sharpie and you are done.

(iPhone photo)

(iPhone photo)

And here is the finished bookend:

Ja, die Buchtitel sind nicht so toll. Die sind noch von meiner Mutter und Deutsche Bücher schmeisse ich nicht weg. Aber die Farbe ist schön, oder?

I think the outcome looks like a million bucks, don't you?

And the project was so cheap:

• 2 bookends (only one of them got done) for $1 - you could easily make your own bookends from a square block of wood
• metal primer and white spray paint
• transfer paper and pencil
• one gold (oil based) paint sharpie marker

I have one question though: Should I do the other bookend to match, meaning an identical version? Or should I do it a little different? Maybe a different greek key pattern?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Tschüss,

Linking to:

The Pin It - Make It Link Party

Time to shine Tuesday

DIY by Design - Winter Blues Wednesday