HELP ME I NEED HELP (pen in leather)

[Cheeseburger]

KATHERINE JUST TOOK A PEN AND SCRIBBLED ALL OVER OUR WHITE LEATHER BENCH IN OUR BEDROOM!!

i didn't know she was doing that. I walked in, the damage was done. How did she get a pen anyway? I keep those out of her reach?!!?


How do you get pen out of leather?!!?!

IF I CAN'T GET IT OUT HOW AM I GOING TO HIDE IT FROM DH SO HE DOESN'T KILL ME FOR NOT WATCHING HER CLOSE ENOUGH?

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Cheryl]

My first line of defense against that sort of thing would be the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.....but I don't know how it would go on leather! Charlotte got ahold of a pen once and wrote on all of her dolls faces! Why on earth does a a child do that?! lol! Anyway, for the first time magic eraser failed me (I felt I was getting punished because I had picked up the pen at church and forgot to return it in the basket at the end of service - the very pen my child used to draw on her dolls ;-) ). It seems to work on everything, but the ink in this pen just didn't respond. I hope you are able to get it out. Do you have leather cleaner? I suppose I'd use that first, then try magic eraser.

[JeanineAnne]

crayon, yes
pen, no

You might be able to clean it with an oil based product without hurting the leather, just remember whatever you try use on a test spot first.

Praying you can get it out....good luck

[~Tara~]

First off.....
Deep breath!!

Settle down. I understand it looks awful, but it's not the end of the world. And sure, hub would see it and initially freak as well, but, he too should see...it's not the end of the world. These things happen...even with 'proper' supervision. It's ok.

Now....

I would try hairspray. Have any handy? Borrow from a neighbor ?? Or alcohol, as I believe it's the alcohol in the hairspray that does the big work in that anyway. Then Magic Eraser or a teensy bit of gentle soap on a damp rag to remove the hairspray residue.

Then follow with a leather cleaner/protector if you have some. That'll restore the finish.

*I just did a quick search which also recommended using alcohol*

[Madre]

I've read in several places that perfume works. I also read that a pencil eraser did the trick. Here's a link to the perfume users. Maybe try it in an unseen spot first?

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf000276.tip.html

[savedbygrace]

all i have to say is be careful! Abby did the same thing but luckly it was small and I used the magic eraser and it dried out the leather and caused it to crack. Let me know what works for you

[Cheeseburger]

it's over. the leather is ruined. there's probably nothing else i can do.

Leather cleaner didn't work.
the perfume faded it, but stopped working after fading it.
the mr. clean magic eraser did nothing.
i tried alcohol in a small inconspicuous spot but it damaged the leather (it took the white off), so i didn't try it on the ink spot.
I tried lemon juice, it didn't work.
I tried johnson's baby shampoo and that didn't work either.
Then i read ink is oil-based, so i tried olive oil. that didn't work either.
Neither did mineral oil.
Or anything else.

:(

OH well. DH was intially upset but then said "oh well, it's just furniture." I think I am more broke up about it than he is, because it's the only nice piece of furniture we have, the only thing I had bought so far, to begin to make our house look nice. I mean we have cardboard boxes for nightstands, why couldn't katherine have wrecked one of those? Or wrecked the chairs in the dining room which are always falling apart and have be re-welded on a constant basis anyhow. They're like 20 years old or something, and the table is bowed in the middle from years of use LOL. I would have been ok if she marked up the cushions on the chairs or the kitchen table. It just took a long time to save up enough money to justify buying the bench, and now it's ruined. ugh! Oh well. I guess now it matches the rest of the house. :???:

It's so hard because, I know that we don't NEED fancy furniture and things, but also God put it in women to want to make houses look nice, and pretty ,because that's part of being the housekeeper/helpmeet. So while I try not to be greedy/overbearing about it, I get so frustrated sometimes that I can't justify in myself to drop 3 or 4k on furniture. Oh well DH wouldn't let me justify either even if I could bring myself to do it LOL, since we don't have that much money. I am sick of cardboard boxes and beat up furniture though!! ugh!!!!!!!

Ok sorry to vent. [sadashamed] I put katherine down to nap early because I was so angry at her she needs not be around with my wrath abiding on her. I'll calm down and forgive her while she's napping. LOL

[JoyLynn]

Aww, Cheese, I'm really sorry. [hug] How disappointing. :cry: These things *do* matter. They have their *place*. I don't read that the Proverbs 31:10 woman is a proud, needy woman. Everything it's it's place, spiritually. I know you'll get past this in no time, but it is still a loss.

Love you!

Joy [welcomewave]

[Cheeseburger]

thanks Joy... and yes you are right... things have their place.

DH was talking about having faith like Abraham the other day... I told him if he really wanted to be like Abraham, a great man of faith, he should get me some handmaids like Abraham's wife Sarah had to do my housework... ROFL

[~Tara~]

I read that the hairspray or alcohol could cause it to look like it was also removing the color from the leather..but that application of the leather cleaner/protectant afterward renewed that. Just use a q tip to work right on the spot when removing the ink. Then liberally apply the protectant.

Just in case you were interested in giving removal another go ;)

[kymommy]

I am so sorry! I can imagine how frustrated you are! My daughter took scissors to a cherished quilt/comforter years ago. I think I am just now getting over it. I know it's expensive, but maybe there is some type of professional who could clean or recover the bench.

[KansasMom]

Cheeseburger - I know this may sound crazy but if you are willing to try one more thing...you can go get some Clearisil with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Treatment, apply a bit to the leather and then put a light bulb above it and it should remove the ink...

I discovered this when my daughter drew on a precious dolls face and I searched out a remidy...I had to apply and treat a couple of times but it continued to fade and now you can't even tell the ink was on there...

Again, you might want to make sure the benzoyl won't harm the leather first in an inconspicuous place but if you think it is already ruined, you might try it anyway...

note*for the light bulb I just used a little table lamp...took the shade off and tipped it toward the surface so it was about 3-4 inches away and left for a couple of hours...then came back wiped off any left over cream, reapplied where needed and repositioned lamp.

Sorry about your bench...I hope this works for you or that you come to peace with it...

Melanie

[NZMummy]

I'm so sorry about your leather bench.

I remember feeling many times that kids are just so naturally distructive (and my kids are basically good, really). Sometimes they seem to go looking for things to destroy or make a mess with. Really, they are too little to understand that everything isn't a new game. One of the few items of furniture that we bought new before we had kids is a coffee table - and the beautiful surface was completely ruined due to the kids. I know we could probably sand it back and resurface it eventually - but we are not really DIY people here and it just sounds like so much work (as well as the fact that we would probably do a terrible job knowing our history of DIY). Anyway, not much point doing that until they are old enough not to be quite so distructive. I was also really annoyed a couple of years ago when ds ruined a relatively new oil heater by inserting things into the vents.