Painter Girl

A little addition...

Today I returned to the house I was working on just before Christmas... the 2 ceilings.  I added one more stencil to the border of the Family Room ceiling and I added some red/brown glaze to the rose garland stencil on the soffit in the kitchen.

The photo on the left shows the rose garland design before I darkened some of the roses.  The photo on the right shows the finished result. 

Here's another angle.

This view shows how the roses now coordinate better with the new center panel design.

This is the stencil design (on the red glazed border) that I added today.  It helped to soften the border and give it a less contemporary feel.  Now we are talking about painting the remainder of the ceiling, outside of the frame where you see white.  I'd like to see this painted Linen White and 2 sets of 4 corner stencils done.  One set would be on the outside of the wood frame and the other set would be in the actual corners of the this room.  I think it's a go, after New Year's.  Two more ceilings will be coming up in this house soon. :-)

I am going to try to rework this blog design over the next few days, so probably will not post again until January 1st or 2nd.  See you in the new year, with a new look, I hope!

Back to Business, sort of...

I hope you all had some time to relax and enjoy time with family and friends.  I still have some family here with me, but they will be leaving later today.  I'll have a few days to regroup before my good friend Maura arrives for New Year's.  I am hosting a girls night out/in for New Year's Eve.  Weather permitting, a few of us will go into Boston on New Year's Eve, late in the day/early evening... to view the ice sculptures, see the parade and early fireworks.  After that, we will head back to my house, cook up a storm and enjoy a relaxing evening in...eating, drinking and lots of girl talk!  Then it's back to reality.

Today I am going to do a little cleaning and organizing, try to get some exercise in, and do some reading.  I have one client stopping by to pick up some samples and will give the ceiling client I did before Christmas a quick call.  They asked me to return and add a little more stenciling to the Family Room ceiling, before New Year's Eve, if possible, because they are having a big party.  I'll go do that tomorrow. The day after Christmas I received a call from a new client, a referral from another client.  This woman wants "something done" in her newly remodeled kitchen, so I will meet with her on Saturday.  I like to see my January calendar filling up. :-)

My last job, a quick striae in a dining room, went well.  This was a quick job, taking less than a day to complete.  I am hoping to return to this house to do some work on their ceiling in the dining room.  When you see the pics, you'll see that they could use a little interest on that very white ceiling!

This is my sample board (on the right), with a strip of wallpaper attached to it.  This client wanted to duplicate this wallpaper as closely as possible.  Oh, I see the picture is upside down, but you get the idea!

It's a small dining room... maybe 12' x 12'.  This is the Before Picture.

This shows the first wall I did. 

All done... It looks much nice w/o the blue tape. :-)

Another view. It's still very wet.

This ceiling would be much happier with a nice ceiling medallion stenciled around the base of this chandelier and maybe a nice scroll design in the four corners, don't you think? ;-)

Merry Christmas!

My family is arriving later today and I am busy prepping for my annual Christmas Eve dinner.  I'll be back a day or two after Christmas to post a few pics from the dining room I did last Friday and to talk about some upcoming projects.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a few days to relax!

The Ceilings Are Done!

Yay...I finished the ceilings today.  I was done by noon, which was great, since we had another little snow storm here again today.  That gave me time to pack up my car, drive home, unpack and then shovel my driveway, once again.  I'm definitely getting my exercise these days between the ceilings and all the snow.  I'm always sad to leave this client's home because they are such a kind and loving family.  I've done so much work in this house over the years, that I have seen their 3 kids grow from when they were in grammar school to now... 2 in high school and 1 off to college.  Of course, I am not aging at all during all of this! ;-)  I remember the first week they got their dog and the youngest boy and his cousin decided to give the puppy a bath with 409 cleaner.  :-(  The dog survived, is now 9, is is queen of the house!  It's nice to finish up with this house being one of my last jobs of this year and knowing that I will return in the beginning of the new year to do a little more work.  I feel that sets a good tone.

Here's a far shot, so you can see the full view of the ceiling.  The next shots will show the details.

Remember that fireplace grate, pictured on the left?  I traced it, made a template, and then put it on the ceiling. 

This shows a portion of the ceiling, up to the vent.

Here's a look of the wood graining, up close, with a glazed wine border and metallic gold band.  Then, the crossed garland stencil design begins and fades out toward the center.  There is a light gold glaze under the crossed garland design too, but it is not showing very well in the pics. This was a hard room to photograph.  I was lying on the floor for most of the shots!

This is a good view of one of the corners.

An odd angle, but a good shot!  My clients refer to this ceiling as their "rug on the ceiling". The dog has destroyed many rugs, so they decided not to put another rug in this Family Room.

This is the Hallway ceiling that connects the Family Rm to the Kitchen.  I just used part of the Kitchen ceiling design stencil for this.  The ceiling has a soft yellow/gold glaze on it.

Here you see the end of the Kitchen ceiling at the top of the photo, then the Hallway ceiling, into the Family Rm.

...and here's the Kitchen, once again.

Here's what I'll be working on when I return after the Holidays.  This column has to go.  Several yrs. ago, I did the wall finish in the Family Rm., but they did not want the finish to extend into the Hallway.  Since there was no natural break in the wall or separation from this rm to the hallway, I put this column on the wall.  A yr or 2 later, they had me extend the same finish from the Family Rm. to the Hall and into the Kitchen.  So, the column then started to look silly.  The gate was added to try to keep the dog out, but you know how it is w/kids.  No one would keep it closed, so the dog got in and ruined the rugs.

The gate will come off, the wall will be patched, and I will paint out the column and blend that area to match the existing wall finish. (I hope!)

These will need to be removed, wall repaired and finish restored.

Here's another gate, at the other end of the Hall, which leads into the Foyer.  This gate will stay, but I will repair the wall where the paint has worn off from the gate, plus there are some black marks on the wall and chips.  Note that stenciled trompe l'oeil frame.  I did that a few yrs. ago too.  It's held up great and is one of my favorites!  Here's another view...

The center of the panel is done plaster that is crackled and then glazed.

Here's a full view of the panel.  To the left, is a column I marbleized.  This leads into the Dining Room.  There are 2 columns and 2 panels... one on each side of the opening to the Dining Rm.  Can you believe this house had All White Walls when I first met this family?!  Now, there is barely a wall or ceiling left untouched by my brushes. ;-)

When I return, I will also add some of that dark wine color glaze to these roses.  Now they are too pink and I want them to relate to the ceiling design more.  I'll leave some of the pink because they match the window treatments.

You will be seeing this picture again, because I intend to get my hands on this ceiling too. ;-)  We are discussing designs...
I've done this room twice!  First, it was a very formal sitting room. Lots of off white furniture and beige toned glazed walls.  This was back in the early days, when they were timid about color and decorative painting!  Well, a few years went by and no one was using this room at all.  The furniture was slip covered and moved to the basement for the kids and this became the home office.  Now, everyone uses this room because it is so warm and inviting.  There is an armoire with a computer in it on the wall opposite the fireplace. I'm definitely seeing a design on this ceiling!

This is the newest room.  A Sun room that was added last year.  The walls are glazed with a soft gold tone and I did that stencil design behind the tree.  This ceiling is also a good candidate for a little stenciling!

I can see some type of simple scroll design, outlining the 2 ceiling panels...I just wish this ceiling as not so high. You know my fear of heights, right?  I think I'd need to call in some help to do this room. I'd be over on the right, clinging to the wall.  Someone else can hang from that chandelier!

Tomorrow I am off to do a quick striae in another home...

One down, 2.5 to go...

I haven't posted for a few days due to some technical and not so technical difficulties I was experiencing w/my digital camera.  Actually, if you recall, I dropped my own camera on a client's marble floor, and it has not worked since.  I then borrowed my brother's camera and am trying my best not to do too much damage to it!  First, I discovered "a slice" in the cable that connects his camera to the computer.  I swear it was there when I first got it!  I put some electrical tape around it.  Next, he gave me 2 sets of rechargeable batteries and I seemed to have lost one of the 4 batteries.  Then, one day the camera would not work and kept saying "memory stick full", even though I had emptied all the pics out of the camera.  Finally, I had to fess up to my brother about my problems with his camera and he resolved the memory by reformatting the stick.  I have yet to fess up about losing the battery and will just go buy another set.  He was not convinced about the cable. :-(  I think my days are numbered using this camera, so will try to take all the pics I need asap!

Two of my 2.5 ceilings are now finished.  I am just posting pics of the Kitchen ceiling because I do want to make some minor adjustments to the Family Room ceiling tomorrow.  I have the glaze on the hallway that connects these 2 rooms and will do a quick design on both sides of the ceiling light tomorrow. 

Here's a far shot.  It's a long kitchen, so it's hard to get it all in the frame of the shot.  All the panels are textured, except the center panel, where the design is.  I can't tell you how many times I bumped into these 2 lights.  I was standing on the island below these to do this panel.

Close up of center panel design.

Another view.

This is a close up of the wood graining.  I did a small stencil design at the four corners of the center panel.

This is the short hallway that connects the Kitchen to the Family Room.  I am going to do take part of the Kitchen center panel design and put in on 2 sides of the that light.

More tomorrow... 

Two Ceilings

This week I have begun work on 2 ceilings in a client's home.  One ceiling is in the kitchen, the other in the Family Room.  At first we talked about stenciling on some beams or perhaps doing some faux beams with a wood grain technique. In the end, it was decided to install 1" x 4" boards.  I will be painting these and doing some wood graining. 

Nothing too exciting happening yet, but here are the before pics from both rooms.  Oh... the Family Room is shown with a light gold glaze inside the wood beams and I had already begun to apply some texture to the ceiling in the kitchen before I remembered to snap the pics!  The beams are just bare wood at this point.  I did put a light yellow glaze on the center panel in the kitchen (where the 2 lights are hanging down). A large stencil design is going in this space.

I have done a ton of work in almost every room in this house, so you will be seeing a lot of my previous work over the years in many of the upcoming pictures.  I absolutely love being in this house in December because it is decorated to the hilt for Christmas! 

This rose swag stencil design on the soffit is something I did a few years ago. This rose swag design is a stencil from Melanie Royals collection. I did this a few yrs ago to coordinate with the window treatment fabric.

In the kitchen, I am applying some texture to each panel of the ceiling, except for the center.  I started out using a powdered plaster that I have to mix w/water.  That is what you see here.  I decided it was too much work and it was not troweling onto the ceiling easily, so I switched to joint compound.  I'd normally go with a plaster or Aqua Stone for a wall, but since durability is not an issue on a ceiling, the joint compound will give me the same effect I am looking for, for less money.

Here we are, back in the Family Room.  I have taped off for a border and have begun to stencil my pattern.  I am using, once again... Melanie Royals Crossed Garland.

This shot gives you a closer look.  You will note how dirty my stencil is, no doubt.  That is because I am in the camp of stencilers who do not clean their stencils after every use.  I find I usually damage the stencil by cleaning it often, no matter how gentle I am when doing so.  I only clean if the design becomes clogged and I am not getting a clean repeat.
At first, the entire center of this rectangle was to be stenciled w/this design, but today we made a few changes.  I am just going to do a wide border at both ends w/the design and a narrow border on both sides.  A wine colored border will be on the outside of the design where you see the blue tape, and a wine colored rectangle will be in the center of this big panel.  On top of the center rectangle will be a gold design.

The design will come from this fireplace screen.  I am going to trace it, since it is the exact size I need. You'll see... but probably not until next week.  It will take me the remainder of this week to finish stenciling that crossed garland pattern and then to glaze the panels in the kitchen.  I like having the 2 rooms to work together because I can let one dry while I go and work on the other.  Also, I have a hallway that connects these 2 areas that I am also working on.

Armoire Completed

Well, for those of you in this business... you know what a pain in the butt Thanksgiving through Christmas can be.  Lots of juggling with the schedule to fit everyone in on time or to fill time slots from clients who end up postponing their work until after the start of the new year.  That said, I'm busy working on 2 ceilings in one of my favorite homes.  I'll post more about that tomorrow.  Right now I need to bring you up to date with the last house I was working in.  After finishing the Family Room I had an Armoire to paint for them, so did that last week.  You will recognize my Family Room walls in the background of some of the pictures.

Here's the "Before" picture. The Armoire was painted once, a long time ago, by someone else.  This is the color it was when they bought it several years ago.  It had been sitting in their garage until recently.  The walls in the background are also the "Before" picture.
See how bland...dull and boring everything is in it's neutral state.

Ah... a much warmer, inviting look for both walls and armoire, don't you think?  This is the best "After" picture I have right now of this room because it is still awaiting Marc's magic touch with some new window treatments, furniture and accessories.  But... back to the armoire.  A flat screen tv sill go in the top portion, so little of that interior will be visible.  And of course... the drop cloth will be gone! ;-)

Here is the door detail.  The inserts of the door panels, the 2 bottom drawers, and the side panels are all done with plaster.  Once dry, the plaster is glazed with an umber to look like leather.  The stencil design is raised from troweling the plaster through the stencil and then glazing.  The entire piece is waxed.  This stencil design is one of Melanie Royals, but I do not have the info about it on hand at the moment.  I will try to insert a link later.

The drawer, without knob, also has a raised design.  This was a free stencil inserted in a trade magazine.  The stencil is by LaserExcel.

The side panels are done with the faux leather finish, but with the addition of some bronzed lines to form a diamond pattern.

The top of the armoire also has 3 raised designs, one center and one on each side.  Again...free stencils from LaserExcel. Over the years I have amassed quite the collection of their free stencils that are found in trade magazines.  Their small size works well on furniture or fabric.

Small job completed

I am finally posting the pics from the small job I did last week.  This was at the same house I did the additions to that lakeside mural. 

Here's the "Before" shot of the blank wall.

This is the sample board I made to show the client what the design would look like.  I only did half of the design on the board, just enough to get the idea and colors across.  The board is base painted with her wall color.

                                                                                 

Here's the "After" pic. I used parts of 3 different stencils for this design and added some hand painted embellishments.

Let's see if I have a good close up shot, so I can separate out the 3 designs used...

The center spray of flowers, with the roses is from Royal Designs, as well as the ivy, which is done in white.  The trumpet flowers come from  the Mad Stencilist.

Next, I did the 2 doors to the vanity in a small bathroom off of this room, as well as the oval mirror.

Here's the "before" shot, with my blue tape already in place.

 

Here are the doors, "after".  I used the leaves only, from a large stencil that had lots of flowers. I outlined the leaves, very loosely, with white.

Here's a close up of the leaves.  I stenciled through a piece of screening to give the leaves a little more interest.

And lastly, here's the matching mirror.  This was a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to give this room a little personality. 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas-continued

Here are a few more pics of my Holiday decorating.  Now remember... I'm a painter, not a decorator!  ;-)

Remember my Dining Room chalkboard?  Here it is, adorned with a pair of mittens... and more snowflakes.

Christmas cow candles...

and a dancing tree sit on my kitchen shelves.

This little Santa guards my cookbooks...

While Mrs. Claus sits ready to hand out candy canes to all.

A few left over snowballs from the window box project.

And last, but not least... a few lights for the front entry!

I'll put my tree up this weekend.  I am thinking that this may be my last year for a real tree.  Ouch... did I actually just write that?!  I may have to rethink that thought.  I'm leaning toward an artificial tree because I'd like to put it up a week or two earlier.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I thought I would post a few pics of my attempt to get my house ready for the Holidays.  I have this window box on my front porch that I always agonize over what to do with during the winter months.  I found this fun, but messy, craft idea on another blog site, either Apartment Therapy or decor8, I can't remember.... and decided to give it a try.  I like that it is not specifically "Christmas", so I can leave it out there all Winter.  Of course, I had to make this and install it on one of the coldest, windiest days so far this season!  A good test to its' durability. ;-)  For how-to instructions, just go to this website: http://www.cottageliving.com/cottage/gardens/article/0,21135,1683527,00.html

I left the dirt from my Summer plants in the box and just laid a few Holly branches on top of that.  It's hard to see here, but I did lightly spray the leaves w/glue and sprinkled on some of the fake snow. I felt it needed a little shot of color, so after scouring through my Christmas decoration boxes, I found...

this nice, big, red bow! 

Now, back inside, where it is much warmer!  My Mom made this wonderful quilt for me several years ago and I always use it in a different way each Christmas season.  The dining room table I bought recently is just the right size for quilt!

I'm on to a Snowflake/Snowball theme, this year, it appears!  I found a package of glitter snowflakes at my favorite store, Ben Franklin.  They were in the sale bin for under $3.00.

 

                                                                                                                          

I've had this Annalee Doll baby angel for years, and again, always try to use it in a little different way each year. This year I guess it is whimsical/cruel. Can she breathe in there??? 

Last year I used these cute little Christmas ornament placard holders I found at HomeGoods.  Since I'll have the napkins w/pics on them this year, that will eliminate the need for names at the table.  I put the ornaments to good use as a decoration instead.

I picked these tiny Santa candles up years ago in a Crate & Barrel.

More Santas...

This White Santa is a stencil done on a chalkboard with paint. This theorem stencil is from Red Lions Stencils. The photos in the frames are both of my daughter, one from a few yrs ago and the other when she was a baby. ;-)

Here's a closer look. I'll post a few more holiday decorating pics tomorrow.