Painter Girl

Sherwin Williams Play Day

I recently attended a hands on workshop at the Boston Design Center Sherwin Williams showroom.  The day was broken up into two parts.  In the morning, we played with Sherwin Williams Metallics.  Here is a video from the SW website that is good for DIYers:

Brushed Metallic How-To Video - Sherwin-Williams.

 

Rare Gray Metallic SWF 320

I did like this line of metallics. They have a fine, allover subtle sparkle.  I will be experimenting more with the Faux ™ Impressions Metallic line in my studio.

The afternoon session was an introduction to the Faux™ Impressions Dimensional Basecoat. 

This photo above, from the SW website, shows one of the many techniques that can be achieved using the Dimensional Basecoat.  I found this product also able to offer a wide variety possibilities.  For decorative painters in the New England area, it's great to have another product line that can be purchased locally.  Most of us have to have our products shipped from Chicago, New York, Califorinia, Florida, etc., which is costly and inconvenient.  The reps from Sherwin Williams are more than willing to work with contractors to educate them about their Faux Impressions line and how they can be used, offering free workshops in many of the Sherwin Williams stores.   They are eager and open to having those of us who are familar with faux products, show them what we can do with their line and just as eager to introduce the inexperienced to new possibilities. 

 

I'd like to thank Heather Bourgeois, Design Account Executive of the the Sherwin-Williams Showroom at the Boston Design Center, for organizing this day, as well as SW reps, John Overy and Kevin Kiley for their input. Pictured left,  Kevin Kiley, Heather Bourgeois, and fellow decorative painter, Rima Bechara.

 

 

Small Bathroom Project

Two weeks ago, I met a new client who inspired me to create three new sample boards for her new bathroom wall finish.  The bathroom was just being freshened up, not a major remodel.  Only the existing vanity would be replaced with a pedestal sink.  The pale yellow tile, although old, was in great shape and a neutral color to work with.  This room is narrow, but quite tall, with a slanted skylight in the ceiling.  Here are two "before" pics:

 

 

 

 

My inspiration was a print she wanted to hang on one of the walls, which of course, I totally forgot to take a picture of!  Here are the three sample boards I created:

 

 

    sample #1

 

 

sample #2

 

 

sample #3

 

 

I was very happy with all three samples, and really did not care which one she chose.  Sample #1, was the winner.  The stencil I used is from Cutting Edge Stencils and is a large, single oversized damask. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The finish is comprised of a few quick layers: a grey StucoLux plaster, Snowflake White Lusterstone and a pale yellow paint.  All layers are troweled on randomly, so it goes very fast.  This shows the Lusterstone over the grey plaster.  After that, I apparently lost interest in photographing the steps because I see I only have pictures of the completed room.

 

 

 

 

I loved the way this room turned out and luckily, so did my new client!  I am now working on some samples for her first floor powder room and and kitchen. :-)

 

Tax Time

 

 

Ugh... my least favorite time of the year.  I neatened up my piles a bit, for your viewing pleasure.

 

My Mom's Quilts

I thought I had mentioned on this blog, at least once, about my mother's beautiful quilts.  Now I cannot seem to find a post to link to.  Some day I will figure out how to really use the features on this blog!  Until then, I will share with you my Mom's most recent quilt:

 

 

 

 

Here is a closer look at her details.  She sews the pieces together on her sewing machine, but does all the quilting by hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at how perfect her stitching is?! Did I mention my Mom is 88?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two more quilts she did a few years ago, which are also hanging in her living room.

 

 

 

 

 

The details.  The background is a solid black, but I enhanced the photo so the stitching would show up, which altered the black a bit.

 

 

 

 

The close up of this one came out terrible, so I just have the full view.

When I was home visiting her last weekend, she showed me a new wall hanging she is making for her front door. It's about half the size of this last one and is a "welcome" quilt.  I'll take pics of her progress when I am there again in a few weeks.  I hope I can still remember what a needle is used for, let alone produce a quilt, when I am her age!

Finish Shades Project

Here are the pics of the variety of shades I completed for a client recently.  With his first group, I simply added trim and Swarovski crystals to embellish.  The "before" is on the left, "after" on the right:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this next group, I created all new shade coverings, using RocLon® Multipurpose Cloth:

 

 

I did a soft glaze on the fabric and used a Poppy stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils, added trim and crystals.

 

 

 

Same soft glaze for this one, my own leaf stencil, gems and trim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This once very plain off white shade is one of my favorites.  My client had some fabulous fabric that had these raised flowers.  I cut the flowers out and glued them to the shade, adding the stems, leaves, gems and trim.

For very little time and money, you can easily see how you can totally transform your lampshades! For all you DIY-ers, look in the remnant section for trim and interesting fabrics.  Here you can often find the high priced items for a fraction of the cost.

The Importance of Having a Work Family

Do you know I have now been in business for myself for sixteen years? I just realized that at the start of this year.  I don’t often give that much thought.  The years just seem to fly by.  Of course, business-wise, there are one or two years I’d rather forget!  I did learn very early on, the importance of networking and having a good support system in place to brainstorm ideas, troubleshoot difficulties and share information.  Over the years I have belonged to a wide variety of groups: women’s business groups, Chamber of Commerce, decorative painters groups, networking groups, design groups, artists groups, etc. 

I have also been part of an online Stencilers Group for probably a good ten years now.  This group formed as a subgroup of a much larger online group when several of us became disenchanted with the politics of the larger group.  This Stencilers Group has about twenty active members now, from all over the country.  The group has evolved from avid, professional stencilers (back in the day), to a group of women who share what’s going on more in our personal lives than our work lives. I’ve met some of the members at conventions and other’s I have never met.  Whether we have met or not, this wonderful group has stayed so connected throughout the years that we all know each other very well.  Some members have retired, others have moved on to other types of work.  Although the focus has shifted to our personal lives more than our working lives, this group remains a great resource when I’m seeking input about a work project or situation. 

Now, with the presence of Facebook, I have another network of decorative painters I am “friends” with, although not friends like my Stencilers Group.  This Facebook network of like minded business friends, provides me with feedback when needed, but mostly they inspire me with postings of their recent works and enlighten me with news about products, workshops and resources.

On a local level, I am a half-hearted member of a Design Salon group, which I vow to be more active with this year, and a founding member of a small group of decorative painters who try to meet every few months to share new techniques and information. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about all of these groups lately because when you do not get up and go into an office each day for work, you really do need to cultivate a work family. And, unlike going into an office environment each day and interacting with the same group of people, when you work from your home, you have the advantage of choosing which members will belong to your work family. Recently, my good friend and fellow decorative painter, Chris Smith, lost her husband very unexpectedly.  I reached out to our local group of decorative painters to inform them of this tragic loss and they all responded with such kind words and support for Chris.  At the wake and funeral both, I saw several past and present decorative painters and designers, all who have worked with Chris over the years, there to offer support and comfort.  When I read Chris’s facebook page, I saw post after post from all her fb “friends”, the same decorative painters we both interact with from all over the country, expressing their kind words of sympathy and collectively, as an extended work family, giving her a virtual hug.  I’ve always known the importance of having a work family, but recently saw first hand, just how valuable this family truly can be. 

A Little More Progress With the Shades

 

 

I'm using a combination of metallic paints and foils to further embellish these shades.  I know I showed you how these foils work at least once, but I thought I'd give another quick overview.  Here, I have already applied the sizing and it is ready to go.  I've placed my sheet of foil over my designed and burnished with a stiff brush, so the green foil comes off the sheet,transferring to my canvas shade.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what is left on my shade...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and here is what the foils sheet now looks like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm using a little of this "Extreme Glitter" from Plaid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I applied it over a stenciled scroll with a liner brush.  It goes on white...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...but dries clear, just adding a little more sparkle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cast of paint characters I used for these shades.

 

 

 

 

 

With the painting piece is done, I will glue on some Swarovski crystals and attempt to adhere these pieces to the shades.

 

 

 

Creating Some Lampshades

I have these three shades to transform for a client:

 

 

I have 2 of these              

 

They belong to the 3 bases I showed you the other day:

 

 

A little searching on the net, yielded this great YouTube with instructions showing how to create a pattern for the shades:

 

 

 

Next, I moved from my warm, comfortable dining room table, down to the dungeon, aka, my not so warm and comfortable studio in my basement. I am using RocLon® Mulit-Purpose Cloth for my fabric.  I base coated one large piece with 2 coats of latex paint, cut out the shapes using my patterns,  then glazed (obviously allowing some drying time inbetween). 

 

 

For this shade, I used three different leaf stencils I created a zillion years ago.  As you can see, I still am not cleaning my stencils, just reusing them as is.  For those of you appalled by this method, please feel free to come and clean all of my stencils for me. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the shade on the right, I used a stencil I had on hand from Cutting Edge Stencils, the Poppy Allover.

 

 

For the panelled shade, I used a small scroll stencil I picked up at Michaels.

This is as far as I've gotten so far.  Today I will be back in the dungeon studio embellishing these designs. More to come....