Painter Girl

Projects in the Works

I've had too many projects going at once to find the energy to sit down and write a post lately.  I do enjoy this blog and have missed posting and reading your comments, so I am going to try to get back on track here.

This is what I'm up to at the moment.  I spent about 3 weeks redoing my back hall.  I thought I took some before pictures, but cannot find them now.  Anyway, you will have to take my word for it, but my back hall/mudroom was just sad, sad, sad.  I had done a crackle finish on the woodwork years ago, and to add to that ugliness, the walls were in bad shape and naturally cracked!  I had stuck down some vinyl tiles on the floor.

Now since this is MY main entrance (friends and guests typically use my front door), and I know it is very bad Feng Shui to have an uninviting entrance to your home, I had to give it a little makeover.  Like most, I am on a shoestring budget this year, which meant I would have to utilize a lot of what I already had to work a little magic.

I used a Texture for my base on the walls first.  This helped to disguise the poor condition of these sad walls.  I then rolled on one coat of Ben Moore's Aura in this great green shade, Agave.  All woodwork was painted with the Aura's Silhouette.  I think you will be able to see the texture of the walls in another photo.

Storage is key for me in this small mudroom.  I painted this once blah white cabinet with another Aura color called Buttered Yam and changed out the knobs for wooden ones which I stained a dark brown.

 

For more storage, I purchased these 2 plastic containers made by Itso, on sale at Target last week. 

 

I also bought this Itso storage configuration at Target.  The base unit comes flat packed in a box and assembles in seconds without any tools at all.  It is very sturdy and you can add on additional components such as doors and bins,  or stack more units.  The canvas bin on the top of this unit is large enough to hold 2 pair of skates and a bike helmet.

The floor posed my biggest challenge.  After ripping up the vinyl tiles, scraping and sanding off the glue, I gave it a coat of primer, followed by a grey floor and porch paint.  I was painting on the plywood sub-floor.  The grey door is steel and was poorly installed by Home Depot years ago.  When the door opens, there is only about a 1/4" clearance between the bottom of the door and the floor.  This makes it impossible to put down a real rug, or even floor tiles.  So, my solution was to try out using a yoga mat.  It's very thin, sticks nicely to the painted floor and now these yoga mats come in some great colors with designs printed on them.  The door opens easily over the mat and the mat is very wipe-able when my wet/muddy boots and shoes enter from the outside elements.  I'll just have to see how it holds up over time, but the mat was only $15.

I've been experimenting with glass etching, so continued my experimentation with my window panes.  To achieve this look, I stuck round dots (from a stationery store) onto the window pane and applied some EtchAll.  After 15 minutes, the EtchAll is wiped off and viola... an etched pane!  Of course, I ran out of the EtchAll because I was using up the end of a jar, so have to put in an order for more to finish this project.  I am going to etch ever other pane like this and may do the reverse of this design on the remaining panes.  Will post when done.

 

The wall space is very limited, and I have just this small strip of wall to be able to add a graphic design.  I am thinking of painting something tall, like a thin, bare tree w/o leaves as a silhouette, using the same color as the woodwork.

There was this odd little space to the right of this cabinet, due to a gas pipe that runs from floor to ceiling.  This turned out to be the perfect home for my hockey sticks!

 

I will add a few hooks to the horizontal woodwork here and need to put my key holder back up on the wall below the switch plate/outlet.  It seemed like it took forever to complete (well almost complete) this project, but that was because I've been working on 2 bathrooms and a restaurant job at the same time.  I will be posting those jobs shortly.

Camp and Repair Work

Here is where I left off yesterday.  Wall still a mess, waiting for me to pull my act together and bring the correct materials to repair!

Tah-dah!  Luckily, Lusterstone is a very easy repair to have to make. :-)

Got to see the new baby again.  Very sweet, sleeps all the time!  The homeowner took me up to the nursery which is painted a beautiful, very pale shade of pink.  The crib bedding has tiny pink roses and there is a pink, white and pale green rose patterned rug on the floor.  All the furniture is white.  She is going to buy an unfinished toy chest and have me paint it for this room.  Yay!  This will be a fun project.

Back at Mad Science Camp, all campers still alive, well, and happy, so I guess I'm doing my job!  Today was another fun day.  The theme was Messages and we experimented with different coding systems and some invisible ink.   I had the kids spell out their names in Morse Code.  They used mini-marshmallows for dots and stick pretzels for the dashes.  Once they finished this task, they got to eat everything.  Tomorrow is our last day of Camp so I stopped off at the local Pepperidge Farm Outlet and bought lots of treats for my little scientists.

Past and Present/This and That

I have been working behind the scenes all week on several projects.  One, I am trying to pull my July/August e-newsletter together and get that out asap.  That is going quite slowly, I have to admit. 

Next, I have been designing concepts for 3 girls bedrooms, ages 9, 14 & 16.  This will be my next project and I am very excited about it.  One room will be a Tropical Jungle theme; another will be a Sophisticated Look with some black and white bedding to work from; and the third will be a Graphic Collage theme.  Next to actually executing the finishes, I love doing the research and tailoring ideas I come across to suit my client needs.  I have all my reference materials together now for the 3 rooms and will do a few sample boards in my studio today to help clarify my concepts when I present all of this information to the girls on Saturday.  Everyone is very excited about their rooms and each of the girls have sent me photos they have found for inspiration.  I love that they are so involved and invested in what their bedrooms will look like and that their parents are open to having them participate in the planning.

Finally, I have also been designing a few class concepts:  and after school program for children K-6;  a Middle School mural project and an Adult Ed. class.  I enjoy teaching, having done this on and off for several years, and have decided to spend a little more time in the classroom starting in the Fall to see how that works out.  The After School class hours still allow me enough time to maintain Paint It! and get jobs done and same with the Evening Adult Ed classes.  I do have to keep in mind how much I hate dragging myself out of the house in the dead of winter, when it's 15 degrees out, dark and dreary...especially after a long day of on site painting!  So... I think I'll keep the Adult Ed. classes to a minimum! 
(this Artist Palatte Clock can be found at ArtistGifts.com)

Next week I will feature a wonderful Crocodile Finish I recently worked on with Susan Siefer of MadPatter Productions and more about the progress of the Girls Bedrooms.

Good Triumphs Evil This Week

Ah, here we are at the end of the week and I see that I have not posted one post until today.  Well, here's how my week went and I am hoping you will understand why I could not focus on blogging this week:

Over the weekend my Business Account which I hold at Sovereign Bank was hacked into.  Now I did not lose my debit/Visa card...someone just hacked into the system and stole my number.  Several charges, in the thousands of dollars were made to my account.  This activity started Saturday afternoon and by early Sunday morning Sovereign was onto this, calling to alert me.  They froze my account to stop the activity.  I spent a some time at my local Sovereign branch, receiving excellent support and opening a new account.  I had to meet with them the next day also to file paperwork disputing charges that were not mine.  By Thursday, all the money that was once in my account was returned by the bank, and my new account is up and running.  I also was reminded that this bank allows small business owners who have accounts at this branch to set up a display table to promote our business.  I will rework some of the display boards I have in my studio, order some new postcards and be the featured business of the month for August. :-)

With my Business Account frozen, this left me scrambling for some cash to put into the New Business Account!  The Contractor from Hell whom I had the displeasure to work with during the month of May still had not paid me.  He was now 3 weeks overdue with this payment and I was sick of listening to his untruthful story lines.  I had already warned him that I would be phone the client directly for my payment and that is exactly what I did.  They already had a heads up about the situation so were more than happy to write me a check.  They told me they were so pleased with my work and the way their new media room turned out that they would be having me back soon for a few other projects...sans this contractor.  Another happy ending to a stressful situation for me.

Now with some money in my new account, I was ready to concentrate on generating a little more income to keep things rolling along.  Last week I was practicing my sad hockey skills with my bf one morning at this great new rink we found.  After our skate, I noted that ALL the walls in this huge 2 rink arena were stark white cinder blocks.  I could envision these walls with life sized silhouetted hockey and figure skater images, some done in solid colors other with a patterned overlay. There is a Party Room for kids birthday parties which would be perfect for large silhouette animals on skates.  As I left, I got the owner's contact information, sent him an email with a few ideas attached, and sat down with him 2 days later for a consultation.  My proposal is now in, so I'll report back whether or not this is a go as soon as I hear.  It definitely would be nice to be painting in a nice, cool ice rink during the heat of July or August!  Plus,  I could skate too! 

End Tables Finished

This week has been spent catching up on some much needed office work, doing a quick touch up, one consultation and completing this furniture project:

I left off a few posts ago, showing this before shot.  I have 2 of these identical tables to transform.

Everything primed and ready to go!

Completed and delivered!

 I used a scroll all over repeat design from Royal Design Studios on the top, painted the legs and some trim a solid grey tone and did a soft multi color stipple on the raised top row of panels.  There is also some metallic silver brushed into the recessed grooves on the trim work.   A fun project and the room is now much lighter looking with the dark wooded painted.

Catching Up

Ugh, I am soooo behind with writing my posts.  I've just had too many things going on to find enough time to sit down and write.  By the time I have the time, I'm too tired to pull together a decent sentence!  I'm going to try to get back into the swing of writing again this week.  I am doing a lot of research online right now for some upcoming projects and that eats up most, if not all,  of my computer time.

I did almost finish that kitchen job.  I will return one more time in a few weeks, to give it a final tweak.  The glazes need to really cure now.  As they dry, they blend and change a bit, so it's just a waste of my time to make any more adjustments right now.

I pulled off all of the tape.  Then I just spent a lot of time cleaning up.

These areas, where the wall meets a cabinet or where it meets tile, always need a little tlc when the tape comes off.

All in all, I was happy with the way the room turned out. 

This week I am returning to the Media Room job.  The contractor called and said it would be 100% done and all ready for me on Monday (today).  I wish I could say I believed this.  I'll report back tomorrow on that one.

Miscellaneous Happenings

Yesterday I began painting a ceiling a some trim in a bedroom for a client, and will finish that small job up today.  This is the bedroom where I did a finish on her built-in wall unit and closet doors recently.  Next, on the agenda for this room, will be to paint out the headboard wall and add a faux headboard design.

Tomorrow I will be back doing more prep work in the Family Room I worked in last week.  I am waiting for the moldings to be installed.

It's the end of the month, and time to get another e-newsletter out to my client base.  I've been working on that a little and hope to finish and get it out by the end of the weekend.

One of the best things I like about working for myself is the ability to adjust my schedule as needed.  Yesterday I took the morning off and did a little ice skating for a few hours before I headed off to work.  While I am no longer active with the local women's hockey league, I have been feeling the need to get back on the ice and practice some drills and just skate. 

Break Before the Kitchen Job Begins

Sorry I have not posted lately, but I got bogged down with a lot of office work and consultations.  I last left off finishing up the work in that Back Hall/Mud Room.  I could not get a clear shot of the ferns I ended up doing, but will when I return in a few weeks to begin the work on the Kitchen/Breakfast Room walls.

On Wednesday I will begin the Phase 1 of a new job, a Family Room.  This first phase will just be a lot of prep work.  My clients are out of town so the actual finishes will be applied when they return.  I will start posting about that job on Thursday.

In the meantime, since the Boston sports scene is hopping these days, I thought I'd pay a little tribute to my fav teams.

With the Celtics in the playoffs, my client who had me paint this sports shirt mural in their children's playroom a few years ago, must be quite happy!

This basket ball hoop with assorted shoes and balls below was also done in the same playroom.

Yesterday, was the annual Boston Marathon. 
This silhouette of a runner, was done as part of a series in a fitness center.  Of course, I cannot overlook the Red Sox and Bruins, so tomorrow I will feature some baseball and hockey themed murals work.

Rounding Out the Week

We had another snow storm yesterday, so I stayed inside most of the day, cleaning up the piles on my desk.  I wish I could say I am making great progress with getting my Tax Prep work done, but that is not going so well, so far.  I will make an honest attempt to work on that today.   I have been catching up on some of my favorite blogs, shoveling more snow, and talking with clients about their upcoming jobs.

February's projects are shaping up and looking like a lot of fun.  On deck, I have a ceiling in a Master Bath I've been dying to do; some new themes to add to the addition that is being completed at one of the Learning Zone Day Care Centers; the kitchen project that has been on hold forever (waiting for cabinet maker!), a laundry room, mudroom and maybe a kitchen cabinet job.  That should keep me busy enough and give me more interesting topics to write about than office work and snow shoveling!

My sample boards are done and approved for the kitchen, laundry and mudroom.  I need to go pick up my samples for that Master Bath and tweak them a bit.  I also need to spend some time doing a few rough sketches for the day care center, so that's how I will be spending my time for the remainder of this week.  I hope to get out to see the kitchen cabinet job Friday morning so I can determine what's going on there. 

Today I also did some research about getting Commercial plates on my vehicle.  Since I have to change my license plate I decided I might as well get one that means something to me, so I may go for a Vanity Plate!  I've never had one of those before.  I want it to be work related, so am exploring a few options.  Here in Massachusetts you can only have 6 letters on the plate.  You can use numbers, but only at the end of the letter configuration.  The plate has to begin with a minimum of two letters and you can't put a number in the middle of the letters like: pay8tr, which would have worked great! :-(  I'll let you know what I end up with. 

Back to Work

Well, here we are in 2009!  I hope you all had a Happy New Year.  I have caught up on all of my sleep and am ready to pick up the paint brushes again. 

I will be spending part of today back at my client's home where I just completed the Powder Room before New Year's.  I have a few touch ups to do in that room, but will mainly be working on some on-site samples to try to duplicate the finish I did 5 years ago.  As you may recall, I will be carrying this finish into the new kitchen space.  I have some good records of the steps I did for that finish, but I also remember struggling with several layers of that finish, so just want to try to work it all out before I actually start this portion of the work in a few weeks.  I am also presenting some finishes for the new mudroom and laundry room. 

I have been working in this particular house for 11 years now so I thought I'd share some of my past work with you.

This is a bathroom that is located in the basement level of the home.  The homeowner has a dog and cat and this bathroom is often used for grooming the pets.  I did this mural in 2003.  You know, I'm not even sure the dog is still in this home.  I didn't see him when I was there last.  He does rotate between this house and the ex-spouse, so I'm hoping he was just away, but will try to remember to check on that.

Here's a close up of the bandanna.  I did this so long ago, that I cannot remember who's stencils I used.  I believe some of the stencils may no longer be available.  I know the hooks and leash were stencils, but the grooming tool and bandanna were done freehand.  The paisley design on the bandanna is from Royal Design Studio.

I will feature more rooms from this home throughout the next few weeks.