After years of using my Picture Trail site, http://www.picturetrail.com/carolpaint, Julie Krefta came to my rescue and created this wonderful new site for me. Now I am able to link this blog, as well as Julie's Stencil Talk blog and StencilSearch site to my website. Not to dis the Picture Trail site, because it served me well for many years, but this new site will allow me to do so much more. Thanks for all of your hard work, Julie!
Well, what can I say? Opening Day was post phoned until today due to heavy rains yesterday. It's not the greatest of days today, but it is fairly dry. We are just going to bundle up and hope for the best! I am still fighting a cold and have a pretty deep cough, so I'm bringing a big blanket to wrap up in!
Tomorrow I will return to the Laundry Room/Back Hall project. The Laundry Room is done, but I still have a few things to resolve in the Back Hall. Although you cannot tell from this pic of the doors, the green border is too rough in texture and the gold striae center panels are off in color. I will take care of that, on all of the doors. I'm hoping I can do this without having to re-tape everything again! I also have all of the switch plate and outlet covers to seal and replace.
There is also a built in bench in this Back Hall with a big, blank panel behind it. At first I thought a series of 6 faux panels, with these ferns stenciled on them, would work. I did a quick mock-up on the wall and immediately saw this design would be too busy with all of the door panels. Too many panels!
My next thought was to just use a few stalks of this Fennel design which I used in the adjacent Powder Room. This will bring some interest to the area and tie into the Powder Room. My client always brings a fresh perspective to the ideas I toss out, so we will meet tomorrow morning to brainstorm. I always welcome the input of my clients. After all, it's THEIR home. They are the ones who have to live with the work once I leave! I find when my clients tweak my ideas, the end result is something great that they helped design and can truly appreciate, so it's a win-win situation.
Hey, it's Opening Day here in Boston for the Red Sox and guess who has tickets??!!!:-)
My darling daughter was able to score a couple of tix for us. It's her birthday present to me! :-) My birthday is a few days away, but I sure don't mind celebrating a little early this way! Let's pray the rain holds off!!!
Back to work tomorrow.
I am signing off until next Monday, Dec.29th. My family, from out of town, arrives later this afternoon and I will be hosting my annual Christmas Eve Dinner.
This morning, as I sit by my tree, (who's lights do not seem to be working on the bottom 2/3rds of the tree!), and sip my latte, stenciled with the Stencil Library's cute little snowflake stencil, I am enjoying the peace and quiet before all descend. It's great not to have to travel and have everyone come to ME! I did my usual, "stay up until midnight and do prep work in the kitchen routine" last night, so today I can mostly relax and just enjoy having everyone here!
Whether you are celebrating Christmas or Chaunaka, I wish you all a very peaceful and happy Holiday Season.
Last Friday, Marc and I attended the Holiday Tables opening, where
we have one room on display at the Newport Museum of Art. The event
was definitely a step up from last year, which was the first year the
Museum attempted something like this. Last year they had the largest
room in the museum set up with tables of local vineyard owners and it
was a wine tasting. In the middle of the room was a very small table
with a minute amount of bland cheese and crackers. The event was well
attended and everyone was hungry. Marc and I went out to eat after
that evening because we were starving.
This year, the event seemed a little less well attended, which was unfortunate because they upped the ante with the food and wine. A caterer was brought in and there was an abundance of delicious foods for all.
Here are some views of of some of the decorated rooms:
This Children's Table had an antique sleigh for the centerpiece. Stockings were hung on the back of the chairs and the fireplace had presents and toys mixed in with the garland.
In this room, the designer chose to use the table for a buffet setting.
Lastly, a close up of our table setting.
I had a very quick job to do this week, so I called Stacy and asked if she would like to join me, so we could get it done even faster. The owner will be putting her lovely condo on the market for sale soon, so was eager to get this ceiling fixed. Her upstairs neighbor had some water problems (twice!), so this is the 3 rd time this ceiling is getting the same finish. Someone else originally did the decorative painting in this condo, but they were unavailable to return any time soon. I personally, never quite understand why you would not cater to your existing clients. I did some checking to be sure there were no real problems with the client and found none. The client is actually a very nice young woman who works some long hours and just wants this ceiling done so she can show the place to perspective buyers! This picture shows where the water damage occurred. It was already patched when we arrived, so we just sanded lightly and primed. It's hard to see because the lighting is very poor in this room, but the entire room...walls, ceiling, trim and built-ins are all done using a metallic strie.
Because the technique was done in metallics, it could not really be repaired without being very noticeable. We rolled on 2 layers of the base coat over the entire ceiling, up to this soffit area over the bed. Today we will be doing the strie, which should only take a few hours.
When we first arrived, I was a bit nervous at the site of all of these paint cans in the dining room! The homeowner had already given me the colors used, so I thought we were all set on that front. She was just nervous that she was given the wrong information, but I did a sample on some poster board and all was fine. It turned out that whoever did the 2nd repaint of the ceiling did not use the exact glazes that were on the walls, etc. It was a little off. Now we have the right match. Oh, I see my coffee got in the picture. :-)
The timing was right for me with this job, because I can really only work an half day today since I have to go home and get ready for the opening of the Holiday Tables event in Newport tonight. Why is it that when I have to go to an event after work I always seem to be doing a ceiling, where I am sure to get paint in my hair? And of course, this had to be metallic paint to boot, so I'll probably find a big glob of it on my arm somewhere this evening! Well, at least it is a festive silver shade. I'll report back next week about the Holiday Tables. Have a good weekend!
Today I was supposed to begin a long awaited job for a client I work with almost every year. A new addition has been put onto her home and her kitchen area has been expanded and completely renovated. I am going to carry a finish that is in the adjacent room, into this new area. I did that finish a few years ago, so I'm hoping all will go well! The finish is a multi-layer finish, which I will go into at a later date. I thought I'd get a jump on things by putting on the first 2 layers. The cabinets have not yet been installed, much to the homeowners dismay. She has been waiting since this Summer for these cabinets to be made! Last evening she called to let me know that there is now a heat issue in the new addition... basically no heat. Hopefully that will be resolved and I will try to get over there next week.
This is why I do my scheduling with Post It's vs. actually writing on my calendar. I'd have one messy calendar by the end of the month with all the schedule changes that tend to take place. Now I have moved another job that I was intending to do next week, into this slot. I did lose a day of on-site painting because of the late cancellation, but I have a zillion things to do in my office and studio, so am actually happy to have this "free" day!
First on my list was to finish my December e-newsletter. This month I am featuring my good friend and talented designer, Marc Bordet. Marc shares with my readers several great decorating ideas for the Holiday Season. If you would like to receive a copy of this e-newsletter, I invite you to subscribe using the box in the sidebar to the right.
Next, I wanted to created 4 snowflakes to use as placards at the Holiday Tables event Marc and I are participating in. This was too fun and very easy, so I thought I'd share this with you. I purchased this great Dover Book, "Make Your Own Paper Snowflakes" on line a few weeks ago, knowing I'd find some use for it. At $5.95, this book gives you a big bang for your buck! It features 31 different snowflake patterns, from very easy to advanced skill level. The templates are printed on heavy cardstock and are actual size, so you are good to go!
Last weekend I stopped at Michael's and bought this giant pad of textured cardstock in jewel toned Christmas colors. Then, when Marc and I were setting up our Holiday Tables room at the museum earlier this week, I got the idea to make some snowflake placards for the 4 table settings. I stopped at another Michael's on the way home and bought this glue pen and glitter by none other than the Queen of All Things Good, Martha Stewart.
This glue pen was quite the find! You can write just like you would with a pen and then just sprinkle on the glitter. Of course, Martha has thought it all out, so her glitter container allows you to control the amount of glitter that gets sprinkled!
Now I have some design work to tend to and then I am off to a vendor Christmas party with Marc at Kennedy Carpets .
Last year, Marc Bordet and I participated in the 1st Annual Holiday Tables Event held at the Newport (RI) Art Museum. We had a lot of fun doing this event, so decided to participate again this year. Last year, we took the smallest room and Marc did a fabulous job, making this once barren room really come alive and sparkle!
My contribution to this room was small, stenciling the tablecloth and 2 napkins to which I added our childhood pictures. I had a lot of fun just assisting Marc the day we brought everything in to set up.
This year, Marc selected a much larger room. This museum is in a very old, historic building with a lot of detail to the woodwork. Our room is quite dark, so we will add a lot of white fabric and crystal to lighten it up a bit. I will stencil the tablecloth, napkins and some window treatments.
We visited our room last Sunday to take measurements and some photos. This is the table we will use, but not the chairs. The rug will stay and all art work in the room will remain, although we are allowed to move it around.
There are 6 of these very ornately carved chairs in the room, which Marc will use. The table will be set for 4. The restrictions are that there cannot be any religious tones to the tables, just festive.
The ceiling is paneled with this dark blue background with gold stars. This cannot be touched, so will be part of the room's theme.
As I begin my part for this show, I will post what I am creating. We will set the room up December 1st. The Holiday Tables event is open to the public from December 3rd - January 4th.
This fun website shows newspaper headlines from around the world. See how our historic victory is being celebrated! :-)
Happy Mother's Day! ~ back tomorrow ;-)
