Painter Girl

Can a Painter Girl Look Feminine?

It is definitely time for some new painting clothes! 

Here you can see my current overalls.  I have about 6 pairs, all in the same ratty state. I like the bib overalls because they are just very comfortable to work in.  They are very hard to find in my size, which is why I wear them until they literally fall apart.  When bib overalls are "in fashion", I can find a size that will fit at places like the Gap.  When they are not "in fashion", such as now, small sizes are hard to come by, anywhere.  Stores like Walmart tend to carry them for men, but they are way too big on me.  I have been doing a search on the web for painters overalls for women and have been finding some fun sites!

Look at these great overalls from Rosies!  They also come in pink and taupe, as well as this sea green.  The legs zip off to make shorts and every pair comes with removable kneepads!  I'm sold! Plus they come in PS and S sizes. ;-)  At $45, they are a bit pricey to paint in, but I love the color choices and the fact that they convert to shorts.  The removable kneepads are also a big plus!  Since I do wear them to death, I'm sure I'll get my money's worth out of them.



The first thing to go on my overalls are always the buckles. They tend to fall apart after a zillion washings. :-(  Here you can see how I have mine pinned.  All of mine are like this now, so I know it's time to refresh my inventory.  While I was doing my "Search" for women's overalls, I came upon a blog that was devoted to women in overalls, which I won't post here since it contained a mix of photos!  I also came upon a website that listed "The Top 5 Things a Grown Woman Should Never Wear".  Wouldn't you know, Overalls was listed as #1!  I quote: "Overalls belong on a farm. Period. They don't flatter anyone, and there are much better ways to look down-home sexy (a checked shirt tied at the midriff is a better start)."  I'd like to see the author of that list, Cynthia Nellis, paint in a checked shirt tied at the midriff!  While that look might go over big at some of the construction sites I work on, I doubt it would be well received by the majority of my clients!  If she thinks overalls do not flatter anyone, she should take a look at the previously mentioned blog devouted to overalls to see just how flattering they can be! ;-)

Previous Work

When I was at the house where I did the AquaStone finish in the bath last week, I took a few pictures of previous rooms I had done some work in. 

This is a small breakfast room off of the main kitchen.  The fireplace wall (3 sides) were glazed first with a mossy green tone.  An allover repeat pattern, in a scroll design, was then stenciled with a deeper green.

In this dining room there are 2 identical niches.  Previously white, I applied several layers of a mix of metallic glazes to compliment the colors used elsewhere in this room.  The wallpaper was done just before I connected with this client.

The Curse of Earth Brown

One of the reasons I was too busy to post last week was because I was off doing this Master Bath.  This is a repeat client, who recently remodeled this room and put on a small addition. 

The finish chosen is a color washed AquaStone finish.  It's very textured and looks better in person, than in this picture. 

Let me see if it looks any better in another picture...

Oh yes, it does look better in this window view shot.  Here you can see the lights and darks, highs and lows, a bit clearer. This was a fairly straightforward job, taking a little less than 2 full days.




















The only little glitch in this job happened when I knocked over my container of Earth Brown mixed with water, that I was using to wash the AquaStone.  This happened when I was standing on the edge of the tub.  The open container fell into the tub and splashed up onto the wood paneling you see here.  Of course, it couldn't be an almost empty container of dark brown... it was an almost full container.  It all wiped up easily, but I swear I am cursed when it comes to using this Earth Brown color!  My first disaster with this color occurred about 10 years ago when I was using it to stencil a border in another client's home.  I had left the bottle on my ladder the previous day.  When I returned the next morning, I moved my ladder to lay down a drop cloth.  As I was moving the ladder, the closed bottle of Earth Brown fell off the ladder shelf, the flip top flipped OPEN, and the light tan wall to wall carpeting was spotted with this Earth Brown paint!  The more I tried to clean it up, the worse it got!  I called a carpet cleaner in to help me out and it took several hours of trying various solutions to get this paint out.  It is highly pigmented.  The carpet cleaner warned me that the spots may return as the rug dried and I was to call him back the next day.  Sure enough, the spots were back the next morning.  The carpet cleaner ended up pulling up the wall to wall from the corner to the spots, cutting out the rug pad and replacing that portion of rug pad.  Then the problem was resolved.  Lucky for me that this worked and that my client was very understanding!  I am happy to report, I have since gone on to do several rooms in that house without incident and will be returning to that house some time in August. 

Yay...it's June!

Last week just got away from me in terms of trying to find some quality time to blog, so I will try to be better this week.


Today I happily spent most of the day outside in my yard, weeding and getting some plants in.  This is the side of my garage that faces my backyard.  Usually I put a window box on that shelf, but this year opted to put my birdhouse collection here.  Last year we had a new lawn put in and the constant watering from the sprinkler really took a toll on the paint. I think this will have to be repainted at some point soon.


This Dogwood tree is in the front yard.  I should have taken a picture of it earlier when it was in bloom!  To the right is a beautiful Wisteria, which was also in bloom when the Dogwood was.  The Dogwood does not bloom again, but the Wisteria does continue to bloom off and on throughout the  Summer.  I separated some of the variegated Hostas and put  more behind the tree to fill in.  There used to be a post and beam fence there, but it was removed last year, so now I need to fill in the bare spots.

I've had this front yard going for about 15 years now.  Almost everything comes up on it's own each year, but I do fill in with a few plants.  This year I added some basil, tomatoes, a curry plant, Gerberea Daisies, and a few Nasturtiums.  A few weeks ago, my brother, who owns this two family home with me, and lives upstairs, called a landscape service to fertilize our back lawn and mulch the beds back there.  They came when no one was home and ripped up all of my soaker hoses that I had running throughout this front garden and a side bed!  They then mulched everything in sight!  I was livid when I came home from work to find my soaker hoses in a heap in the driveway and all my beds mulched before I could even get my plants in!  I still could not bring myself to reconnect the hoses and snake them all around today.  I know it will take me several house to do. :-(  I'll give it a try next weekend.  I just wanted to get all my plants in today.  When I was watering everything with the garden hose, a neighbor who I have given several of my plants to, came by and asked me what happened to my soaker hose system.  When I told her my sad story, she offered to come and help me  re-install it!  I love my neighborhood.  ;-) Also, see that unpainted basement window frame?  I have 6 of them to paint.  (That's on next weekend's list too!) 

Last Summer my brother had to have his dog, Jake, put to sleep.  He was a great dog, a miniature Schnauzer, who was 14 years old.  This little stone has his name on it, and there is a picture of him in the frame.  While Jake is not actually buried  here, my brother wanted a small memorial to him on our property. I overheard 2 young boys talking, who were looking at the stone and picture the other day.  One was telling the other that the dog died and the owner buried it right here in their yard! 

Delays and Slipping in an Extra Job

I was hoping to begin work in a newly remodeled Master Bath today, but the painters are still in there doing the prep.  I am using the day instead, to complete the studio work for the upcoming Day Care Center job and a new job I am slipping in before the Master Bath. 

 Marc gave me a call to ask if I could do the sports silhouettes on the walls of a Fitness Center early next week, Tuesday to be exact.   I just looked at that job 2 days ago and also just ordered the silhouette book I need for this job yesterday.  I had not expected this job to happen for another week or two.  I ended up calling the company and having the book over-nighted so I could have it today to make my templates.    I should be able to do the Fitness Center in one day, barring no major difficulties! Here you see the "Before" shot of the blank walls.  The wall to the left is about 6' long and the wall to the right extends to about 15',x 10' in height.  I'll probably put 2 silhouettes on the left wall and 4 on the right.  The walls are painted a pale blue, but need one more coat because, as you may be able to see, they have been patched recently.
 
This is a long weekend here in Massachusetts, so I will be heading out to the other side of the state, to the Berkshires, to spend some time with my Mom.  I am going to paint her bedroom and help her out with a few chores.  It's a fun and relaxing time out there in the country and I always amazed at my 85 year old mother's strength, talents, and independence. I would like to leave today to head out there, but I have a 4:30 pm consult with a new client.  Her schedule is extremely busy and it's been very difficult to find a day and time that would work for us, so today is the day.  I am excited about meeting this new client and will report more on this next week.

On a sad note, a dear colleague of mine from my former career at Perkins School for the Blind, passed away last Friday.  Michael Collins was an incredible man who touched the lives of so many.  I attended the wake yesterday and although it was heartbreaking to see his wife and lovely children, it was nice to reconnect with so many former co-workers.  This was one of those wakes where there is standing room only because so many want to come and pay their respect and be with others who shared their connection with this man who was so devoted to his family, friends and long standing career serving the deafblind community worldwide. Mike's contributions to the field of deafblindness, and his calm, peaceful demeanor endeared him to many all over the world.  You can clearly see this in the touching tributes so many are writing at http://rememberingmikecollins.com/.

See you back here on Tuesday.

Day Care Center Prep

After meeting several times with Melissa, the owner of the new day care center opening in my neighborhood, I am ready to start the prep work.  I will be doing a little work in each of the 10 spaces in this building.  Melissa's budget was tight for this job, but I wanted to give her a big bang for her buck.  She is providing a much needed service for the neighborhood families, has a great staff, and clearly loves what she does.  She is also a busy parent herself of young children, so knows their needs as well as the needs of the parents.

When I visited the center yesterday, much progress had been made.  The walls are now all up and almost all plastered.  The drop ceiling is being installed this week as well.  I am planning on doing my work at the end of the 1st week in June.  Here is what will be done:

Bubbles on the walls in the 2 bathrooms.

Whimsical flowers along the baseboard on one wall in each of the 2 Infant Rooms.

Some tree branches, birdhouse, a few birds, a nest...coming down from the ceiling line in the 2 Toddler Rooms.

The alphabet will be painted on 1 wall in one of the Preschool Rooms and the numbers 1-10 will be on a wall in the 2nd Preschool Room.

The entryway will sport some fun large circles and the Indoor Activity Room will have a few large kites on one wall.

Today I will begin making some of the templates and stencils, pull out the stencils I have I hand, and that's probably as far as I will get since I need to run out and get some supplies for another job.

A Hectic Week

Gosh, here it is, Tuesday already, and I am just finding a minute to post.  It's one of those weeks where I am running around, faster than the speed of light, in way too many directions.  I have been meeting with clients, putting the finishing touches on their proposals, gathering resources and supplies, endlessly re-arranging my schedule to fit everything in, and then racing out the door at what should be the end of my work day, to attend networking events.  Needless to say, I am looking forward to the upcoming 3 day weekend and a calmer week, next week!

Tomorrow, when I do believe I will have a little breathing time, I will give an update on the Day Care Center project, The Apartment Complex/Commercial Job Project, and 3 new jobs that are in the works. 

I'm going to have to get this! http://www.cross-stitch-hatchery.com/sayings.htm

One down, two to go...

               

Here you can see just about the entire entranceway ceiling of Apartment Building #1,  of the 3 apartment buildings I will be doing.  All three will be identical.  This is the Rattan stencil design (XL size) from the Stencil Library.  This is the stencil I was talking about the other day, that was too large for me to handle doing this ceiling solo, so I cut in in 2 pieces.  I am still mourning that decision, as I hate to cut my stencils, knowing full well I will wish I did not do so when I want to use it for another project.  Well, it's a done deed and cutting it did allow me to get the job done.  I love this design.  I used a brown paint mixed with a pearl glaze.  The pearl glaze just really softened the brown a bit and did not give it a metallic look.  This picture is actually pretty true to color!   
          
             

This is a little closer look.  I may end up putting a 1" brown border around it all, leaving a 1" or 2" border of the blue/green color in between.   I'm going to have Marc take a look at it and decide what he wants me to do.  I can easily add that when I return to do the other buildings.  I don't think the next apartment building will be ready for me until about 3 weeks.  In the meantime, the contractors are all very busy working in the Clubhouse.  My work in that building may begin before the next apartment building is ready.  I'm hoping by the time the next 2 apartment buildings are ready, I will be very busy with other jobs and be able to hire an assistant to knock these last 2 off.  Because I had such a hard time getting the stencils that I used on the wallpaper to stick, it would be helpful to have an extra set of hands.  Also, it would be very nice to have help with the ceilings... so keep your fingers crossed for me that I may be able to hire some help! 

On another note... I am working with a new client to do some fun painting in a day care center that is a 5 minute walk from my house!  Last week when I was out for my evening walk, I discovered that a former martial arts center had gone out of business and the sign taped to the door said a new day care center was opening.  I peeked in and could see it was still very much under construction.  The next morning I was on the phone to the owner to see if I could get in on some action here.  We met,  immediately liked each other, and started planning what could be done.  Melissa, the owner, is a very savvy young business woman and busy Mom to 2 young children.  This will be her 2nd day care center and she is already looking at a 3rd space because she is completely filled!  I will be posting more about this job over the next few weeks.  Other than those bubbles in the boys bedroom and bathroom in the Big House Job, I have not done a children's themed room, in what seems... ages!  Oh, I did do that chalkboard wall, but that does not really count. 

Networking

Last evening I attended the NEWBO Awards of Excellence Gala at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston.  NEWBO is celebrating their 30 year anniversary!  It was a very fun filled evening, with Jimmy Tingle serving as master of Ceremonies.  Jimmy had all of us laughing from the moment he stepped up to the mike.  He is one very hysterical man and should you ever have the chance to take in one of his shows, I highly recommend doing so.  Congratulations to all the Quest Award nominees and winners.

I have mentioned NEWBO here before, and I do so again to encourage any women business owners in the Boston area to join this wonderful organization.  Each time I attend an event I connect with the most amazing women and come away truly inspired.  Two examples of great connections from last night were meeting Jennifer Smith of Color Express and Kristi Andrews,  owner of The Barkery.  I am talking with Jennifer about helping me out with some one time use stencil materials, such as the Modellos I so often feature here.  Kristi, has to have one of the most fun businesses ever!  She runs a bakery for dogs!  Even if you are not local, Kristi ships all over the country, so let your dog browse her site and drool a little. 

Apartment Complex Work - ceiling

Today I was back at the Apartment Complex job to do the ceiling in the entryway.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so no pictures to post today.  I DO love how it is coming out though and will be sure to bring my camera when I return either Thursday or Friday to finish.  I am using the Rattan stencil design from the Stencil Library.  I ordered it in the large size.  The stencil itself, is huge, 43" x 35".  This would be wonderful if I were using it on a wall or had a second pair of hands for this ceiling.  Good thing you could not see me trying to hold the stencil up with my head while positioning it!  As much as I hated to do this, I cut the stencil down to a more manageable size for doing this job solo.  The ceiling is small, so having the 2 smaller sections to work with, worked out o.k.  I got a late start on this ceiling today because there was a meeting scheduled with all the various contractors and the company project manager.  The building that I am working in, has a janitor's room that the janitor leaves unlocked for me while he is there.  He leaves at 4 pm and I wanted to stay and try to finish the ceiling.  Around 5 pm, I could see I was not going to be able to finish because I needed water to clean my stencil and since the janitor had left, I no longer had access to that room with the sink.  I was getting tired anyway, and decided I'd rather come back another day instead of staying even later and probably making mistakes.