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No, no, no it's not
what you think - this is room service with a
twist.
On a regular basis I will be sharing tips on
decorative painting, and maybe decorating in
general sometimes, and helping you transform your
rooms with little effort. We'll discuss walls,
furniture, fabric, the outside of your homes - in
fact anything and everything that we can freshen
up with a little creativity.
I have been a decorative painter for several
years now and boy are things getting easier with
the advent of user-friendly materials. I have
been lucky enough to have worked in all aspects
of my trade - I teach workshops, do stage
demonstrations, contract work and have been
featured on radio and television and at the Home
Show. There's never a dull moment (specially when
sharing a stage with Fred and Gerry - but more
about them later!). The best thing is that I've
been able to travel with my trade and therefore
have met lots of interesting characters (yes
Fred, yes Gerry, just like you!) and seen what's
happening across Canada and the U.S.
This Month's Tip from
Georgina........
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April:
Thank you to all of you who watched the segment
on VTV last Friday and
apologies to those of you who searched the site
looking for the backsplash
instructions - they weren't there!
Anyway, here they are now!
FAUX TILED BACKSPLASH
USING STONE FX:
1. Mask your cupboards, appliances, etc. that
surround the area to be
"tiled".
2. Paint the wall in a solid colour preferably in
a latex eggshell. If
you are going over existing paint which is
oil-based then prime first with
BIN. BIN is available at most paint stores and
has a 45 minute re-coat time
which is wonderful. The solid colour that you
paint your wall will
eventually be your "grout" lines so
choose it carefully.
3. Let dry overnight and then measure and mark
with a pencil the size
you wish your tiles to be (I had 6" tiles).
Using quarter-inch painters
tape and your pencil marks as a guide, tape the
wall into "tiles". Leave a
couple of inches spare to enable easy peeling off
at the end of the project.
4. Ladle some Natural Stone fX (by Adicolor and
available at General
Paint Decor Stores) into a paint tray and work
the Stone fX into the roller
(you will want the roller to be quite full).
Carefully roll the Stone fX
over the wall (I say carefully as it will
"spit" at you if you're too
energetic!). Use a paint scraper to get the stone
into the corners of the
walls. While the stone is still wet, play with
the surface but flattening
out some areas with a paint scraper or even
sponge it with a natural sea
sponge (damp) to create a rougher look. A
combination of both looks very good.
5. Let dry overnight.
6. If you want to add a relief stencil at this
stage, do so by
trowelling some additional stone through a
stencil but avoid going over the
grout lines.
7. Let dry overnight.
8. Now is the time to add your colour to the
stone. For this I used
three different coloured glazes. I took one-part
eggshell latex paint and
added it to three parts Wet Edge Plus Glaze (also
by Adicolor and available
at General Paint Decor Stores). With regular
paint brushes, brush on three
colour separately and then spend a bit of time
mingling the colours
together. The glazes will seep quite quickly into
the stone which is quite
porous to do concentrate (don't answer the
phone!). If your colours are
looking a bit washed out, let dry and repeat.
9. Remove the quarter-inch tape and Voila! there
you have your tile!
At this point, touch-up any white areas with your
glaze colour.
10. Let dry overnight and then you're ready to
topcoat. For a flat,
rough-looking finish I would suggest Adicolors
DFV (Dead Flat Varnish) - 2
or 3 coats - or use a urethane such as Benjamin
Moore's Stays Clear (water
based) or, for areas that will require lots of
cleaning, Varathane's
oil-based finish. The latter two topcoats come in
various sheens - avoid
going too shiny, it detracts from the stone look.
TIPS:
1. Do up a sample board first - it may save some
agonizing!
Particularly practice with your glaze colours -
they can be deceiving.
2. Stone fX is a permanent material. Should you
think that you'll tire
of the look at some point, take the extra time to
lay down a wallpaper liner
first. Then, when the time comes to remove your
tile, you'll just have to
thoroughly soak the area and remove it. Mind you,
you'll have done such a
wonderful job that you'll never want to remove
it!!
Hope these instructions are clear, if not don't
hesitate to e-mail me at:
georgina@theworkshop.net Bye
for now!
March:
Hello everyone - sorry I've been missing for a
while - it's been the season of shows and I don't
seem to have found the time to sit down and
string two words together, let alone two
sentences! I've also had a friend here for a week
who I hadn't seen for over 20 years so I dragged
her along to a couple of shows and now she feels
inspired to go home and try some of the
techniques I demonstrated!
Last month I mentioned I was going down to
Anaheim - well that went very well although the
convention was definitely hobby-oriented - the
U.S. seems to be obsessed with Memory Scrap Books
at the moment - can you tell me how people find
the time to put such elaborate things together?
All my kids will end up with are a couple of
boxes full of stuff that I've thrown in them over
the years!
It was nice though to talk to the various paint
companies down there - all of whom were anxious
for us to try out their product - so that's
exactly what I'm doing. I was especially
interested in glass paint so when I've finished
messing around with it I'll share my experiments
with you.
Before I get to my project of the month, I would
like to mention that although we keep getting
conned into thinking that Spring has Sprung, it
is still too soon to start any outdoor painting.
Please wait until the temperature has reached a
steady 10 degrees before attempting to do a
decent paint job or you just may end up tearing
your hair out when your paint starts peeling off!
(Believe me, I've done it!!).
Anyway, at the B.C. and Fraser Valley Home Shows
I was using a wonderful decorative product called
"Stone fX" made by Adicolor, the
Toronto-based company who makes the Wet Edge Plus
Latex Glaze that I'm addicted to! I was
demonstrating how to use it in wall effects, such
as faux tile, but thought, seeing how Spring is
supposed to be on its way, that I'd share how to
Transform boring old terracotta
(or plastic come to that) pots into works of art.
1. If using old pots, make sure you have
thoroughly cleaned and dried them.
2. Using BIN - a superior primer by Zinsser that
will stick to absolutely anything and available
at paint stores - coat the outside and part-way
down the inside of the pot.
3. Allow BIN to dry - around 45 minutes - then
apply the Stone fX with a roller or trowel over
and around the pot. This is a very messy job so
make sure your work surface is covered well! You
may also have to apply the Stone fX in stages.
Once this is dry, take a stencil of your choice
(Buckingham Stencils' Cave Art series is great
for this technique), tape the stencil in place
and trowel some more Stone fX through the
stencil.
4. When all of the stone is dry, mix some glazes
to the colours of your choice by mixing one part
paint into 2 parts Wet Edge Plus Glaze and, using
regular household paint brushes, brush the glazes
over the stone. (Terracotta, Yellow Ochre and
Dark Brown work really well).
5. Allow to completely dry - do not allow to get
wet for a couple of weeks - then plant them or
give as gifts.
January:
Happy New Year Everyone! The festive season
certainly came and went in a hurry didn't it?
Most of my family were down with a dreadful flu
for most of it so felt cheated and I felt cheated
as no-one was helping me shop, wrap, clean, etc.!
Oh well, we all survived.
Usually January is a very quiet month in my
industry but I seem to be exceptionally busy.
It's funny how things come in cycles - right now
I have four tables in my workshop waiting for
makeovers - I haven't worked on furniture for
ages and all of a sudden I don't know where to
put it all! Actually it's quite fun as a couple
of them are from a care facility where I work
quite regularly - they want me to paint checker
boards on them so that the residents can use them
usefully as well as being side tables.
Am off to Anaheim at the end of the month to work
in a Projector booth with my friend Linda
Buckingham at the Hobby Industry of America trade
convention. Sounds fun doesn't it - well the
truth is, you rarely get out of the convention
centre and then collapse in a heap on your hotel
bed at night! The good thing though is that you
get to meet up with people in the industry and
see all the new products. I doubt whether we'll
be able to get to Disneyland though - actually my
kids would kill me if I went there without them!
Apparently my 10-year-old son is "the only
kid in the world who hasn't been to
Disneyland"!!
This month I thought I'd share with you my cheap
and easy way of making
Placemats and/or
floor mats.
1. Visit your local carpet/flooring dealer and
ask for their old samples of linoleum or
end-of-rolls. The square samples they have are
perfect for cutting placemats to size. Cut to
size with good scissors or a sharp utility knife.
2. Prime the back of the linoleum with either BIN
or Bullseye 123 (both products by Zinsser), allow
to dry for at least an hour.
3. You are now ready to paint your mats with the
design of your choice - the possibilities are
endless - they make great gifts too!
4. For painting and stencilling ideas and
techniques, please refer back to my previous
tips.
November: DECORATIVE PAINTING:
Hello everybody and welcome to winter! It
certainly seemed to happen very quickly didn't
it? The cold temperature certainly caught me
offguard - I had intended to paint the outside of
my workshop but suddenly it was too cold so I
guess I'll have to wait till Spring. Just as well
as I probably will have changed my mind about the
colour by then! (I change my mind daily it seems
when it comes to favourite colours!)
Christmas is approaching extremely fast and with
it comes those dreaded bills. This year, why not
make your own wrapping paper, cards, gift bags,
etc. A little bit of paint and some cheap paper
goes an awful long way.
By the way, it's good to have Fred and Gerry back
on the air don't you think?! Mind you, how come
they're so cheerful at that time of the morning??
Anyway here goes with a few Christmas tips:
WRAPPING PAPER:
Go to your local paint store and buy a roll of
masking paper - it comes in various widths. Roll
it out onto your kitchen table, load a stencil
roller with paint (remember to offload the paint
onto a paper towel), take a Christmas stencil
(Buckingham Stencils have a good selection -
check out http://www.buckinghamstencils.com) and go to it! This is
a great project for the kids too. Masking paper
is brown so maybe tie up your parcels with raffia
-looks great!
CARDS:
Call in at a local printer and see if they have
off-cuts of card. Again, roller stencil some
Christmas designs and add a bit of extra colour
using a stencil brush. If your children are
making cards, construction paper works well too.
Delta Paints and Americana have good ranges of
metallic paints so try some of those to add a bit
of pizzazz!
GIFT BAGS:
Craft stores sell plain brown paper gift bags to
decorate and some carry fabric ones too. (My
fabric stencilling instructions are here on the
website). For Christmas wine bags why not ask the
liquor store if you can have a few extra brown
paper wine bags and decorate those. Again tie
them up with raffia - makes a nice hostess gift
for open houses, etc.
TABLE LINENS:
Need a Christmas table cloth? How about buying a
cheap red or green sheet and stencilling a border
in gold around the edge? Make matching napkins
with either paper napkins or fabric ones.
I could go on and on! The possibilities are
endless - get creative!!
Mush dash - have to prepare for a couple of
murals that have to be completed before
Christmas. Will share that story with you next
time.
If you have the time, join me in Coquitlam on
December 10th for a full day's hands-on workshop
- for details (or for any questions you may have)
e-mail me at:
georgina@theworkshop.net
Bye for now,
Georgina
October: Hello everyone,
Hope your Thanksgiving went well - ours certainly
did, we were on Saltspring Island for the weekend
and I was going to say that I forgot all about
anything work- or paint-related but I did happen
to stencil a turkey onto a pumpkin and cut it out
- I guess I can't escape!
The B.C. Fall Home Show was a success and it was
great to see some "old" faces in my
audiences and to heckle Fred & Gerry! Luckily
they take it all in their stride! The audiences
loved the plaster designs that were on display in
the Paint Inspirations booth and I enjoyed
demo-ing them on stage - mind you, I happened to
smudge a couple as I was talking too much as
usual!
Anyway I detail below the step-by-step
instructions for relief (or dimensional)
stencilling with plaster and look forward to
chatting with you soon. Don't forget you can
e-mail me with any painting questions and/or
ideas at georgina@theworkshop.net Also, scroll down for
list of dates of shows and workshops.
Bye for now, happy painting!
Georgina
RELIEF STENCILLING:
This technique provides wonderful textured
patterns to walls, fireplaces, tile or even, on a
smaller scale, plants pots, cupboard doors,
pedestals, etc.
1. Place spray-glued stencil in place on surface.
2. Using a plaster medium such as Muralo Spackle
or Adicolor's Stucco Antico, which can be tinted
to the colour of choice, apply evenly across a
scraper.
3. Pull the scraper evenly across the stncil - it
may take two or three goes to completely fill in
the cut-out.
4. Carefully lift off the stencil without
smudging the wet plaster.
5. Reposition the stencil and repeat.
6. To antique the design, let plaster completely
dry and then replace the stencil and sponge in
colour such as teal, black or gold.
7. Alternately, glaze over the entire surface
thereby blending the plaster design into the wall
- very effective.
September: Hello Everyone,
Well I finally deposited all my relatives, who
were here over the summer, at the airport, got
the kids back to school and collapsed! Now I need
a holiday! No such luck, it's back to work with a
bang!
It's going to be a busy fall with lots of shows
coming up (see the list below) and a few
interesting projects thrown in here and there.
Right now I'm going to give you the step-by-step
instructions for how to stencil fabric, be it
curtains, tablecloths, pillow cases, T-shirts,
etc. If you want to free-hand the fabric, just
omit the stencil part of the instructions.
FABRIC PAINTING
1. Pre-wash the fabric, dry and iron to remove
size and lint. (Do NOT use fabric softener, it
repels the paint).
2. Secure fabric to a board or a piece of
cardboard which has been pre-sprayed with stencil
adhesive spray (this is low-tack and will not
leave a residue on the fabric).
3. If stenciling, spray glue the back of the
stencil and place where desired on the fabric.
4. Load a stencil roller or stencil brush with
paint, remove the excess onto a towel and begin
painting. Fabric is very absorbent so a second or
even third layer will probably need to be
applied. Apply the second coat before the first
is completely dry.
5. For permanency, heat-set using a clean cloth
and a hot iron over the design. (No steam - it
will reactivate the paint). Hold iron down for
about 15 seconds.
6. Avoid washing for about 2 weeks to allow paint
to cure.
7. Cold water wash on gentle cycle.
Try it - it's amazing how creative you can be -
makes great gifts!
To see this me demonstrate this technique, watch
the VTV Breakfast Show on Friday, September 15th.
For more great ideas see "Stenciling on a
Grand Scale" by Sandra Buckingham, available
at all good bookstores and paint stores.
Talk to you soon,
Georgina.
August: Hello to you all - hope your summer is
going well. Here on the West Coast we've
certainly been enjoying some beautiful weather
which is just as well with all the overseas
visitors I've had this year.
Since I last "spoke" to you I spent a
few days in Houston, Texas where the temperature
was up to 120 degrees with the humidity
factor! Mind you, the hotel where the
painting convention was held had the air
conditioning up so high it was freezing! I
managed to pack a lot into the few days I was
there and met up with friends from all over North
America who are in the same industry. I
taught a full day's hands-on class and not one of
the students was from the same part of the U.S.
so there were lots of accents flying around the
room!
The trade show was great - lots of new products
and enthusiasm - I will be sharing some of the
information with you over the next few months.
While the weather is still warm and you're able
to be out of the house and have the doors open
while you are home, how about getting rid of that
ugly linoleum flooring the cheap way?
Although somewhat time-consuming, painting floors
is much easier than you think and permanent as
long as you follow these instructions:
PAINTING
FLOORS
1. Thoroughly scrub
the floor to remove all dirt and grease. A
good product to use would be Benjamin Moore's M83
Degreaser.
2. Rinse well and
dry thoroughly.
3. Prime with
Zinsser's Bullseye 123. This is an
excellent primer with a fair amount of elasticity
which is essential when painting lino.
4. Now you're ready
to paint with whatever colour-scheme or design
you like. Use a good quality latex paint
and add a bit of interest by adding a second or
third colour added here and there. A
stencil painted randomly is also an eye catcher.
5. At least three
coats of urethane is a good idea to protect your
creation.
6. Another
alternative would be to use a Floor and Patio
Paint which is specially designed for floors but
I would add at least one coat of urethane just to
be on the safe side.
Don't forget to catch me on the VTV Breakfast
Show and next month I will have a full schedule
of exciting shows and workshops to share with you
so keep in touch! Feel free to call my studio at
604-948-0234 for more info.
Bye for now,
Georgina.
July: Hello everyone - I doubt whether
many of you are into painting right now with the
weather being so glorious (well at least it is as
I write this!) but I thought I'd share with you
my new "sky" technique. Over the years
I have painted many skies but the one I just
finished for a young family was probably the
easiest and the most effective. Clouds when
painted can end up looking cartoon-like and too
whimsical this method eliminates that.
PAINTING
CLOUDS
First of all paint your walls with a vibrant blue
such as General Paint's "Brewster Blue"
#7044M or Benjamin Moore's #1419. Let the paint
cure for at least 5 days.
Then:
1. Mix 5 parts of latex glaze (I prefer
Adicolor's Wet Edge Plus which is available at
all General Paint Decor Stores and other selected
paint stores) with one part white paint (eggshell
or flat latex).
2. Dip a bunched-up rag or cheesecloth
into the glaze mix and in a circular motion start
wiping the glaze onto the wall. Work in about 3'
sections starting each section about 1' away from
the one you have just worked. To get the glaze
into the corners of the walls and where the walls
meet the ceiling, use a sash brush with a little
of the glaze rubbed into the bristles. Continue
until all walls are finished, changing your rag
often.
3. When this stage is complete the room
will already look cloudy - soft and
"wispy". Let dry completely.
4. Now mix a glaze of 1 part glaze and 1
part paint. Dip your rag into the mix but this
time take off the excess by pressing the rag onto
a dry towel. Now make harder-edged clouds by
patting the glaze onto the wall in cloud shapes.
Do not rub the glaze this time or you will lose
the cloud.
5. The combination of the two cloud
techniques makes for a lovely sky. For a child's
room you may then want to add some stars using
stencils. Buckingham Stencils "Stars"
stencil is ideal. For extra impact stencil some
stars in Glow in the Dark paint - Delta brand is
excellent.
I'm off to Houston, Texas on July 19th to teach
at a painting convention. I hope to come back
laden with new ideas!
In the meantime, try and catch me on the VTV
Breakfast Show on Friday, August 4th when I will
be demonstrating the sky technique.
Enjoy this lovely weather!
Georgina.
June: Hi
Everyone! Georgina here - back from a week in
Montreal where my good friend Linda
Buckingham and I were there to complete a mural
for Gilda's House, a place for cancer patients
and their families to meet for some quiet time,
guidance or counseling. Our efforts will be
featured on an upcoming Painted House show with
Debbie Travis so keep tuned and I'll let you know
when it'll be aired. Anyway, back to
business! This month Room Service is
pleased to offer you quick and easy instructions
on how to create "etched" glass. This
method can be applied to windows, glass doors,
mirrors and, on a smaller scale, glassware.
CREATE
"ETCHED" GLASS
Step 1:
Clean your glass with a glass cleaner, rinse and
dry.
Step 2:
Take a stencil of your choice or create your own
using freezer paper and a utility knife.
Lightly spray the back of the stencil with
repositionable stencil adhesive spray and
position the stencil onto the glass. (If you are
using a freezer paper stencil you will need to
cut the design out directly onto the glass).
Step 3:
Using Delta's PermEnamel Glass Etching Paint Kit,
apply a coat of the Surface Conditioner through
the stencil and dry with a hairdryer.
Step 4:
Using a high-density foam stencil roller load
your roller with the White Frost and remove the
excess onto a paper towel. Now roll the White
Frost through the stencil and again dry with a
hairdryer. Repeat. Remove stencil.
You have now created a perfect etched glass look
with little effort. This should not be cleaned
for a couple of weeks to allow the etching to
cure. Should you tire of your design then simply
remove with a razor blade and create a new look!
If you would like to see this demonstrated - tune
into the VTV Breakfast Show on Friday, July 7th
where I'll be doing this project on air!
See you next month!
Georgina.
May: Hi everyone, good to
"see" you! We
finally have some decent weather upon us and with
that in mind and with this season of garage sales
and flea markets upon us, there are lots of
interesting pieces of furniture out there just
begging to be refinished. For a few bucks and
some free time (I know - what IS that exactly?)
turn someone's junk into a work of art. Before
re-staining or painting, some pieces may just
require a light sanding but some will need
stripping. Paint and hardware stores carry a good
selection of strippers (cue for Fred &Gerry
to utter something unseemly!), some of which are
more pleasing to use than others so do ask the
store staff which one they would recommend.
If you have had to use a paint stripper I would
then suggest washing the piece down with a TSP
solution just to make sure all the grime has been
removed. Then dry thoroughly and Voila you are
now free to start being creative. This could take
on many forms: you could re-stain (I really like
using the Gel Stains by Old Masters or Varathane-
they simply glide on), straight paint, create a
nice faux finish or stencil - not to mention
combining some of the finishes. Also, a fabulous
crackle can now be achieved really easily using
Adicrackle by Adicolor - this new product allows
you to back roll the crackle whereas before you
had to be so careful not to go over the layer you
had already applied - very hard if you're not
too disciplined (like me!). Adicrackle is
available at all General Paint Decor Stores.
June:
Hello everyone,
Sorry for the long silence, finding the time to
sit down is proving to be almost impossible these
days. To those of you who came to see me at the
West Coast Women's Show, I hope you enjoyed the
show and it was good chatting with you. The show
was certainly in a nice venue down under the
"sails" although the constant blowing
of the cruise ships' horns certainly made you
jump!
Since then, Linda Buckingham and I have been in
Savannah, Georgia. We were invited to put on two
seminars for PassageMaker magazine who have taken
a keen interest in Linda's new book
"Beautiful Boat Crafts". The first
seminar was a little stressful to say the least.
It was held in a large tent with plastic windows
- the temperature was over 100 degrees and the
airconditioning kept giving out! When it did
work, it blew us all over the place! Also, the
main part of the seminar was a fabulous slide
show but we couldn't get the tent dark enough to
be able to see the slides! Oh well, we made the
best of a bad job and entertained everyone
somehow! The following day proved to be much more
under control.
Anyway, down to business. With the onset of
summer we're obviously looking after outside
projects and this week I've been working on a glass patio table. The customer wanted her
favourite flowers, irises, painted onto the glass
table top so I thought I'd share the project with
you.
1. Clean the glass very thoroughly with clean
soapy water and then dry thoroughly.
2. Brush Delta's PermEnamel Surface Conditioner
over the entire area. Allow to dry.
3. If stencilling, spray the back of the stencil
with repositionable stencil adhesive spray and
lay the stencil in place.
4. Now to paint. Delta's PermEnamel range has a
huge assortment of colours and comes in either
Satin Finish for Tile, Glass and Ceramic, or
Transparent Glass Paint. I actually find that by
mixing the two together it makes for the ideal
look. The Transparent paint is very transparent
so by adding in a bit of the Satin Finish it
gives it a little more substance.
Load your stencil brush with some paint and
remove the excess onto paper towel. Start
stencilling. Build up your desired depth of
colour in layers - a hair dryer will speed up the
process.
If you are free-hand painting you'll probably
achieve the desired depth of colour in one step.
5. When you have completed the project topcoat
your design with Delta's PermEnamel Glaze.
Remember - paint takes 10 days to cure even
though it will feel hard to the touch. Do not
attempt to wash or wipe for 10 days. Should you
tire of the design at any time, a razor blade
will remove the design.
Delta's PermEnamel range is available at craft
stores. Good Luck! Don't forget to e-mail me with
any questions.
September:
with some
usefull tips
Hello Everyone, how was your summer? Mine was
very busy - spent a month in England - had it in
mind to seek out some decorating centres but only
happened to spy them when I was flying by en
route for some other destination. I did, however,
come back armed with loads of decorating
magazines which I will pore over when the kids
are back in school and I can begin to think
again!
I had heard that Britain had gone minimalist,
i.e. no fuss and very pale, bland colours. I saw
just the opposite - people not afraid to use lots
of bold colours and to mix and match them with
flair. Or is it that I just attract people with
wild ideas?! (Like Fred and Gerry!!).
Before leaving for England I managed to repaint
the kids' bathroom - the subdued yellow I chose
turned out to be anything but subdued - you'd
think I'd know by now! Moral of the story is -
when choosing yellows, go way paler than you
think you'd like it to end up and invariably
it'll turn out to be the shade you like and can
live with. Yellows, in particular, should be
painted on a sample board first and lived with in
different lights for a while. I'm now in the
process of crackling the boring white laminate
wall
cabinet and, yes, am using my favourite product
Adicrackle by Adicolor available at General Paint
Decor Stores.
A couple of tips for you:
1. Fall will be upon us before we know it so if
you have any
outstanding outdoor paint jobs, get them done as
soon as possible as we'll
soon have a heavy early-morning dew to contend
with.
2. Have seen a couple of striping jobs recently
that could've
benefitted from a little tip. Once you have
positioned your painters tape
(I prefer Kleenedge Wet Paint Tape) in stripes on
the wall, using a
high-density foam roller, seal the edges of the
tape with the wall-colour
paint and let dry before fauxing, shadowing with
urethane, or painting the
exposed stripe. Whatever seeps under the painters
tape will then be the
wall colour so when you finally remove the tape,
you will have perfectly
crisp edges.
3. If you are deciding on new paint colours for
your home, do buy a
litre of your chosen colour and paint up some
sample boards and place them
around the room and look at them in all lights.
It's amazing how different
they will appear to be at different times of the
day and under natural or
electric light. This is a much safer and cheaper
way of deciding if you like
a colour than rushing out and buying a gallon of
paint having chosen it from
a one-inch colour chart and slapping it on the
wall! (Take it from someone
who's done it too many times!).
Bye for now and don't forget to e-mail me with
any questions.
Georgina.
georgina@theworkshop.net
Spring
Well some time has passed since we last spoke and
I am now the proud owner of a new computer which
is already making my life a lot easier! I
must admit I developed somewhat of a mental block
with regard to sitting down and typing after
having been up a ladder all day or in my workshop
up to my neck in paint!
Anyway, Happy New
Year to everyone, let us hope its successful,
peaceful and creative!
Have been working on
so many varied projects that it's hard to know
where to begin. I think my favourite
project lately was the 200 square foot fresco I
created for a fabulous family in North Delta.
Having built their
single storey (but very large!) home 10 years ago
and having lived with white walls, white kitchen
and white floors for all that time they decided
that time was right to add some colour (I think
they made the right decision!). They
decided upon 3 shades of taupe throughout the
main living areas and hallways ranging from the
light to the dark and a feature wall in dark
green. This is where I came in. They
had this huge monolith (white!) separating the
kitchen from the family room which incorporates
the gas fireplace, TV, stereo, etc. and they
wanted to bring all the new colours into the
monolith adding texture at the same time.
This is what we did:
Firstly I
rough-plastered all the walls of the monolith
with Adicolor's Stucco Antico which I had tinted
to the lightest of the taupe colours. When
all the walls were covered I added some grape
leaves in various sizes (the Buckingham Stencils'
Grapevine stencil provides three sizes of leaves
- very handy!) by troweling the plaster through the
stencils.
When that had dried I
"washed" the walls with a dark green
glaze using a 3 to 1 mix of Adicolor's Wet Edge
Plus glaze and green paint. At this point
it looked very dark which was a drastic change
from the stark white. Jack, the husband,
was somewhat perturbed at this stage so I had to
convince him that it would all come together and
kept reminding him that these things take several
stages to look right (he HAD approved the sample
board by the way!).
Next day I "washed" the walls again with
the two lighter taupes - now he was happier!
Then I replaced the
stencil over the leaves and added some more
green, dark taupe and a touch of burgundy (they
like burgundy accessories) to the leaves - but
VERY subtley.
Finally I took some
sandpaper and rubbed along some of the plaster
ridges. By doing this you remove the glaze
colours to expose the colour of the plaster - in
this case the light taupe. The overall
effect is that of an aged wall which was hugely
in contrast to the ultra-modern look of the
original monolith.
It was a huge job but
hugely satisfying and the customer was delighted!
Try it - but on a sample board first!
By the way -
step-by-step instructions are available from
General Paint stores in their new Great Wall
Finishes collection of brochures, as are the
products mentioned above.
Next time, I'll tell
you how I transformed an ugly brick fireplace
into a work of art!
Bye for now,
Georgina
Whatever the finish you want to
achieve, do remember to read the
manufacturer's instructions carefully -
they're there for a reason! Good
luck and go and create something amazing!
Talk to you soon, Georgina.
My next
workshops are as follows:
See you soon!
Georgina georgina@theworkshop.net
or call 604-948-0234.
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