The Emergence of the Mini Bar

Ahhh, we are now in the phase I call the "Emergence".  This is the part of any transformation when I start to see that what I have sketched and envisioned for many months, is starting to come to fruition.  I literally get that night before christmas feeling at this stage, and the fact is, I think this stage is why I do what I do....  I live for this feeling.  I am only halfway there, and there is still much to do before this project is complete, but now I know IT WILL BE...   It is the process of BECOMING something else that I love.  So, enough of my dreaminess and onto the details.  I have the mirror in place, lighting, wine rack, drop down shelves, and the condiment boxes.  The electric box is back in place and ready for a blender :)!  So the artwork on the drop down shelves was inspired by old advertisements.  I am still not giving away the period style of my inspiration, but I bet you can guess based on the artwork.  I am proposing a challenge to anyone who wants to venture a guess.  The first 5 people who can guess correctly will win a $25 gift card and a picture frame!

 

This view is the left side inside door, each of the pictures drops down and could provide a place to set drinks which are ready or more prep materials, etc.  I hung a towel bar on the inside left.

This view is the right side inside door, which has one drop down shelf at the top and 2 condiment boxes, these each have room below the box for an ice pack, so that you can keep cool lemons, limes, cherries, oranges, olives, etc. The wood box is stationery, but the acrylic boxes inset are removable. 

 This view is of the trim around bottom of mirror and the base.  It is all distressed mahogany wood finish. I am getting a mercury glass ice bowl to place in this space. As you can see in the photo above, there is an electric box which allows 3 things to be plugged in...

This view is of the top trim around mirror. Above this will be the hanging wine glass rack. I am having trouble finding one that is the width I need.  I can build one out of wood, but it would obscure the view of the painted sky, so I wanted a  wire or acrylic one, and I have found some, but they are either too small or too big, so I am still looking....

A view of inside, with wine rack at bottom and low glass shelf, READY TO STOCK!  For the inside, I need to install a hanging glass rack, make a drawer, install the side arms on the drop down shelves, and place the mercury glass bowl.





 and another view of the sky ...  So there it is...
HALFWAY to BECOMING....

SOMETHING NEW.

Until we meet again...

Don't forget to put your guess in the comments section.

Paints which work best on furniture

Painting Furniture is first and foremost....FUN!  However, there are more variables in furniture surfaces than in walls, so I have found different brands work better for painting furniture.   You should always paint flat or eggshell on furniture first, then seal it, because painting with a  higher sheen makes too many stroke marks and even creates an unsightly texture, unless the piece you are painting is so flat that you can roll it on with a small roller.  So that's the BIF on sheen...

Now for my Favorites  and my NOT SO MUCH :

FAVORITES:
My very favorite paint for painting furniture used to be Ralph Lauren, but they quit making paint, so now I would have to say BEHR paint is my favorite. It works great on a variety of woods.  I think it is a great quality paint.

2nd Favorite is Sherwin Williams Duration: I probably would not buy this paint specifically to paint furniture, but I have an insane stock of paint in my studio, which I use for furniture, and I think this paint works well on wood.

3rd favorite is MYTHIC paint:  I LOVE this paint. It is a fairly new product for me, within the last year, but so far it gets 5 stars!

MARTHA STEWART PAINT:  This one is also new for me. I had tried her European paints a while back when she had Martha By Mail.  I loved them, although they were really expensive.  When I saw that she now had a line at Home Depot, I decided to put it to the test, and I think it is definitely a high quality paint, and she carries a lot of faux products, too and metallics, which I love.  Definitely so far, 5 stars!
Like I mentioned on the previous post, her REDS are incomparable to other brands.  REDS are very difficult to get good coverage, and to match in most other brands.  Her REDS are amazing.  They cover wonderful  and are so true to the swatch, that I probably will never bother with another brand on reds...

NOT SO MUCH:

I do not use Porter or Benjamin Moore, Valspar, Dutch Boy, Coronado, or Glidden on furniture.
I want to seperately discuss my experience with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint...
I have heard so much about this paint for about 9 months, I have read so many blogs about it, I have had so many people ask me about it, so I HAD to find out what it was all about.    I had to check it out, so  I went to purchase some to try.  I will tell you in a word what I think it is all about....  A RIDICULOUSLY HIGH PRICE TAG!!! Okay, that was more than one word.
 1st of all, it is only sold in boutiques, 2nd of all, you are encouraged to take a class at $60 per class, just to "learn" how to use it, 3rd, it costs $35 per quart and it is only sold in quarts, and then you have to buy the wax which is $24, for a small jar.  I finished 2 pieces of furniture with my $130.00 worth of wax and paint.  I was completely unhappy with both of them, and I had to re-do them.   The paint is (no surprise to me) "CHALKY" and doesn't cover well at all. It took 4 coats of paint on my first piece, and it still showed through in spots. I continued to try a second piece, because I really wanted to understand what people liked about this paint, only to be disappointed again.  It is just not for me...  I have finished literally hundreds of pieces of furniture and never spent that much on two pieces of furniture, either in time or actual dollars.  They market this paint also by telling you that you do not have to sand or prime with it, which is probably why it takes so many coats. If you prepare the surface correctly by sanding and priming, then it never takes more than 2 coats.

Again, this review is only based on my opinion and my experience.  People ask me these questions every day, and I thought it would be helpful to include it on my blog. I wish you all much success with your painted projects... Until we meet again....

Review on paint

PAINT. What color to choose? How much do I need? What brand should I go with? How many coats do I put on? YIKES! The choices could make you dizzy. I have used every brand of paint that I know exists. I would like to share MY OPINION on paint. I don't know how much experience makes you an expert, but I hope what I've learned might be helpful to you. I have broken my reviews down into categories based on painting various surfaces. Different paint works different on different surfaces. I also research the companies who make the paint, because eco and ethical responsibilities from a company are important to me and I do not support companies who do not act responsibly. WALLS: Favorite primer: Kilz 2 thicker than most, but by far the best coverage Favorite wall paint: Sherwin Williams duration : great coverage, nice selection of colors, good company Coronado|: beautiful colors, great coverage, good company, more expensive Mythic paint: great colors, good coverage, No VOC's, great Eco company although due to lack of preservatives and chemicals in this paint, it does not have a long shelf life, so only buy what you can use within a month. Behr: I use this one a lot because I am so familiar with all the colors, It is convenient because I am always at home depot, and because they can mix any of my sherwin Williams, Coronado, porter, or Benjamin Moore colors into behr paint. Although, I have found no discernible difference between their paint with primer and their original except the one with primer costs more. I think if you need to prime, use Kilz 2 and get it tinted to match your color. Martha Stewart Paint: good paint, consistent, great coverage and likeness in reds. Reds are difficult in most paints, they never look like the swatch and it takes so many coats to cover, but I really like the reds in Martha's paint. Benjamin Moore: good paint, but I don't use it much because it is not conveniently located to me. Porter paints: Not my favorite. Their paint does not go on well, and I find inconsistency when buying the same color twice. It never exactly matches what I had before. GLIDDEN: will not buy or use. Valspar: will not buy or use. Same problem as Glidden. It is cheap paint, and almost drippy it is so thin. They do not use as many pigments in their paint, so the colors are lackluster, and watered down. It takes about 3 to 4 coats to cover a wall, which will end up costing you way more than buying good paint to start with. I have given you some tips on choosing brands for walls here, but don't want to run on, so I will be back tomorrow with tips on brands for furniture. Until we meet again....

Freedom

Happy 4th of July Week!!!

This week we are celebrating our freedom as a country. I am so grateful for all the ways I am free. Sometimes, I even feel guilty for enjoying such freedom. I am sure that like most people though, sometimes, the things that hold me back get more of my focus. I have been spent a large amount of time this year trying to let go of those things and live freely. I thought it was something I could just decide to do, and was as simple as changing my mind.

In my bathroom, I have a bookshelf, which holds all of my favorite books. I have books about business, marketing, painting techniques, motivational books, spiritual titles, etc. etc. Every morning, as I get ready and prepare for my day, I grab a book at random, close my eyes, flip the pages, and whatever I land on, I read. It seems to become the theme of the day. So, the other day, I landed on the page in The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran, that spoke of freedom.

He says: " Ay, in the grove of the chapel and in the eye of the citadel, I have seen the freest among you wear your freedom as a yoke and a handcuff. And my heart bled within me;For you can only be free when Even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment.

Verily, all things move within your being in constant half embrace, The desired and the dreaded, The repugnant and the cherished, The pursued and that which you would escape. These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling. And when the shadow fades and is no more, The light that lingers becomes the shadow to another light. And thus your freedom, when it loses it's fetters,Becomes itself the fetter of A greater freedom."

I always teach my art students to look for the shadows, because if they paint the shadows first, it automatically creates the light or highlight above it. And sometimes it is hard to interpret the positive image without first identifying the negative one. One cannot exist alone. They are one.

So, while we are thankful for our freedoms, let us also be thankful for what binds us, For without one, we cannot know or appreciate the other...