It's chalk and chalkboard....Or is it?

 To Chalk or not to Chalk....

This is a little boy nursery, who is yet to arrive.  I was given the idea by  the client and designer,  but they wanted owls instead of lovebirds which the inspired picture showed.  They wanted baseballs and hot air balloons incorporated into the design. The room has two full walls, two doors, and the little space above the door that are all chalkboard paint.  The other two walls are white.  They were also going to be incorporating red and yellow into the room.  So I painted the trees, the owls and the hot air balloons, in paint made to look like it was chalked, but the kids ( there is also a precious two year old)  will be able to "play" too.  I love this idea for any child's room, nursery, playspace, school classroom, workspace.... you name it. I truly enjoy
painting this kind of fun space! 

Door Wall where crib will go

 To the left is the close up image of ball throwing owl

 In this image, the two little baby owls look on to see who gets to catch

This guy is hoping it comes to him.

These little owls have either taken leave of the game or they are just in time...

They are on the white wall, so the paint is charcoal.

Wallpaper removal UPDATE

Okay, I made it, a little worse for the wear, but I Made it!  As for the archaelogical dig and searching for buried treasure, all I found were some contractors notes on the drywall, NOT such a prize after all.  I think it should be written into law that only people who hang wallpaper should be the ones to have to remove it....  I won't be one of those people and I have given my accountability partner, CHAD,  instructions to enforce that law to me if I should mention ever again, that I am going to remove any wallpaper anywhere!   A humbling practice in patience that I will take with me to the next endeavor and I'm sure be better for it, but no more wallpaper for this gal!

Until we meet again,

JD 

Wallpaper Removal....

Have you ever had one of those days when you realize you DON'T know everything? I'm not a big fan, but I had one of those yesterday.  The best thing about it is that afterwards if your diligent, you come that much closer to knowing everything:).  So for me this day involved tackling a job not unlike many others I have done before.  I am booked solid for the next four weeks, so I booked the "easy" one first, it was a mini half bath, one layer of wallpaper to be removed, put a finish treatment on walls. Piece of CAKE.  I very much dislike stripping wallpaper, but sometimes it comes with the job, so I do it.  However, yesterday I came to realize that the act of stripping wallpaper is exactly like childbirth, or just as painful, only with no sweet reward at the end.  But I mean in the way that you completely forget just how painful it is until you do it again.  I thought since it was only one layer and it was a tiny room, I would have that baby stripped by noon, but I gave myself a buffer and planned to be working on it until 1:00. Well, soon after I started stripping and the wallpaper was coming off in quarter size pieces with a struggle, I started to think this mini half bath looked more like the state of Texas, not to mention my 1:00 finish time seemed laughable.  It turns out that the only thing separating the one layer of wallpaper from the wallboard was a flat primer which the wallpaper glue had decided to love and marry forever, so I was not only stripping wallpaper but the wallboard paper as well. Now this job has turned from a 3 day job into a week at least, and I don't have that long, so I went to research what to do.  I found this great site that explained the differences between types of wallpaper.  Apparently there are 3 types| 1. Strip able which peels off in big sheets when you pull on a corner. (In which case, the author suggests opening a bottle of chanpagne:)) 2. Peel able which is where you are able to pull of f the top layer in big sheets, but it leaves the paper backing, which you just soak and it scrapes off without too much trouble. And 3. Traditional, which is like newspaper super glued to your walls that you have to pull of in quarter size pieces. ( that is actually my interpretation since I deduced I had the 3rd one.)  If you ask me the author had that backwards because a nice cold bottle of bubbly could have only helped my situation. Since I don't consider that to be a sound professional strategy, I simply decided to turn up my iPod louder and imagine I was on an archaeological dig.   Even now that I am armored with all this knowledge, it doesn't change at all the fact that I will be spending the next four days and nights in this tiny space hard at work digging for buried treasure.  However, I can share so that others may be spared....  If you are preparing to either wallpaper a room, have a room wallpapered or strip wallpaper in a space, you need to determine what kind you have and under no circumstances whatsoever, should you hang traditional wallpaper. I don't care how cheap it is, or how much you love it and think you will never want to change it!   Don't do it!  If you are removing wallpaper, check in a hidden spot and see what kind it is and if it fits the description of #3, you would be better off to patch any rough spots or seems and use a fine sander and sand the walls until smooth and then paint or paper over it.  I would never suggest doing something because it is easier if that meant that you would have to sacrifice quality of the end result, but in this case, I think it is better for the walls to not strip it.  If it is hard to remove, you risk getting it too wet, and gouging the wallboard.   Good luck!

Until we meet again,
JD
::

a few things I have been up to....

Well, spring and summer are always busy times for re-dos.  I love this time of the year because I get the awesome privilege of getting to "play" in peoples homes and businesses and do my thing. Lately, I have been busy in the workshop and on location so here is a sprinkling of some of the projects I have been working on...

on left is a peek of the sky view on ceiling, and on right is a paper mache' hot air balloon accent by the window.  Below is a full view of the wall with windows, where I did the dimensional striping and the painted window frames, Carrie Murtha is the homeowner and an artist herself.  She did all of the painting on the furniture and put all the accents in the room.  She is so much fun to work with and always gives me super fun projects to do in her Amazing home.

o

                                               Baby Nursery for "Baby Bear Murtha" 2013

                                                  beginning of a mural project I am working on

                                                           with students of mine, so much fun:)

 I have somehow in the land of technology "lost" the before picture of this bathroom vanity, but if I can paint a picture for you, it was just PLAIN, as in PLAIN UGLY.   It was natural oak cabinetry and a beige vanity, and plain walls, and a square mirror with no frame as was installed by the builder.  So, the solution to add a little liveliness to this area was to paint and renew the vanity to look like poured concrete, add a wood wall, new antique mirror, and bronze sink and hardware.  I also found the "coolest"  HAND towel holder.  I loved it so much I bought two and the other one will go in the Mini Bar Transformation, if you are following that post.

Base coat layer

faux layer

finished view

close up of faux

 BLUE GRASS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is first of all an incredible non-profit organization that I can totally get behind. The people there are wonderful and their mission and their cause is so cool. Their mission statement is DO GOOD.  They pair up generous donors with charitable causes that are close to their heart and most of the monies stay local and impact our community in a positive way. Anyone can set up a donor account there, and they will match you up with causes important to you.  So it was a great experience to get to work on their space under the design on the GREAT and SUPER COOL Blake Eames from BLAKE EAMES DESIGN.  My part was the striped walls that served to bring together this very long corridor of a  space.

entry view

entry to the right

middle wall

close up of stripe pattern

 

back wall and entry to kitchen

 Teaching Students and sharing my love of art has become a big part of my days and weeks, I have found that it is an area that is lacking in our culture.  Not too many art teachers out there, outside of schools, and in schools, it is a low priority.  I have met so many wonderful art lovers who seem to thirst for this outlet.  These are a few of my talented students and some of their recent work.

I have lots of other projects in the works that need updating, but don't have final pictures yet.  So stay tuned, Until we meet again.
                                                                         

SCORE! The MINI Bar Progress continues...

 LOOK WHAT I FOUND:
I am very excited to show you what I found for $3.99.  This is my cool art nouveau Ice Bucket for the MINI Bar.  It is beautiful in amber, but I am still toying with whether to paint it with mercury glass paint or not.... I think I may just leave it as is.  I also found this awesome towel holder, but I don't have it yet, so I won't reveal it.  This past winter I have searched and searched for all the missing parts that I need to complete this transformation and those two are all I have come up with.  So far, the casting of the handles I want is not perfect, so i will continue to try to master that skill, and to look for ones that already exist.  There also is no such thing as hinges with a 90 degree stay for downward opening shelves, so my shelves will not be suitable for holding drinks, as they have a slight downward tilt.  It is ever so slight, but enough for a top heavy glass of wine to go tumbling, so I cannot use the shelves for that purpose, but still working on that design. Also, it is decided that the glass rack that hangs from the top cannot be lucite or clear, due to limits on sizes, it must be wood, so since that will cover the sky ceiling, I am going to just go with the wood, but paint it to match the sky ceiling.
This is one of those projects that I very well may be still playing with when I am old, but the truth is that I am having fun even at this pace.
Until we meet again...

SWITCH: THE NEW LED LIGHT BULBS

Do you want to be energy conscious, but you can't deal with the bluish LED lights, and you have bought into the idea that Eco friendly bulbs lasts for years, but bought them only to have them blowout on you.  Want to iron your shirt, but you have to wait longer for the light to come on than the iron to warm up?   YEP, me too!

The solution:
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15ScE5sLofw

Introducing an LED light that can be used in dry or damp environments in nearly any fixture including recessed and enclosed applications to provide full warm, soft light wherever needed.  It works with most dimmers, bringing control to light and energy use in each space.

It produces beautiful glowing light, but even the bulb itself is a work of art!  It comes in 8, 12, and 18.5 watts, and 21 which are comparable to 40, 60, 75, and 100 watt incandescent.  You can choose between clear or frosted bulbs, and between 2700k and 4000k.  The difference is the 2700k make everything look great with a warm natural light, and the 4000k version brings white light to more functional spaces, but neither has that bluish cast that most LED's are known for.
The bulbs cost anywhere from $25-$50 a piece, but over the life of the bulb, which is on average 22 years, you will save about $150.00.  

This bulb is like something from the Jetsons, it is super cool, and I mean that literally.  You see, this little engineering feat of genius is ... Just that.... GENIUS.

It has a metal base that is shaped like an ice cream cone which drives heat up through the base and up to the top, then it comes back down through the bulb through liquid food-grade silicone, which then cools the bulb, so it doesn't burn out and thus saves energy.  This same liquid silicone is used in food products, cosmetics, and for cooling large machinery and power plant equipment.  It is electrically non conductive, non-toxic, and non-staining. If the bulb should break, it won't hurt you or your kids, or your pets, and it won't hurt the earth either.

If you ask HOW DID THEY DO THAT?
The answer is..... 86,000 hrs of research and development, 1600 FAILED experiments, dozens of consultants, 11 engineers working for over 3 years, 1100 cases of soda, 400 pizzas, 30,000 LED chips, and 26,000 cups of coffee (approximately:)

If you can't stomach replacing all of your bulbs at once, start with ONE, and MAKE THE SWITCH!

As always, if you need to know where to buy ask me and I will find out who sells them in your area.

Until we meet again...

Review on Cork... To choose or not to choose...

Cork is a natural material that is harvested from the bark on living cork trees, which store carbon, so they continually renew their bark.  No trees are harmed in the harvesting of cork.

Cork contains a naturally occurring substance called Suberin that repels bugs, mold, mites, and even termites. This waxy substance also prevents cork from rotting even when completely submerged in water for long periods of time. Suberin also makes Cork fire-resistant and also does not release any toxic gases upon combustion.

Cork is compressible and elastic and will retain its original shape even after being compressed for a long time just like a wine cork!

Cork is made up of millions of cellular compartments that hold air. These tiny compartments seal air in each one insulating each from the other with a moisture resistant waxy like substance.  This property of cork makes it a thermal insulator (reducing heat loss in a room & even body heat loss through feet), a  sound reducer (reducing impact sound as well as sound transmission), and makes it extremely durable.

If you were just looking for a product that was extremely durable, renewable, great for sound quality and thermal insulation, fire and water resistant, then I could stop right there and this would be the product for you hands down, but i have saved the BEST for last.

Cork is not just a floor product, it is great for walls, and ceilings, and even custom furniture applications.  It is great to use in recording studios, entertainment rooms, and any other space where sound reduction is needed.  The air contained in all those cells provides a cushioned feel underfoot and also helps the surface retain close to room temperature, so it feels warm on your feet.  This makes it a great choice for areas where people are standing for long periods of time.

The choices of colors and designs and sizes that are now available create limitless possibilities for unique color combinations and designs.  Almost any design that can be made with tile can be made with cork, which allows opportunities for logo creation in floors and walls, and way-finding and color coding along pathways in offices and commercial installations.

Cork is easy to install, comes in glue-down tiles, and also seamlessly interlocking floating floor planks. Cork is also very reasonably priced and affordable.  I would absolutely recommend this product above hardwood or tile.  These benefits listed here wouldn't mean much if it weren't a beautiful, long lasting product, but it IS.

My Cork Flooring Top Choice is Globus Cork  at www.corkfloor.com to find a dealer in your area.

Hope this review was helpful to you!
Until we meet again...