ONE OF MY VERY FAVORITE SONGS!!

I love "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz!! Whenever it comes on, I can't stand or sit still and the music makes me so happy!!  "won't you scooch on over dear"... Such a cute song and I love, love, love the music!! When I was little and sleeping with my grandmother, she would say "scrooch on over here". "I'm Yours" always makes me smile and think about her.

MAKING VALENTINE HEART WREATHS

This is the time of year I usually start making valentine heart wreaths. Several years ago, I made patterns and still use them today. But, I do change the textures I put on the hearts, just to have a new look. To make these hearts is a LOT of work. There are several steps and I do texture and paint both sides, in case a client wants to hang them on a glass door. You can hang them just as they are, or you can put flowers and ribbons on them and that makes a really festive/valentine's greeting for your guests when they knock on your door!!

A SPECIAL DAY!

Is cloudy and cold today, but good food and lots of family and friends stopping by has warmed my heart and home. One special friend is home, on leave from the Marine Corps and so nice visiting with him. He's getting to spend lots of time with his beautiful two year old Sophie. He'll be leaving again soon, and has to spend a lot of time on a ship this time. One friend has both of her children with her for the first time in several years and is very happy and thankful this Christmas. I'm thankful today for the love and camaraderie I'm feeling from family and friends.

FRIENDS

     Such a special time of year! Lots of old friends getting in touch and visiting. My friend, Paul (extended family), is down from Oregon visiting his son's family. His son is in medical school here and going to make such a fine dr. They came by with the 20 month old towheaded wonderful twin grandsons. Such beautiful little boys!!! They've taught them a little bit of sign language and very interesting watching them communicate both ways.  
     Hoping everyone has a wonderful Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Re-Do on Rubbed Green Cabinet

 Well, they decided they wanted this stairwell cabinet, (posted earlier), old and distressed. Sooo, I painted it old and distressed. I love doing this kind of special finish.

Rubbed Green Special Finish on Cabinet

Just finished painting a special finish on this cabinet. It's next to a darkly stained wooden stairwell and the risers have different tiles of brown and green. The cabinet looks really nice with the stairwell, tiles and surrounding decor. Also, I embossed flowers and leaves on the top of each door.

MANTEL I PAINTED TO LOOK VERY, VERY OLD

  This is the mantel I shared earlier on my blog, when I had only primed it. Finally finished it today and it looks sooo good with the wallpaper and carpeting in this newly built home. Also, a close up photo of the faux "old" finish I  painted. I really love doing "aged/old" finishes. The client and designer were also very happy with the way the mantel turned out.

BLACK & GOLD DISTRESSED CABINET I PAINTED FOR THIS ELEGANT POWDER ROOM

This is the black and gold cabinet that I painted and shared earlier on my blog. It has finally been installed in the beautiful powder room. I painted the cabinet black and rubbed away the black in areas so the original stained wood would show through, to match the faux woodgrain sink they installed on top. The mirror to be installed is black and gold, also. So proud of this! This cabinet was built a long time ago by my client's grandfather and she found a wonderful way to use it in her new home.

ANTIQUE CABINET & MIRROR I PAINTED FOR THIS ELEGANT POWDER ROOM

This is a beautiful upstairs powder room. I painted the antique cabinet and mirror to match the green in the birds and leaves on the wallpaper. (I do believe this little cabinet used to be the top of an old bureau.) This is a close up of the aged finish I painted. I aged the bright green paint with an anqituing glaze that I mixed and love how it turned out! These greens are my colors!!! Love these greens!

TOP HALF OF PANTRY DOOR I PAINTED TO AN OLD/AGED FINISH

This is the top half of the pantry door. It's leaning against a cabinet in my studio. And, this opening is where the painted glass panel will go. I am waiting for it to be picked up so it can be installed and will take more photos after it's installed in the beautiful new home. (15,000 sq. ft. of fabulous new home!!! being built.) This door was a primed white door and I painted it to look very old, like it came out of an old french pastry or cake shop.

PANTRY DOOR I PAINTED TO AN OLD/AGED FINISH

This is the bottom half of the pantry door I painted to look very old, like it came out of an old french pastry or cake shop. It was a primed white door when I started.

FINALLY!! FINISHED PAINTING THIS GLASS DOOR PANEL

FINALLY!!  finished designing and painting this glass panel that goes in an 8' tall pantry door that I painted a special finish to make it look very old. Many hours involved in this project.

PAINTING ON GLASS INSERT FOR PANTRY DOOR

I'm painting an 8' tall pantry door to make it look very old and worn. This is a 4'6"x 20" glass insert for the pantry door. I designed and had to make part of my stencils. When my template is dry, I will freehand over everything, so it looks old, too. It will say La Patisserie...(the cake shop). Lots and LOTS of measuring and hours involved in this project!!!

CLOSE UP VIEW OF KITCHEN CABINET I PAINTED FOR JACKIE

This is a close-up of the special finish I applied to Jackie's kitchen cabinets. I love doing this finish because it's unique and very durable. Also, fits in the style of her beautiful home.

KITCHEN CABINETS I PAINTED FOR JACKIE

Just finished painting Jackie's kitchen cabinets. The finish was oak and stained that orangey red color and she hated it!! I had to think about shades of brown that would still blend with her mahogany, reddish shutters and flooring. She will be replacing her chandelier and get knobs for the cabinets. Looks very nice now and she's very, very happy! I also painted her kitchen island a soft blue to match the fabric in her kitchen. Photo of the island is below this posting.

KITCHEN ISLAND I PAINTED FOR JACKIE'S KITCHEN

KITCHEN ISLAND I PAINTED FOR JACKIE'S KITCHEN

This is Jackie's kitchen island.

 I painted it a soft blue to match the fabric in her kitchen and embellished it with black and metallic gold. It looks like a fine piece of furniture now, instead of a kitchen cabinet.

(Remember:  metallic paints reflect, depending on how the light is hitting the piece of furniture)

CHEST I PAINTED FOR A POWDER ROOM

Many years ago, my client's grandfather built this chest and it was stained brown wood. I painted it black and distressed it so the stained wood would show through the black. And, I painted the metallic gold artwork to match the wallpaper in the room. They will put it in a powder room and the vessel sink that will sit on it has a faux wood finish and will match the distressed areas coming through the black. I will take more photos after it's installed in the powder room of their new home. 

FURNITURE I PAINTED FOR A POWDER ROOM

These pieces are the first cabinet and mirror.  The color I painted, matches the birds in the wallpaper in this powder room.  After it's installed, will take better photos.  These pieces, I painted and then added a light glaze to age them a little and that's the way the birds on the wallpaper look, too.  The background on the paper is white and the designer chose a white vessel sink to sit on top of the cabinet.

ANTIQUE FURNITURE I'M PAINTING FOR TWO POWDER ROOMS

      I'm painting two antique cabinets and one antique mirror to go in two different powder rooms in a home being built by my client.
     The first one seems to have been the top of an old bureau and will hang on the wall. A vessel sink will go on top of it and the antique mirror will go above it.
     The second one is an old sideboard that my client's grandfather built many years ago. I'm painting this one with a black distressed finish and using a metallic "old gold" for the trim. Am distressing it so the original brown stain comes through, especially on the edges and they will be putting a vessel sink on top of it that has a wood looking finish on it. Will look really good with the wood color coming through the black paint on the cabinet.
     One of my favorite things is to paint furniture and these pieces are so beautiful! Will post photos in the next couple of days, when I've finished painting these cabinets and mirror.

JULIA'S KITCHEN

I just finished painting Julia's kitchen again. I have painted for Julia for about 20 yrs. Didn't do a special finish on her cabinets, just regular oil based paint. What's special about Julia is, she's going to be 95 in Oct. and putting a fresh coat of paint and changing the color a little was important to her. She's sharp as can be and still drives to the mall and church, etc. Hope I'm like Julia when I'm 95!

CINDY'S NEW KITCHEN ( AFTER)

Looks GREAT!! now and they're very, very happy with their new kitchen!

CINDY'S KITCHEN CABINETS (BEFORE)

Cindy's cabinets were pickled or white washed and had no crown molding.  They added the crown molding and new metallic backsplash. Then, I applied 5 layers of paint to create a special finish that they selected from my samples. Last thing, they added the handles. Look at them now!!

HOW TO CARE FOR NEWLY PAINTED CABINETS

Thank you, Cindy! You should treat your newly painted cabinet finish like you would treat painted furniture. Because I just finished painting the cabinets, please give them days and weeks to "cure" to a really hard finish. You can wash/wipe them with a light soap and water, but please don't let them stay wet, or use chemicals or scratchy pads on them. Your "new kitchen" should last you many years. Loved working with you, again!

CABINETS I'M PAINTING

A while back, I painted a special finish on Cindy's kitchen cabinets.  They liked the finish so much, they asked me to come back and paint the same finish on their dining room, living room and master bath cabinets.  It looks soooo nice with their decor.  I'll be finished with the sealing tomorrow and then will take photos and post them.  I really do love my work, especially when I'm finished with a job and the client is happy!