Well it's all done.. The Cabinets are all painted, textured and doors are rehung and hardware repainted and installed...And I LOVE it!
My kitchen has a fresh and bright feel with a little touch of elegance that I felt it needed. Although as usual, when remodeling we discovered a few new problems.... My Dishwasher and my Fridge... no longer work. The dishwasher still does dishes and the fridge still refrigerates.. but they both clash with the new decor...SIGH! Oh Well I will have to keep my eyes peeled for a sale on a stainless dishwasher and a matching fridge.( hmmmm.. I wonder if I can Paint my fridge Stainless S
teel......)
Before!
After!!
I took this shot at an angle so you can the the relief clearly. I just love the results! We have since added a hanging Pot Rack , and laid a new floor as well. Add to that the wonderful Butcher block board I received at Christmas and I have all I need for my Little kitchen!
All thanks to a Wonderful DYI kinda Guy for a Hubby!!
I had a dear friend visit with me for the day.. we had a blast Painting My Herb Pots and making Plant Pokes... We did a lot of giggling.
K Found humor in a number of things about this project.. not the least of them being my doing anything to do with Plants. K was born with two green thumbs while I am sporting two brown ones. No one with any sense would ever accuse me of being botanically inclined, believe me. I give the word Herbicide a whole new meaning. I am botanically challenged **Admitting you have a problem is the first step** but lets put that aside for a bit and get on with the project at hand.. These lovely Herb Pots and pokes.
You will Need:
1:From the Garden Center:
You will require three Terra Cotta Rose Pots, I used the medium sized variety... Don't ask me what size they are... Oh wait!... the size is on the tag that was stuck to the bottom... they are 6 inch pots and 4 inch saucers.
Three Herbs.... of your choice.. I Have not selected my victims, I mean plants as yet.
2: From "www.decoart.com":
Deco Art All purpose Primer sealer,Warm White Paint,DecoArt Decoupage Medium (Matt), Asphaltum paint, Duraclear Satin or Matt Varnish ( as per your preference)Deco Art Chalk Board paint.
To Start: Mix Warm White paint 1:1 with some All Purpose Primer sealer. Mix well. Begin by applying a generous coat to the INSIDE of each pot. If you want the paint on the outside to remain in good shape over time, you have to seal the ENTIRE Pot inside and out, to prevent moisture from getting behind the paint. Set them aside to dry. Terra Cotta is VERY porous, so it will dry pretty quick. Then apply a coat to the outside of each pot. The sealer makes the paint a bit transparent, so three coats will likely be required to get good coverage.We are looking for a nice opaque coat. Let dry thoroughly ( I put mine under the fans for about 1/2 an hour.. that seemed to do the trick.)
Once the pots were dry I Cut out the reversed Image as close to the edge of the image as i could get and adhered ( Face Down) them to each pot with a generous coat of Decoupage Medium. I did NOT apply any OVER the the image, I just used it to stick the paper to the pot!I put them back under the fans for a bit to dry the decoupage medium well before the next step. I then used a terry cloth face cloth to gently scrub the paper off the pots, leaving the Transferred image on the pot.
Once all the Paper has been scrubbed off, let the pots dry for a few minutes before applying a coat of the decoupage medium over the entire pot, just to seal the image on.Let it dry Thoroughly.
Use a Little Asphaltum Paint thinned with L'Acrobate to apply a weak layer of antiquing over the White paint. Let them dry thoroughly.
I Used some Deco Art Chalk Board Paint to base the Small tags and the Skewers,I traced the lettering onto the tags and then used the #2 Rigger to paint the lettering with Warm White then I glued the skewer to the back of the tag with a glue gun! You Can just leave them Blank and use chalk to write in whatever you like!!
I grabbed a handful of foliage out of the Silk Arrangement(and Yes I know it's NOT Basil) on my China Cabinet to add a little colour ( I Told you I haven't selected my victims yet) and stuck in the Plant poke... And Voila!! Perfectly Pretty Herb Pots and Pokes!!
If you want to see a step by step demo of this image transfer technique.. here it is:
If you ever wondered how to update your cabinetry , within a budget and end up with something that you can live with for a long time to come.... I have the answer.it takes a few steps , but in the end it will have been worth it. This is the beginning of our Kitchen makeover, we'll post more as we go...for now this is just the first step.
step 1: Convincing your husband that Painting those tired 80's oak cabinets is the best idea to refresh your Kitchens appearance .... it's easy to accomplish, call in three of the most expensive cabinet makers in town to quote you on your "Refreshment Project"... Hubby's reluctance to "Paint Good Wood" will rapidly disappear.
Step 2: DO NOT allow hubby to select the paint colour, but you must drag him to Home Depot, and ask for his opinion and reject each one until he reaches the colour you prefer.
Step 3:Once you have hubby select the sample that you have clearly indicated as your choice. Come to a mutual understanding that your choice is quite obviously the best one, and congratulate him on his excellent taste.
Step4:Pack Suitcase.
Step:5 Before leaving for your SPA weekend with the girls,:make a list to remind hubby to remove all the hardware, clean, sand and prime the doors and boxes of all the cabinetry, and apply three coats of your colour choice to the lower cabinets, while you are away.
Step 6: Enjoy facial, Massage, manicure and pedicure, then dinner with the girls. Drink wine. Email hubby for update on his progress.Ask for pictures.
Step 7: Show pictures to the girls, Respond to email with compliments from Girlfriends, thank girlfriends with more wine.
Step 8: Enjoy final day at the Spa and celebrate the progress in your kitchen with
more wine with Girlfriends. Return home.
Step 9: Now That the hard work is done ...it is time to do the pretty stuff.We have chosen to do a stencil relief on the center panels of the Upper cabinets.So we tested the Finish on an old door, but a piece of MDF will work too.
Pictured above are the materials that I used for our Kitchen cabinet redo.... A little texture Stucco.... my favorite stencil... and "Hubby" Primed Cabinet doors. I used one of my favorite palette knives but , if your more comfortable with a taping knife than by all means use it!
Step 10:Start by taping your stencil in place on the primed surface,( a small piece just to hold it steady) then using the knife, apply a thin coat of the Stucco over the image of the stencil. Carefully remove the stencil and let the stucco dry before repositioning the stencil. Repeat this for each door and allow it to dry well.
Step 11:Lightly Sand the stencil relief to remove any sharp or loose bits, and to smooth out any rough edges. The Stucco is very hard when dry so you can be fairly aggressive with the sanding.
Step 12:Have Hubby Apply two to three coats of Your colour of choice over the relief letting ech coat dry thoroughly before applying the next.
Step 13: Have hubby Spray the existing hardware with a metal paint, the colour of your choice. Encourage hubby by reminding him that this team effort will be worth it!!
Fortunately for me , My husband has a sense of humour and enjoys DIY as much as I do...We'll post more as the cabinets are completed but thought you might enjoy this quick tutorial.
Thanks for playin in our sandbox!!
Tracy and Chuck
Monday, March 26, 2012
Spring is sprung
Da grass is riz
I wonder where dem boidies iz
Da little boids is on da wing
Ain't dat absoid
Da little wings is on da boid
Ogden Nash but most Likely Anonymous ( there seems to be some confusion as to the author)
Spring and fall are my favorite seasons... Fall with it's rich colours and crisp air,while But Spring...Now spring is full of promise and renewal.
Both seasons heavily influence my artwork. I was feeling springy today, even though it feels like January with the cold wind and the flurries today. I wanted colour, and fun and these fun tags just did the trick!
After so much traveling the past few weeks it was a pleasure to just sit and paint something fun and easy!
These will be on my site as well as available from Viking Woodcrafts, ( http://www.vikingwoodcrafts.com )and Dynasty Brush. ( http://www.dynastybrush.com ) Enjoy!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Well , In a couple of Days I am off to Las Vegas, So if you are on the Trade floor PLEASE come by and see me!! You can find me in the DecoArt Booth, Playing with NEW Products and doing technique Demos and answering questions so if you have any feel free to ask!!I am looking forward to seeing you there.
For those that aren't going to be there... Here's a little something.
While I am away.. Try your hand at one of these little projects.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
One of my Favorite parts of my Work is having the Opportunity to try out NEW PRODUCTS!! Of course BRUSHES are an artists bread and butter so it stands to reason that trying out the Newest and Coolest brushes available is the best part!! ( I LOVE MY WORK!!)
So this week I had the Pleasure of Working with "The Dynasty Palmer"
White Bristle Palmer
They are available is a variety of Sizes,Bristle types and Styles and are easy to work with, when used with a variety of Media! Below are a couple of FREE patterns for you to Download, that use the PALMER. Though they are in NOW WAY limited to just what I have done Here. They ROCK Faux Finishes like Stria, and Wood Graining.. and the WAVE Versions are Awesome for Marbles and other stone finishes.
Wave Palmer Wood Grain
Wave Palmer Marbles
I had too Much fun with these Palmer Brushes.. You have to try em out!! So DOWNLOAD the Patterns Below, and Go Check out DYNASTY BRUSH for more ideas , How to Videos and a whole lot of GREAT Brushes and Inspiration!!
The FREE E Pattern I posted seems to have generated a LARGE volume of questions this week... So I thought I would post a video Tutorial for this Image transfer technique! Have fun with it!!
If you're looking for the Free E Pattern you'll find it on my website http://www.tracymoreau.com
under FREE E Patterns!!
Ok so it has been a busy week, but I am back in the studio and thought after reading a Stack of messages about the last post, that you would like a quick pattern for the Image transfer technique!! So try your hand at this pretty baguette tray. It's really easy to do and quite effective!!
It is available on my Website, under FREE E PATTERNS. TRACYMOREAU.COM So get yourself a bottle of DECOUPAGE From DecoArt and go down load the pattern!!
I Used some Deco Art Chalk Board Paint to base the Small tags and the Skewers,I traced the lettering onto the tags and then used the #2 Rigger to paint the lettering with Warm White then I glued the skewer to the back of the tag with a glue gun! You Can just leave them Blank and use chalk to write in whatever you like!!
The FREE E Pattern I posted seems to have generated a LARGE volume of questions this week... So I thought I would post a video Tutorial for this Image transfer technique! Have fun with it!!
Ok so it has been a busy week, but I am back in the studio and thought after reading a Stack of messages about the last post, that you would like a quick pattern for the Image transfer technique!! So try your hand at this pretty baguette tray. It's really easy to do and quite effective!!
