Master Bedroom Mini Makeover from Pinterest Inspiration

Isn't it funny how we always put our bedroom décor on the back burner to everything else? Mine was painted with the best of intentions to do a cool finish on the ceiling but I've just never gotten to it.

I still like the aqua walls but the chocolate and aqua thing is getting a bit bland for me. Did I mention that part of my delay I revamping the room was the acquisition of a rescue mutt 4 years ago? You may remember from this post that she chewed up ALOT of pillows, comforters and sheet sets! When I saw this on Pinterest I loved the idea.



So my plan for this makeover will have several phases and will likely take all summer. It doesn't pay very well when I work on my own projects so paying jobs are always the priority. Here is my 6 step plan:
Bedding revamp
New finish for the trey ceiling
New lamps
Paint furniture - Thinking coral for the nightstands and cream with glaze for the dresser and armoire. Can't decide on painting the bed. I welcome your suggestions.
New paint color on trim
New artwork (likely created by me) and revamp some old accessories

We inherited this large elephant head when my mother-in-law passed away several years ago. Something she got while on safari in Africa? No, just a resin replica but I'm thinking about silver leafing him for the new makeover. (Someone really should take away my silver leafing before I try to cover my house with it.) I'm trying to talk my 17 year old into gold leafing the rims of his little Nissan 240sx. Wouldn't that be hip?!
I am contemplating making a trio of these paper flowers in varying sizes. I saw these on Little Miss Celebration's  blog.


Anyway, I hope to work on these things in between the paying jobs, painting furniture to list on Etsy, blogging and many, many afternoons at the pool this summer. You can email or message me anytime you miss me this summer. :)

Spring Madness Not to Be Confused with March Madness

I know I'm not the only blogger out there feeling the additional pressure that Spring brings. Many of us are publishing fewer posts than normal. Even if you don't blog, this is a high pressure time of year. Pressure to garden, pressure to complete projects before the kids are home for the summer, pressure to enjoy the beautiful weather (Ok, maybe that doesn't count), final exams, school wrap up, weddings, graduations...need I say more? Did your heart race just thinking about it?
So needless to say, I'm way behind. Been busy creating just not posting. My youngest graduates high school in one month. My husband turns 50 at the end of the month. I must be a trophy wife 'cause I'm no where near that age! Ha, I wish. And we typically do a big annual summer party late May. So we need to plan a graduation party, a 50th birthday party and the annual party. My head may explode!
We did get away last weekend with some of our awesome friends. This was our 4th annual wine tour! Fondly called our "One Glass at a Time" tour. Our friends, Terri and David do an incredible job planning this every year.

There are a ton of vineyards/wineries right here in North Carolina. If  you haven't checked them out you really are missing out. We drive a few hours and have lunch, then we start on our pre mapped out tour. We usually hit 3-5 places and do their tour and tasting. A few of our favorites are Laurel Gray and Raffaldini. We always meet great and interesting people.

We end close to our hotel and always have an awesome dinner. This year we dined at 21 & Main in downtown Elkin. I had their lamb chops. They were wonderful! If you find yourself in Elkin you should check it out.

Lamb chops with Mint, Broccolini and Potatoes

Monday, I drove 5 hours to Eastern North Carolina to do the annual faux finish touch up in one of my favorite clients 26,000 sq.ft. home. He is a famous author and most of you can probably guess who it is. Here's a few of my favorite finishes in his home. This is a 22K gold leafed coffered ceiling. My friends at the Gilded Planet were vey helpful on this since I had never used actual gold before. It's MUCH thinner than the imitation stuff.

22Karat Gold Leafed Coffered Ceiling

We embedded the words of the first paragraph of his most popular book in this metallic plaster wall. Very subtle but stunning. With textured products you must use adhesive stencils. Cindy can custom make anything you need over at V-mask Foils and Stencils.

 

You saw this vanity in my last post. We did a champagne leaf finish on the walls in this powder room. Silver leaf with a warm glaze to make it more of a champagne color.

 

 

This powder room was a tissue paper texture with a red metallic paint and umber glaze. We used a graphite glaze on the black trim. 

 

In this bath, we stried a blue metallic plaster, then top trowelled a cream and tan metallic plaster.

 





I spent all day Tuesday touching up minor dings in the finishes, then drove back home. It was a long day and I'm very sad to report my thighs are actually sore from going up and down steps all day. I really need to get back to boot camp.
I have a really cool project I'll be working on this week, so I'll be sure and post about it soon. It involves contemporary circles and silver leaf. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook if you want to see it as it happens.
Then late tomorrow I'm going in for a gastric endoscopy. I've been having some stomach issues for quite some time and am finally frustrated enough to have it checked out. I'll keep you posted on the results.
In closing, I will leave you with this. (My hubby got this for me.. I'm trying not to take it personally.)

 



Silk Soft Metallic Paint

You know how much I love painting with metallic paints and glazes. One of my favorite metallic paints is called Silk Soft.  It's a much softer metallic look than other metallic paints. It has the sheen of silk. I've used it on walls, ceilings, trim, cabinets and furniture.
Silk Soft is what I used on the ceiling in this previous post. I used the "Autumn Berry" color  on my kitchen ceiling a few years ago.

I randomly brushed the first coat on then added a bit of glaze mixed with the same color and ragged off the second coat. All one color but lots of beautiful variation.
I used "Asian Silk" on the chest of drawers in this post. It is beautiful on cabinets as well. Here are some cabinets previously done using silk soft. This gorgeous Bombay style vanity was done in "Cappuccino" with an "Umber" glaze.

Metallic painted vanity

 



These master bath cabinets were done using "Pale Papaya" and a "Caribbean Caramel" glaze.

 

 

 

These laundry room cabinets were a boring white laminate. The client wanted to add some color and drama. These were done in "Pumice" with a black glaze.

 



I always finish my furniture and cabinets with a polyurethane sealer to give extra protection. However this product is incredibly durable, so durable in fact, that we tried an experiment by painting an outdoor cast resin stepping stone. We painted this frog stepping stone 3 years ago. It's been through hot summer's and cold, icy winters and has held up beautifully.

 

Although this is a sponsored post my opinions are my own. I am honored to promote such an awesome product. There is nothing else out there that even compares to this product. I hope you will explore their website and the many products they offer.

A Much Needed Long Weekend at the Beach and a Green Spring!

I feel like it's been weeks since I had a real blog post. I took a long weekend away last weekend and went to North Myrtle Beach to see my parents and my sister and nieces. My 2 year old niece learned to crawl out of her pack and play, which made for interesting mornings. And I happened to mention that I couldn't believe the mosquitos were already out and I didn't like them because mosquitos suck your blood. Totally freaked out my 4 year old niece! ( I have boys, they think that stuff is cool.) We had great weather and got some stellar photos on the beach. My sister has an awesome DSLR camera that makes me drool.

Lately, my weekends have been for work over flow and things I don't get done during the week. There's always the frenzy to get everything done before you go away and then the frenzy to finish and attempt to "catch up" when you return. A delicate balance that I never seem to achieve. This time of the year my blogging may ease up a bit. I'm working hard to regain my weekends. They are after all for fun, relaxation and gardening (yes, I find gardening relaxing too). Certain gardening tasks must be done in a certain window to be effective. The weeding, mulching and planting marathon has begun.

 

Blooming Dogwood

Red Japanese Maple

Blooming Wisteria

I can't remember what this flower is. I planted it about 10 years ago and this is the first year it has bloomed. Awesome foliage too!

 

My Mom gave me some of her Amaryllis when I was visiting. Already blooming and liking it's new home. The fat dog on the right is Izzy. She was the chewer, now she just eats a lot. We've been instructed to put her on a diet. This should be interesting.

 

I love this time of the year when the sun is bright and everything is vivid green and blooming! So hopefully this explains why my blogging has slowed. I do have some exciting projects to post and some new ones in the works. Stay tuned, I will be sharing soon!

 

Turquoise Kitchen Cabinets with Eclectic Hardware on Houzz this Week

When I saw this article on Houzz, I knew I must share it with you. I absolutely love turquoise! Amazingly, it never occurred to me to paint kitchen cabinets in this color. But why wouldn't you? It's amazing!
They used a mix of hardware which is a little out there even for me. I prefer more consistancy in the hardware. What do you think about mixing several style of hardware?
The phone is busy with calls right now for homeowners wanting to paint their cabinets. Most requests I get are to paint them ivory with a chocolate glaze. It would be awesome if someone would be bold enough to paint them this way! What do you think?

Kitchen of the Week: Turquoise Cabinets Snazz Up a Space-Savvy Eat-In

Houzz- Kitchen Ideas, Bathroom Ideas and More »

Home Designs and Pictures- For Example:

Garage & Shed Ideas · Laundry Room Ideas · Home Office Ideas · Hall Ideas · Gym Ideas · Dining Room Ideas · Storage & Closets Ideas ·

Weekend Meet and Greet Blog Hop #21

I'm always excited to be invited to co-host a blog hop, but to be invited to co-host two weekends in a row to the same AWESOME blog hop is just spectacular! Laurie and Kim are the best hostesses which make for a great way to meet lots of new people! I love linking up with people all over the world! I hope you join us this weekend and find some new blogs to follow!

Welcome back to the Meet & Greet Blog Hop! Join in, meet some fellow bloggers, greet them with comments, and grow your blog with new friends!
Interested in being a Co-Host? Send an email to 2justByou@gmail.com with "Co-Host" in the subject line for consideration and include your blog link!
 

Meet Everyone! This week’s get to know you question is:
 What is the funniest thing you have heard a child say?
*Hosts* Kim - from 2 just B you: Well, we all know that kids say some crazy things...I can't really think of one thing right now, though! It's been a busy week, I guess. LOL

Laurie - from Created By Laurie: A friend of mine was introducing her 4 year old to his new brother at the hospital. When he saw his brother he asked, “Where’d you buy him?” A very cute moment

 *Co Host* Sandy – from Savard Studios: My 3 ½ year old niece told her mother that she broke up with her boyfriend because he held her hand and messed up her nails. Where do they come up with this stuff?
 
*Featured Guest* Noor – from Noor’s Place: The funniest thing a child said, well that was for me. A little girl, she said I looked like Angelina Jolie in front of my whole school. That was quite shocking because I do not look like her. I laughed so hard that everyone else was trying to figure out what was the matter. I looked a thousand times in mirror to make her statement truth. But of course, it was the funniest thing for me :)
 
What is the funniest thing you have heard a child say?
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Decoupaged Washer Necklaces and Variegated Gold Leaf Washer Necklaces

I typically hope to inspire you by posting about furniture or wall and ceiling projects that I've been working on but I do enjoy other small, low key "projects". For whatever reason, I love to paint and craft with washers. I love the graphics on scrapbook papers and many of them create really cool washer necklaces. I thought I'd post a few of my most recent ones and a few of my more popular ones.

 

Vintage Map Decoupaged Washer Necklace

Black Sheet Music Washer Necklace

Vintage Look Playing Card Diamonds Washer Necklace

Pink Chevron Decoupage Necklace



Blue Chevron Washer Necklace

 

I hope these new additions will be popular too. Which one is your favorite?

These are my two most popular decoupaged necklaces.

Off White Sheet Music Decoupaged Necklace

French Script Font Washer Necklace

 

This is my most popular "painted" washer necklace. It's not really paint. It variegated gold leafing. If you've never seen it, words can't describe it. This necklace uses the blue variegated leafing.

 

It is my understanding with variegated leafing, that they take gold leaf and expose it to heat and it creates the varying patterns and colors. I have mostly used the black and the red in the past but I had some samples of the blue and realize it is my favorite. The colors are so amazing! Like a sunset meeting the ocean. I really makes a unique piece of jewelry as well. You can see these and other decoupaged and painted washer necklaces online in my Etsy shop.

A few years ago, we did an entire dining room in red variegated leafing. This is such a dramatic finish and is absolutely stunning in old world style homes. I am planning to do this finish on  my foyer ceiling so I'll make sure I show it step by step.