Small Cabinet Continued...

Thanks for your patience and continued support everyone! I'm getting back on track. My thumb has healed. The weather has cooled. Portlanders don't do well during major heatwaves. Many of us don't have homes with a/c so we suffer through with swamp coolers, spritzer bottles and cold washcloths. Now that it's cooler I can turn the studio lights on and work comfortably. I've also been paying more attention to all the other millions of "to-dos" on my list. But here we are, moving onward!

The cabinet is painted - a nice fresh coat of white. The doors go back on tomorrow. I soaked the hinges in paint thinner to get the layers of paint and grime off of them.

The design for the vinyl has been selected. I decided on a grouping of chrysanthemums which are feminine and work with the feminine curves at the bottom of the cabinet. The design was chosen from a Dover Sampler and I increased the size on my copier to test the scale on a photocopy of a cabinet picture. 150% did the trick.

click on pictures to see larger size

I then traced the design onto tracing paper to visualize how the piece will turn out. I liked it. I measured the width of the design which is 6.5". Then I measured the actual cabinet which is 29.5" wide. Using my handy proportional scale I matched up the original size (6.5") with the size of the cabinet (29.5") and knew my design needed to be blown up 450% to transfer the design onto the cabinet.


450% copy increase requires a trip to FedEx/Kinkos to use their oversize black and white copier. Now I'm ready to transfer the design onto the vinyl.


Stay tuned for more....

What's happened to the cabinet?

Wondering how the progress is coming along? Well, I confess, I'm a pussy when it comes to the heat and just as I was getting ready to work on the cabinet the heatwave hit Portland. Since many Portlanders don't have a/c we suffer through, complaining a lot. Three days in a row the thermostat inside our house registered over 90. So, I'm here, I just haven't been productive or moving much because I'm sick of sweating. Seriously, I don't even want to turn on the studio lights because I know they'll heat up the space. Don't you feel sorry for me? This week looks a lot more promising, forcasting 80s and possibly some rain on the way.

To top things off this week, I ended up in the ER on Thursday after the avocado pit won over the knife - too bad my thumb got in the way. No tendons harmed, and I talked them out of stitches - so I now have steristrips healing the deep cut.



I know, I know... you're going to tell me the best way to remove the pit from an avocado. I've done it the way chefs do it for years... this time it was just too slippery for my own good.

in the meantime....

This brought a smile to my face this morning. See you all soon.

Progress...

Painting is in progress. I know, it looks the same, except you saw pictures of it with primer. This last week did not progress as I had hoped. I dream of a separate spray booth inside my large, expansive and light-filled dream studio. For now, I have to spray in the wild outdoors. Good thing this cabinet has seen better days and I'm not claiming it's a perfect piece of furniture. Each time I had scheduled to spray a layer it would be extremely windy. I finally snatched a few still mornings to spray on some coats. Other moments of free time during the week were spent driving from store to store looking for wood grain vinyl. Who knew it would be so hard to find? Yesterday, Fred Meyer pulled through. I'm sure all the other locals and stores I visited are stocked up now that I've been there asking for wood grain contact paper.

During free time this week I will sit down and map out a design for the vinyl.

In the meantime I have resumes to post, a client to visit, transfer my website to a new host, continue my journey of unravelling, and catch up on my e-course with Marisa.

Survey Results - Vinyl Wood Grain Cut-Outs!

Looks like contemporary vinyl wood grain cut-outs are the winning selection, unless there's another surge of voters looking with interest in decoupage. So... next week I'm going to get crackin' on a finish inspired by these.


Thanks everyone for visiting and helping me make the selection. It was my choice too.

Survey - Refinished Furniture

This small cabinet needs help. It needs your help. Please help me decide what type of finish I should create. This will be fun. You help me choose, and I will take you on a step-by-step journey through its makeover. Are you game? Browse through the inspirations below and select your choice in the survey.

Keep in mind the cabinet has some challenging lines in the front - it's not completely symmetrical in design. The two small drawers on the top left don't align in the center of the cabinet like the doors. The top is enamel so it will remain white, with the black edge dictating the color choices.

Here are the inspired finishes. Click on the photos to enlarge.

A. Contemporary silhouettes with vinyl wood grain cut-outs

B. Stenciled silhouettes birds, people or landscape

C. Decoupage
D. Painted with highlighted trim

E. Crackle
F. Distressed painted finish with stencils in the center of the doors

G. Distressed metallic finish
H. Contemporary bold graphic all over design

Thank you for participating. I'm looking forward to your answers.

Picture sources:
A. Domino Magazine
B. Creative Home & Flickr (Workclothesband)
C. Martha Stewart
D. Domino Magazine
E. Country Home
F. Country Home
G. Metropolitan Home
H. House Beautiful

Unraveling, Self-Discovery, The Story Continues

Hi! I'm dropping in to say hello. I'm here. I don't want you to think this is a "shop" left unkept. I've been busy; reinventing, growing, finding anew, creating and living.

In May I started Unravelling with Susannah Conway which took me on a journey of self-discovery in a way that I did not anticipate. Before starting her 8-week course I was already at a crossroads. Wondering how to revive my business during this economy. Wondering how to reinvent myself professionally and artistically. Wondering if I should stay put or venture on. I've been stuck in a rut of comparison. The journey of unraveling took me on several highs and lows. Then of course when the work got tough I found a distraction and started purging. It all started when the course asked me to relive a memory and I went searching for a particular picture in my belongings. I cleaned out my entire storage space then carefully started to purge while spending time with all these material possessions which I had not seen in five years. There are now 18 boxes sitting in my living room and studio space waiting for next week's garage sale. I'm excited about having more space. Not space to fill with more belongings... I just wanted to feel lighter. During that exercise of purging I realized that many of the belongings I adore were tucked away and not visible for me to admire. Well, that has changed. My Suzy Root pieces are hanging up. My Tonka collection has been dusted and photographed. Now the purging is done, the unraveling continues...


So, just after I started Unravelling I signed up for In The Fish Bowl, an e-course offered by Marisa Haedike of Creative Thursday. I'm finishing up an intense self-journey. I'm about to embark on reinventing myself and figure out how I can become an online artist, and the phone rings. It's a former client that wants to have their large master bedroom transformed. I was off working on that project for two solid weeks; painting their ceiling, skimming out the textured orange peel walls, and applying a LusterStone finish.

Well, I'm back and as I said before - I don't want you to think this "shop" is left unkept. I've got a few ideas for posts. Is there something you'd like to see from me? Have you been wondering about how many finishes I can create with LusterStone? Did you miss me talking about LusterStone and how much I love it? Is there another product or finish you'd like to hear about?

For now we have some celebrating of independence to do here in the States. I'm going to spend the weekend celebrating with friends and try to stay cool during our sunny, 90 degree heatwave. I'll have something to share next week.

Thank you for sticking around. And I'm serious... if you want to ask me anything, request some kind of finish, or need to know how to patch your plaster wall - just ask!