Sunday, July 24, 2016

Seizing an Opportunity

Our house is pretty old, I think about 80 years. Eleven years ago we bought it from a fixer-up kind of guy who had purchased it in a foreclosure sale to flip. He did the minimum so it would look good enough to sell; cheap paint, cheap cabinet doors, etc. Fortunately he did install good double-pane windows downstairs. It is a very sturdy double brick house in a great neighborhood and we love it. Over the years it has been our canvas as we have added a bath, a garage, a carport, a screened porch, a garden and a studio. We have painted the entire downstairs and replaced the windows upstairs. I so want Handy Randy to make new farmhouse style cabinet doors, but first we must finish the upstairs and rebuild a fence that was damaged in an ice storm a few years ago.

All of this to say, the paint on the doors beneath the kitchen sink was peeling and looked pretty tacky. I saw an opportunity to be creative! Off the doors came and down to the studio where I copied Alisa Burke’s style.

After painting the doors with chalk paint, I used a Sharpie to draw on the panels. I sealed them with two coats of wax. The knobs were painted with enamel paint (because I had some in my stash) and multi-purpose paint.

Using the Silhouette Portrait, I cut the words from Oracal 651 Matte Black Vinyl. I learned that all vinyl is not the same. My first attempt I tried an inexpensive vinyl; it tore easily and did not adhere to the wood (So frustrating!) Then I did some research (I know, I would have saved time if I did this first) and learned Oralcal 651 is highly recommended. I can understand why! It cut smoothly, didn't tear and adhered beautifully.

I like it even if it doesn’t look as polished as Alisa’s work. If you are not familiar with her, you should hop on over to her blog and see what I am talking about!





Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Our Creative Statement

For someone who is not a “beach” person, I do spend a lot of time in Florida. (Grandchildren have a lot to do with determining one's travel destinations.) I do like the beach colors and the casual style. When I saw this at an RV park in Florida, I couldn't wait to give it a try. I had no idea where I could use it.
Hiding an ugly area while creating a way to access the roof, Hand Randy created the perfect spot, right outside my studio door.

From the ends of the pickets used to face the plant deck, he cut the bases for the letters. Using white paint, I gave each base a coat.
Then the fun started! From my stash of multi-surface craft paint, I chose beachy colors to brush over the white.  With my Silhouette Portrait, I cut the stencils for the letters. For stencils to use on wood, I use ugly contact paper that I can find really cheap at yard sales. (Okay, maybe this one isn’t so ugly, but it was cheap, 50 cents for the roll.)

I found the heavy acrylic paint and a stencil brush (instead of a sponge dauber) worked really well on the rough wood. I hand painted the shadows to give the letters more definition.

So, here you have it, our creative statement. It truly states how we feel about our 80 year old cottage.