Bedroom Mural Two

Ok, here is step one.  I have the bed and the top platform moved back out of my way.  Now I must prep the wall.  What you are seeing is typical wall board used in trailers.  I washed everything down and now I am applying a coat of Kilz.  Once this dries, I apply two coats of my basecoat paint......which is nothing more then regular wall paint in a robin's egg blue. color.

This is the first coat of glaze.  I applied various washes of blue, green, yellow, and brown.  While the glaze is still wet I applied saran wrap.....remove the wrap and then soften the remaining texture with large, soft dry brush.  I then go back and very loosely add some foilage.....again softening with  a soft dry brush.

I know it does not look like much.....yet.....but I am pleased and tomorrow I will start sketching in some of the middle and foreground areas.

Let the Mural Begin

Today is finally the day.  We made it to Dallas and we will be here for another two weeks.  Time to get started on the bedroom mural.  Today will be spent moving the bed.....I know sounds easy, but when you live full time in a fifth wheel....nothing is easy.  Our bed rest on a platform and in order for me to paint the entire area....I have to not only remove the bed, but also part of the platform.  Don't worry I will get some photos for those of you that are curious.  Once the bed is out of the way, my goal is to prep, prime, and get a basecoat on the wall.  Hope all this dries in time for us to put the bed back together to sleep tonight.  Since all the more decorative elements will take place above the height of the mattress, I'm hoping we will not have to remove the bed and platform tomorrow.   Fingers Crossed!

We have been having a great time here in Rockport with our Rv Dreamer friends! 

Yesterday, I did a little shopping and found a little something special that I will add to my planned mural in our bedroom.  No, I have not got that project underway......yet....we are having too much fun visiting with friends.  We leave here on Sunday and on to Dallas.  There is where the 'magic' will begin......so stay tuned.  I plan on giving a "step by step" accounting of the bedroom mural.  It is going to be a tropical design......lots of foliage, a parrot or two, and maybe even a lizard!

Faux Brick!

Well, so much for 'tomorrow's post'....here we are several days later! The above is a photo my 'butterfly' that I painted above the faux brick in my kitchen.

Here is the finished brick to the left of my kitchen sink above the stove area. I love French Country so I just had to add the harlequin pattern as a finishing touch.

These last two photos show you how I started the process. Below you see my base coat, which was a mixture of gesso and raw sienna. I brushed mixed this as I applied it.....blending wet into wet. After that dried, I penciled in my design. Next, in the photo above, I started applying my glazes. I used burnt umber, raw sienna, black, and pearl. I used crinkled saran wrap pushed into the wet glaze to add texture.

I just kept building the layers until I had the look I wanted! It was really an easy project....just a little time consuming and a little hard on my back....LOL! BUT, I love the way it turned out and I can't wait to get started on the bedroom mural! Unfortunately, that will have to wait awhile. We are heading to Rockport, Texas tomorrow and meeting up with friends. I doubt I will be able to get my paint brush out til we hit Dallas in about 2 weeks......

Kitchen BackSplash Project

Well, the rain has forced me to start a somewhat smaller painting project. I was just itch-in to paint something so I decided to do a faux backsplash of brick in my little rv kitchen. Yesterday was spent removing the wallpaper border put on by the manufacturer of the fifth wheel. I hate wallpaper! As usual the paper comes of fairly easily, but leaves behind most of the glue. I had to use goo gone to soften the glue and than scrap with a putty knife. That process had to be repeated several times and then finally rinsed the wall with vinegar and than water. It took most of the day, but I finally got all the glue off and applied the one coat of Kilz for the primer. Today I paint and I will take photos for tomorrow's blog.....til then

Sewing Station

Thought you might like to see my "sewing station" here in our fifth wheel. Before Billy and I started traveling I had my own workroom complete with a 1000 square foot warehouse. Now, I have roughly 400 square feet of total living space. Yes, it can be a bit of a challenge to carve out a niche for myself to work in. I tried setting up at the kitchen table, but then I have to 'tear down' every evening for dinner. This way I can leave the 'sewing station' up and running for a few days without encroaching too badly on my poor hubby's space. You can see from the photo that my 'little helper' is always near by!
Here is my 'ironing station'. I used to set up an ironing board, but again it just took up to much room. I found one of these pressing pads that also has a cutting mat on the flip side. I love it......easy out, easy away, and with the cutting mat on the otherside.....well, it just works!

The window treatments in the living/kitchen area are done and looking pretty good. I'll share some photos next post. Yesterday, I also hung my chandelier! Yes, chandelier in my fifth wheel. I have to take it down when we travel, but that is easy enough to do.....more on that later.

I'm getting ready to start the painting process of one of my bedroom walls. Just waiting for some warmer, dryer weather. I really need to be able to open the windows to speed the drying process and help with odors. As I said, this is our bedroom and the bed has to be practically taken apart in order for me to get to what I need to get to....again one of the challenges of living in a fifth wheel. BUT.....I wouldn't change a thing.....love the rv lifestyle!

Making it my own.....

We are finally settled here in Brownsville, Texas for the month of February. We had a blast in New Orleans.....it was all I had hoped it would be.....you can check out my travel blog The Goodelife for photos and such.

I am looking forward to staying in one place for awhile. I'm so ready to get back to my art and my sewing. I'm in my Designer mode right now.....wanting to make our fiver my own. Ya know, my colors, my fabrics, my DESIGN!

First order of business is to finish my valances for the living room and then move to the roman shades for the bedroom. I'm also going to be doing some painting.....wall painting in the bedroom. The inset where the head of our bed lies is going to receive a coat of soft blue paint. Then I am going to do a mural with soft ferns and some kind of wild life. Yes, I am on a mission. I want to have all this done before we move on to our next destination.....probably Kerrville.

So.....do staytuned.....I'll be posting more frequently and with photos......