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......

We are in travel mode these days so not much time for painting or sewing. We are currently in Mobile Alabama, but will be leaving today for New Orleans. We plan to spend about a week in New Orleans......maybe I will have time to do a little painting or sewing. I have never been to New Orleans and I'm very excited to see the place. We will be staying at a nearby state park......

Here is a photo of the lovebird painting I did for my cousin's open house. This is done on Gessoboard and I used Traditions Acrylic. This is my first time painting on Gessoboard and I LOVED it. The smooth surface makes putting in all the details a breeze. I just really like how it felt under my brush too. Traditions is a new line of high pigment, professional paints brought to the market my DecoArt. I have done a lot of decorative painting over the years and DecoArt was always my paint of choice. So, I was interested to see how the Traditions were different. You can look up all the tech-no stuff on the web.....I'm just here to tell you that I liked working with them. My favorite thing is the ability to 'lift' the color once it dries. You can also seal each layer as you go, once you are happy with it. If you have not guessed, that is how I work... lots and lots of layers.

That's about it for today.....we are moving today. Moving our fifth wheel to a new location, my Uncle's marina here in the Tampa area. We have an on demand hot water system that seems to be on the fritz! We need to get that fixed before we head over to New Orleans.

Doubts

Here is the copyright free photo I'm working from for my flamingo painting. I'm afraid I have not gotten very far on the painting. In fact, I finally had to set it aside. You know sometimes you just get to a point where nothing is working and that is where I was at with this painting. Just when I had convinced myself that I would never paint again....a new project presented itself. My Aunt and Uncle's youngest son bought a home and I was invited to the Open House. I decided I would do a painting for my cousin and his girlfriend. The painting is of two love birds and I will share a photo in my next post.

In the beginning, the painting did not go well and once again I was sure I had lost whatever artistic talent I once possessed. My husband was doing his best to reassure me and reminded me of how long it had been since I picked up a paintbrush......a good 6 to 7 months. BUT, painting is like riding a bike.....you never forget....right? The next morning.....I began again....and this time the my creativity flowed easily from by brush. What had changed? I have not a clue. All I know is... I'm back.....the artist is again at her easel and happy. I finished the painting yesterday and I could not be happier. Oh, it is not perfect. There is always room for improvement, but it is what it is and I'm happy with it. I'm looking forward to giving it to my cousin and hopefully he too will find a smile on his face as he gazes upon it! After all, that is my biggest reward.....when another finds my work pleasing....

I can't wait to get back at my easel and back to that flamingo painting......I am more determined than ever and with a renewed sense of my artistic self......