Follow up on my previous post about Art for an auction

Here are the art pieces that I made to donate to the Peace Harbor Hospital fundraising auction that is happening on June 4th.

Another Kitchen loses the ugly formica

BEFORE
BEFORE

AFTER - (the new undermount sink is not in yet)

AFTER (close up)

AFTER (the plug ins still need the covers put on)

Here is another kitchen that I just finished up this week. It was a light blue formica with a very country looking wall paper border. They just had their kitchen cabinets re-done and got new stainless appliances so it just made sense to do the counter tops next. They looked into granite and other stone. They had a gal friend come from Montana and stay with them last July for the IDAL Convention. She ended up taking the same Aurastone class from David Rarick that I did. She showed them the samples and they were very intriqued by them. She ended up having shoulder surgery and wanted to know if there was anyone in the Portland area that did Aurastone because her friends wanted to have it done (and she couldn't do it for them). That is where I came in......super nice people and I enjoyed doing their kitchen.

Here are the before and after pictures (above).

This is an Emperador "stone" look done with Aurastone with custom colors. You couldn't get this real stone in a custom color, let alone the price tag would be huge!!

The Latest Kitchen Transformation

The day I got off the airplane from Phoenix I jumped right in and did a great kitchen makeover. My friend and local Granicrete distributor, Chris, started the project for me the day before I got home so when I got there I was ready to start adding some color. He did all the crete work for me ~ What a lifesaver otherwise I would have been a day behind from the start of the project.

Once the countertops were done, I came back in about a week and painted the cabinets.

Here is what I learned from the previous cabinet makeover that I talked about in previous posts.......clean, sand and prime! These cabinets were an oak veneer with some water damage and raised grain. I wanted to make sure that the paint stuck good this time! I went to the local Benjamin Moore paint store and asked for their best bonding primer - which turned out the be the oil based Fresh Start primer. I cleaned, deglossed and sanded the crap out of the doors before I put on the primer. I then painted with Ben Moore paint (color: Mink) and did a clear protective topcoat. The turned out great and bonded well. I am going to go back in a few days and do some touch ups. They had to do a few modifications when they put the new stove in.

I normally don't use oil based products but I made an exception this time because it creates a much better bond and it doesn't raise the grain of the wood like water based products do. Since the wood already had water damage and raised grain, I didn't want to add fuel to the fire.

I have another appointment on Saturday with a new client that wants their countertops done in Aurastone. I have to remember that I still have a part-time job and have to find a good balance between work, fun, and family. It's so hard cause I get so excited....but I pay for it in the end if I try to do too much. Word of the day: BALANCE!

Aurastone Class - 5 days of inspiration!

My samples from the Aurastone class More Samples - so hard to photograph these because they are so dimensional. Can't see that in the pictures unfortunately.

8 samples total in 5 days - Whew!

Sample in their showroom in Phoenix - Aurastone and a Modello

Too bad you can't see the depth and sparkle!

Aurastone Tiger Onyx

The wall of samples.....

I arrived in Phoenix on a Sunday evening. Already I was excited because it was NOT raining and it was warm!! Coming from the Pacific Northwest that is saying something this time of year.

Class started promply at 8:00am the next morning. The next 5 days were a blurrrrr. I had trouble sleeping because my brain was in creative mode. Kept thinking of all the ways I could use this application on that piece of furniture! Kitchen countertops, art creations, trash to treasure pieces ~ you name it, I thought of it. I was at the Granicrete/Aurastone Headquarters and Susan Anspach was my instructor. She is an amazing & creative women.

My sample boards are pictures above, along with the samples that were in their showroom are shown above......Gorgeous and inspirational to say the least.

Follow Up to my previous post.

I called Aurastone tech support about the crete not bonding to some area of the tile back splash....they said there was only 1 reason that it would not bond - it must not have been cleaned thoroughly in those spots. The said to sand off the areas that didn't bond, clean it with Acetone with a cotton swab or rag and then let it dry and re-crete over the top and feather it in with the other layer that I had already done. I did all that and it worked. What did I learn from this extra work? Do your own prep work or train someone to do it correctly - don't assume your client has the training to know exactly what to do. Even if it does save you time, in the long run - it really doesn't if you have to re-do.
That's all I know today....tomorrow could be a whole new learning experience.

PS..I order a new kind of paint today - chalk paint! It's not chalkboard paint - it's chalk paint. It claims that you can paint it over an old piece of furniture without sanding and deglossing the piece. It will bond right to the varnish top coat or whatever you are putting it on. I will let you know once I use it if it does what it says. (I know, forever the skeptic...) If it does - OMG that would save tons of time in prep and sanding!! I think that you are limited right now to certain colors but maybe someday they will have a untinted base you can tint yourself???

:) Michelle

Here is the completed kitchen

I did Aurastone on the counter tops. The backsplash was troweled over the original tile with the Aurastone crete but then I just used some Proceed Smooth transparent plaster to trowel on over crete. Let it dry and glazed it. I did use the Granicrete flooring top coat product to seal it so it is scubbable. (Nothing worse than not being able to clean off the cooking splashes).

I have another kitchen that I will be doing later this month and one possibly next month or April. I'm off to Arizona to take the Aurastone Advanced Training class....so excited!

New Counter Top & Cute Plant stand gets some pizzazz!

BEFORE Counter tops

AFTER Counter tops

This plant stand was purchased as a rusty wrought iron old thing with no top. I made a top out of some wood and then did an Aurastone application over the wood to mimic Natural Granite. I think it turned out pretty darn good!

I have been over at my neighbors today working on their backsplash (I did their kitchen countertops about 2 months ago). I ran into a snaffu......man! I hate that! After 2 scratch coats and 1 trowel coat I discovered that the scratch coats did not bond to the tile! AARRRRGGGGG! I have to call Tech Support tomorrow morning to figure out my next move. Because as I have said before in a previous post, if your first layers don't bond, nothing will! If you learn anything from me - that is the biggest thing to take away from my trials and tribulations.

Above are the "before" and "after" pictures of the kitchen I'm working on. I will post the final pictures when I get the back splash all done. The neighbor has painted her kitchen cabinets a beautiful dark brown color to enhance the countertops - the green just wasn't working'

Lots to do this week...

Well, I've been following thru with my New Year's Resolution! Woo Hoo! I have 2 canvas art projects going right now to donate to a fundraiser for Peace Harbor Hospital in Florence, OR (where I used to work). I'm flexing my creativity muscles on those - so far so good. I will post some pictures when they are totally done.
I also have a end table makeover going on. The top is going to be done in Aurastone and legs will be painted and distressed. I am working on 2 sets of nesting tables (3 tables in each set) - they will also be Aurastone tops. The legs are painted metal.
I had a huge custom wood tray made for another client and am doing a customized wine label design in the center of it. It's going to look very tuscanny.
I also have a very cool old hutch that I bought for $25 from a fellow decorative painter that was liquidating inventory. I have been scraping paint of the glass forEVER! Once I get all that done I'll finally be able to paint it - I'm thinking a pale green or blue vintage look with some crackle and glazing. The shelves will be faux Carrera Marble. I can't wait to do it - in my head it looks great!
My shop looks like a bomb went off though. I can hardly turn around. Oh well, I'm having fun and that's all that matters right?
Until next time ~ Go and paint something!

Paris Flea Market Starts Tomorrow!

In case you are out and about on the Oregon Coast this weekend my family is hosting the

Mon Ami's Paris Flea Market

2530 Kingwood Street

Florence, OR 97439

Hours:

Thurs Jan 6 ~ 4-6 pm (special evening hours)

Fri & Sat Jan 7 & 8 ~ 9 am - 4 pm

Sun Jan 9 ~ 10 am - 2 pm

They have restocked the warehouse with a Gazilion treasures and several "new" estate pieces for your flea-market pickin' pleasure.

While you're there, check out Jim Archer's Furniture Finishing Shop right next door.

Click here for the craigslist posting: http://oregoncoast.craigslist.org/gms/2131211353.html

Delivery Service is available

VISA/Cash/Check accepted

Coffee & Doughnuts for the early birds.

Stop in and see them Diane Archer ~ aka The Duchess of Decorating & Cindy Wobbe ~ aka The Queen of Quite a Lot

Mark your calendars for next months sale ~ February 3-6, 2011

Happy New Year! (and some resolutions for 2011)

Well, one of my resolutions this year is to get my act together and be a more consistent blogger AND the second is to make more time for "play" in my studio (not to mention my long list of things I need to finish). I need to get past my type A analness about making mistakes and just "do" - isn't that how most creative happy accidents occur?

My real job is Microbiologist, my fun job is my decorative painting.....you can see now why I have a hard time just letting loose and just doing whatever!

2011 is a new year - with new ideas and less time for watching TV. It's about me prioritzing my time better, being more productive (but also enjoying the time so it doesn't feel like another job being in my studio) and exercising more.

Here's to resolutions!

Have a great 2011 everyone!

Michelle