Am I done, am I done!!!!

Well I know I said that I was going to make a mirror for my dining roome wall but I found something better.... and it was on sale!!! I did buy the materials for making the mirror but I now have something else in mind for that, so you will just have to wait and see.

So here is my lovely wall that I just stenciled waiting for a mirror...

Yes it is lovely but it is waiting..... for this....

 

Yep...I'm loving it!!! I am so happy ..... am I done, is the room finished?

No of course not, a room is never finished but this is good!

linking to:
Mod Vintage Life
Savvy Southern Style 
Delightful Order 
House of Hepworths

Loo make over

OK the smallest room in the house has already had a mini makeover but what do you do when you have some free time on the weekend and it is raining and cold outside AND you are in a self imposed no shopping (as in not spending money) mode.... well, you could relax....read a book.....watch a movie....but nooooo.... I have to do a room makeover!!

I know I am nuts but as I said it had to cost nothing and what the heck....

I decided on stripes....

lots of masking tape...

only 2 stripes... I have no reason for that amount

I was just going to do the white stripes but it didn't look right (nothing like designing on the run!)

so I decided to use the stencil from my bedroom and the same paint as the wall colour...

the prison mirror was already in here, I have had it for years

the wall tiles are painted, I did it at the same time I did the bathroom makeover, when I can afford it this little room and the bathroom will have a proper reno. Unfortunately for now the floor tiles will have to stay.

The photos are a reminder of my trip to Italy a few years ago...so everytime I go to the loo... I have a little view! I need to do some sort of window treatment, that will come in time. I am not sure how long this look will last, I guess it depends on the next wet weekend when I have nothing to do....

Linking to parties at...

Mod Vintage Life
DIY by Design
Savvy Southern Style
French Country Cottage 
Finding Fabulous 
Delightful Order
Funky Junk Interiors
Tatertots and Jello 

Almost done - stencilled wall dining room

You have seen the makeover of my sideboard in my dining area but the whole area was not looking finished, so my next step was to stencil the walls. I have already had practice in my bedroom. Luckily I had planned it right (for a change!) and ordered the two stencils at the same time from Cutting Edge Stencils.

What you cant see in the above picture is the bizarrely off centered wall light to the left of the sideboard. Why would anyone put in a light on a short wall  that wasn't centered??? Anyway I had to wait for my trusty electrician friend to come and disconnect it and pull the wires up into the ceiling (in Australia it is illegal to do any electrical work yourself - unless you are a licenced electrician).

Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) my walls are all solid brick - which is fantastic because it is such a solid built house but make any changes is a major pain in the butt! Check out nice little hole left in the wall ..... eeek!

The hole on the left is about 2 inch deep and about 3 inchs round, so I had to fill it with a sand cement mix. I cleaned out the hole as best as I could, squirted it with a bit of water so the that dry area wouldn't suck out the moisture out of the wet mix too quickly or it could crack as it drys. I only half filled it (2nd pic) because the hole was so big, then let it dry for a day before finishing the fill and levelling it off with a damp sponge. This was then painted with a sealer undercoat. Now I am not a perfectionist I am afraid so you can still vaguely see the outline but near enough is good enough!!!!!! LOL cant believe I said that!

Once that was all done I decided to stencil the wall in a colour about 3 shades darker than the existing wall colour. I still have to make a mirror to go above the sideboard but I love the new look.....

 

What do you think? Strangely enough it makes the room look bigger! Cant wait for the mirror!

Linking to parties at....

Savvy Southern Style

Mod Vintage Life
The Shabby Nest

French Country Cottage
Funky Junk Interiors

Crossing off the to do list - bedroom art

Well, it's nice to be able to get another job done! When I stenciled the wall in my bedroom it really showed that the lovely red toned tiles I had on the wall above my desk was just not working with the turquoise and warm beige walls!

Yep...it is just not working but never mind, I have just the spot for them in another room! Now, what to replace them with??? I am in "no spending mode" at the moment so time to search my craft supplies. And I struck lucky!!! I found these little carved stone plaques I bought ages ago and never did anything with plus 3 blank canvas!

So to tie in with the desk I decided to silver gild them, I still had all the materials left from the desk 

(for a tutorial on how to gild see here)

 

I painted them with a sealer undercoat first

and perfect little glittery things! Next I base coated the canvases in the same light turquoise

I did the wall stenciling in.

On this larger canvas I just used the wall stencil with the lovely beige pearlescent paint I used before.

The two smaller canvas I decided to use my pillow cases as inspiration.

These pillow cases are from Morgan and Finch, I was so happy when I found them, they tie all the colours together in the room.

I am really happy with the end result, I do need to find something small to go in the corner but that will come!

Linking to parties at

Mod Vintage Life
Making the World Cuter
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
Tip Junkie
Savvy Southern Style 
Delightful Order 
The Shabby Chic Cottage 
French Country Cottage 
Funky Junk Interiors

How to stencil a wall

I have wanted to do this for a long time and finally I got round to ordering my stencils from Cutting Edge Stencils they have a wonderful range with good instructions (some of which I ignored...because you guessed it I am lazy and always trying to find a shortcut!), check them out, you will be amazed at the range. I also ordered from them a stencil level, a very worthwhile and inexpensive investment.

The stencil  I chose is a damask (or allover) pattern called Kerry, it comes in small or large and I chose small. The effect I wanted was a subtle backdrop to my bed on a feature wall, for that reason I didn't choose a strongly contrasting paint. Welllll....actually the paint I first chose was so subtle you could barely see it!!!! So I boosted it up by mixing in some turquoise paint into the beige pearlescent paint about a 50/50 mix.... PERFECT... just what I was looking for, it nicely tied in my new turquoise bedside tables and made it work in the room!

What you need
- stencil of choice
- stencil level (if you choose but it does help)
- acrylic paint
- dense foam roller or stencil brush ( I have been a stencil brush girl in the past but the roller is soooo much easier)
- paint tray
- blue painter's tape (low tack)
- paper towels
- a step ladder helps too

 STEP 1
Work out your colour combination before you start!!! Unlike me! Try it out on a piece of cardboard painted in the background colour, this will also help you get your stencil technique down pat!
 STEP 2
Mask off the sidewalls, skirting and ceiling. If you are doing whole room stenciling, start in an inconspicuous place because your technique will improve as you go through it. Since I was only doing a feature wall, I started in the top left hand corner and worked down and across.

 STEP 3
Place your stencil on the wall using your stencil level to line it up and blue masking tape to hold it in place. Load your foam roller with paint then roll it back and forth on the tray to remove a lot of the paint and then again on the paper towels until it feels quite dry. This is important because the last thing you want is for it to bleed under the stencil edge if you have too much on. Use a light to medium pressure on the roller.
 STEP 4
Reposition the stencil to directly below the first one and you will be able to use part of the design as registration marks for the next print. Keep checking that it is square with the stencil level. Make sure that your paint is dry enough when you move it.

Stencilling is not a perfect art, there will be little discrepancies along the way with spacing etc but that just adds to the charm of it (well that's my excuse anyway!!!)

 STEP 5
Once you have finished across the whole wall it is time to go back and fill in the edges and ceiling and base. The corners you just need to take time and do one side at a time, it doesn't matter if you don't have all the detail, you wont notice it.
NOTE: I always keep a damp cloth near by in case I make a mistake, if you act quickly you can wipe it away so be prepared.

I love the subtle sheen of the pearlescent paint, it adds a little sparkle to the room.

I am loving my bedroom now... of course it is not finished, there is still a headboard that needs to be made, chairs that need slip covers, a painting or mirror over the desk to replace the little tiles that I love but are all a wrong colour now.... I'd love to get rid of the air-conditioner but for now it is staying (it does have its benefits!)

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