Google Inspiration

So what did you think of yesterday's Totally Tubular Tunes Tuesday?  Isn't Ingrid Michaelson fabulous?  Well I had mentioned that her song was featured in a mega commercial.  It's the new Google commercial, and I really wanted to get your thoughts on it...









Was I the only one who cried by the end of that?  FYI, the song playing was Ingrid Michaelson's "Sort Of". I thought it was an interesting idea, opening a separate Google account to serve as a kind of time capsule for you child.  It's definitely convenient, pretty all inclusive and quite modern.  As cool as I thought it was, though, I couldn't help to feel a little sad.  I tend to be a little old fashioned but isn't there a sort of beauty in a handwritten note or drawing, or actually holding a photograph you took?  As much as I love the mufti-faceted convenience of technology I can't help but see it as, in some aspects, a slow wearing away of our culture.
Anyways, it was just a thought I had.  It is really a cool concept. 


In case you're looking for a more traditional approach, however, here are some great tutorials I found.

Make your own perpetual calendar!

Make a journal

 Create your own story book!  (by Disney at Ruffles and Stuff)  Her Photoshop tutorial can be found here.

Make your own video (Ok, I know that's computer related, but this is so cool!)

That's all I have so far.  Do you have any creative ways for documenting special things for your kids (or just in general)?  

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!)

Linking to parties at

How to - gild the lily (desk actually!)

I am totally in love with this project .... gilding is fun, a little messy and quite time consuming on bigger pieces BUT .... the end result is fantastic! (well I think so anyway!!!)

 STEP 1

Decide on your piece to gild.... maybe start off with something small till you get used to it ....or jump in the deep end!

This is my desk, quite a nice piece, well made....why am I tampering with it you may ask.... because I have had it for about 15 years (still in good shape isn't it?) and I was considering selling it because it wasn't fitting in with my bedroom...in fact it really jarred every time I looked at it. You can see it here in my bedroom but ever since I got my new turquoise bedside tables it hasn't looked right.

Anyway back to step 1, apart from wiping it down to remove any dust.... I did no prep!!! I told you many times now, I am lazy and look for the easy way out! Now the real way of doing this is if you are gilding an item in gold (or the more commonly used Dutch gold - which isn't really gold at all but a much easier and cheaper product) you should paint a base colour of red tone to give the gold more warmth. If you are gilding in silver (again not real silver but aluminium) you should base it in an undercoat of blue for the cooler tones.

Well I didn't... I just thought I would see how it went over the varnished surface. I wasn't sure if it would stick but I experimented for the sake of all of you who are lazy like me - IT WORKED! Yippee... I didn't have to sand off and start again!

What you need
- silver imitation leaf (or gold) - I used Ever Bright leaf 100 sheets 14 x 14cm 1 and 1/2 boxes
- gold size (just the special glue for either gold or silver) 125ml bottle by X-PRESS-IT water based
- white cotton gloves
- soft paint brush dry for handling gold
- and brush for painting on the size
- your fav varnish to finish

 STEP 2

Word of warning at the start! This is not overly messy more "pretty" messy with lots of little pieces silver floating around... you may like to put down a bigger tarp than I had and keep a vacuum cleaner nearby!

Start on the flat surface first till you get the hang of it, it is really quite easy. Paint a small area at a time with the size and allow to dry for 5-10min - you will see it change from a milky consistency to clear, see above.

Once it has changed put on your cotton gloves or as I do, I wear a glove on my right hand and have a freshly washed and dry left hand (to get rid of oils). I find it a little clumsy with two gloves as the silver sheets are so incredibly fine. Each sheet has a tissue intersheet which you can use to lift the gilt sheet then let it float gently down into position on the top. Don't panic if it doesn't go down completely flat, lay a few more sheets down and then start smoothing them with a clean dry brush and watch the magic happen!! If there are little cracks, pick up some of the silver droppings and place them into the cracks, you will be amazed how it all meshes together!

 STEP 3

Once the top is finished, you can work on the legs... now this is time consuming it doesn't all have to be done in one go, in fact I went to bed and left a part I didn't realise I had coated and it was still tacky the next morning so I was able to continue gilding.

It is a little harder working vertically but you should have the hang of it from working on the horizontal surface. Now a little hint on working on detailed areas like carving or in my case the turning on the legs - if you let the gild sheet float above the area and then blow lightly on it, it will land against the area and mould itself around it. You will need to tamp it down still with your brush and where it cracks, pick up your silver tailings and dab them on.

 STEP 4

Once the gilding is all finished make sure it is all smoothed down by wiping over with the cotton glove, then vacuum up all the tailings so that you are able to varnish safely. The varnish is needed to protect the finish. If you decide not to varnish your piece will wear and tarnish with use. You may wish to antique your gilded item, do this carefully before you varnish. I decided leave mine and have the lovely bright silver! If I ever want to tone it down I will give it a coat of antique wax.

The finished product with some new knobs...all set to party!!! Just needs some accessorising!

Linking to parties at

Mod mix Monday

How to paint and antique a sideboard

 How to paint and antique a sideboard 

(or any piece of furniture)

Well I have finally finished doing a makeover of my birthday present....I showed you a sneak peak of how it looked when I first got it .....

It was a kind of icky yellow wash that just looked very tired but I was hoping it would be a good replacement for my old faithful dresser that has now gone to a new home where it will be very much loved....

This looked great in my kitchen in my last house but I wanted something a little more low line and a little more sophisticated, so lets make a start on the make over....

STEP 1 

Remove the hinges so that you can paint the doors flat (a lot easier). Make sure you bag them in a clip lock bag so you don't loose any bits and pieces). Fill and sand all holes and dents.

STEP 2

Now I am a bit of a lazy painter, and I don't like to do a whole lot of sanding so I choose to undercoat with Zinsser....

I love Zinsser, you can paint over just about everything and the paint will stick....it is truly a miracle product and it is waterbased.

When you paint paneled doors the order I always paint in is 1- raised details, 2- infill panels and then 3 - outer edges. Paint all the doors and then the cabinet. It should have 2 coats of undercoat sanding lightly between coats (sometimes I skip the sanding because as I said before....I am lazy!!!!)

STEP 3

Top coat. I used a low sheen acrylic paint, in this case it was a very light turquoise. To make it easier to work and help reduce brush marks I add Floetrol to the paint...it does what the name says and makes the paint flow better and gives it a longer drying time.

Step 4

Next I decided to antique the dresser by toning down the turquoise by giving it a burnt umber wash. I diluted artist acrylic raw umber with some faux finish gel by matisse (I probably could have used the Floetrol as well but I had the gel and I am used to using it). So I brushed on the wash and allowed it to sit for a minute before wiping a lot of it off again with a disposable cloth.

Step 5

With rub'n'buff silver wax I rub over all the raised bits and details to pick them out in the silver. Also the hinges and handles had a coat of the wax to change them from brass to silver.Allow to dry well before buffing to a soft shine.

Step 5

Finally I waxed the whole cabinet to give it a protective coating....

I brushed it on and allowed to dry then buffed up. If the cloth catches as you are buffing it, allow to dry some more and then buff. The wax I use is infused with lavender oil, smells lovely (although slightly overpowering when you first put it on!!!!)

The final step was to add a bevel edge mirror to the top....

I love the mirror, it really makes it pop!!! I may one day mirror the front of the doors...stay tuned for that one.

PS: Don't pay attention to the wall colour on the last few photos....it looks purple....I used a different camera. That wall will be changing soon you will have to wait and see what I will do! 

Linking to parties at.....