Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Easter Egg Chic?

Yet again, I've taken on a project that may be over my paygrade in terms of execution, but also yet again my stubborness prevailed and the final result is (almost) exactly what I had hoped for.

It all started with this rug,see here:

You can also see it here:

Isn't is the cutest thing ever? Yeah, I thought so too. So I have this rug and I love it, not because I have a current obsession with gray and a slightly bigger obsession with chevron stripe. Nope it's because it's light but still comfy and casual and it's the perfect size. Okay, okay, the gray and chevron stripe DO have something to do with it too. All that to say, the rug started this WHOLE thing. Because you see, I also have this lamp, see here:

He's the little egg on the left. He's kinda a tan colored ceramic egg. Don't let him fool you, that tall brass guy on the left is sorta dwarfing him. Speaking of that brass lamp, he's now a pretty shade of sage with a cute linen shade and Edison bulb.




Here he is again. Sorry about the terrible lighting in this shot.

I've had it for awhile, it was a thrift store find for $7.00. I love so much that it looks like an egg, but I hate that color with all my heart. Well obviously not that dramatic a hate but I was trying to add some emphasis. I've had many ideas for this guy, I didn't really want to paint him a solid color because I knew that utilizing the shape could make more incredible than just "better than it was before".  I had this idea of maybe doing something like this, but I was a little nervous how to achieve this but more chic:


So after multiple months of owning these two items, and other projects in between, the light bulb finally went off! White and grey chevron striped lamp! I immediately was in love with the yet to be refinished lamp and I knew that the stripes would look great on that curved shape. My love for this idea was so strong, it overshawdowed some very important things, namely drawing the straight level lines on a compound curve. Oh, and without chipping off the undercoat or making it messy. Yeah, it was a strong love.

Oh, yeah I also forgot to say that I'm having a current obsession with sparkly and metallic things too and I've been dying to try some silver leaf. I ended up using this one from Hobby Lobby:

You can find it here.

Sorry about my rambling on all my current design obsessions but I really do have a point. Basically it's that I chose to combine all those things I just rambled off into one clean, sparkly, chevron stipe lamp that matches my rug to sit on my new nightstand:

I blogged about his transormation here.


I had to start by getting a little rust off of the top of the lamp.

All I did was try to buff it out with a brillo pad and that seemed to do the trick.

Now, getting down to business. I wasn't quite sure how to achieve the look I wanted but I knew that I did want a white base, so I went ahead and sprayed it with a white lacquer spray paint.

From Home Depot. Now that I see pictures, I used the Krylon brand, but I'm sure they are very similar.

Before the first coat. I taped the top and the wiring with paper towels and electrical tape. I also used a little painter's grease on the parts that couldn't get taped just to keep the paint off. Hint: you can also use Vasoline to achieve the same thing.
The change already helped in his apperance!

First Coat
Second Coat

Soooo it was Thanksgiving weekend when I did this. So at this point I got pretty distracted by this:
AND THIS:
AND THIS:


So the lamp was white. Whoo hoo? It was a least an improvement over the dingy tan. Cue moment of panic. I had a realization as a was ready to start the next phase of the project that I still had no idea how to accomplish those oh so trendy stripes that I had been yearning for. **This part of the story is long so bear with me** I started with this pattern I found online:


I may have gotten distracted by something else at this point:
She loves to snuggle-especially if you still smell like turkey.

I was thinking that I could just trace the pattern on the lamp and just make sure that it was straight and that the rows were even. WRONG. Because the lamp is more or less an oval shape (it gets wider in the middle) that just didn't work. So after lots of trial and error, I had to basically trace one zig (for lack of a better word) and then mark off the whole lamp to get the stripes that I was wanting. Pictures speak louder than words for this part.


The making of an Easter egg




Stripes!


Whew! Once that was over I erased all the extra marks I was ready to start the silver leaf but I didn't want to tape off all the stripes, because really it would take forever to get all those angles right so I tried this mastic. It's a product that artists use to keep paint off of certain spaces without using tape.


 I just painted the masking fluid on the stripes I didn't want the silver leaf to get on as practice but it didn't work out so well.

It comes off really cleanly normally. My experience was ok with this stuff but I think the nature of this project wasn't so good for this because it took the spray paint off.

So basically at this point I was just desperate to try the silver leaf and get this guy done so I just started the leafing process without anything protecting the white stripes (I would later find that this was a mistake).
The whole silver leaf process was fairly easy. You just paint the adheisive on the parts you want the silver leaf to go on to, let it dry, and then stick on the silver leaf. After that all you have to do is add a sealer and your done! I make it sound a tad easier than it actually was. It was really thin and hard to keep off your fingers, and it did unfortunately stick to some of the white stripes.



So this part got done and I was happy but I still needed to fix the stripes and the bumps and nicks and silver flecks that the white stripes had gotten along the way.
Annnnd then Christmas happened...



And the Alamo Bowl...

Then finally I had a break down (well not really but I was reluctant to do this) and taped the silver leaf with painter's tape (knowing full well I would have to do touch up silver leafing later), and re sprayed the white stripes. I sprayed it so that all the color would be even and there were no paint brush strokes showing. I know what it looks like from the picture... (hint: Easter is still months away but yet there's an egg looking lamp in this picture)


It did take me hours to tape this guy (literally hours). Impressed??? You shouldn't be I should have taped before hand so that this didn't have to happen. I learned my lesson, but let's face it I will always be too eager to start something to make sure everything is in place first again, and inevitably something like this will happena gain..oh well.
I had to reverse the tape so that I could touch up the silver leaf now, and again it took me hours.

 
I added the silver leaf sealer at this point too.
Finally just a few touch ups with the white and it was finally done. I feel like J.R.R. Tolkien and that I could have written three books about the shiny spherical object and my quest to get it.  (except I'm not a hobbit nor trying to save a mythical shire with the help of ridicoulsy good looking elves like Orlando Bloom).
 
So finally here ya go, finished lamp!!!
Sorry for the lack of good photos.

I do want to get a new shade but other than that I'm pretty happy with this guy!



Monday, January 16, 2012

Art Smart

See look, I'm already blogging again!

Art has been on my mind lately. I read lots of design blogs and magazines and look at so many wonderful pictures of  spaces that are so wonderfully designed. The more I stare at these images, the more I realize that art is most of the time what makes or breaks a room. It can add that extra sparkle that turns an ordinary room. It seems to pull all of the things together, and suddenly the space is magazine worthy. I've even seen others use art that seemingly doesn't fit, or is a completely different style than the rest of the room but, BAM, it works!
From framed art to paintings simply on canvas, photos, typography, or something completely random on the wall, I've come to the realization that it makes all the difference. In the past I've pretty much decorated with mostly pictures, in frames. How boring right? Well not really, I will always love framed photos and the memories that come with them and I think they should be framed for everyone to see who is important to you. All of that said, framed photo's does not a quality designed room make. They most definitely add some spice and much needed personalization but there should be something else that can add something great as well.

I know that art is subjective but here are some new favs that I have recently as well as some rooms that I think really utilize art in a great way.


Love me a gallery wall. (via Pinterest)

 Whoa, art is the wall and the wall is art...via Pinterest



I'm obsessed with the large painting at the end that frames out the whole space in this shot. (via Freshome)



How can you not love these re-made movie posters via Eric Tan?


I posted about COZA MIA in my last post but I still love them all!

Iconic Architecture makes some of the best art to me. (via Imagekind )



I have a weakness for nature shots too. There is nothing more captivating than capturing the raw beauty of the world we live in. (Didn't know I could be deep did ya? )

Aren't they just so inspiring? To see both the art themselves or in a space seem to add that magic sparkle that we need. They can provoke thought, happiness, joy, sorrow, all in one moment. Crazy huh? I know I know I'm getting deep again but the more I look for art that I like the more I decide that I can be very picky about what I dislike and what I'm passionate about. I want every piece of art that I have to be something that I love, not just something to put on the wall. My newly formed philosophy, which I've stolen from various famous designers, is that something in every room should mean something to you, and something should have some color, and maybe even both!

I'll leave with something more upbeat...



In theaters, in 3D. Ariel comes in a close second, but Belle is my favorite Disney princess and always will be. She wears cute blue dresses and ribbons. She reads. She gets to dance in the most beautiful ballroom in all of France. My love of Disney strikes again!








Thursday, January 12, 2012

Confessions

Here we are again, the new year has arrived and I vow to blog more and swear this time I will. Along with my now frequent blogging the new year I will be sketching more, cook, be better at change, and trying to make everyday an ordinary adventure ( don't judge, everyone needs their granola, sunny, and whimsical outlook on life- well for January at least). I am working on multiple projects right now but my procrastination gene has a way of sneaking back into my mind and making me forget about said projects. I'm working on sending that little gene packing and getting my stuff done in a more timely manner, because the list of things I want to do and try keeps getting longer! That list is getting longer by the second thanks to the awesome design blogs that I've been finding, here's a list of some that everyone should be reading!

- http://www.designsponge.com/
- http://www.freshome.com/
- http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
- http://www.decorology.blogspot.com/
- http://www.materialgirlsblog.com/

I know that I said I would work on the whole procrastination thing but I don't always have projects finished in a timely manner, therefore nothing to blog about. (muah muah) So I'm going to start posting some of my favorite designs, items, pinterest favs, etc. periodically. Hope you enjoy!

I seriously love this art.The color and pattern combine symmetry and bright colors that is just perfect.

Here's another one:

They're from Cozamia and they come in all different sizes and you can choose what kind of paper/canvas you want it on, what could be better?

I'm not sure how they do this but these floors are amazing and beautiful! They're call Marbelous Floors... now who doesn't love a good pun?

Wood Marbled Floors via Apartment Therapy

 "The process begins with locally-sourced Scandinavian pine, which Hansen marbles in bright colors to accentuate the unique structure of the wood, as though each plank of wood is being viewed under a microscope. The colored marbling works to highlight the nuanced patterns and shapes, turning a basic piece of blond wood into rivers and clouds of color and texture."  

I feel like I'm just repeating the same phrases again and again but these are also amazing. I may try to imitate this technique and see what happens.


How cool, right? They're old vinyl records that Patrick Laurent from Quiet Boy Studio creates for his Etsy site. Speaking of records, my mom and I just recently found some great vintage records at a thrift store that are getting framed (pictures to come)!

Who doesn't love all things British?




Speaking of British, my new favorite show is Downton Abbey. The sets, costumes, accents...aaah, so British, so beautiful.

Set right before and at the onset of World War I, I'm completely entranced with this show. I know that I'm a self admitted history nerd but I couldn't walked away from the TV when I stumbled upon this show. It airs on Sunday nights on PBS and you can watch multiple episodes online for free!






Check out this post on Design Sponge about Downton Abbey.
Fantastic Condo in Connecticut:


Just to be quirky here's a retrospect on the fork, that's right I said fork:



OOOK and I have to...

Since I set foot on the Baylor campus I have been a Bears fan, no matter the outcome. But now is the time that Baylor nation gets to rise up and show the nation what Baylor means to us, thanks to the work of these three, the teams that has risen around them and their dedicated and brilliant coaches. Ok enough of the sap but I couldn't be more proud to be an alumni (I might share this fact a little too much ;) of my university and their athletic achievements this year! 38-0 in football, mens and women's basketball since Nov. 1st. Oh that, and a Heisman trohpy! Sic em'!!  (we love ya and good luck in the NFL RGIII!!!)

I will not procrastinate. I will blog again soon. I will stop bragging so much about Baylor (not going to happen)

Maybe if I write them down then I will achieve them!

Happy Thursday!