Checking out Ashley's Nest: The Other Rooms

Ashley and Justin are like most young couples starting out-Champagne Tastes but a Beer Budget.  Thankfully, Ashley is talented, Justin is patient, and she has a good pal like me to lend a hand now and then. Their cabinets were a very shiny (very shiny) reddish wood-like substance.  Ashley prepped them and then I applied our Iced Latte Finish.

Then Ashley used foil and glaze to transform her bland shiny white backsplash tile.

The walls are from a sample we have at Surfaces that combines Palette Deco, Lusterstone, and Wax. The stencil is Loft 101 Hudson from Sheri Zeman.

The existing island was a bland box that Ashley jazzed up with a faux bamboo made from plaster. This was painted and glazed giving the island a contemporary look. The wood surface is a recyled table top.

The kitchen flows very well into the Bronze Hallway and the Tribeca Bronze Powder bath.

The Dining Room finish is our Moon Glow Travertino.  This finish and furnishings make for a very sophisticated baby gift and Pac-N-Play room. Hey, you got to help these kids develop good taste young!

The guest bath was standard for a starter neighborhood: Linoleum Floors, White Vanity, and White Walls. We started by troweling the walls with O'Villa Sabina.

On top of the O'Villa Sabina, I used more Sabina to create relief designs using a Royal Design Stencil. When the patterns dried, I troweled tinted Venetian Gem Tint Base and metallic tinted Aquawax 100% over the walls.

Ashley sanded the linoleum floors, applied Primetch, and then Setcoat.  She built a layer of Quartzstone to fill the original pattern and then used grout tape to create her new block pattern.  Ashley filled in the blocks with more Quartzstone for a Travertine Stone finish.  When the finish was dry she pulled her tape and glazed the surface which she sealed with 2 coats of C500 Satin.

In the office she shares with Justin, Ashley used up batches of Designer Metallic Setcoat for the walls and applied a WallOvers Stencil in a grouped stripe. The work table is made from upcycled doors painted pewter with a WallOvers Stencil called Wild Thing.  Several coats of C500 Gloss give a hard work surface.

Her Thermafoil Master Bath cabinets got a quick makeover with our Java Bronze Finish from Cabinetry One.

See ya later Scout! Thanks for letting us visit your home.

No Problem..Come Again.

Checking out Ashley's Nest: The Nursery

Whoo's been busy working on her house?

I started this blog two years ago with a story on Ashley's home. At that time, she and Justin were new homeowners. Flash forward and now....

Ashley and Justin are the proud new parents to Baby Calvin.  Not one to take it easy, Ashley continued to work on her home throughout her pregnancy.  Let's start with the cute and modern nursery she created for Calvin.

The project started with Ashley's Tree and Owl mural. I love Owls as well-cute and wise.  She selected a warm citrus, turquoise, and grass palette softened with neutral brown and white.

This charming quilt was made by Designer Heather McDonald as a baby shower gift and brings all the colors together really well.

Here is the changing table that I completed.  I used the Faux Creme Color Concentrates in custom colors to create the gently worn look. Sue Hon and I lacquered the white handles.

Justin did this artwork from the Calvin and Hobbs comic.  The expressions are perfect-typical little boy (or girl for that matter).

What a fun nursery! Welcome Baby Calvin to your new room!

Collageables, Creative Concepts for Canvas Art

How excited am I that Deb Drager is teaching her collage class at Surfaces? So excited that I have been thinking about collages, buying books about collages, and yes, even practicing collages. I was This Girl in school:

Harry Potter, Warner Bros.

"Pick me, Pick me.  I read the homework. I practiced!"

I had a canvas with nothing on it and a vintage movie poster from 1959 that was in rough shape. We also got in some cool retro looking stencils from Sheri Zeman (the starburst) and Melanie Royals (the oval linking chain) that I was dying to use. The pictures are tinted with Faux Creme Colors and the patterns are Lusterstone, Metallic Aquawax, and Orange Gold Glitter.

This guy looks like Mr.Big doesn't he?

She may have "married for love" but that look on her face says she married for lust. LOL!

After my attempt, I am anticipating Deb's class even more because it was easy to see that the type of canvas did make a difference and there must be tricks for getting paper to lie flatter.  I didn't know what a Brader is!

Just the notes that Deb sent me to prepare for this class have given me ideas for so many things beyond sticking a picture to a painted background.  I mean look at her work:

We are pulling together so many things to play with-plasters, waxes, stencils, rust, crackles, decorative nail heads, paper, fabric, imprints, and more!  Deb sent out homework-really play work- this week to get everyone ready for the two-day class. You will be working on 3 smaller canvases and 1 large 30" X 40" canvas. Deb will share how she sells her work. Sells her art for money.

I am working on my canvas ideas right now-



We have many talented local and out-of-state artists signed up for the class. Bruce and I are hosting a bar-b-que at our home on Thursday night for class attendees to relax and hopefully enjoy the outdoor firepit while sipping a cold brew.  Deb is an outstanding teacher and one of the most creative people that I know personally.  She is inspiring and will get you fired up about your decorative art!

So, if you are kicking yourself saying "I wish I had signed up for this class" today is your lucky day. I have room (we have 4,000 square feet of just classroom space) for one more person.  If you are interested in attending call us at Surfaces 913-888-9996.

Collageables with Deb Drager.

Thursday, October 27-Friday, October 28th. 9am-5pm.  $795