Wild Things

Bring a bit of the exotic home! Animal prints have an enduring quality that span a variety of interiors from traditional to contemporary.

These stylish interpretations have been a favorite of interior designers for decades.

 Used on wallpapers and fabrics, Animal prints are a classic!

Join us at Surfaces on Thursday, March 17th from 6:30-9:30 to create 3 animal skin finishes.

We will work with specialty rollers, plasters and glazes. Class fee is $75 per person and includes all materials.

Register on-line or by calling 913-888-9996.

Snakes on the Plains

A phobia of snakes is just one of the three things I share with Indiana Jones. 

The other two being jaunty hats and vintage whips bomber jackets.

 



When my family goes to Chinese restaurants, My Dad likes to read the paper zodiac placemats-the ones with the Chinese New Year Animals and the listed characteristics. He scoffs at each one until he gets to mine: "Snakes don't have arms, so they use their mouths...A LOT."  It never gets old-to him.

Well, in case you didn't know it 2013 is the Year of the Snake.

 

Snakeskin is a classic that can be found on clothing, furniture, and wall coverings. It can also be found in unlikely places:

 

 Sweet Georgia Brown, let's hope you have some time

 for a few DIY Snakeskin projects.

 



 

Snakes on Paper.
My friend Gary Lord first showed me how to faux brown paper using a variety of  wall and cabinet products.  I love using the brown 3m masking paper for several reasons. It comes is varying widths.  It is inexpensive. The crinkling of the paper adds an unusual element to the finish. You can work in your home on a flat surface in front of you and then install in some one's home.  Applying the paper is faster in awkward spaces like ceilings.

 

 

 

 

Cut your paper into various lengths and lay on a flat surface.  Select one-two colors of FE Faux Metal.  This is real metal shaving in an alcohol base.  I selected Copper and Rich Gold.



Use a Japan Blade to smear the Faux Metal on a larger trowel.  With the trowel flat to the paper, blade it on.  The paper will naturally crinkle.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, select 1-3 Lusterstone colors. Any earthy shades will do.  I used some leftover Weathered Bronze and Charred Gold.  The Lusterstone is also randomly popped and bladed over the paper. 

 



 

When the Lusterstone is dry, I use the Snakeskin stencil from FE.  Place the stencil in the middle of your paper strips and pull either Tiger's Eye Venetian Gem, Black Onyx Venetian Gem, Brown Sapphire Venetian Gem, or Moonstone Grey Venetian Gem over the pattern.  Repeat to cover the strip.  I don't worry about exactly matching the pattern although I do keep the heavier middle part of the pattern lined up in the repeat.

 

 

To install the paper I use FE Aquaseal (Clear Setcoat). Roll the surface area first.  Then roll the back of your paper strip.  Place your strip on the wall and use your foam roller to smooth and stick it down.  I also use a plastic tool for smoothing wallpaper to get air bubbles out.  I cut the paper edges with a ruler and exacto-blade.  Then I made sure to line up each paper strip so the stencil pattern flowed from each piece.

 



 

I applied the paper above a fireplace in the lower level of our home. Once it was up I decided to blend it a little more so I troweled some Silver Taupe Lustersuede over the finish.  I used a damp cloth to soften any chatter from scrapping over the pattern.  I like soft blended finishes and this step is optional depending on how strong you want the snake pattern.

 

 

 

When my Lustersuede dried, I glazed over the surface using a mix of 3 parts FX Thinner + 2 parts Van Dyke Stain & Seal + 1 part Rich Brown Stain & Seal. Just brush on and soften with a dry cloth.

Here is the finished wall:

 

 

 

 

In case you are searching for another snake finish, here is another Snakeskin DIY.

 

 

Snakes on Metallics.

 

 

Paint the surface with the new Metallic Toffee Setcoat.  We rolled our sample board using a fluffy fabric Slim Jim roller head.  Metallics have a nap-in this finish it will not show.

 

Next place the FE Snakeskin stencil in the middle of your wall and trowel Lusterstone over the pattern. I used Weathered Bronze.

 

 

 

Don't worry about some bleed through on the pattern.  I also just eyeball the pattern match.

 

 

 

I tinted some Aquawax with Elephant Hide Metal Glow and troweled it over the dried snake pattern.  You could also leave the Aquawax un-tinted to show more of the snake pattern.

 

 

 

While the wax is wet, use our Cheesecloth roller to roll thru the wax. This will create a scales.

 

 

I glazed the dried wax with 3 parts FX Thinner + 2 parts American Walnut Stain & Seal + 2 Parts Ebony Stain & Seal.  I like using FX Thinner and stain over waxed finishes because it "bites" in stronger over the slick surface.  You can see in the picture how it beads on the surface. Just pat with a dry cloth or Neon Leon brush.

 

 

This finish would work well on furniture.

 

Let's ask another expert on snakes what he thinks.  Samuel L. Jackson what do you have to say about our snakeskin faux finishing?

 

It could have been:

 



 









Venetian Gem Base Coat: 4 DIY Projects

These are a few of my favorite things!



(The Sound of Music, 20th Century Fox 1965)

When you carry a product line with over 400 things, there are a few goodies that slip between the cracks.  One of these is Venetian Gem Base Coat. This is a nice creamy but thick off-white plaster that is a great base for many finishes. 

Why is this, at first blush a rather bland looking product, one of my favorites? Well:

1) It tints so easy. I like using Setcoat but you can use any FE colorant including Stain & Seal. I've also used flat latex paint up to 25% per gallon.  In many cases a half a cup of color to a gallon is plenty.  The product is white so tinted material will look lighter while wet but dries about 40% darker.

2)  It is thick enough to roll or trowel to deliver good coverage in one coat.  I demonstrate a finish later in this post where I tint Venetian Gem Base Coat with two colors and trowel in one layer.  Then I glaze it-a quick pitted plaster finish.  Venetian Gem Base Coat dries to a matte finish which many clients like.

3) It dries slower then some of our other acrylic-based plasters making it a good base for shaping with rollers, combs, or brushes.

4) Because of the 3 traits mentioned above, Venetian Gem Base Coat is a cost effective base layer for more expensive products like Lusterstone or as a cost-effective product on it's own.

Finish One:  A Classic Pitted Plaster.

This is for the client that likes the look of troweled drywall. The product price is $64 per gallon but there are some advantages over a standard drywall type finish (at least the ones we were asked to do). In this finish the material is pre-tinted which means I don't have to trowel, sand, and then paint my surface before glazing.  Since the product is thicker, I get a pitted look rather then flat trowel lines in a single layer.  The product is flexible and tinted through-out so if it chips, which is hard to do, it will chip to color rather then white.  And it sands easily and produces very little dust. I've seen really nice dry wall finishes but this is a great alternative.

I added Off-White Setcoat to my Venetian Gem Base Coat and then divided into 2 parts. To one part, I added a little Italian Sienna and Dark Brown Faux Creme Colors.  I like working over a dark colored base and letting it be a another color in my finish but you could just use the Off-White Setcoat as your base. My base here is Royal Taupe Setcoat.

I buttered my steel blade with each of the colors separately and popped them on wet-into-wet.  It is easier to place the darker color first and then the lighter .  I work at least a 3'x3' area and then use the trowel to lightly blend the colors and soften the peaks. Don't over work the plasters because you want to see two colors, Some trowel lines are fine and add to the interest. This layer dries within 2 hours.

Next is glazing. I use a lot of Stain & Seal mixed with FX Thinner because the color is so rich and I usually have some left from cabinetry.  The key is to have a water bottle handy.  I brush on and then spritz with water while softening the glaze with a dry cloth or terry towel.  An added benefit is the water tends to "speckle" the stain which is a cool effect. Only work areas in sizes that you can reach to feather out the edge before working the next section.  And that's it. I rarely topcoat a wall unless the client specifically asks for it as this finish holds up really well in high traffic areas.

Finish Two: An Easy Grass Cloth

It's baaaack!

Since the first of January, we have had 4 requests to match grass cloth wallpaper. There are many approaches to this paper but this one works well on large walls where pulling a brush straight is almost impossible and back breaking.  And if it is a double entry or an angled ceiling? Do yourself a favor and stick with wallpaper.

For my sample, I just used the tan tinted Venetian Gem Base Coat and troweled a medium thick layer. It is fine to have trowel lines and even some of the base coat showing. On an 8foot wall, I will do this in one long strip. For other walls I trowel a strip that is manageable and then trowel my next section lapping areas.

Cut up a standard wallpaper brush into smaller sections that make it easier to hold and allows you to get into small wall areas.  "Whisk" the brush up and down rather then trying to pull in a single fluid stroke. And do this multiple times to vary the density.  This layer takes 1-2 hours to dry.

Trowel some Queen Anne's Lace Lustersuede on the finish. 



And then use a damp cloth to move the Lustersuede around. This minimizes chatter in this layer and gives you more coverage with the Lustersuede.

You could stop right here and have a pretty glass cloth.  I add the next layer (if a client will pay for it) for greater depth and it really hides any lap lines on large walls.  Butter your trowel with Antique Parchment Lustersuede.

Pop this over the dried surface in connecting areas. Then place your trowel flat and push it up and down and across-the Lustersuede is wetter then regular Lusterstone and will move.



You want to make sure and not have abrupt stop and start marks. And vary the width of areas to keep the finish from being "stripey."

Finish Three: Easy Embossed Leather or Wax Resist Look.

Start by rolling a coat of Venetian Gem Base Coat with a fluffy cloth roller.  I left this un-tinted.



I applied thinned Cherry Stain & Seal mixed with some American Walnut Stain & Seal (3 parts FX Thinner: 2 parts Cherry : 1/2 part American Walnut) over the dried base. I spritzed with water and removed with a dry cloth.

I always take a lot of my glaze color off.  When the glaze is dry (FX Thinner dries faster then other glaze mediums), select a pattern and tape it to the surface.  I chose a new pattern from Wallovers Stencils and troweled a layer of Venetian Gem Base Coat over the pattern.

Repeat the relief pattern over the surface.  When dry, I brushed another stain mix of 3 parts FX Thinner + 1 part American Walnut Stain + 1/4 part Rich Brown Stain and softened with a damp cloth.  This gives the look of an embossed leather or a wax resist effect.

Finish Four:  Using a roller

I like the Venetian Gem Base Coat as a medium for the specialty rollers because it is thicker then Lusterstone, more matte then Venetian Gem if you want a low luster look, and not as sticky as Softex.  I tinted this one with some Bronze Setcoat for a very low luster metallic.

After troweling a long vertical stripe, I roll the spots roller through the wet material. This is an easy roller to use because it is non-directional and can be turned on its side to get ceiling lines.  I roll lots of spots so I can lap sections easier.  Wipe the roller with a damp cloth in between rolls.

When this is dry, I rolled a coat of Leo Gold Metal Glow over the finish.  Metallics are a little tacky to roll.  I roll the Leo Gold and soften with a damp cloth as I go-this looks more like a glaze then a full coverage paint.  You can also thin your Metal Glow with glaze medium or extender if needed.

When the Metal Glow is dry, I brushed the Surface with the same American Walnut/Rich Brown Stain that I used above.

When this is finished, some people think it looks like hammered metal. Other people think it looks like Ostrich.

I guess it is the visual illusion of finishes, like this:

Do you see the finisher at her first class or the one that just finished a 1,000 foot ceiling?

In the end, as long as you see this:

then any of these finishes is a winner!