Venetian Gem & Aquawax: Why you should make this match

Looking for a stylish, durable and cost effect finish for your clients?  Please consider the pairing of

Venetian Gem and Aquawax!

Why does this pairing work so well?  Venetian Gem comes in many versatile colors and the consistency gives it great coverage and build.  Aquawax is easily tinted with a variety of Faux Effects products giving you a large range of color options. Here are a few ideas for inspiration:

The lead photograph is a beautiful bathroom in a traditional home. The base is Ultra-polishing Venetian Gem Tint Base left un-tinted. It is also used for the faded damask pattern.  Aquawax was mixed with Caterpillar Gold Metal Glow and Luna White Metal Glow and troweled over the Venetian Gem.

In this darker option, the base is Venetian Gem in Tiger's Eye. The Aquawax is mixed with Sunburst Gold Metal Glow and Toasted Coconut Metal Glow. This is a favorite finish for ceilings paired with oil-rubbed light fixtures.

Here is a similar finish in a cool silver version.  The Venetian Gem is Black Onyx and the Metal Glow colors are Pewter Gold and Wheat mixed with Aquawax.

In the above finish the Venetian Gem Black Onyx is applied with a sea sponge roller. It is then flattened with a trowel creating a texture that gives good coverage to bad walls or orange peel. Aquawax is mixed with Bronze Stain & Seal and Silver Stain & Seal then troweled at the same time over the Venetian Gem.

Verdigris is a classic finish. Our finish starts with Sage Venetian Gem.  The Aquawax is mixed with Faux Effects Light Green and the Blue Green Verdigris Faux Crème Colors. While troweling in the Verdigris colors, we add in some Aquawax mixed with Bronze Faux Crème Color. 

Another interpretation of Verdigris starts with Brown Sapphire Venetian Gem.  The Aquawax is mixed with Turquoise Faux Color, Bronze and Gold Metallic Faux Crème Colors.

We love Moonstone Grey Venetian Plaster-perfect mix of grey and brown, The finish above is Moonstone Grey with Aquawax mixed with Pearl Mica Powder troweled on top.  

The modern fireplace surround is White Venetian Gem Plaster. For the marbled effect we mixed Silver Mica Powder and Pearl Mica Powder with Aquawax. 

A few of these finishes are glazed. This is another advantage to our pairing of Aquawax and Venetian Gem-it is easy to glaze! The shiny and well sealed surface allows you glaze mixes to glide over the surface. Sometimes the glaze will appear to "bead"-that's OK-just pad it out. It will stick.  I recommend this type of finish for large ceilings.

Hope this post gives you several ideas for using Venetian Gem with Aquawax! I know with the holidays the crunch is on and these are all quick and lovely transformations.

And don't forget the November Sale-just in time to get projects wrapped for the season! 

Wax on.....

Rebecca 

Random Acts of Glitter

 

I spy with my sparkly eye more Glitter....

 

 

 

Even Betty's got Bling!

 

 

Oh...pretty!

 

 

Well there you have it. From babies to the Queen, Glitter reigns supreme. Hey, that would make a good t-shirt saying-in rhinestones of course!

 

For my finish today, I am adding glitter to fine mica and Aquawax. Another option for putting some sparkle cleanly in a finish.

 

I started with a Silver background-The new Metallic Setcoat in Gunmetal is a good choice. Another option is a quick troweled layer of Palette Deco Silver. Then I buttered my blade first with Weathered Bronze Lusterstone which I popped on with a flat trowel.  While this is wet, I repeated the process with Charred Gold Lusterstone.

 

 

On a wall, I pop in my colors in 2ft x 2ft sections before using my blade to gently flatten the peaks and blend.  You want to hold the blade at a 45 degree angle and pull it up and down and sideways.

 

 

 

 

 



I mixed our Bright Gold Glitter with Faux Effects Silver Mica Powder and Easy Leaf Nu Antique Gold Mica Powder.  The Powders are mixed together in equal parts, 1 cup each.  The amount of glitter depends on how much bling you want in the end.  To my powder mix (which is one pint) I add a quart of Aquacreme.  Stir well and tight trowel over the dried Lusterstone.

 

Spritz the surface with water as you work. This will move the powder better and actually creates interesting effects as the water reacts with the powders.

 

 

You will see more of the glitter as this layer dries down. I just captured some of the glints of the gold sparkle. Someone needs to invent an app for that-I mean I have an app that captures ghosts on my I-phone so why not glitter?

 

 

This makes a pretty and quick finish. It is also a great base to bump-up the bling for a feature wall or adjoining room.  I mixed some of the Antique Gold Leaf (1/2 cup) with 1 pint Aquawax. Then I added more glitter being heavier handed with the glitter this time.

 

 

I rolled this mix over Wallovers' Textile Stencil.

 

 

 

In the finish below, I started with Charred Gold and Rhino Lusterstone applied in the same technique as above.  I added Turquoise glitter to Sea Spray Metal Glow and rolled this over Royal Design Studios Donatella Damask Stencil.

 

 

 

The applications with glitter are almost endless. I will post some more DIY bling ideas in the future! Because once you start working with it, it is hard to wash walk away from glitter!