Faux Finishes, etc...

Since I've been "compartmentalizing", I've been having fun reading and remembering how fun it was to find these articles, and save them. I've spent hours-and-hours, going through magazines, and cutting out these things, and putting them in binders...which take up too much room...making room for my husband's books in a bookcase along side mine in my office....
I am a firm believer that aside from brain surgery, there's not much I can't learn from a book or a tutorial (I need to remind myself, when I am reading tutorials about the computer...there, I freeze up)...anyway, after learning these techniques, as a designer, I did many of my own faux finishes for clients...they loved them..In fact, time permitting, I will put some on the blog.

I do hope you find instruction and inspiration here...I know I did.............Don't forget, you can double-click, and read the print....try it...also, I always suggest doing a sample board before diving it...saves time, money, and tearing your hair out...been there, done that, bought the tshirt.

After learning these techniques, and before ruining my wrist with falls and other abuses, I was able to charge $50 a square ft. (those were the days), or more....everyone loved whatever I did.

Enjoy- I am off to water aerobics.

Compartmentalizing....

My husband is just now finishing a two-year "gig" as a consultant, and is moving out of his office and back home...which means there are boxes of books in our garage..I have my design books, art books, novels, etc., and he has his scientific journals, business books, (okay, I give up here...he has a doctorate in anatomy, and he is a scientist and a business guy)..which means all kinds of books that he refuses (as do I my books) to just get rid of...which means unless we have tons of bookcases, we are in trouble...We don't have that much wall space in our home...lots of windows, arches, and our offices are "chock full"...
So, for years, I have been cutting articles out of various magazines, and filing them away in plastic sleeves in big binders, which take up a great deal of space...also, they are heavy...so, I am compartmentalizing....I have decided to scan my favorites...I have "sewing, crafts, art, kitchens, window treatments, dining rooms, bedrooms, gardens, the whole gamut, all taking up a great deal of space...I have decided to scan my favorites and share them with you...also, they are then on my computer..which I better back up..don't you think?

I am also writing two novels, and a children's book, which is taking a great deal of my time..along with three days a week of water aerobics, and two days a week of power walking...so, I am going to share with you what I've taken from the notebooks, and hoping that you won't think I'm cheating here...but, I LOVE so much of it.

The first thing I got from my "Fabrics inspiration" notebooks were these wonderful articles from "Marie Claire Idees" from years ago...I had forgotten all about them...now, I will share them with you, and perhaps, getting the "creative juices" flowing again as far as sewing...

Remember, you can double-click on the images, and they will be enlarged...enjoy!!!

I do so enjoy taking bits of fabrics (I save everything, especially, scraps of velvet, silks, moires, beads, ribbons,) and making something from them...I am a "she who dies with the most fabric (scraps and all), wins..

I love gold - and I love stamps, and I love what they've done with these bags.

This ribbon embroidery is devine, and I love making pillows from whatever is around...I also love ribbon roses, and have several books on it...This heart is one of my favorites

Tis actually kind of fun..going through my archives... I hope you find some idees...

Lily's Legacy...Part 1

I've written about Aunt Lily before....Bless her, she passed away last winter, and we recently returned from a trip up North, stopping in Tennessee to put her Estate Sale together, and bring home (at least what we could get in the car-which also was hers) some of the things we inherited from her.....

I adored Lil; she never married, but ran four corporations in New York, and was a "mother/aunt" to my husband and his brother, who died two years ago...Anyway, everything went to us...

Lil never entertained, preferring to say in her wonderful, New York accent, "Ah, come on, I'll take you all out to dinner." I say this in amazement, as she was ready just in case she ever did decide to entertain at home - Royal Doultan crystal (service for 12), china, linens, silver...oh, the silver!

This is a photo of Lily, my husband's father (her brother), and Aunt Mary, who was a hairdresser (as was my husband's father) on Fifth Avenue in New York in the 40's....
Lily is the one with the bow on her hat...she was so cute!

This was the last photograph I took of Lily and my husband...she was 84 by then, and had Alzheimer's...still knew us, but was going downhill rapidly.....
Last night, I couldn't sleep, so around 2 am, I gave up, got up, and got my new toy (my wonderful, new digital camera)....that can do anything ...For 28 years, I was a professional photographer (along with being an interior designer), who shot film - remember film? I also developed my own film, and printed my own shots...even hand-colored many of them.

I tiptoed into the dining room, where I had set out some of the silver...and had hung one of the trays (that's a photo of my father as a boy, and an aunt in the velvet frame...I lit the candles, and decided to experiment with all the "bells and whistles"....so, tell me, which you prefer...(this may get a bit reduntant)

I shot two angles, using the "normal" setting, and not using the flash...never use a flash, as it sucks the life out of a photo...just "push" the film (okay, the ISO)...I can go as fast as 1600, which is wonderful! If you want to see details, double-click on the photo...



I love the the glow of candle light, and the gleam of the silver....(that's one of my hand-painted glass decanters).

Next, I switched to sepia...this is to me the greatest thing since gummy bears were invented!

I used to (yes, I am old...okay, older...62..okay?) have to print the photo, wash and dry the print, then, bleach the print, wash the print, put the print in a stinky, rotten-egg-smelling bath, wash the print again....so much work...Now, (okay, everyone who is under the age of 28 stop laughing at me marveling at this technology)...I push a button!

It brings me to mind of 1940's films shown on Turner Classic Movies, where the man and woman (she has a Marcel hairdo, and is wearing a dressing gown with feather-trimmed sleeves...he is in a smoking jacket, and yes, horrors! they are actually smoking cigarettes, and sipping champagne...she turnes to him, meets his eyes, and smiles..."Happy Dahling?" she croons...

The experiment continues....This is the "neutral" setting...I really like it...not quite "normal", not sepia...gentle...easy on the eyes...almost painterly....

The word "photography" comes from the Greek..."photo" - light - Graphy-writing...it's writing with light...I love that...again, the reflective quality of the silver makes me want to paint it....

The last setting I tried was "vibrant".... puts me in mind of the 1950's "Technicolor", when it first came out...too bright, to vivid, but boy, was everyone wowed by color....I always loved the scene from "The Wizard of Oz", which was much earlier, when Dorothy (and Toto too) landed in Oz...when it switched over from black-and-white to WOW-color!

This, however, in this case, is not my favorite...makes my eyes hurt...Okay, I'm done...for those of you who could give a rip, I tried not to bore you too much, but for those of you, who are interested in photograpy, hopefully, you will give me your opinion..(s)

This bowl of lemons (yes, Lily's silver bowl - there are more pieces that I have yet to polish)...sits on our round, black kitchen table...under the chandelier...At this point, I got tired enough to crawl back into bed and fall asleep...thanking Lily for her lovely things she passed on to us...we WILL use them!