Simple Glaze, Subtle Glaze, Smart Move…

Some finishers dread glazing jobs, while others love them and feel they can make their best money/hour  glazing.   How can that be?    Maybe the dreaders feel it is ‘too much the same’ , and gets bored after awhile.  Or, maybe they don’t have an application fine tuned, so they fear fighting the wall the whole time.

I have to admit, there was awhile when I didnt show many glaze samples.  It could be because my first glaze job was over flat walls in a model home’s kitchen (GADS, flat!) .  I found out that , you can glaze over flat paint, but it takes one hell of an effort to get it to look nice.    Instead, I became proficient behind a trowel, and if I did any glazing it was usually being applied over some type of stone or texture. But, with time comes confidence.  Find what works for you, and wear it like a glove.  For me, I got my ‘groove’ thing happening.  That is how I describe my movement when taking glaze to a wall.

This kitchen was back in my early days.   I can tell because I was using a ladder instead of my favored 4 ft two tiered rolling cart.   The wall by the ladder is ‘work-in-progress’-

I actually LIKE glaze finishes – there definitely is a place for them in a home.   They offer a nice soft, subtle backdrop for the rest of the room.  Its a great finish that can be accomplished in one pass, thus its also a more affordable finish choice for those on a tight budget.  This was a back mudroom that I glazed using probably three or four tints -

From a distance, a glazed finish can look like a plaster finish -

Glaze finishes can be used anywhere.   Ceilings -

Ceilings AND walls -

Bedrooms -

Brick walls -

Switchplates-

Even countertops! (seek help from a professional for this) -

Back full circle to a recent, contemporary home, this week-

Glazing.  It’s all good!

A Teacher Transforms Her Library Using Caromal Colours

I can see half the fun of teaching homeowners about Caromal Colours will be in seeing just WHAT they do with it!

My friend Mary is a third grade teacher.  Mary attended both my Distress for Success and All That Glitters Workshops.  She decided to put the products to use to refinish their library built in bookcase, the window cornice, and the walls.   I gave her a mini how-to for the textured plaster – she liked the idea of finishing the walls with it, but the Plaster Workshop hadn’t been held yet.

When the products arrived I got an email which read,   “ It’s official, let the party begin!!  Joe’s a little worried...”   (Joe is her husband )

She worked on the room this past week.   This is the before (I forgot to remind her to get good before shots) -

(the walls are dark plum but look black in this photo)-

She emailed me Monday evening. She had the lower cabinets covered.  She used chipping creme  over the existing cabinets, then 2 layers of the Peppercorn textured basecoat.  She was worried she was doing it wrong – I think because mid-stage its pretty ugly.  So I told her I’d swing by Tuesday for a quick look-see before she started to sand.   (I also made sure to pack my mouse sander in case she’d want to borrow).    She had nothing to worry about.  Everything was dry and ready for a light sand.  I left her my mouse sander.

Tuesday night she emailed me again –    ” I still have to do shelves, knobs, window box, and walls, but I’m exhausted…“

Wednesday I swung by to give her a 1-2 on the textured plaster and took my camera -

Wednesday night I laughed when I got her email -  “ I don’t know how you do this all the time, I have blisters on my hands, my neck is kinked, and i’m sore, like I worked out…BUT HAVEN’T!! Almost done, one more wall left, want to try to get the cornice box down…looks great..Joe loves it..will be ordering more to do island..soon..” I replied back to her ,  “but you DID workout!”.  I reminded her that she tackled one hell of a nice size job in just a couple of days… she rocked the house!

Thursday afternoon she emailed me to say she was done – “Joe keeps walking in there saying…wow, i just can’t believe how nice it looks…“    (Mary, I hope you don’t kill me for snagging clips from your emails but it tells the story so perfectly)

So today,  the Saturday that is my own,  I couldn’t wait to swing back by,  camera in tow, to get some after photos-

Mary,  you have earned the right to do the dance!

For those paying attention,  she used  1 16 oz Chipping Creme,  2 2/3 quarts Peppercorn Textured Basecoat, 1 16 oz Toner (still some left),  1/2 gallon Textured Plaster,  3/4 quart Tea Stain Glaze.  And a little bit of the silver gilding kit – she changed her hardware from brass/chrome to silver leaf-

Passing This Neat DIY Inspiration Board Idea Along

I was on MadeByGirl’s blog the other day -  first time.  That happens alot,  stumbling on new blogs, or new sites that have great info or photos or, you name it…  I wanted to pass along this link and her creative DIY ‘how-to’ on making an inspiration board, or memo board, out of fabric and a frame.

What a cool idea.  God knows the more info boards hanging around the house, the better we all will be!  (I really mean that)   Think of all the fabric options colors and patterns, and frame possibilities.    I’ve been playing with my a new line of products this last week, Caromal Colours - and especially love the distressing products that it offers.  MadeByGirl mentions  she got the frame from eBay, I found  myself  thinking  ‘ I could hit Sal Army and get any old mirror or art piece that has GREAT FRAME , bring that home and make it ‘just perfect’ using the textured basecoats and some chipping creme!’

PS – I LOVE the brown walls!