Wonder-faux, LLC

Camouflage Room

2010-03-15T13:04:00.001-05:00

Here is a boy’s room I painted. Two of the walls are a dark green. The other two walls I painted to look like camouflage.

This was a pretty easy project. The trickiest part was mapping out the colors.

I think I need to go back and get some pictures with the furniture in it.

The Burkhardt House

2009-11-04T09:25:00.001-06:00

Sorry, I’ve been lazy about keeping up with my blog. I was gently reminded by several followers that I needed an update. I WILL get better about updating more often.

Here is some work I did at a friend’s house. Their oldest boy loves frogs. We started with a green khaki base coat. Then I added some little accents around the room.

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In addition to painting the bedroom. I’ve painted an accent wall at the end of the hallway. It’s a tissue paper texture with a colorwash. It makes a great background for her mirror wall.

Vickie’s Nail Salon

2009-07-28T09:07:00.001-05:00

First, let me apologize for my lack of posting these past few months. I have been enjoying my time with the kids being out of school. That being said, I haven’t made the time to be on the computer or work much for that matter. I’m trying to get back into the groove. Less than three weeks until school starts again.

These pictures are of a nail salon I had the pleasure of doing a couple years ago. The owner, Vicki is a great person. She is very involved in our community and a great inspiration to any businesswoman. I met her several years ago and we instantly hit it off. It amazes me the amount of things she can pack into each day.

After many years of being on Main Street, Wauconda her business was becoming too large for the space. Vicki built a new facility with lots more room. It’s got separate areas for the spa, facials, hair and nails.

I gave the upper half of the walls a colorwash treatment in an eggplant color. The lower half was textured and colored to give it a limestone finish.

This was my second time doing a commercial job. I ran into some problems with the other contractors, that did the prep work and base coating. The walls were to be primed and base coated prior to me starting. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that the walls weren’t actually primed before the base coat was applied. After taping off the stones and applying the texture, I allowed it to dry. When I started peeling the tape off, it was removing more than just the tape. The paint and everything all the way down to the drywall was coming off. It was a complete nightmare. After several discussions with the contractors, we got confirmation that the walls were never primed. This meant I had to patch the areas that were ruined and prime the walls again. Oh yeah, and redo all the taping and stone work. Once this was done the stones were colored to create the look of limestone.

pedicure area

The wall behind the chairs is bronze with a turquoise colorwash. I love this color combination.

This back wall has tissue paper for texture. Then I applied copper paint and colorwashed with more turquoise.

It was a relief to finish this project given the problems I encountered along the way. It was quite a learning experience for sure. It goes to show why the prep work is one of the most important parts of the job.

Vickie’s is a place I visit frequently. It’s where my family goes for all our beauty needs. We recently had the pleasure of celebrating my daughters’ 7th birthday there. She invited five of her friends and I invited some of mine and together enjoyed some pampering.

My Current Project

2009-05-08T10:30:00.001-05:00

Here is the house I have been working on for the past couple of weeks. The homeowners have been remodeling their house and had some faux finishing done. They weren’t happy with the way their last faux finisher did the dining room. They contacted me to redo it. I redid the silver stripes and completely changed the ceiling. The ceiling had a sponged look before that didn’t compliment the walls at all. Sorry, I didn’t get any before picture of this room. Here is the completed room. I can’t wait to see what it looks like with the furniture in it.

I also repainted their bathroom. It had a venetian plaster type finish. I think they were going for a marble look, that didn’t turn out quite right. So, I repainted it with a bronze linen type look. After several days, the husband decided he didn’t like this either. It’s too close to the wood tones, so I’ll be lightening it.

I was also asked to change the living room. It’s a green plaster, but too much green for the homeowners. I troweled some of the gold I used for the dining room ceiling over the green. This toned down the green and also helped the two rooms flow a little better.

The after picture didn’t photograph very good. The gold was still wet and looks a lot more blotchy than it actually is. It has more of a subtle marble look to it. I’ll have to get another picture of it when I go back.

I am also doing the bedroom wall that they didn’t like. The headboard wall had a cloud-like finish on the upper half. I had suggested to do a colorblock technique and incorporate the two different blues, some silver, brown/bronze and white. Well, I got it drawn out and started painting it. To my surprise the next day I got a call and the husband thinks it’s too contemporary.

I must admit, this one was a little disappointing. I feel it really looked nice with their headboard and bedding. Oh well, it’s back to the studio to come up with another idea.

Sometimes, these things happen. It’s hard for some people to visualize what an entire wall is going to look like from just a small sample. I enjoy the challenge and look forward to finding the perfect solution for this room. I’ll post more when it gets finished.

My Kids Rooms.

2009-04-29T12:06:00.001-05:00

As you can imagine, my kid’s rooms have been painted several times. Jake was my first born and while pregnant with him (not knowing if I was having a boy or girl) I painted my first mural. This is what started my love for painting. I painted the nursery with a colorwashed blue sky, grass, picket fence, tree, flowers and Suzy’s Zoo characters. Unfortunately, I can’t find my pictures of this right now.

While pregnant with Jess, Jake moved to his big boy room which was painted to look like Bikini Bottom from SpongeBob.

After a few years with SpongeBob, I changed Jake’s room to Herbie cars. I don’t have pictures of this, because I was never very crazy about the way it turned out.

Currently, Jake’s room is painted to look like cinder blocks with graffiti on it. I also painted a large area with chalkboard paint so he can add his own graffiti. As you can see, other people like to add to it too.

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Jess had the Suzi’s Zoo room for awhile, we added a rainbow to one wall. Then, a couple years ago I decided it was finally time to paint over it and let Jess express herself.

Jess’ room is dark pink, light pink and black. I painted a harlequin pattern on her headboard wall and she added some stick on Bratz wall art.

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Yes, it is very bright. I fits her rockstar, girly, diva attitude perfectly.

Kids rooms are my favorite to paint. I love to get the kids involved and have them help decide some of the key features. Even if we adults don’t agree, I think it’s great to let them have it their way (to certain extents).

I designed their current rooms to hopefully last awhile. Since the business is picking up, I don’t have as much time to repaint theirs as often. I think they each have a room they can live with for several more years. Although, I’m sure if they came up with another cool idea and asked me to do it I would… it’s fun to paint.

My Cabin Bathroom

2009-04-14T11:01:00.001-05:00

This is my bathroom. I started this project because I wanted to test painting over linoleum. I told my husband I wanted to paint tree stumps on the floor with leaves scattered around it. His comment was “you want to do what”. Fortunately, I’ve yet to do something that he hasn’t liked, so I’ve still the freedom to paint as I please.

We have a cabin in Northern Wisconsin and I just love all the cabin decor you can find. So, to go with my tree stumps I decided to make this my little cabin away from the cabin.

On the walls, I stenciled some dragon flies with Venetian Plaster. Then, I applied three more coats of Venetian Plaster over top. This makes them very subtle. Can you see it next to my towel hook?

After the work was all done, I got to embellish the room with my cabin items. I absolutely LOVE this room, it makes me smile and reminds me of Up North.

The only thing I STILL need to do is add a picture of our Cabin to the wall about the towel bar. I haven’t decided if I want to paint one or just do a drawing. After that’s done, this room will be perfect.

The Lindy’s project…

2009-04-06T12:30:00.001-05:00

Here is some work I did at a restaurant in town. The place started out as a little neighborhood bar. A couple years ago, they did a huge renovation. Now, it’s one of the most beautiful buildings in town (in my opinion). It’s also got an amazing view of Bangs lake.

This is the faux brick wall I painted along with the billboard sign with their logo. It was a lot of fun painting the brick while the real brick layers were working on the brick columns shown in the same picture.

This is a close up of the billboard I painted on the brick wall. I woodgrained it and gave it an aged look. We wanted it to look like an old sign.

These columns behind the bar are also faux. They wanted brick columns, but the bar wasn’t strong enough to hold real brick. I got some pretty funny looks carrying in these brick columns. People thought I was really strong. It was pretty funny.

Finally, here is a picture of the ceiling I did for them. It’s got an aged patina look. It really finishes off the space.

Luckily, I was able to work on it at home and have it installed by one of the workers.

This is one of those jobs that you don’t get much recognition from, because most people think it’s real and not painted. A couple of the waitresses get a kick out of telling the customers that it’s actually paint and not real brick.

Keep your eyes open. You never know you might be looking at something painted instead of the real thing. That’s what makes faux finishing so much fun.

Taxes, cleaning and painting…..

2009-03-31T17:21:00.001-05:00

Ok, I’ve gotten sidetracked once again. No, it hasn’t REALLY taken me this long to clean the studio. I had the studio clean last week. Then, I had my taxes than really needed to be done. There was also a painting job thrown in the mix and preparing for kids getting a week off school for spring break.

I can actually see what paints and supplies I’ve got now. I love when it’s clean, but why doesn’t it ever last???????

I must confess… part of the reason I didn’t post sooner is because I wash hoping to get the sides of this desk finished first. I did get the panels stained. I just haven’t been able to get them cut down to size. One of these days I’ll get them done. I did however build this rack to hold my sample boards and other items.

Hopefully your projects are getting done quicker than mine these days. Soon, it’ll be even harder to stay inside. I think spring is finally here after this last snow storm.

I FINISHED THE SIDES OF THE DESK…Finally!!!!

Sometimes all it takes is admitting you don’t know when you’ll get it done. Yesterday while the kids had friends over playing, I finished the sides for the desk. What as difference it makes. Unfortunately, the kids broke my camera yesterday so I can’t take a picture yet. If that is the worst that happens over spring break, it’s not too bad. My camera has been slowly dying anyway, I guess they just helped it along. Hopefully, I’ll be going out this weekend to pick a new one. I really need to be able to take pictures of my paintings.

My Studio – before the cleaning

2009-03-17T09:49:00.001-05:00

I can’t believe I’ve let my studio get so messy. It usually gets messy when I’m in the middle of projects, but this time it has gotten WAY out of control. Look, you can’t even see my desk because it’s buried.

One of my favorite things in the studio is my sink. What a luxury it is to not have to run to the garage to clean my brushes.

So, my current project is to get this studio back in order. I started on it yesterday and plan on finishing it today. I need to have room so I can get started on some sample boards I need to do. Also I am procrastinating a little. I’m supposed to be working on getting my tax stuff ready. John if you are reading this, I promise I’ll work on the taxes tomorrow.

I’ll post the completed project…hopefully later today.

Sadie Wellington Salon

2009-03-12T10:27:00.001-05:00

This is a salon I recently did some work in. It has a very warm feeling when you walk into it. One wall is exposed brick. I just love the feeling exposed brick adds to a space. They requested that I frame in the mirrors to bring some warmth to that side of the room.

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Before pictures of the two mirrors. The larger mirror is 30ft. long and the smaller one is 5ft. long.

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Here we are in action, applying the copper base for our faux finish.

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Finally, here is the finished product. After removing the tape, I stepped back to inspect the job. I must say, this was the first time I ever got the feeling that the finish product had always been there. It fits in so perfectly to the space and really frames the mirrors nicely.

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These before and after pictures sure show how a faux finish can transform a space into something wonderful.

If you are ever in the area, check of this salon. Sadie Wellington Salon is located in Barrington, Illinois. For more information about them, check out their website http://www.swsalon.com.

My EXPO booth.

2009-03-04T08:36:00.001-06:00

For weeks I’ve been creating columns, painting panels and refinishing furniture. All this in preparation for our local business EXPO. Well, last weekend was the EXPO and it was VERY successful.

I was very happy with the way my booth came together. I’d visualized it in my head for months. It’s awesome when my visions actually become reality (there are many times I can’t get that to work out). I think this years booth looked much more put-together and professional than last years. I’m already thinking of a few minor changes for next year, but for now it’s done.

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photos by Joyce http://perfect-beginning.blogspot.com/

The EXPO was very busy this year. There were 900 adults that came through the first day alone. I never heard a final count for Sunday, but I would guess it had to be at least 500 people. I got a lot of positive feedback and many leads. I offered a drawing for a gift certificate toward a faux finish and got 33 people that entered. Last year I think I only got 7 or 8 entries. That’s a pretty good increase if you ask me.

I enjoy doing the EXPO, and love that my husband John joins me in the booth. He really believes in me and it shows when he talks to people about my work.

The booth is all packed up and ready to be put away until next time. So… now the fun begins. It’s time to start making those follow-up calls and schedule some appointments.

Preparing for the Business Expo

2009-02-19T08:57:00.001-06:00

Lately, I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to create some new samples, refinish some furniture and build some columns. I’ve been coming up with new things to show at our local business expo.

Last year was my first time participating in it and I was fortunate to win the price of “most creative booth”. It was a very nice surprise. However, I am feeling a little pressure this year to make sure it’s just as good if not better.

I’ve had the idea of building some faux columns. I built the base out of wood and the column is pvc pipe. Here is a picture of it before I’ve started painting it. I’m testing it out in this spot, because I think I’ll keep them here by our patio door. I think it’s the perfect solution, because we have no storage room. They will fit in perfectly with the decor.

My studio has spilled over to the rest of the basement, because I was running out of room. Here are some pictures of my very messy studio and some of the projects I’m working on.

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As you can see I’ve started painting the columns. I really like the way the actual columns look. I’ve redone the bases several times, because I haven’t gotten the look I’m going for. John keeps telling me all the columns he has seen, the base matches the column. So… after several attempts of giving them a different look, I’ve given in to making them match the column. I’ll post the pictures when they are finished.

On the table, the black and white things are banners I’m doing faux finishes on. I’m going to hang them in my booth. I’ve got so many ideas of what I want to do, but only four panels. It’s been tough deciding which finish to choose. As of this morning, I’ve got one finished it’s black with bronze and gold (unless I add a stencil to it). I think what I’m going to do for the other three is: one as a wall of 12x12 slate tiles. One is going to be a neutral colorwash, with a gold design. The last one is going to be girly, but I’m not quite sure what. I’m thinking purple or pink with flowers and glitter. I love adding the sparkles for girls rooms.

I’ve also been working on some furniture, this is new for me. The first table is a coffee table I got from a friend who was selling it at a garage sale. I’ve always wanted to do a checkerboard on a table, so here is my version of that. Also, I’ve posted the before picture of the table.

Here is another little table I’m working on, it’s still not finished. It’s getting close though.

Ok, I’ve still got lots of work to get done before next Saturday. I better get to it. I’ll post pictures of my booth when it’s set up.

My little painters.

2009-02-10T10:09:00.001-06:00

I came across these pictures while searching through my disks of old photos. I can laugh about it now, but at the time it was a nightmare.

We live on a hill, so we’ve got this cement wall outside our garage. I suppose it’s to keep the hill in place, but it’s quite ugly. One day, I was playing around and painting it to look like limestone. I used those little bottles of acrylic paint you get at the craft store, mixed with a little glaze. When I started it, I thought it would come off when it rained, so I was just testing things out to see how it would look. Well, to my surprise two years later it was still there, unfinished and looking like crap.

So, one day while I was doing some painting in the garage, Jake and Jess wanted to do some painting too. This is nothing unusual, every time I paint they want to paint too. I decided what the heck, I’ll let them paint the cement wall. You can see some of the paint got on the wall.

We (probably more me than John) decided just let them have fun. It’s nice outside, we can just hose them off when they are done. Yeah right! This paint dried on them and it was a total nightmare to get off. But look how much fun they had doing it.

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Jess looks like a little boy here with her short hair and no shirt on. I think we had two summers straight where she went topless. Ahhh, to be a carefree little girl. She’s six now and won’t even get changed without closing her door now. I’m sure one day she’s going to hate these pictures, but they are so cute.

Mead’s house.

2009-02-04T10:29:00.001-06:00

Here is a project I did for some very good friends of mine. I’ve known them for about as long as I’ve known my husband. It’s my husbands’ best buddy from high school. I’ve painted every bedroom in their house and one of the bathrooms. Today, I’m going to just show you the bathroom and two of the bedrooms (the other three were just painted, no faux finishing).

This bathroom is one they HATED. It’s the bathroom off their master bedroom. As you can see in the before pictures, it had plain white walls, with grey tiles and a burgundy accent tile. Ideally, they would like to have gutted the entire thing. However, since that wasn’t going to happen, I suggested “let’s just paint it”. Our main goal was to make the burgundy tile work with the rest of the room. Well, what better way to do that than make the walls burgundy. I applied venetian plaster to the walls. As you can see, it totally transformed the room. I also painted the drywall around the tub a glossy black. I think that made a big difference too.

This is one of the most dramatic before and after examples I’ve got in my portfolio. It was a lot of work; three coats of troweled on venetian plaster and a protective topcoat. Absolutely worth it in the end.

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This next room is the master bedroom. It is just off the above bathroom. We wanted to make sure the bathroom and bedroom colors complemented each other. For this one, I troweled on a base to give it some texture. Then, I painted a base coat over the texture. Finally, I did a colorwash to highlight the highs and lows of the textured walls. As you can see it really warms up the room. I just love the way these before and after shots look. It’s amazing how it transformed the space from cold to warm and cozy. And it was done with just a little faux finishing….. I love my job!

The most recent room I did for them was their daughter’s room. This was really fun, because I got to do a surprise makeover of her room. I was told she wanted orange walls and l think they said she liked purple and lime green too. So, I went to IKEA to find some inspiration.

I found a beautiful duvet cover and went from there. I painted the walls a light orange (I felt like it was a big band-aid before the finishing touches were added). I then painted the ceiling dark purple with a hand painted design in light green. On one of the walls, I also painted some panels. The panels were done the opposite of the ceiling, light green background with the design hand painted in purple.

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The ceiling is definitely a one of a kind. My neck was killing me by time I finished it. If I ever do it again, I will used a stencil. Oh, who am I kidding. If someone asks, of course I’ll do it again. It’s just like childbirth, you forget how much it hurts after awhile. It looks really cool when you are laying on the bed looking up. It was a successful makeover, she loved it.

Thank you to The Mead’s for giving me the freedom to “play” with their rooms. I love you guys!

Meet my family…

2009-02-02T11:12:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I’m still trying to figure out what all I want to include in my blog. I started it mostly to show painting projects that I’m working on, thinking about, or have already completed. But, part of me also wants to share some of my day to day craziness. I hope I make sense and this doesn’t turn into some crazy mixed up jumbled mess (wait, that seems to describe my life perfectly). Did I mention, I love spontaneity and seem to work my best under the pressure of a deadline?

I guess one of the first things I feel I need to say is… I was never good at writing. I tend to have ALOT of run-on sentences and I’m not the best speller. However, I think if you ever talk to me I probably talk in run-on sentences too. When I have something to say I like to get it out there before I forget it. And if I’ve had a lot of coffee or I’m really excited about something, watch out cuz I can talk really fast then. By the way, I’m about finished with a half a pot of coffee at this point.

So, a little more about me and my family. I’ve got a very handsome husband, John is one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. I’ve never known anyone to be so genuinely nice. You can just tell it comes so naturally for him. He is very supportive of my painting and business. He doesn’t always see my vision, but he trust me and so far, he’s liked everything I’ve done. He taught me that “everything happens for a reason”. That is one of the most important things I’ve learned in my life. It’s one of the three most precious gifts he’s given me. The other two, are our wonderful children… Jake and Jessica (better known as Jess).

Jake is eight and loves football, Brett Farve, baseball, PS2, Wii, and music. He adores his father. From the time he was four, up until last year, he would dress like his dad almost every day. I think he wore a shirt and tie to preschool/kindergarten 90% of the time, because he wanted to dress like dad. He still prefers to be with his dad over anyone else. He’s even turned down play dates with friends if dad is going to be home. I hope they never lose that bond.

Jess is six and loves fashion, polly pockets, bratz, iCarly, and being with her friends. She is my little social butterfly. She comes up with the craziest outfits, but you gotta love them. Although we are already butting heads over some of them. She doesn’t seem to understand why tanktops aren’t appropriate in the winter. Jess is the sweetest girl, most of the time. Lately, she has been testing out how far she can get with the sassiness and showing some attitude. I can see many confrontations in our future, but for now, I’m enjoying the sweetness and trying to nip the attitude in the butt. I know, I know I’ve got a long road ahead of me. So far though, I can say her kindness, sense of humor and the fact I think she is so darn cute is outweighing those sassy moments.

Let’s see, what else? Oh, we currently have three cats.

The first one we got was Spooner Baby (commonly referred to as Spoonie). We got her from a shelter in Spooner Wisconsin in 2005. She is really friendly and doesn’t let any of our guests visit without giving her some of their attention. She’s kinda long haired, tiger colored with white.

The second one we got is Jelly Bean. We got him on Easter in 2006 from my parents. He is the coolest cat, everybody LOVES him. He is a big fluffy moosh ball. He loves to be held and just flops over your shoulder. Unfortunately, the past several months he has been having some kidney problems. Looks like we are going to have to get him on a special diet to try and prevent his reoccurring kidney infections.

Finally, our third cat is Cali. Once again, she came from my parents. She is Jelly Bean’s half sister. We got her in August 2007, on my birthday. Cali has no tail, just like her mother. She is a nice cat, a little more stand-offish than the other two. We are currently trying to find her a new home. She is too young to be on the special diet that Jelly needs to be on and it’s too hard to try and keep it separate. Plus, I must admit John was right three cats is too many.

Ok, so now you’ve met my family. I’ll be posting updates on us as well and my projects and anything else I find interesting to share. Like I said, hopefully you can follow my writing and make some sense of it. Just remember, I’m a painter not a writer.

By the way, if you’ve got the time, leave me some comments. This way I know I’m not just talking/writing to myself. Enjoy the day!

The Bachelor’s Pad

2009-01-28T13:45:00.002-06:00

Here are some photos from a job I did a few years ago. This was to be a new home for a newly single man. I would describe his style as modern and contemporary. My first meeting for this project was to see the place, meet the Interior Designer and give some ideas for a bathroom. I ended up getting the original bathroom, in addition to painting the foyer, an accent wall master bedroom and master bathroom. The homeowner really liked my ideas.

The original bathroom had a grey tiled shower and white cabinets. We went with a plum brown strie over light grey. After completing the walls, I recommended doing grey storm clouds on the ceiling. It really added to the room.

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The next project was the foyer. He really liked my sample of a striped Luster Stone. For some reason, this reminds me of a tuxedo. I’m not sure why, it just gives me the feel of manly elegance. What a great statement to make when you first enter his home.

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On to the next wall. For his accent wall, which is actually the backside of his kitchen. He had stated that he really likes the look of slate. So, my response to that was “let’s go pick out a piece of slate to duplicate”. This turned into our first shopping trip of many to come. We selected a piece of slate, so off to my studio to replicate it. (Now, I’m really wishing I kept that piece of slate to show the comparison.) The sample turned out awesome. It was a four layer process with textures and blending colors on the wall. I think it turned out really nice and really compliments the colors throughout the house.

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I can’t remember if the master bedroom or master bathroom came next. I think it was the master bedroom.

After working there awhile on the other rooms, I really felt like I was getting to know his taste and personality. He had just had is master bedroom painted, but I felt it was really missing something. I came up with the idea of colorblocking on the headboard wall. From there, he added his idea of incorporating “the perfect rectangle”. This is something he is very interested in, so he gave me the measurements for “the perfect rectangle”. To date, I think this wall has the most dramatic impact of any room I’ve done. It really draws you into the room (I guess that’s probably not a bad thing for as single guy).

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The master bathroom ended up requiring a little trust on his part. As you may have notices there is a theme going of blues and greys. The master bathroom was no exception. We decided we were going to go with a textured finish with a color wash over it. The base was a light tan and he wanted a blue color wash on top. I had suggested adding both blue and brown for the color wash. He didn’t like the idea of the brown, so I did as he requested. Unfortunately, when I started, we decided it looked like a dead persons flesh… not a very pretty sight I know. Here is where the trust came into play. I suggested once again adding some brown and blue blending them as I go. (Of course, with the guarantee it would be redone if he didn’t like it.) Lucky for me, he really liked it and I was able to finish the room.

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After all the work of painting and decorating was done, it was time for him to move in and have a party. As a housewarming gift, I decided to paint him yet one more thing. I created this piece of artwork to go in his master bathroom.

This project really was a learning experience for me. It was my first job that started as one room and turned into several rooms. I was also able to assist in a lot of the decorating and shopping. Not only did I have fun working on this project, I also gained a new friend.

Yet another reason I love my job.

Foil sample boards...

2009-01-20T17:06:00.014-06:00

The kids are back to school after their five day weekend. They got two days off because school was cancelled due to extreme cold and Monday off for Martin Luther King Day. Now that they are in school, I've got a chance to post my samples I made using my foils.

These first two are for a frame design to go around a 30' long mirror at a Salon I'm bidding on. They are very similar, the only difference is the second one doesn't have a color wash over the gold foiled design. The base is a copper metallic paint. Then I added some Van dyke brown, turquoise and gold.

I'm not a photographer and it's hard to get a good picture of anything metallic... at least for me.

This next one is my first attempt at matching our inspiration piece from 2008 Salon. I did this without my picture of the original with me. I can see now that there is more black showing than the original had and I need to add more of the magenta and blue to it. Back to the studio to work on this one. I also want to give the drip lines a little more color, so they don't look so washed out. Yep, the drips are part of the design. This has a black base with gold foil over it. Then a magenta and blue colorwash. Finally, the drips are added. This one gets messy, thank goodness for dropcloths. I like how this one is looking!

This last one isn't photographing the way I'd like it too. It looks pretty cool in person. It has an off white base coat. Next, I applied the clear halographic foil. I cut/tore the foil and placed it in sections, letting some pieces overlap to create more depth and interest. Finally, I added a turquise colorwash over the entire thing. I think this would be a cool look in a small bathroom (Joyce, your bathroom off the front door comes to mind). It would also look pretty cool on a ceiling.

Actually, I think I'm going to add some of the clear halographic foil to my basement ceiling. It has a stone texture to it and this will add a little umph (is that a word) to it, yet be subtle. It really looks cool when the light hits it, rainbow colors. Pictures of that will be coming soon.

Until next time....

Foil sample ideas...

2009-01-17T11:22:00.012-06:00

Today, my plan is to play around and make some samples with my foils (I say play, because it really doesn't feel like work when I'm in the studio). I've got a couple ideas I want to work on.

First one is a sample for a job I'm bidding on. I need to create a frame to go around a 30' long mirror. My idea is to do a copper textured finish with a gold foil stencil.

Second one is for my very dear friend, Joyce. We saw this painting at the 2008 Salon.

Painting by: Lauren Childs

We decided that something like this would look awesome above her fireplace.

And finally, I want to create a sample with my clear halographic foil. I saw a picture of a finish in Gary Lord's book "It's Faux Easy with Gary Lord".

So, down to the studio I go. I'll post pictures of the completed samples.

The "Outhouse" project

2009-01-15T10:19:00.017-06:00

This has got to be my favorite project I've done. My parents live in a log cabin, the one I grew up in. Off the kitchen is this little half bath. I think from the time I started painting I was telling them they should let me paint it to look like an outhouse. Finally, a couple years ago they gave me the go ahead. I wood grained the walls (except the existing log wall), wood grained the door and built a wood bench around the toilet. I also wood grained the cabinet and replaced the doors for a more rustic look.

I started by patching and prepping the walls. My mom had already removed the wallpaper that was there.

Once the base coat was dry, I taped of the sections for each board and wood grained them. I let them dry, then taped of and did the next section.

Once the walls were wood grained to look like boards, I added the shading between the boards. I also added some knot holes and nails at the top and bottom of each board.

I followed the same technique for the doors, but also added the "Z" cross boards on the front and back of the door.

I love the way this door turned out. It sure shows how a little shading and highlights can give it dimension. Would you have guessed it's a flat door?

Once I got started, my dad said he wanted a mouse hole too. So, I added a little mouse hole and a mouse... actually, it's a little bigger than I'd like, so it's more of a cute little rat. I'm very happy with the way the room turned out, it fits in perfectly with their rustic decor.

Recently, I was there to paint the kitchen walls outside the bathroom to look like stone. I'll post more on that later.

Hi, I'm Tracy Lehmann...

2008-11-30T13:31:00.002-06:00

Hi, my name is Tracy. Welcome to my project blog. Here you will find examples of my work. In the weeks and months to come I will be adding project information, photos and soon short video examples of my work. From projects that I have done in the past to projects that I am working on now, this is a great place to get a peek at what I do.

Now let me tell you a little bit about myself. I grew up in Belvidere, but now reside in Wauconda, Illinois with my wonderful husband John and our two children; Jake and Jessica (just Jess, if you ask her).

I started painting while pregnant with my son Jake back in 1999. Since then, I’ve continued to expand my knowledge and portfolio to include faux finishes, murals and frameable artwork.

My friends say I’m crazy because I love to paint. I find it to be very relaxing. Not to mention how rewarding it is to see the way you can change a room, just by adding a little color. When you add a mural of something you love to a wall, it can change an ordinary room to an oasis away from reality.

Everyone needs a little color in their life. Let me help you express yourself by adding some life and color to your walls. We’ll work together to determine what best suits your taste. From simple painting to murals, I can get the job done for you.

Wonder-faux Finishes, LLC: Specializing in unique and one of a kind murals, decorative painting and faux finishes