The project was a total creative blast from start to finish. Owner Tahne Stillwell was yet another one of our “Perfect Clients”.  She had a vision and trusted in our creative ability from day one so the marriage of two was enjoyable for all of us involved every step of the way.

Among the installation of: color selection, Copper Patina “drip” finishes, painting the ceiling, trim, doors, and walls, a custom exterior sign, and 3 custom stencils painted over exposed brick we also were commissioned to do an original Marilyn Monroe mural.  I know I know, We were totally psyched to get to work on it.  Tahne 100%  had us at “Marilyn”.

Below is the original “inspiration” photo we found of Marilyn online.

My creative architect Steve put the above photo on photo-shop and created this “custom image” for our client to be the mural.  It’s formatted to look like a layered stencil.

That was really the hardest part of this project.  Interior Designer Peg Malanaphy from Interiors of Stillwater and the salon owner Tahne Stillwell had already selected colors for us, so the next step was to paint.  We did the mural in layers using Sherwin Williams interior wall paint in 4 different sheen’s.  Here’s a few pictures of the mural in progress:

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You can see that the last and final layer that we added was a custom yellow stenciled using a Cutting Edge Stencil called Aladdin.  We did the stencil to frame out her BEAUTIFUL face.  Here is a picture of the finished wall of our very beautiful and flirty gal.  Note the gorgeous Patina finish and colors that Peg installed and picked out.

For Booking appointments at VIVA VOCE SALON:

“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.”
— Marilyn Monroe

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Maggie O’Neill….  where might one begin when paying homage in written form to such an extraordinarily visual lady…First things first…You should probably peep her latest YOUTUBE Video…

Upon my travels with this saucy lady in Morocco I fell smitten and in love with her within seconds… From her studio’s annual Irish celebration parties, to her ‘Kiss me I’m an Artist’ t-shirts  the girl is the epitome of an ArtistE!

Once known as   ‘the dating artist’ ….(she had 30 dates, did 30 paintings…one about each)…I would have loved to have gone to THAT art opening.  Oh, I forgot to mention, she met her future husband on this arty dating adventure…but that’s a whole other story… (He had her when he did his kick ass WORM on the dance floor!) For those of you unfamiliar with the worm…recognize!

Maggie can also be found painting portraits of the seasons latest dresses for Neiman Marcus!  When she is not busy practicing her Wedding Worm routine she is busying her self by painting for the likes of this Falls Desperate Housewives of D.C. (Be sure to look for her on Bravo this Fall!).

The girl oozes talent and creativity, but mostly she SPARKLES and Glistens all things related to paint and positivity…  be on the look out for this classy color lover…something tells me she will be taking over the world just about any day now.

Oh yes and she also has the  most adorably high dimples and her signature ” paddles”  for thumbs that help her get all that painting done and swim really fast… Hey ladies, even cowgirls get the blues!

She does a whole slew of talented painty things out of her O’neill Studios in DC.  The girl is a vision…an inspiration…a HOOT and it should be in a textbook somewhere that  all artists, especially of the female kind should know her name!

For your stalking pleasure, here is a list of all things Maggie O’Neill….now do the worm and get down on it!

O”Neill Studios

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Roman & Williams from The Scout on Vimeo.

“…sort of taboo in our society where individuality is, like, the highest most sacred thing and i pride myself on being very individualistic, but i also love to submit myself to something more important.”- Stephen Alesch”

What an inspiring video to begin the day with.  Its such a delight to be reminded of something larger than ourselves.  In this industry we are continually invited into the homes and establishments of our clients with open arms.  I catch myself getting stressed or bombarded with pressures at times and strive to find that perfect balance of a job well done and taking things to the next level of service.

This video was such a pleasant reminder that its not just walls, or rooms, or spaces, but places that invoke “feelings” .  Just like the food we put into our bodies, our sacred  spaces hold a key to reminding us or taking us somewhere outside of ourselves.

Blessings!

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cozy kitchen

Sometimes its long after its already grabbed so many others.  I know that the movie  500 Days of SUMMER has been out for a while now, but I really just can’t seem to get enough of all the eye, ear, and brain candy that is placed perfectly throughout this film.

Peep this chalkboard wall

lovely moments

The thing that most grabbed at me was  one of the main characters ‘Tom’s ‘ masculine chalkboard infused bedroom.  The beauty of this part of the film is that his room has one full wall that has been painted with chalkboard paint, but continues to change at various times throughout the film.  For you artsy folk out there, its worth watching just to take a ganders at this chalkboard wall.

Here are some other gems with chalk to get you all inspired…

I'm calling this the mustache look! & I love it

I feel like chalkboard paint is such a fun way to spice things up for the artistically minded DIYer or homeowner.  Give a sense of creative freedom to the owner.  How fun would it be to erase your doodles, or to let your kids run rampant fingers of chalk all over one of your walls?

kids can finally play!

I hope that you’ll watch it, and enjoy it just as much as I did.

I’m going to get all mushy gushy on you before this very special  NEW YEARS that we have nearing upon us!  2010 beckons and it brings with it a whole new space for us to paint ourselves a fresh coat of something beautiful!

My wish for YOU is that you find love in unexpected places, beauty in even the plain and pale, and a clean slate… a chance to finally regain the reins on all of your goals and maintain a strong sense of SELF worth and purpose.  We all make mistakes…but the light is always shining for us…if only we can open our eyes to see it!

Its always out there waiting for us!

This man’s music has blown me away, swept me up and put a big ol smile on my face.

A sweet Thank you to CollinDel for sharing this musical splatter with us via his love letters to his conscious! & now I share with you…

http://www.youtube.com/user/eebsofresh#p/u/1/8nUASJkGU8g

Apartment Therapy

LIVE.LAUGH.LOVE

rainbow bright!

Have a great day ya’ll! ~ lulu

Colors include:

• Cobalt Blue
• Terra Cotta
• Merlot
• Crimson Red
• Charred Olive
• Weathered Bronze.

Be sure to get in there fast or call to reserve yours immediately…They are going FAST at only $10 a gallon, How on earth can you beat that?

The Plaster Center is located at:

Contact the Plaster Center to order:

By phone: (612) 374-0221
By email: plastercenter@comcast.net
For more information: Visit their website

enjoy!!!  lulu

http://www.flickr.com/photos/isaacarvold

4 of Minneapolis’s most innovative and inspiring artists: Isaac Arvold, Eric Inkala, John Grider, and Keiko Yagishita followed up their 2007 “Almost Famous” show with the 2009 “ALMOST HOMELESS” on March 28th at the First Amendment Gallery.  Here is what you missed…

My girlfriend Destiny is dating a lovely man named David Menne.  David is a UFC fighter, and for the past 3 years he has been out of commission dealing with lime disease.  He is a champion fighter but due to his sickness became so weak he couldn’t fight anymore and as a result lost his endorsements and contracts with UFC.

David was a killer before he got sick.  Everyone knew his name and he flew to places like Vietnam and Japan to  fight. He spent his time away from his life’s work teaching fighters like Roger Huerta and others.  Not one of his students have lost a fight under his lead.  Destiny describes his fighting style to me like poetry…she exclaims that he fights like a game of Russian Roulette, I’ll let you use your imagination in fear of giving away too much.

He is such a sweet strong man and has fought for so long and so hard to be back in the cage and to have the strength to fight again.  This past Friday David went out to Oklahoma for his first fight after gaining his strength back by being a  vigilant warrior with his diet and exercise program.  He fought against a man named Norman Paisley, who I hear is a pretty mean looking “Martha Focker”.

Destiny was beside herself with anxiety about the fight.  The past few months have been a series of  long drawn out conversations between the two of us…Her exploding with her love for him and  also her fear of sabotaging her relationship by being too much of an emotional female during these important times.  Me, reminding her how amazing she is, and how lucky they are to have found each other.

We spent a total of 4 hours talking on the phone the day before his fight.  We knew he was going to win, but the pressure seemed so thick right before hand, that she couldn’t distinguish which direction to fall, even naturally, it was all a dizzying energy that I tried blindly to guide her through.

They met as she danced  on his fighting stage a year ago.  The night of his come back fight Destiny had to stay home due to her fears and finances.  The night of Davids fight Destiny got booked to dance for Bad Boy Bill at Epic Nightclub.  She stepped on stage at the exact same time that David was fighting and instinctively knew that they were both hearing the music and dancing their own dance at the same time.  Destiny was the first on stage in a line of dancers and after her first 15 minutes were up, after she spent those 15 minutes singing to him from home, she ran to her phone and got the text message we knew would eventually come.

DAVID WON THE FIGHT!!!!

This is a whole new time for him and them now.  I’m so happy for him, Congratulations David!!!  I’ll be heading to Chicago on May 15th with Destiny to hold her hand, while her man fights through his comeback.  If  Britney can do it, then so can David!!!  He has a whole world of supporters out there, everyone wants him to be back and he finally  is!  What an exciting year 2009 has already turned out to be.

Never Ever Ever Give Up!

love, lulu