How are you seeing GREEN this year?

Thinking in summery shades of green makes me envision cool grass drizzling with morning dew, sunflower stems, sea glass on the beach in Old Orchard, Maine, or the plethora of vegetables that grace every table at the Farmers Market here in Minneapolis.  I most enjoy how sometimes grass can take on a whole new life of color and appear to have notes of  lime and yellow sprinkled within it .    Summertime is when mint and basil grow abundantly, unless my boyfriend Jacob gets his hands on the plants Its a time when you can enjoy Mojito’s with your girlfriends  and for some strange reason wheat grass shots  magically taste delicious!

Actually, as I type this I’m eating a freshly grown cucumber from my friends garden.  Its ripe with so many delicious shades of green melting from a rich outside skin of a spruce  to a inner world of pastel filled melon!  I can’t help but sprinkle some champagne vinegar, sea salt and pepper and begin to nom nom as we digest through the healing colors that are without a doubt the essence of summer!

SUMMER TIME GREENS

Summertime makes me think of  living at my grandparents house in Norway.  They had a beautiful view of the sky at night and you could catch the stars shooting over Norway Lake from their driveway. Sometimes I would just sit on the hood of  my Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra and stare at the sky for hours.  My grandfather was a dedicated mower so the air would always smell of freshly cut grass.

PAINT.COLOR.INSPIRE

This year however, I’m loving summer greens that are slightly muted with blues that lean towards turquoise and soft gold or matte metallic gold.  Maybe its that the brighter combination seems almost too energetic or active for my current mellow mood or maybe these hues just appeal to my love of more sophisticated schemes.  Nature-based greens are a tranquil and refreshing and plus green makes a perfect ground color for balancing cool blues and and warm yellows or golds.  This gorgeous combination has been a seen on the runway and is perfectly Boho chic. ”
-Kate Smith

Green is a color that we can pull directly from nature!

It is a symbol of freshness and harmony among other things. I personally think of green as a very healing color taking cues from the magical powers of green tea and poets like Thoreau who chronicled the extraordinary powers of spending some time immersed in nature.

Green is a color of unity and peace.

Green is the most restful color on the human eye…a perfect color for a Yoga Studio, Home Office or babies room!  Now shall we enjoy some beauties…

Love this mixture of split pea meets avocado above? Why not give Benjamin Moore  in winding vines 532 in a glossy Satin Sheen a try!

AYIYI Melany Royals is magic! I love her peacock stencil fit with rich greens, dense browns and water like blues!

A super special thanks and welcome to Kate from Sensational Color for being our newest member of the Color Lusting Series! She also has a dynamite post about blues and greens that I think you will enjoy!

• Blue and Green @ Sensational Color
• ALL ABOUT THE COLOR GREEN

Also don’t forget to check out Drew’s latest color creations at the Minneapolis Institute of Fine Finishes Pera and his latest creation Jalapeno.

Jalapeno was a major hit at Hirshfield’s design Center. Jalapeno looks super Hot in a Venetian plaster and also in a iridescent Moire.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maN9MjfRadM&hl=en&fs=1]

I feel so blessed to be a part of a time that is taking into account our beautiful world.  This place has and never will stop amazing me.  Our environment is a precious and beautiful place filled with mystery and inspiration.  My partners and I are trying every single day to make Patina Designs and Lulu Painting full”green” painting companies.  Here are a few of things we have been doing to help our environment and the environment at our clients homes.

1. USE THE INTERNET:We no longer print out paper recipe cards for classes and demo’s that we are instructing.  We put the recipes on-line for folks to look up at their discretion.
2. VOC FREE PAINTS:We use low VOC or NO VOC paints.  These are paints that do not contain toxic amounts of cancer causing  volatile organic compounds.
3. WASH WHAT YOU HAVE:We wash out all our brushes, rollers, naps, trays, and paint cans, so as to not over use products that end up in landfills.  Some of us have paint brushes that are 3 years old and still work like new.  It can be a pain at times but its worth it in the long haul and also helps with costs!
4. RE-USABLE JARS: We use old glass pickle jars and plastic yogurt containers to mix our color samples or glazes in.
5. RECYCLE:We recycle our clients paint cans for them.  How many of you have old paint just sitting in your basement unused and collecting dust.  By bringing these unusable paints to a recycling center folks who are thrifty can pick them up for next to nothing to be used.
6. RE-NEW:We re-paint cabinetry.  This is our hottest selling service right now.  Folks seem to be using what they have and making it how they want rather than wasting money on NEW, and putting the old in a landfill.  We can take any dated, ugly kitchen, and make it gorgeous!
7. RECYCLE WORK SITE TRASH:We recycle our old paint cans and water bottles from work sites.  We have a lot of trash that builds up on a work site but a lot of it can be recycles if you just take the time.
   
8. WASH:We run our rags through the wash instead of throwing them away.
9. SUPPORT “GREEN” BUSINESS, (or at least ones that are striving to be that ways)We support Sherwin Williams by purchasing their recycled brushes, trays, and rollers instead of purchasing ones that are not made from recycled materials.
10. GET CREATIVE:We cut up our rags from old sheets and towels instead of purchasing a bag of them at the paint supply store.  All of us have old towels or cloths that could be used as rags.  Why on earth would you buy rags when it takes two seconds to make your own?

What are some ways that you help to make your business or life a little better for the environment?  Do you have any other suggestions for us?  We like to think that we are very crafty but there is always room for more!  What other ways do you think we could help make our painting company even “greener”?

To view one of my many green DIY projects please read: http://lulupainting.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/painting-and-stenciling-a-bench-for-steph/

YES YOU CAN deck your walls out with paper bags if you so choose!!!  Here is one of the many paper bag finishes offer at  Patina Designs.  Terri created a leather look by crumpling up the paper, then treating it like wall paper to adhere to the walls.  Finally, Terri glazed and added some metallic stencils in a random pattern for more DRAMA!!!!

Yay for going Green!

Silhouette & Cork

Tools:

Wood Icing Textura Paste
tape
black paint
silhouette stencil
Stain and Seal Van Dyke Brown
chip brush
rag
plastic bag
a putty knife

1.) Paint door black and allow to dry

2.) Tape off the areas that you want the black to shine through and apply the silhouette insert where you want it.

3.) Spread the texura base over the entire area and then place plastic over the wet product and pull off to leave peaks and craters.  Make sure to remove the tape immediately.   Pull out your silhouette stencil.

4.) Allow to dry over night and then sand down so the product has smooth edges.  Remove Dust.

5.) Apply stain using a chip brush and then wipe off remaining stain with the rag.

6.) Seal the door after it has dried with c500

All of these products are available at the Plaster Center!!!

This Terri’s famous Coffee Grounds Plaster Recipe.  I think you’ll find it quite easy,  and hopefully enjoy yourself when your resorting back to your inner child.  This recipe gives you permission to play with your food once  again…

Here is what you will need:

A trowel
Veniciano Lime Based Plaster
coffee beans
stir stick
coffee bean grinder or blender
coffee maker
sugar and cream to taste

1.) Grind up your coffee beans for your morning pot of coffee.  After brewing remove the coffee grinds and and grind them a second time in the blender or coffee grinder

2.) Pour yourself a cup of coffee, mix cream and sugar and enjoy

3.) Run the grinds through the coffee maker again..Remember to empty the pot so as not to overfill.

4.) Grind for a third time, and re-run through the coffee maker again.  You are breaking up the beans with heat and moisture.  The more you grind and boil them, the more of that natural coffee colorant is going to seep out to help color the plaster.  The beans should be soft and paste-like.

5.) Mix the grounds into your plaster and stir till completely mixed in.

6.) Use your stir stick to load your trowel and and put your trowel on your first coat onto the walls.  This is your base coat so do not worry about making it perfect.

7.) After plaster dries, trowel on second coat with desired technique.  Remember to push hard on the beans to break up even more pigment to get a nice rich color.

enjoy the aroma while it lasts…it goes away once the plaster dries!!!

Last weekend was like a magical omen from the thrift store gods….Jake and I had been planning to drive out to S R Harris to find some cheapo fabric to make curtains for the living room.  After running a few errands we decided to head over early and try and find something to keep us occupied in Brooklyn Park until the fabric store opened at noon.  Honestly, I don’t know what we were thinking…finding something to keep you occupied in the far out burbs is pretty unrealistic.

So we drive out there at 10:30, locate the place and figure we will venture off…  and then this is where all the magic happened.  I uttered the magical words ” I wish there was just a gnarly old thrift store filled with goodies for us to oogle until they open”.  And then KABOOM. I look to the left…THERE IT WAS… A gnarly thrift store…filled with goodies…

We pulled into the parking lot at 10:59 I walked up to look at the door to see what time they opened, and the sign read 11:00.  We waited all of one minute and then went in to enjoy all the store had to offer.

To the right is the $7.00 chair we purchased.. Its Monster’s (cat) favorite new place to sit and I plan on painting the arms and legs a nice neutral tone to clean it up a bit.

We also bought a rad big comfy, brand spanking new boxy looking black  leather chair for $20.00.  Normally I don’t care for leather furniture but this chair is actually perfect for our office.

Among other things I couldn’t resist the little owl salt and pepper shakers for a client who collects odd little items like that…We also got empty frames for our living room, a wicked retro blanket for the guest bed, and Jake found some shoes for $3.00.  It was such a pleasant surprise and we will definitely be going back to oogle goodies!!!

If you wanna partake the place is located at:

K.A.S and STUFF

8501 Wyoming Ave. Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

enjoy!!!!  xo lulu

Dear Benjamin Moore,

I love you!!! I love you for working so hard to create such splendific paints that have unbelievable coverage, no odor, beautiful colors, and are 100% VOC FREE!!!!!! Cue… NATURA!!!

Benjamin Moores latest paint innovation is modeled after Aura..which I’ll have you know is my numero uno paint!  It has a similar coverage..minus all the bad stuff like the Volatile Organic Compounds, which have been linked to cancer.  Its offered currently in over 3,500 wear-resistant hues.   All this, and  it still cost s about $15 less than Aura. Woop Woop!!!!  Contact your local Benjamin Moore paint supplier for more info on this savvy paint!  Love, lulu

Here is the email I got from Miss Alice co-owner and creator of Mermapillar, Peep: mermapillar.com. Please click the link below to help support small business that create cutesy organic clothing for children using only the best materials.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s a movement of citizens inspired by the presidential campaign who are now submitting ideas for how they think the Obama Administration should change America.  It’s called “Ideas for Change in America.”

One idea is titled: Save Handmade Toys From the CPSIA. I thought you might be interested in getting involved and recommend you check it out.  You can read more and vote for the idea by clicking the following link:

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

The top 10 ideas are going to be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day and will be supported by a national lobbying campaign run by Change.org, MySpace, and more than a dozen leading nonprofits after the Inauguration.  So each idea has a real chance at becoming policy.