LULu Wanderlust » Marvelous Metallics

HOTNESS at the IDAL 2009 Convention

lulu — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:37:58 +0000

Flower Power Wallovers Stencil

For those of you fabulous painters out there with busy lives and even busier schedules that could not make this years IDAL Memphis convention but really REALLY wanted to… NEVER FEAR… LULU and her Patina Designs Painting Posse are hear to give you the scoop on all the hot happenings of this years convention…

Above is a new stencil from Wallovers … Its one of their latest creations and it was flying off their shelves like wild fire… I even bought one myself. If you feel like staying ahead of the game then pick one up yourself…They only cost $48.00! At the convention Wallovers was having a special that if you spent $100 on stencils you would get their handy dandy Allover Brush for FREE! I bet if you ask them nicely they will hook you up with the same special because those gals are so sweet and kind!

Foiling Around

Next up…Innovative Stencil Guru Melany Royals is delighting our senses through a new series of affordable Virtual Workshops. YES folks… this means you can have Melany right there in your very own home now without having to travel to California! Registration starts: 7/27/09 and for only $150 you can get 6 beautiful finishes that incorporate foils with Royal Design Studios Stencils and Modello Decorative Masking Patterns. I am beyond thrilled that last night at the auction, one of my partners Terri Roberts one a FREE Virtual workshop so the three of us will be crowding around the computer to enjoy that on October 1st!

Architectural Enhancements

The artist du jour was without a doubt Cindee from Minnesota’s own Architectural Enhancements. Us Patina gals know Cindee quite well, and it brought the biggest smiles to our faces to see how well the decorative Industry was responding to Cindee’s booth at the Expo. There were times when it felt like everyone in the expo center was huddled around Cindee’s booth watching in awe as she turned concrete into elaborate stone fireplaces or counter tops! We have a whole library of finishes that we offer from training with Cindee in Annandale. Decorative Concrete is on the up and up and as finishers we need to stay ahead of the trends.

Donna Phelps said something in class Tuesday that really struck a nerve with Terri and I. She mentioned that the trends are leaning towards regular paint contractors doing simple plaster and glazing techniques. As finishers we need to really show just how capable we are at the finer parts of the industry, the specialty finishes that no contractor with a trowel or sponge could replicate or dare to try.

Tribal Wall Tattoo

Next up: everyone was in awe of WALL TATTOOS… I wish I could find their website right now…but am having a heck of a time. I’ll swing by their booth later today and more of the skinny for you!

Totem Coatings Marble

And last but certainly not least, if you have a hankering for hunky Italian Stallion men and lime based plasters TOTEM COATINGS is the place for you! I had the pleasure of monitoring Joe Greco’s class on Tuesday and these Eco- lime plasters are Beautiful, easy to work with and most importantly Affordable!!!! But here is the biggest and best secret of all that we at the convention were privy to know. Joe has a talented finisher on his staff named Rose and she has perfected the craft of marbling using lime based plasters… YES, you heard that right. I saw board after board of what this master painter has created and I am telling you now…. I have never, EVER, seen a marble board that even compares to hers EVER. Want to be the best marble finisher in your neck of the woods? Then go to Toronto and take a class with Rose at Totem Coatings!!! I can’t wait to get up there and learn this brilliant technique myself!

There you have it folks…. I really hope to see all of you next year at Portland Oregon’s IDAL convention 2010! and if not…you can always come back here and I’ll give you the skinny again! MUAH painty people! lulu

Elixir Part 1

lulu — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:57:14 +0000

This past week we were able to squeeze in a project over at a new Hip and Cozy Lounge downtown Minneapolis. Its called Elixir and its located to the left of the Fineline Music Cafe.

I’m calling this Part 1 because I’m going to show you my dark and dusty photos from behind the scenes. A sort of sneak preview to the venue before its all clean and fabulous.

The Grand Opening will be on May 15th, so we will hope to see you there to celebrate another great establishment by Jado Hark and his team. I hear the menu is filled with scrumptious goodies and have a feeling I’ll soon be becoming a regular at the new place to eat downtown.

Just getting started…

Deco Palette Faux Effects

Working on one of our signature finishes, “Blue Coral”

Finishing up on a Deco Palette/Silkstone Custom finish made unique for Elixir

working on ‘Blue Coral’ Soffit

Handsome Jado in front of Faux Marble beginning stages.

Stay tuned for more pictures…or just go see the real deal on the 15th like everybody else!!!

Glass Bead Wallpaper and Metallic Mayhem

lulu — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:39:31 +0000

The past few weeks have been like a mecca of wild finishes in my world. Each finish we are doing seems to be getting brighter, bolder, more elaborate then the last. Metallic’s are everywhere. When I glimpse through our portfolio I feel like I see so very many different examples of how to use metallic’s.

We are currently working on locking down some finishes for a new lounge downtown. They are going for a real swanky feel, but don’t have a large budget for painting. Originally they have planned to do straight metallic on all of the main walls. I’m making it my personal obligation to make sure they do NOT do this. There is nothing swanky about straight metallic paint on a mass of big walls. They often appear, poorly applied, can take up too much time and money with numerous coats of paint, and priming, and even more often appear like regular paint in dark rooms with poor lighting.

www.chicagohomemag.com/images/CH/Fall%202006/..

I work with a designer that has made this faux paw before in a nightclub and told her about the lounges intentions. In this discussion she mentioned a beautiful glass beaded wall paper which was super swanky. She sent me the link, and we started dreaming away about dressing some beautiful place up with it.

This wallpaper is swanky town USA… If your interested in picking some up go to:

http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Glass-Bead-wallpaper-c-125-p-1.html

Its not that expensive considering how glamorous and fabulous it is. How wonderful it would be for an accent wall, or in the back of a shelving unit!!!

Wax on Wax off

lulu — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:35:09 +0000

Oh have we ever been busy the past two weeks… Its going to take me quite a bit of time to try and catch everyone back up to speed.

To the left is a picture of one of my esteemed partners Peg Malanaphy, hard at work on a focal wall for a client out in Stillwater. The wall was done using a technique in which you layer waxes over a top coat to create dimension until you reach your desired color.

You can see in this photo she is on her second layering of wax.

At this same location we also were working very hard at once again taking some dull boring cabinets and making them a beautiful addition to a gorgeous home.

At this particular job we used, Setcoat from the Minneapolis Plaster Center, and then glazed lightly over them to add a nice compliment to the granite counter tops, so the cabinets would not appear to washed out.

(In this picture Peg applies the third layer)

I don’t have any of the finished results photos yet because I spent the last few days of the project getting some much needed rest and relaxation. I’ll be sure to post them once the girls send them over though.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! love, lulu

armor faux class 3.21.09 @ Sherwin Williams

lulu — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:52:15 +0000

The girls and I had our second class in a three part series for Sherwin Williams yesterday! There was a great turn out and all the folks were very involved and asked insightful questions which made things even more exhilarating.

We taught folks all about Armor Faux ( a paint product that can be used as straight paint or as a plaster). We gave the class some fun ideas of how to play with the product and add some dimension into there homes. We demonstrated a knock down aged finish, a two level textured stencil finish fit with Spring colors, and a goofy kids room spiral girly gem stone mater piece. I know what your thinking.. but NO, I didn’t teach the girly one…I did the stencil with fresh greens for Spring.

We all used colors from the 09 color collection and glazed over our works with Illusions glaze, available;e at Sherwin Williams. Here are some photos of our finishes and the class. Thank you Sherwin Williams for having us! Thank you to everyone who came, this includes you Kyle!!! and an even bigger thank you to my talented partners Peg and Terri for always keeping fun, and inspiring!

Metallic knock down finish

some more knock downs

Terri’s swirly girly room creation!

my spring fever grassy green stencil

Peg, Terri and I aka. Patina Designs!

Gold Leafing European Luxury, Step 1

lulu — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:54:49 +0000

Last week I spent some rushed time trying to fit in a custom made European Luxury bed for a local designer. I was given fabric samples, and color samples, and some blank canvas pieces to work with. She was very clear about describing her vision to me. The bed is going to be very elaborate with a variety of beautiful fabrics enveloping it and a 7 ft wide and 9 ft tall custom made headboard. I can’t wait to see everything once its tied together. I’ll be sure to take some pictures of the final product.

I didn’t get a chance to go in with oil paint and put the final detailed touches on the bed, but will be going on site in a week or two to complete the project. I’m currently working on the daughters custom bed which will be similar but a bit girly and dainty! Its been a really fun project to work on. I love antiquing and distressing things.

Here is what it sort of looks like after being painted and gold leafed! You will have to use your imagination until I get pictures of the bed assembled. A lot of the pieces were poly-styrene so I used a new primer over at Hirshfields to prime everything, including the wood pieces. Soon pictures will come. until then, I’ll be working on the other bed.

You get the idea… I’ll wow you later! lol

goldy love,

LULU

Paint it Gold! Modern Masters Pale Gold Metallic Ceiling tiles

lulu — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:17:53 +0000

This past week the team and I found ourselves all over the place. One of the houses that we were working on was located in Stillwater and true to the Stillwater way was just bursting with character and personality.

We originally were exposed to this beautiful home and its wonderful family through a contractor who needed to have a particular type of gel staining done. It needed to be done to the new windows for the front room to match the existing trim and windows that have been with this home since the beginning. (I’ll post these next time)

Well, in being there and working on the trim we got a chance to see some really beautiful ceiling tiles that were simply painted in white. You can imagine our excitement just at seeing them alone. Add to this our creative flair, and the three of us were just buzzing with all of the jolly things we were wishing to do to them. In the end the homeowners chose a simple Modern Masters effect, using a whiz roller and lots of zig zagging that left the rooms nothing short of striking!

The first picture is of the girls priming the ceiling tiles over the white that was already on the ceilings.

This second picture to the far right shows how well the metallic paint was covering over the primer and the ceilings in process. This picture does not quite show the dining room in the back, but there were larger tiles in there that received the same treatment. What was very interesting about this process is that although we did the same method on each of the rooms the appearance is very different in each of the rooms. The larger less detailed tiles really show the movement in our rolling, and a bit more definition in the color of the metallic paint, really highlighting the highs and lows. The smaller tiles appear very clean and uniform, and they both look gorgeous!

We ended up doing a lot more projects for this wonderful family including a accent red wall in there teenage sons room, then painting the rest of the room in a butter-cream tinted beige. We did all the new windows, and trim in the front sitting room, and some other projects as well. The home was lovely to be involved in beautifying even more.

Below is the finished result in one of the rooms! I’ll post pictures from the trim project soon! Happy Painting!!! LULU