Aromatherapy

I have two words for you today....BLUE OIL!  I heard about  Aveda over 20 years ago, but I really didn't educate myself on all of the products.  In February I had a facial with Aveda products, and I now use ALL of their products.  I have noticed a marked difference in my face!  You often hear that on television, but I am not doing a commercial...I am just sharing what happened for me!  I use the tourmaline charged line of products, and it has evened out my skin tone.  I am currently starting the Green Science line for us mature girls in the over 40 group that may be getting fine lines.  I'll let you know how that works!

So, as for the two words of the day, BLUE OIL....let me tell you, this is the best!  It comes in a roller ball container, so you can apply it anywhere anytime.  When you need a pick me up, just apply this to your temples, behind your neck, on your wrists...and refresh yourself.  Seriously, this has gotten me through so many days!  When I feel like I can't go on, I dab a little of this Blue Oil on, and it peps me up!  I think it is $13.00 for the tube, and it lasts forever!  This is like heaven in a bottle! 

So, if you are out an about, you might want to pop into an Aveda store and just experience the aroma alone...it smells SO good! 

Have a great Monday!

XOXXO

Nee' Nee'

How to do a Gilded Gold Finish - Quick and Easy

My sister, Rhonda, found some shelves on sale at Hobby Lobby but they didn't match.  One was white and one was a brass color.  She wanted to give them to my niece, Ashlee, to use on a wall together, so I redid them with a quick gilded gold finish.  First of all, I took two colors of Modern Masters paint.  I used Pale Gold and Blackened Bronze.  I took a paint brush and dabbed both of these colors onto the shelves to make some highlights and low lights.

Next, I sprayed the shelf with spray adhesive.

After that dried about one minute, I took gold metallic paper, and pressed it onto the shelf in a random pattern.  The metallic transfer paper will adhere to the high spots and create a genuine metal effect.  The paper can be found at Wonderfaux Studio in Stafford, Texas.  They have several different colors to choose from, and the roll runs around $24.00, but will last FOREVER! 

It looked great like this, but I wanted more character, so I decided to accent the grooves by antiquing it with a water based product by Minwax purchased from Home Depot.  I like this product because it is water based and dries quickly; also clean up is a breeze.

You literally just have to slap it on and wipe it off!!!  It is THAT SIMPLE!

After it dried, I did spray a general clear coat on top of it just to improve durability and resist scratches.  This is how it turned out.  Luvitmeanit!











This can be done on any surface.  I would encourage you to step outside the box with this gold paper, try it on wood, or even glass.  I use it on walls quite a bit! 

This entire process took less than an hour, so it is a very basic beginner level project.

Happy gilding and always remember:

"Everything that glitters, is not gold."        Dan Seals

How to Rust Anything!

With all of the shabby chic looks that are in today, it is a must to know how to rust! Modern Masters has products that will help you do this.  I took a cross that I purchased at the dollar store (luv me some dollar store!)  and transformed it into a shabby chic work of art!

This is the cross before:

It actually looked pretty before, but my sister, Robin, is trying to add some turquoise accents to her ranch house so we wanted it to be rustic.  Now crafting is always a family affair with us.  We had Meagan's boyfriend, J.T., base coat the cross in a color called Provence by Annie Sloan.  I wanted to darken the color and add a little character (can't leave ANYTHING alone!) so I antiqued it with a Minwax water based product I got at Home Depot.

I watered it down some, and then I just slapped it on and wiped it off! The product does the work by settling in the grooves. 





It already looks good, but remember, we are going for RUST!  Modern Masters makes products that will allow you to rust just about anything.  It is a two part process.  You just paint a base coat of Iron Oxide, and spray with Rust Activator.  THAT IS IT!

Since I wanted rust only in certain places on my cross, I just turned my brush side ways, and brushed lightly over it, only hitting the high spots.

After that dried, I misted the Rust Activator with a spray bottle.  It needs to be nice and wet, but not runny, unless you want the piece to look like it sat out in the rain for decades, in which case, spray away!!  It will run and rust in that pattern.  Now, for me, this is the  hardest part:  WALK AWAY!  When you come back, it will be rusted.  I have found that if you spray a second coat, about 5 minutes into the drying process, it seems to rust more.  Modern Masters has a rust tutorial that might be helpful to you if you are interested in this process.  The paint is sold locally at Epic Paint on Jones Road. 

Now for the big reveal:

Doncha just luv it?  It will go SO GREAT at my sister's ranch!  I think it is beautimous!!!  Can't wait to show it to her.  (are you reading my blog Robin?)

So remember, it is a must to rust!  You too can  be a junk gypsy, without the road tour!!!

I hope you can think of some projects you want to start immediately!  Let me know what they are!

Have a great day!
Luvyameanit!
Nee' Nee'

Impressionist Faux Walls - Ensemble Theatre

This is what I did today at a theatre in downtown Houston.  I can't wait to go see a play there and admire my own work when the theatre renovation is complete. (smile wink wink) I used a strie technique with a lean towards impressionism.  Modern Masters metallics were used in  Copper, Pale Gold, Teal, English Brown, and Olympic Gold.

Decorated Cookies

I view my cookies as little edible pieces of art!  Let me start by saying, I do not like to bake or cook, but I LOVE to decorate food!  My husband is the cook in our family.  He is an award winning cook, as a matter of fact.  He used to cook in bar-b-que cook offs all of the time.  He would cook it, and I would present it.  I cut bell peppers to look like palm trees, or radish roses...etc.  What a team!

So that being said, when I first started my cookie decorating, I would get refrigerated dough from the grocery store, and add lots of flour, then kneed the heck out of it!  They tasted to store bought to me, so I tried adding powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg...but still didn't like it.  After years (and I am not kidding) of research and development, I have discovered the best knock of cookie ever!  I like my cookies to be very stiff for decorating.  I don't want them to fall apart, or rise and spread so you can't tell what the shape is.  In my unprofessional opinion, this requires a lot of flour.  To make the perfect decorator cookie, I use Krusteez sugar cookie mix as follows:

1 stick of margarine softened
2 1/2 cups of Krusteez Cookie Mix
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg

You will have to knead this with your hands.  I roll mine out to be about 1/4" thick and then cut with my favorite shape.  I flour EVERYTHING!!!  The surface I roll on, the rolling pin, and the cookie sheet.  I watch mine closely, (every oven is different) but they take about 9 minutes at 375 degrees.

After they are completely cooled, you can decorate.  I use 2 cups of powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp of milk.  I color the icing with Wilton paste food coloring.  This doesn't dilute and you get vibrant colors.  I usually buy icing bags at Michael's made by Wilton, but on the Halloween cookies shown, I used nothing but a zip lock back, and cut a tiny piece out of the corner.  To ice the solid base color, draw a line around the cookie and then fill in.  The icing sort of flows into itself and covers very well.  Everything I do is just sort of hand drawn, so your imagination is the key to a bright decorative cookie.  Here are some of mine.

Happy Baking!

XOXXO

Nee' Nee'

Faux Three Tiered Cake

I had a request to show the steps on the cake that was pictured on the Pink Bridal Shower post.  So, here we go!

First of all, I purchased three hat boxes.  I turned them upside down and glued them on top of each other with a glue gun to form the base of the cake.  Now, years ago I took a Wilton Cake Decorating class and learned tips and tricks for icing a cake.  I put these into play when making this faux cake as well.  I used an actual cake icing spatula, but I used something called joint compound instead of icing. 

As you can see, I had some other projects going on in the background!  My ADD was in full swing!  After that dried, I added some dimension.  The joint compound is used in home construction for sheetrock patching...or something like that!  When I look at it, I just see endless possibilities, not sheetrock!  I like the lightweight joint compound.  It runs around $7.00 for a box.  It comes already mixed and ready to use.  I buy it at Home Depot or Lowes.  This is what you are looking for:

It let the "cake" dry overnight.  I taped off the top to make raised stripes.  I applied more joint compound and then removed the tape.  That process formed the raised stripes.  Then I took a stencil and did the same thing for the diamond shapes on the bottom.  For the polka dots, I glued large acrylic jewels around the middle layer. 





The trim around the edges is watered down joint compound, that I put into an icing bag from Wilton.  I mixed in some water to make the joint compound about the consistency of icing, and just piped large dots around the edges to trim it out.  All of this dried overnight, and then I painted it with a brush using my favorite paint ever!  This was done with Modern Masters Pink.  It took about three coats to get it just like I wanted it.  I had planned on painting the diamonds, polka dots and stripes black, but the contrast was too harsh.  This is the final result!  It was a great decoration for the party, and I can take it with me to work, or restaurants when I want to celebrate some one's birthday!  My big plan is to cut a hole in it long ways, and make a slot for cards so we can use it at my nieces wedding as a card box. 

We had fun with this at the shower.  My niece, Maycee, acted like she dropped something on it and some of the guests were horrified, thinking it was a real cake.  My brother-in-law, Robert, was confused when he looked through the pictures.  He wondered why we had two cakes. 

Sharon wrote me and wondered if it would be possible to do cupcakes as well.  She has a party decorating company called Chubby Cheeks, and she wants to use them for display.  You could follow the same steps, but you would have to start with a small rounded box or maybe an upside down stryofoam cup.  I tell you, the possibilities are endless.  Let me know if you think of anything unique or exciting.  I love to hear new ideas!

Have a blessed day!

Nee' Nee'





Pinterest

We interrupt this blog to get you addicted to CRACK!  Okay, not really, but close!  Have you heard of Pinterest? http://pinterest.com/  If you have, YOU KNOW!!  If you haven't...listen up.  This is the greatest thing since sliced bread!  My darling step-daughter introduced me and my niece, Meagan, to it.  Meagan checked it out and then tutored my other niece, Maycee, and myself on it!  BEWARE, becoming a member of Pinterest may cause you to be late to parties, to have long periods of blacked out time, and cause you to start several projects at once! 

I am notorious for tearing out magazine pages (hope my doctor is not reading this) in office waiting rooms.  I collect ideas and put them in sheet protectors in binders.  Pinterest is like a virtual binder or more accurately, bulletin board!  People have collected their ideas, and "pinned" them on their boards.  They in turn are able to share all of this inspiration with others.  You browse the website and "pin" up things you like onto your own bulletin board.  It is always there for you to refer back to, or update.  I have several boards, such as Craft Projects, Organization, and Luv Me Sum Halloween (to name a few).  As you can tell, you can customize your board names!  I have a big work project coming up in September, so I made a board called Sept. Project, and I have been pinning inspiring ideas to it.  You can also add a Pin It tab to your toolbar, so you can instantly pin ideas that you find while you are surfing the net.  This is such a neat way to save your great finds.  So many times I have lost my place while surfing for ideas, and couldn't find my way back to the website.  Pinterest eliminates that! 

So...when you have a few...check it out! 

Have a good day!
Luvyameanit,
Nee' Nee'