Dumpster diving with Katdish

I suppose there's a certain gift to being able to look at something (or someone for that matter) and be able to see what might be; to be able to see a diamond in the rough. I find myself doing this all the time.

Check out these before and after pics:

Why the color scheme? It was going back into this room:

In my defense, I know the border looks unfinished, but she actually wanted it that way! (Just saying...) I know better than to argue with a teenage girl. Whatever!

The "All things Jack" table and chairs

New clients are fabulous. Having said that, there's something to be said for doing work for a friend that knows you well enough to give you an unfinished kids table and chairs set from IKEA, a favorite picture of a nursery rhyme, and tells you, "I trust you." That's just all kinds of awesome.

My friend Sherrie wanted to get her grandson a very special gift for his first birthday. His name is Jack. Sherrie is a teacher. Several years ago, a mom gave her a picture of the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme. That was the inspiration for this table and chair set.

I took the pictures of this work in my dining room. I realize the red is a bit overwhelming, but imagine the table in a little boy's room or in a kitchen.

A word of advice: If you use paint pens, be careful! I found out the hard way that some of them will bleed horribly when you clear coat the piece. I had to remove all the wording and hand paint it all over again! The pens ended up costing me more time in the long run.

Sharkbait's Reef

I did this mural last summer for my friend Julie's daughter. The sea turtle is my favorite, the mermaid is my least favorite. But her daughter loved all of it, so that makes me happy.

Noah's Ark Church Nursery

This was by far my most ambitious project to date. This was done before I had anyone to help me. Fortunately, the director of the church's nursery rooms is a very good friend of mine, and she pretty much told me to take all the time I needed to finish. Good thing. It took awhile...

I painted three nurseries, all with bible themes. Here's the first one.

1) Noah's Ark:










The worst part about taking pictures at public building is the lighting. It's really hard to get a picture that doesn't look all washed out a greenish-yellow. Plus, the camera I took the pics with isn't great. Oh well, enough excuses! I still think it came out pretty cute! This was the first of three nurseries. I'll post the other two soon...

Ralph Lauren Leather Finish

This master bedroom was my first attempt at a leather faux finish. If you're going to attempt this, I have a bit of advice before you get started:

1. If you tend to be a perfectionist; a detail oriented person, attempting this finish may drive you a little crazy. Different parts of the wall are going to look different -- that's sort of the point.


2. Ralph Lauren makes a quality product, but the glaze dries very quickly. It is nearly impossible to do this finish by yourself. It's really a two person job: One person to apply the paint, and another to use the stipple tool to work the glaze into the wall. I think I may have given up had my friend and fellow painter Desiree not been there to help and encourage me.
   


3. Even with two painters and a good system worked out, there will still be some places where you will have to go back and feather out the lines.
   

Have I talked you out of it yet? I hope not! But seriously, do a rather large sample board before you attempt to tackle this project on a large scale!

First, you apply the base coat:

I forget the name of this color, but it is a really great shade.

Then you must complete the dreaded and horrid task of taping the molding. I HATE taping! But you just have to tape when you're doing a faux finish. If someone knows a way around it, please let me know! After that treachery is finished, your ready to faux. The stippling tools are VERY EXPENSIVE, but you only have to buy them once. Bite the bullet and get quality tools. That goes for brushes and paint, too. I'm all about finding bargains, but cheap paint and brushes end up making more work for you in the long run. My favorite paint? Benjamin Moore, baby!

I think we should have painted the ceiling, too. But time was of the essence as they were moving in the following day. I may give the client a call back when I slow down a bit and see if they are willing to let me paint it. I would probably recommend a lighter or contrasting shade up there. Maybe even a lightish shade of blue. What do you think?

I Wanna be a Cowgirl!

I really regret not taking pictures of the little girl's room that I made all these pieces for. But it was really cute. The wall color is similar to what you see in the first picture, and color scheme in all the pieces were inspired by a bedding collection from Target, which unfortunately is no longer available.

Whenever I go to a craft store, one of the first things I do is rummage through the clearance aisle, which is where I found this little metal sign (unfinished). I think I paid about 35 cents for it. The client didn't ask for it, but she really liked it, and it was an easy little project.


This is a large canvas to hang over the bed. Very simple design. The most time consuming part of the entire project was hand painting all the paisley designs.


The boots were cut out of MDF (medium density fiberboard) that was left over after making the mirror frames.

I wish the quality of the pictures were better for these mirrors. I was really pleased with how they turned out, and the client was thrilled. If you attempt a project like this, make sure you use a strong bonding agent to adhere the mirrors to the MDF and use mirror clips for extra support - especially if it's something that will go in a child's room. The rope trim was purchased at a home improvement store and hot glued onto the edges. You definitely want to line the rope up exactly where it needs to go before you bust out the old glue gun. Once it's on there, it's on there!

This stool was sitting in the girl's closet. It was originally a different shade of pink and was in pretty sad shape. The designs were taken directly from the bedding. I love the rope as a decorative touch, but it also serves to reinforce the stability of the stool. The client handed the stool almost as an afterthought, asking if I could do anything with it. It's probably my favorite piece of the entire project. When painting furniture for kids, make sure to apply several coats of water based sealer. The water based is safer than traditional coatings, and it will preserve your hard work.