ORC Week #2 – Exterior Painting & Staining

Time for the week 2 update for the One Room Challenge. This is the stain that I picked to refresh some weathered cedar outside. These ideas can also be applied to staining a deck, wooden stairs, or outdoor wooden furniture that is looking a little run down by the elements.

I chose a semi-transparent to keep the wood grain showing. For the colour choice I went with a slightly warm/grey/taupe.

I looked through the colour chart for Benjamin Moore Arborcoat Semi-Transparent online and then made my choice. I know that wood stains on the warmer/tan side can end up looking orange so I narrowed down to three choices and picked the cooler shade of grey. I chose Rustic Taupe and was happy with how it turned out. Curbside pick up was easy and contactless when I got the paint, along with a wide brush (pictured above).

Here’s a comparison of how the stain changes, depending on what the base is. You need to sand when using a semi-transparent to make sure the cover comes out even.

The before – this was the most worn area of wood.

After Sanding – Before the Stain

 

The most Worn Area, Now Stained

The actual staining process went quite quickly since I had done the sanding prep a different day. The stairs looked way better and now water actually beads on the surface. I think this colour worked out as a good option to refresh old previously untreated wood.

Worn, Untreated Wood Before

 

After – Rejuvenated Wood

This was last weekend. Now that I have done the easy part of painting and staining I’ve got to figure out how to put up a fence around the vegetable garden area. I still have no idea how to do this, especially without consulting with the knowledgeable staff at Home Depot who I usually get project advice from and lumber cut.

Here’s a glimpse at this area from the same angle as last year. I’ve started painting the planter boxes as well with paint I had leftover from my exterior painting I had started last year.

This is a glimpse at the front door where I started refreshing the front of the house with classic white instead of the mustard yellow it formerly was.

This pear tree is supposed to be for the backyard but I couldn’t help but leave it here at the front door for a few days. I’m trying to be really calculated with garden purchases (I also don’t know how the cost of a tree could be the same as a hanging flower basket). These hanging baskets are filled with overgrown mint that I dug up from the backyard.

This was last summer when I started updating with paint and trying to create more of a beachy look. The yellow wood trim was getting worn in some areas from time and sun exposure. This was the perfect excuse to convince my husband that it was a preventative maintenance project, not just to beautify.

Now that the weather is warmer and we have to stay close to home but want to be outside here are some ideas to refresh what you may already have:

• Paint the front door a different colour
• Stain a worn deck
• Paint a wooden garage door
• Repair patio furniture (sanding and staining or spray painting corroded metal)

If you’re looking to use an opaque stain on wood it can be tinted any colour you want. I previously did a black from Home Depot on these cedar planters I built. Also, I have another post for painting a garage door and front door.

 

To see the other projects that bloggers and designers are working on at home check out the One Room Challenge page.

 

Advertisement

Spring Florals

I started Shibang Designs as a way to create functional pieces of art, in the form of purses and accessories, each embellished with my signature wool felt applique style. After working small scale for several years, I am now shifting my focus on my textile technique by creating large scale pieces. These large textile art pieces and cushion covers are part of the new line that I will be showing next week at the Toronto One of a Kind Spring Show.

These are some process photos and pieces that I have been working on lately.

For anyone in the Toronto area who is planning to come to the show I have a few tickets that I’m giving away from my Facebook page this weekend.

Gold

Over the past week I’ve been busy and so inspired, all by adding gold to the colour palette. I’m using it on a whole line of new things for spring, including another version of the iPad sleeve. Here’s a peak inside of my studio and what I’ve been working on.

 I’m in the midst of finishing up and photographing so there will be more to come.

Shibang at Home

My new line of wall pieces is officially ready to launch. I made a few of various sizes and colours which are now stretched onto canvas and ready for the wall.

To me these wall pieces shout summer because they’re fresh and add a shot of colour that is right in season. I took some photos of the pieces unframed as well as in a white floating frame. Today when I took went looking for frames I was happy to find the perfect one that compliments the piece by keeping it contemporary.

I have plenty of other ideas of more pieces to make and how I’d like to photograph them. Once I’ve got it all ready then I’ll set up a photo shoot and commit to all of the holes I plan to put in the walls.

One more thing that I wanted to share was the piece below. This is a giclee of a photograph that I took 7 years ago when I was in my first year of college and had a passion for photography.

My interest was in flowers (big surprise) and I developed a technique using my dad’s old SLR camera to take extreme macro shots that gave the photos a painterly look. In my second year of college when I decided to start a textile arts program my intention was to make interpretations of my photos with fabric.

Now here I am, quite a few years later, going full circle and making large floral pieces for the wall. Over the weekend I’m going to look for some of the photos I have taken so that I can share them because they have definitely had an influence in my work.

For the Wall

Shibang Designs for the wall. This is something that I’ve thought about and usually for large craft shows I have wall pieces for display. I’m now working on making smaller wall pieces that are easy to ship and can be combined to create larger wall displays.

These coral ones that I’ve just finished making are 8″ x 10″ and 10″ x 12″ in size. They’ll soon be available and can be customized with different fabric backgrounds and flowers.

More pictures from Toronto OOAK

I finally have a moment to catch up and share more photos from my time in Toronto last week. This was my second year doing the show and that experience made things go so much smoother, starting with flying Porter.

I can’t say enough good things about that airline and it was perfect to fly into the island which is really close to the Exhibition Centre. On the flight was Allyson Simmie, who had taught a production jewellery course that I took while completing my degree at NSCAD University.  Together we went directly to the show to start set up.

I mainly sell online and through boutiques so it is nice a few times a year to set up shop and showcase the entire line of Shibang, including curtains and wall pieces. Throughout the duration of the show several people said that they recognized me from Etsy or had seen my work in a shop. That’s always nice to hear!

There were many familiar faces and other exhibitors to catch up with including Grace of Eikcam, Simone of Simone Richmond Jewellery, Dermot O’Kane Photography  and Wendy (a classmate from Capilano University Textile Arts Diploma) with her line Dahlia Drive.

As well it was great to see shop owners from across the country that carry Shibang in their boutiques. Chara of Love, Me (Halifax), Nathalie-Roze (Toronto), Christina & Bridget of Workshop (Ottawa) and Deb of The Velvetroom Boutique (Vancouver) were all there checking out the show.

On top of all the long hours of the show I got to catch up at night with my childhood friend, Mairin who I was staying with. My youngest sister Laurel, who’s lives in Montreal, came to Toronto to see me too. All of this plus friends from NSCAD, Laura and Steph also came to visit. Steph ( Coeur De Lion Textiles ) spent a couple of days with me and it was so great to have her company.

This spring I introduced a wider variety of styles in white, something I started last year with my  bridal line. The response to the white clutches and purses was great at the show too. These and other spring items are starting to arrive in stores now as well as online.

These iphone sleeves are now spread out around the Toronto area. There was only one size available at the show and some of the new iphones with large bumpers didn’t quite fit.  I’m back in the studio now and can do custom orders – making a purse in a colour that had sold out or an iphone case in a lager size.

Shipping is free on all items for the rest of the month.

 

Updated Shapes

Last week I started working on updated shapes for coin purses and pencil cases. The coin purses are now larger and the pencil cases are longer, leaner and with a round shape to match the coin purses. Now there will be more selection available in little bags to suit every need.

These updated styles will become a part of my bridal line that will be online soon.

Original Coin Purse & New Style