Friday, 4 February 2011

Shiny Bright Studio

Last week I had a bit of a blitz on the studio, it is normally a bit of a tip and it seems we have just wayyyyy too much stuff at the moment. There are a lot of furniture"finds" waiting for paint, they are all stacked up at the back of the studio;



My *Finds*
the paint store was so full I couldn't walk through it and the office was so stacked with junk it was mad.
Then our sample storage was appalling...I had woodwork samples in sort of metal basket things that at one time I thought looked artsy, the baskets are funky but they don't do the samples any favours, they just scratch them.

scratchy display

extremely unsuccessful display
I have a big proper metal print display rack but it is ugly and full, how it got so full I don't know and it so needs sorting and I so need to throw stuff out but I cling to certain samples 'just in case' ...and why I need quite so many green metallic finishes samples is anyone's guess. The floors were cruddy and foul because of snow mainly...we had been wearing heavy walking boots that not only marked the floors but traipsed in more muck than normal but it was the only way to keep our feet warm during the cold snap.
We had a class coming up and we also had to clear up for the masonic meeting. Bet that confused you LOL. Our studio is the masonic lodge...every second Tuesday of the month while the masons are in season (which is now) we clear the studio floor and make it ready for their meeting. They have their formal meeting room upstairs and downstairs, where we are they have their food and open up their bar so we set it up a bit like a cafe for them.
So I scrubbed and  cleaned and sorted and chucked and chucked and did a little bit of painting and finally had a shiny bright studio
Ready For Class


Shiny Bright and Lovely

The display got a bit more sensible 
cabinetry samples
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Gilding samples


I have tons and tons of furniture that needs painting and lots of ideas but I decided to tackle and small and fiddly item that I loved when Gibson brought it home from an auction -  a little arts and crafts shelving unit.  It was fiddly...I took it apart and of course then you can only easily access one side of the piece but here it is all finished and displaying a few other pieces painted in Annie Sloan Paint. She shelves were painted straight over french polish (after a little wash and a sand) in Old Violet with Old Ochre on the ends. They were waxed with clear wax and then I used a spot of the rustic just to make it a bit *lived in*.

Old Violet and Old Old Ochre
Took me 2 hours yesterday following then masonic night to annihilate the gorgeous organisation
Pandemonium
All for a good cause...lots of sample making going on and I'll post about those soon.

Would you like to try out some instant makeover paint - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint? Virtually no prep, no priming and lots of fun. Phone for acolour chart 01764 684324 as we have a winter cheerer offer of £15.95 a litre and lots of discontinued colours on SALE at £13.50


8 comments:

  1. WOW Cait, you have been busy! Very pretty shelves - like the colour combo you used.

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  2. Thanks Katie it was your shelves that got me inspired to tackle it. Lots more to do, hoping to have an open day soon.

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  3. The studio looks very smart and full of interesting looking things. I'm enjoying your blog and also having great fun experimenting with my little pots of paint!

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  4. Diane, I am so pleased you like both!! dying to see what you have done with the paints..Katie showed me some Diane originals and am excited about what you will create.

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  5. oh i love the sample sin baskets- great idea! what are you using on your floor?

    Lynne

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  6. Floor is mainly painted...across the working area. It badly needs to be painted again and when we get our new roof that will happen. We have the original 200 year old slate roof that has nail rot and badly needs replacing. We dance round buckets when it rains...very frustrating.
    The rest of the flooring is cheap lino..which has been good, scrubs up well with the right product (*Flash with Bleach* is THE product by the way for removing paint from hard surfaces). We've been in here for 10 years...it's a long time and it all needs work

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