Walls in the Studio

I’m calling it a studio, it makes me feel fancier.

Nathan calls it the she-shed and always asks me if I’ve burned it down yet (insert eye-roll).

ANYWAY - no matter what we call it, I needed it to be pretty if I was going to work out there.

I have had some people ask me how I did it. I wish I had taken better notes and pictures of HOW it actually happened, but I can share the process with you so that you can make your own spin on it if you so desire.

This is how I went from This to THAT.

I started with texture.
I picked up a piece of plexi glass and picked out some IOD stamps (if you don’t know what those are, you need to check them out ASAP - The IOD Sisters make some beautiful products to help you create with!)
I wanted to create design in the texture, and the stamps were a gerat way to do it.

Stamps + Plexi Glass

The stamps cling to clean flat surfaces, and so I got a piece of plexi glass, big enough to cover a wide area, but small enough for me to easily handle on my own. I picked out a pattern, and clung those stamps right to it. It is kind of hard to see, but I think you’ll get the idea.

Next step was to trowel the drywall mud on the wall. Then, use a fine mist sprayer and spritz your stamps. This will help them realease easily from the mud.
Give it an even press into the wet mud, making sure not to let it wiggle or slip, then pull it right off. There will probably be some suction, be firm and smooth whe you pull it back.

Don’t go into this expecting perfection in the results. You want the essence of the shapes and texture. If you are looking for perfect images, this might not be the technique for you to follow.

You can see the line in the mud, below. If you get those don’t stress, just come back with a hand trowel or pallet knife and drag or smooth any rough edges and lines.

Don’t be scared!

Don’t be scared of the drywall mud. it is actually very forgiving, and workable for quite a while. If you stamp it and you aren’t happy, trowel it back and start again.

Dream Time…

It’ll take a day or two for the texture to dry. Spend this time dreaming up what colors you want to layer on these hand textured walls.

Colors and Tools

I love Blues and Greens, and Yellow always speaks to my heart - and orange is just my favorite. I chose a toupey grey because I wanted to try and merge sleek white and abandonded fringes into the same space. Is Vintage Mod a thing?

I used a combination of laytex paint (my base white), plaster paint that I mix myself, and DIY Paint by Debi’s Design Diary (Which is basically the most magical paint on the planet, but I have to drive over an hour to get my hands on it, so I work with what I have.)

With the exception of my base coat, I turned all of my laytex colors into plaster paint with the following recipe. I have been using it for years
and the paint holds up very nicely:

Plaster Paint Recipe:
Start with a clean container
1/3 Cup of cool water
Stir in 1/3 Cup of Plaster of Paris
Mix Well
Pour in any color - Flat, Laytex Sample
Mix well immediately (if you let it sit, it’ll turn into a rock)

BACK TO THE PROJECT:

Start White

I used Behr Paint and Primer in one. The color was “Night Blooming Jasmine”

Here is where I didn’t do the best job of keeping up with the HOW of the process….My hands were dirty so I wasn’t using the camera much. My explanation will have to suffice.

I used wet sea sponge and a chip brush to start applyig the yellow. I’d brush it on and then blend it out with the sea sponge.
I knew that I wanted the middle of that back wall to stay white, but I also wanted to blend into it. I had that hideous electrical panel to work around as well…but the alternative was to pick a different end of the shop that didn’t have double doors I can open up for natural light. Elecrical panel seemed like a mild trade off.

I kept the corner seams saturated with color, and blended out from there, creating this asymmetrical frame around my white.

Over the stamped texture, I wanted to really highlight those shapes and all the lettering. I wanted it to feel like pieces of torn, aged paper. I would let the paint into the crevices in the texture and then blot it out with my sponge. Keep a bucket of clean water near by. the cleaner your sponge the more control you have over where the paint moves and blots.

Next came a washing of teal. I swiped on plaster paint with a putty knife near the ceililing, and then trailig down around all of the texture that I wanted to stand out. My method was Dionne-esque (If you like this sort of thing, you NEED to go follow her at “The Turquoie Iris” - she is on FB, IG, & YouTube)

So swipe the color on with a putty knife and then immediately drench it with water and let it run. I use a fine misting bottle that I got at Sally’s Beauty Supply.

(P.S. I have no idea if I am allowed to write down these brand names of things in a blog post - Someone give a girl a heads up if it isn’t okay, would ya?)

Also, YES. You will end up with puddles on the floor. I used drop cloth…and honestly didin’t care much abou the sub floor, I hadn’t put down the actual flooring yet.

Look at how the texture grabs the color (This is where I do a little happy dance…also, I make a lot of facial expressions and it is so hard to write these days without emojis.)

The next series of pictures is going to be multiple layers…I just started creating and got lost in the process. I was trying to keep track with pictures, but sometimes my "Go-Mode” kicks in and there isn’t time for pictures.

I took DIY’s Farm Fresh and a chip brush and I layered it in - filling white space, and marrying the layers together.
At this point, I took the toupey grey plaster paint that I had made and watered it down probably half plaster paint/half water. I took that sea sponge and submerged it in the mixture. I rung it out most of the way…but not 100%. I took it and did a blot and squeeze motion up the walls. I wanted the imperfect texture of the sea sponge to come through, but I also wanted the slightest drip.

Then came stencils
First, a more delicate gold one.
Followed by the bigger round ones,
And then the DIY Orange Crush.

I kinda wish I had stopped the whole thing right here. I loved it. But I couldn’t help but wonder what it would look like with some DIY Bohemian Blue. And I wanted to try some wax to blend it all together a little better.

I mixed up a squirt bottle of water with a little Bohemian Blue in it. Not a fine mist sprayer - a squirt bottle…you don’t want a jet stream, but a heavier spray than the mister thingy gives you.
Spray it and let it run.
I’ll admit, I had a moment of remorse at this point. I loved the color, but it really darkened the whole thing up.
And you see the splotchiness over on the side wall? I wasn’t digging it. I felt like I had lost my mesh between modern and vintage.

Enter WAX!!!
I used a combination of brown and white wax. I blended until I thought my shoulders were going to crawl off my body.
BUT LOOK AT THOSE DETAILS!!!! YES!!!! Now we are back to the happy dance, people!!

Flooring and trim brought the whole thing together. It was absolutely worth the work.

If you decide to go for it, I want to see!!

Go make something beautiful in the world…

Even if it is in a shed, just for yourself.
XO-Shaelyn

One Canvas 4 Ways

I took one canvas, set it on the built-ins in my living room, and curated it 4 ways with random things from around my house.

1 of 4

High Gloss Horizons paired with Traditional Candlesticks and a Sprig of Forsythia for Color. Yellow is one of my favorite colors, I think it is bold and happy.

If you love this painting, you can find it in our online store. I’ve had the candlesticks for 12+ years, so good luck on those, LOL!

Not every piece of art has a top or a bottom, not every piece of art has to match your entire house.

2 of 4

Because I will always be a desert girl at heart, I have a bit of a cactus collection.
Since the cacti are trendy right now, and the depth and vibrancy in this painting remind me of the mountain-scapes and sunsets in my home state of New Mexico…

I can’t help but think they belong together.

If you are a fan of this look, the greenery and wooden cactus came from Hobby Lobby. The ceramic Cactus was a TJ Maxx find. Can you tell, I kind of love knick-knacky things!

Art is about beauty, freedom, creativity, and expression. Everyone will see something different in it, and I love that.

3 of 4

Blue hues and pops of turquoise are in almost every room of my house…I like a balance of fresh and calm…these colors do that for me.

This is a dollar store vase that my sister and I painted forever ago, with a silk bouquet in it. I think it has been in every room of my house, it is so simple, and I’m not tired of it yet.

Give yourself permission to own things that speak to you, and stop getting hung up on whether everything in your life “matches”. I have spent too long bypassing things that I love because I was worried about how it would “go” in my house. The fact is, if you love it - it works. That simple.

4 of 4

I saved my favorite for last…
My husband has tons of books new and old. I think they are beautiful and grounding. I even love the way they smell.
I love how much warmth the combination of the books and painting bring. Mozart looks quite sharp sitting amongst them, don’t ya think?

Also - stop getting stuck on the idea that art has to go on the walls,
NOT TRUE!

Let it OUT

Do you ever feel like you have something bottled up inside?

I do - often!

Sometimes, it is something that needs to be said. Sometimes, it is creative energy bubbling up that needs an outlet. Sometimes, I feel driven to share an idea or a realization that I have come to.

Can I be real, and tell you it often scares the living day lights out of me to think of letting it out? To be vulnerable enough to say it, or make it, or do it.

Here is what I have come to understand - when I get that feeling, it usually isn’t me, rather the Holy Spirit at work in me. He’s working something out. Stretching me, growing me. AND IF I WILL LET HIM MOVE, if I will TRUST Him, if I will be OBEDIENT to letting out what ever it is he puts inside of me - freedom, and blessing are always on the other side.

I have been avoiding this blog site for almost 5 years…convincing myself I wasn’t good enough to be posting things on the internet. I have been privately painting things and hiding them in a closet when they are finished. Telling myself I am a crafter, not an artist. I actually stopped painting for a while because I couldn’t hoard any more canvases in my guest room closet, and I wasn’t willing to let them overflow anywhere else. But a day came where I JUST NEEDED TO PAINT!!! So I did. And while I painted I prayed and listened.

See, immersing myself in creativity makes me feel connected to my God, who created me. He floods me with ideas and I always enjoy the process of creating, but unless I am making something specific - I never know what to do with whatever I painted or created when I am finished with it. For me, the value is in the making or creating. Once that is over, I shove it somewhere and I move on to the next thing.

As I prayed and listened, God got me thinking - Sure, for me, the beauty is in the process - but for someone else, it may be in the finished product. My gift came from God, it is a reflection of Him. Who am I to say it’s work is through and put it in a closet?

As I have mulled that over and tried to be vulnerable in sharing my art little bits at a time, God keeps bring me back to “WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE I have given you?”

The truth is, He has given me so much that I feel overwhelmed as to how to share that with you, and do His goodness any justice. But I shall try, because after all…Who am I to put his work in the closet?

Is there anything in you that God gave you? Any ounce of his goodness inside of you, waiting to be let out? My hands are shaking writing this. I practically feel naked on the internet. But, I ultimately want to be obedient, not comfortable.

I encourage you friend, Let It OUT! Freedom awaits. Don’t do it for the blessing - do it for the stretching…He has more for you than wherever you are today - the stretching makes room for it.

Let yourself out in me Lord, and in every person who reads this!

All my love as you stretch - Shaelyn