New year, same list of projects...

!Hay, carumba!  Where did the year go?  Aside from finishing about six square feet of bathroom wall painting, I think the only thing I accomplished here at Belle Ami was repainting the living room mural, which by the way, I still don't like, and will be repainting again.  I'm planning a little trip this summer though, which I think will influence the redesign, so don't be expecting me to finish that, or the life-sized sculpture of a Welsh water sprite that steps out of it, anytime soon.  You're welcome to expect me to finish it sometime later, if it makes you happy, but I'm not making any promises as to exactly when. 

Now, having started a bookazine, 365 Being, Savoring a Life of Abundance, Joy and Beauty (check it out by clicking here: 365being.com), which takes up just about every "spare" minute of my time, I do have a good excuse for not accomplishing a lot on Belle's decorating.  However, since 365 Being is all about living beautifully, well, somehow I need to get the writing and the living back in balance. And then there's Belle's book, which has been on the back burner so long, it's about time to toss out that kettle of fish and start fresh. Still, isn't it grand to have so many delicious plans, which means never a moment's chance to be bored?

Lace decoupaged onto the walls with flat linen white paint, staples, and upholstery tacks.

I did pick back up on one old decorating project this week. I had started doing a lace covering on my art studio walls a long time back, and didn't finish, largely because it's hard to have this particular room out of commission for any length of time. I finally convinced myself to knock off the all-or-nothing mind game, and just work on one section at a time. It's slow, tedious work, so it really doesn't need me to clear the whole room. Tonight, I moved things from one corner, popped in an audio book (a goofy noir style crime story set in the 1950's), and spent a few hours decoupaging table cloths to one small section of wall.

To do this project, one needs a mountain of old lace (curtains, table cloths, doilies, and scraps). scissors, hammer, upholstery tacks, heavy duty stapler, paint tray, paint or white glue, and a lot of patience.

Now, why would I want to decoupage lace tablecloths to my art studio walls?  A few reasons come to mind.  First of all, to coordinate with the tablecloth stapled to the ceiling...

Crazy quilted ceiling in my main art studio.

Second, because the leather look treatment I started to do with grocery bags was too dark for the space, and sucked up all the light, which just doesn't work in a work room where lighting is key.  Third, removing the 1940's wall paper, and the other three decades of wallpaper behind it, is going to create a big mess, as the plaster underneath it all has pretty much gone to dust. 

Here's a detail of the ceiling.  The crazy quilted strips were created on muslin, embellished, then stapled to the ceiling around the centerpiece.  After the outside strips of fabric were added, I used lengths of ribbon to cover the long seams.

The studs of this house are nearly iron hard, according to a very grumpy electrician who did some rewiring for me years back, but the plaster in rooms that weren't refinished in the 1970's is pretty bad.  I repaired it in two rooms, but repairing plaster is even more boring than decoupaging lace over the whole mess, which is truthfully far more tedious than I anticipated, but should hold everything in place for many years to come.

Oh, and a fourth reason:  I happen to really like lace, but really don't have anyplace to put it, aside from down the leg seams of my paint pants.  I'd save it for dressier days, but I don't exactly have a lot of days not spent in paint pants.  Besides, on big jobs with other paint crews, it keeps anyone from mistaking me for one of the guys.  :)))

Once I get all the lace on the wall, I will have to clear the room for a day and over-glaze it in a soft moss green to catch in the holes, and then I'll trim the ceiling edge with a trim I designed using burlap, ribbon and acorns...

Moss green glaze will help the pattern show more.  Another skiff of white over that will further enhance the detail.

Trim for the ceiling edge, made of burlap, ribbon and acorns.   The origin of this design was the need to get a five inch wide trim that would surround the entire room and not break the bank.  I've got $6 into the burlap, and about $20 in upholstery tacks.  The ribbon was found at a thrift store years ago.  Despite it's budget origins,  I'm happier with this than any of the other ideas I came up with, at any price.  It's the acorns. 

And why would I want to trim a room in acorn bobbles?  Ummm...you're asking this of someone who stapled her best tablecloth to her ceiling in a work room.  Life flies by fast.  Don't pass up the chance to try out all those goofy, nonsensical, fabulously fun ideas!

I do stuff like this, and also slightly less um, unusual things for clients' walls and ceilings.  You can see my portfolio at theartofthehome.com.

You can contact me with questions or comments by clicking on the "comments" below, or email me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.

And to see how I spend the rest of my time:  I blog over at 365being.blogspot.com sometimes, though my business partner's been doing more posting than I, during the holidays.