Beautiful Color Green Selection with Hex Numbers!

Source: photocardboutique.com via Denise on Pinterest

What struck me about this collection of sea green colors was how they have such a calming effect on the eye and how wonderful that we are given the hex numbers to use in our own work. I could see myself driving a little VW like that - it would certainly turn heads in my little town!

thanks to Pinterest yet again for such inspiration. If you would like to follow me there or join the growing community click here.

Swedish Falu Rödfärg Red Paint in SW France!

When Sweden comes to mind, what do you think of? Yes, I know what you are going to say - ABBA or IKEA, but I would like to introduce you to FALU RÖDFÄRG, Sweden's beautiful natural red paint!

In the Swedish countryside, many of the wooden houses are painted in this glorious intense red that seems to 'glow' in the evening sunshine. The pigment to make the paint is found in the copper mine of Falun, Sweden, giving it a unique composition which includes iron ochre, silicon dioxide, copper and zinc which help to preserve and protect wood and gives the distinctive natural color of Falu Rödfärg paint.

I had a few outdoor projects here at our house in SW France that I thought were ideal for this paint. It is a natural water based paint and best on rough, unplanned timber, but it does work on smoother wood too. I decided to do two coats, the first being diluted about 10% and use a wide flat brush to apply the paint.


Painting the Court Yard Doors Red!

Glowing Swedish Red in SW France

Well, our new court yard is coming on a treat - the enclosed dry stone wall is finished and Martin even made some wooden doors to make a completely private little hot spot. So, after all his hard work (yes, he did build the wall himself - stone by agonizing stone!),  it was time to think of a color to compliment the stone and plants that surround the doors and also protect the wood from the elements. I'd wanted to try the Falu Rödfärg Red paint for some time and I thought the doors would be a good place to start.

This is how it comes, or you can buy the pigment and mix your own.

First Coat - diluted 10%

Finished and I even painted the sun chair!

A little glimpse of Martin's Dry Stone Wall

I did the two coats over a couple of days, but with smaller projects you could easily finish in a day, as the paint is dry after one hour, so plenty of time to apply the second coat.

If you want more information on Falu Rödfärg Swedish Red Paint - here is the main website where you will find where to buy the paint in your country and lots of other interesting facts about this gorgeous glowing red paint!

Pages From My Sketch Book

Thought you might like to see a few pages of my color doodles which I use to work out new color ways for my frames, but they could be used for all sorts of projects, from a new painting to restoring an old piece of furniture that you have found in the local 'brocante' (garage sale, car boot etc.)

Orange

Deep Purple

Obtaining a Pale Pink

Sea Green

Red

Red Roses Color Palette

I always find it interesting to look in detail at the colors in nature. I have started here with drawing only four colors from my photo of Red Roses on a Stone Wall - what a mistake! I will make another color palette with how many colors? We will see.....

The Colors I Used For My Red Frames

For true feelings of depth and quality in any form of art from painting a masterpiece to a picture frame, it is essential to create layers of color. You may not see them all in the finished work - BUT - they are there and it does make the difference to the feel and quality of the piece.

DIY Shabby Chic White Frame For Wall Display Part 3

Adding a Little Extra - How did you get on with renovating your frame? Love to know, do leave a comment if you have time! Anyway, at the end of PART TWO I mentioned that I wanted to do a little more work on the other frame I was 'shabby chicing', so here we go if you want to follow along.

Next coat of paint - White I think - I've used a basic Liquitex artists acrylic that I first sponged lightly on the frame, and then applied a little more with a small (1/4 inch) flat brush to give a stippling effect which adds more texture on the flatter sections of the frame. This soon dries and is ready to have it's 'splatter' spots.  Mix a little of the first color that we used in Part Two, and with a dry hard brush, start splattering the paint onto the frame with your finger (practice a bit first on some paper). All you need to do now is add a little bees wax and buff to a soft sheen, or apply an acrylic mat varnish to give your finish some protection.  And there you have it - another shabby chic frame to add to your collection of empty frames to display on the wall!

Hope you have fun with your DIY Projects. If you REALLY haven't the time to DIY, but would still like to collect some Shabby Chic Frames, then I am selling these pieces in my new ARTFIRE STORE, so go have a look!

DIY Shabby Chic White Frame For Wall Display Part 2

Are You Ready For Part 2 of our tutorial? Part 1 is here if you missed it


First of all, give your frame a good dust down and lightly sand the surface. Now is a good time to get the vacume cleaner out and give the frame and your work surface a big clean-up so that when you start painting, everything is dust free.

Undercoat - Start with an undercoat - I am using a white one for wood. When it is dry, apply the first color coat :

First Color

I prefer an Acrylic (water based) Mat Emulsion that is used for decorating, it is easy to find a huge range of colors in your local DIY Store. The two colors I am using, are left over from decorating my bathroom last month, I had them mixed at the store after choosing from the extensive number of shade cards there. Just be sure that you buy a MAT emulsion - NOT satin or gloss. Using water based paints also has the added advantage of being quick drying and less smelly!

Put  a few spoonfuls of the first color on your plate, dip your brush in the water and stir the paint around - perhaps do this twice - in other words, we are diluting the paint a LITTLE, but not too much.

Brush the paint onto your prepared frame with light strokes and cover all the surface, pushing the paint into all the little nooks and crannies if your frame is very ornate. Don't worry if it looks a bit streaky, remember that this is the first coat.

Well, we are waiting for the paint to dry now! What are you going to do for the next couple of hours? Go shopping? Off to a Football Match? Work Out at the Gym (I prefer Yoga myself), or perhaps start preparing lunch or dinner - lots of food ideas in our 'DELICIOUS' section!


Second Color


OK - It's 2 hours later! Let's apply the second color - put some of your paint on the (clean) plate, diluted as before, by dipping your  (clean) brush in water a couple of times. Now, with your damp sponge (I buy a washing-up sponge and then cut it into 4 pieces), dip it into the diluted paint and very lightly tap the sponge onto your frame, highlighting the relief and the sides. Feel free here - don't be afraid, let your spontinaeity show through - we are doing the 'arty' bit now!

What next? Your efforts probably look a little 'thin' and transparent, mine needs more depth, so with a small paint brush, start to paint over some of the highlights to give more emphasis to the relief. Respond to your work, does it need a bit more sponging now? Mine does, so that is what I'm going to do, but every piece of work is different - JUST RELAX & ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE. If you make a mistake don't worry about it - you can always paint over and start again - but is it a mistake? Perhaps not, perhaps the 'mistake' is adding a new dimension to your work, so don't be in too much of a hurry to paint things out - think about it for a while!

Now, I I'm going to finish there with this frame, it is so ornate I don't think it needs anything else added paint wise and I love the 'stone' look that has evolved. SO - 'LET THE PAINT DRY'!

Hope you had a nice lunch, did you football team win? Had a good workout? I hope you left that computer alone!


Just to finish off - you need to put some protection on your work of art! There are two ways of doing this, either with a final coat of Transparent Mat Polyurethane Varnish, or a nice Bees Wax Polish gives a lovely soft sheen and feel that is well worth the effort of all the elbow grease that is needed in all the polishing.

On the other frame I am doing at the same time, I'm going to add a little extra before the varnish or polish, but I'll leave that for Part 3, so see you soon!