New addition to my Faux Copper Patina wall!

Today is the day. Yep, it’s the day for the reveal of my Coffee room Faux Copper Patina Wall Art! So, my DIY Faux painted wall had been begging for a wall art to make it look alive, and husband and I had been searching for the perfect little thing. We had been looking all over the home decor stores and the online websites for something quirky and unique without breaking the bank. I even thought of painting something fun, but the wall cried out for something out of the box!

So without further ado, here is what we finally ended up with! *drumroll please*

Ta-da!

I love it to pieces. I think I even dream about it at night!

And believe it or not, we found this dilapidated Penny-farthing cycle planter at the The Amazing Mill Markets of Daylesford! I admit that when we bought it, it looked filthy and ugly. You wouldn't want to touch it! It had dilapidated rubber tyres on both the wheels, and had a stand making it a floor planter.Husband was skeptical about my plans, but I knew this would be perfect for my Faux Copper Patina wall.

After dumping it into the car and bringing it home, we cleaned it with a pressure washer to get rid of the superficial dirt. The rubber tyre on the big wheel was hideous, so we removed it, and cleaned it again to get rid of all the in-lying cobwebs over the years. We bought a metal cutting tool to get rid of half of the handle to hang it close to the wall , and a few trips to Bunnings later, voila!

I decided not to repaint it to leave the character on it.

These pots are from Bunnings, and the plants in them are from IKEA. 

I love how the black metal of the cycle goes so well with the industrial table fan lamp. 

Can you tell that this is my favorite room in the house? This also gives the illusion of a higher ceiling. I love it!

Love,
Divya

Faux Copper Patina Wall - DIY

I love textured walls, they add so much character and natural depth to the room. When we decided to paint a feature wall in the living room (now renamed as the "Coffee room"), I knew I wanted a copper patina effect on the wall - more patina, less copper.

So, having a genuine copper patina “ verdigris” would be mind blowing, but that would also burn a hole in my pocket. So, the artsy way it was. Excited with a huge canvas, I decided on the following supplies list.

For this project, you’ll need this stuff:

Supplies 

• "Bluish-Green" paint to mimic patina - I used the Dublin Jack from Berger - Inspirations paint since I wanted it more on the side of green than blue
• Brown paint to mimic copper/rust - I used the Pookie Bear brown from Berger - Inspirations paint
• Some brushes for blending
• Plastic bag 
• Craft sponge (optional, but I found it to be extremely helpful)
• White wall paint - I used the Casper White Quarter from Dulux which I used to paint my entire house
• Plaster of Paris (optional)
• Spatula (if using Plaster of Paris)
• Methylated spirit (optional) - I used this one from Bunnings

Basic Technique

A basic faux copper patina research will show you that it requires a gorgeous blend of the brown and bluish-green. So, I began with my primed and painted white wall and masked off the required section.

I knew I wanted darker edges, so I went ahead and painted the edges of the walls with the Pookie Bear brown, and some random parts in the middle to finish off the leftover paint in my brush.

Next, I wanted to get some texture on the wall. For that, we mixed some Plaster of Paris (POP) in the Dublin Jack paint itself. I know it sounds insane, but trust me, it works! That gave me a little more drying time as well. With a spatula, I placed this mix on the wall. When using this technique, it is best to work with little batches at a time. Here is how it looks after the wall was covered. I know, crazy, right? Don't worry, it will all make sense in the end.

Next, to get rid of the "white" in between, I mixed about 10 parts of water to 1 part of Pookie Bear paint (in a rough estimate) and painted the entire wall. I also had some Finnabair rust paste lying around, so I added it on the edges, some spots in between to add to the texture, also to get a direction on where I was going with this.

Here's a close up.  You will notice that different layers already peeking through. We are getting there, I promise! 

Since our base is now ready, we will start to lighten the wall and add more layers. So, to the Dublin Jack, I mixed white. The more the white, the lighter the shade. I went for just about one shade lighter. Blot some light Dublin Jack onto the wall to create cloudy areas and fill in the sparse areas first.

Crumple the plastic bag to make a ball and then smooth some of that out. Remember, we don't want to hide the layers, we only want to add more. Here's how it looks after filling in the wall. Somehow, it still didn't look complete to me in terms of complexity of texture, so I went one step further.

I added some Methylated spirit to a spray bottle and sprayed all over the wall!

After this, I used a craft sponge and diluted Pookie Bear paint (almost 1:10) to distress the wall, and blend in the shades, in the process, also making it look less patchy.

You can see the shades peeking through on different parts of the wall:

I then went and finished off the edges, blending and darkening it with some Finnabair rust paste.

I also sprayed on the left over diluted Pookie Bear on the wall. Remember, there is no right or wrong here, just how darker, or lighter you want to go.

I had some Dublin Jack left on my tray, so I diluted it and sprayed it on the wall to finish the project. The key to recreate the complexity of copper patina is to make as many layers as possible.

After removing the masking tape, here's how the final wall looks like. I am in love with it!! It's almost like a piece of art :)

You could add bigger patches of shades of brown, but I am happy with how it looks. And, yes, those are my pallet wood tables.

 

Also, I wanted more patina look than copper anyway. My new favorite room in the house!

So, off to come up with a new project, let me know if you will be trying this out!

xo. Divya

Powder Room Faux Marble wall - DIY

I love marble! (Who doesn't?) I have a ton of marble stuff around our home. The natural stones and textures have some inconceivable depth that I just find so addictive.

Having a genuine marble wall would be amazing, but that would not count as art! Also, a genuine marble wall would mean a major expense, and a huge remodel which I don't think everyone has the time for. Being the crazy artsy self, I thought faux marble marble walls would take it to a whole different level, (and give me a large canvas to experiment on!) And I could also argue that repainting a wall in a faux marble finish would give me that classy marble look at a fraction of the cost. (Not sure about what I was up to, but I got a go ahead from hubs. Worst case scenario was that it would look like cobwebs, but we could just paint over it, so gave it a go anyway!)

I know several of you might shudder at the thought, but trust me - achieving the effect requires patience but is moderately easy. You can come up with your own tweaked technique to make up your own unique marble colors, or your design. There is no right or wrong, and the possibilities are endless!

Pantry Organization - Image transfer for clear labels

Pantries come in all sizes: small, big, walk-in, drawers, shelves, roll-out compartments… and the list goes on. Whatever may be the size, these clear labels can adore pantry jars in all. So excited to share a fun way to make clear labels, perfect for the pantry jars and knick-knacks! Turn a clear packaging tape into clear labels using the image transfer technique!

For this project, you’ll need this stuff:

Supplies 

• Clear tape. I feel stronger the tape, the better the labels
• Inkjet printer
• Scissors or Paper Trimmer

Home: A Painting Tour

Who would have thought choosing paint colors is hard? Firstly, a range of colors is available, like even white has so many shades to choose from… where do you even start?

When we were deciding to move into our first home, I knew I wanted it white. The original color was sort of yellowish:

Craft Room Doodle wall

As soon as I had my own space for myself, I had to make it my own. Whether you have your own studio or a corner of your bedroom for your crafting, I feel this is a must to personalize your creative space and let the ideas flow. So, what better than to paint a wall? I did not want to simply paint it a color since I had already done that in other parts of my home. This had to be UNIQUE, so I went about scribbling for some ideas. And that's when I realized, what better than Doodling? Here is a draft I made incorporating everything I love: