SK On Elderberry: February 2015

SK's Painted Journey of Wishes

"To Roam or not to Rome"

My Father was on a sailor on a destroyer tender ship in the Japan Harbor when the armistice of World War II was signed. This iconic image of a sailor kissing a surprised nurse whispers memories of a generation almost gone.

My Mother also now gone, keeped this gem of a newspaper article her entire life. I found it in her hope chest after she passed away this last year.

I dedicate this awesome chair to my Mom and Dad. A generation of strong, honest, courageous and hard working people. Thank you for your example.

This would have been called a English gentleman's smoking chair. Sadly left alone on a thrift floor for many months, I purchased him for a grand price of $19.00. Actually my friend/buyer found him. She has the best eye for the best prices. It's not like she has time to do this for me. Heidi is the owner/operator of Pine Lodge Labradoodles which has an international reputation. Thanks Heidi.
http://pinelodgelabradoodles.com/

I cleaned the chair thoroughly with a mixture of Dawn and vinegar. I then sanded the surface with a 220 grit sponge sanding block. The point is to remove any sealants and oils. Fingerprint oils are almost impossible to paint over.

Although the chair was built with the greatest of care, including down filling, the upholstery fabric is an inexpensive vinyl. After ninety five years or so, the surface was showing great areas of stress and rubbing. The cording was in excellent condition, just decades of rub marks

I was very interested in how and what could be used to paint old vinyl. As I tested different brands of paint, I tested a spray paint made for plastics. I must have done something terrible. It stayed sticky for days. I eventually took a paint remover and removed all the paint I had done. Interestingly enough the more I cleaned with this paint remover the better the vinyl looked. It also made the surface an excellent surface for chalk paint.

Chalk paint does not rub off on clothes and it does not crack. I was careful to sand in between coats of paint. My next project with vinyl will go much faster as I seem to have the need to reinvent the wheel.

I made a custom cream chalk paint for the body. I painted two coats with sanding between dry coats.

My chalk recipe is: 1 part calcium carbonate (powdered chalk) 2 parts flat latex paint.

1 Part Chalk

2 Parts Flat Latex Paint

Mix till no lumps and keep stirring occasionally while painting.

2 TBSP water.

"To Roam or not to Rome"

Thanks Graphics Fairy

The design I imagined so carefully in my dreams, evolved as I painted. I wanted to see if I could create a piece with balance of color and design and still keep the theme intact.

My theme morphed into a masculine dream of travel.

Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for most of the graphics.

The steps in painting the newspaper and picture was long and trying.

"Always Kiss Me Goodnight"

"I Love You to the Moon and Back."

Thanks Graphics Fairy

"To Roam or not to Rome"

Flower Puffs, my children call Wishes. I remember running down the road as a child with little specks of white magical puff flowing in my wake.

"All those who wander are not lost" Bilbo Baggins

Borei By Design was kind enough to let me use parts of her logo for my chair. Thanks be to Holly. I fell in love with her puff flowers we call wishes.

At the completion of my painting I washed the entire surface with an antiquing medium of chocolate brown and carefully wiped most of it off.

The last step was to wax the entire piece with paste wax and buff to an old world shine. The nail heads are painted gold to match the dipped gold feet and gold offset buttons.

Thanks for visiting. sk on elderberry

SK & Modern Masters Paints

http://www.hometalk.com/sksartell/project
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SK's Paint Upholstery & G.D. Gunderson Design

Georgia is one of those innately clever people. Her instinctual design sense goes bone deep. Georgia's ability to layer and change and layer again is always an amazing process to watch.

Each time I visit her beautiful home I gaze in wonderment at her vignettes. So thoughtfully and carefully crafted, but again looking so natural and carefree.

She received a painted wingback chair from me many years ago and wanted a little update and facelift for her pretty little chair.

This beautifully built chair is thirty years old or more. It's life as a new chair began with a pink tone on tone brocade fabric.

I couldn't part with her for many years just because she was so carefully hand-crafted. Yet I wouldn't use her because of the ghastly pink fabric.

Clean as I could get the fabric, the stains were non removable.

Her second life was painted with a Amish Black chalk paint ten years ago.

The first and second coat felt like a disaster. But the third and final coat was beautiful.

Now to bring her into a new life and new place to reside.

Georgia wanted to brighten up her space but not lose the Amish Black of the piece. The seat back and fronts of the arms were painted an antique cream custom chalk paint. The black stripe was added to pull the colors together. I made a mock-up (pictured above) of a black damask curl down the sides of the stripe. She choose to keep this pretty piece simple. So get away from the paint sk.

This piece was clear paste waxed and buffed. The paint will not crack, nor will it come off on clothes, It feels like embossed and smooth leather.

Painted upholstery has existed for many centuries but until now the craft was not usable for the home painter.

With the onset of chalk paint and upholstery medium the task has become well known and well used.

SK's Custom Chalky Paint Recipe

1 Part Powdered and sifted Calcium Carbonate. I buy mine from Par Lumber. Salem Oregon. You can buy it online too. I just have an aversion to waiting for the post.

1 Part Calcium Carbonate (Ground Chalk)

2 Parts flat latex Paint

A couple of drops of water. Maybe a tablespoon.

I sift my ground chalk to get any odd lumps out. Then add the 2 parts flat paint.

I mix with a hand held stick blender in a mason jar. Keep the lid, cap and rim of the jar clean. It will dry and make taking the lid on and off a real chore.

Thanks for visiting. sk on elderberry

SK & Modern Masters Paints

http://www.hometalk.com/sksartell/project
http://www.pinterest.com/sksart
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SK's White Oaks. A Previous Life

SK's Previous Life.

What a roller coaster ride life can be. This part of my life was wonderous. Exhaustingly wonderous. I can cross being a B&B hostess off my bucket list now. The amazing things I learned will last forever. The friends which were made will influence me forever. Thanks for the great memories.

Carole Marie: SK, thank you for allowing me to visit White Oaks Bed and Breakfast. There is such a feeling of comfort there beginning with your warm welcome, the scent of fresh baked cookies, the plush bedding in every room, the water features… ahhh, truly a relaxing get-away. What made you decide to open a bed and breakfast?

SK: Thank you Carole, for taking time to make the trip to White Oaks.

White Oaks has been a long term dream. As a professional artist and interior designer, my bed and breakfast seemed to be a logical next step. I wanted to share the dream we had created. The thought just makes me smile.

Carole Marie: The first thing I noticed when I walked inside is the décor…the hardwood floors, the leaf embedded walls, the copper-topped kitchen counter. Everything is exquisitely and tastefully done. How long did it take you to create such a visual feast for the eyes?

SK: Ron and I built White Oaks from the ground up. The construction took a total of nine months of twelve hour days, six days a week.

I designed the house in a French farm style, with the structure being stucco/concrete with twelve inch walls and high ceilings. We hand textured the interior walls with a heavy trowel finish which we painted a cream and antiqued with a coffee colored glaze. The interior was designed to be comfortable and non-pretentious. The furniture is mostly recycled and refurbished. I am reluctant to buy new when we can make old things look great.

The attention White Oaks has received is astounding. I designed with function and comfort as the primary focus and my art the secondary. What I didn’t realize is others wanted and couldn’t find this kind of designing.

The cabinets were built by Ron. Each cabinet was designed for a specific purpose. He laughs knowing the cabinets in the entire house cost just a few hundred dollars. The cabinet glass cost more than the cabinets themselves.

I designed the kitchen by the square inch. As a houseful of cooks and chefs it was imperative that the kitchen worked efficiently.

The counters are indestructible concrete and copper. Useful, beautiful, and again non-pretentious. The more nicks and dings the better they look in my opinion.

Carole Marie: Your menu looks scrumptious! Please tell me about a favorite breakfast you create for your guests.

SK: I learned good basic farm cooking from my mother and grandmother. Stuffed French toast is among the favorites requested by guests. We always use the seasons best fruits to create our French toast. I make a homemade fruit syrup to compliment the toast. Fresh whipped cream, freshly ground coffee and chilled fresh fruit are always a must. Italian sausage with a maple glaze are a tasty side.

Carole Marie: Silverton,Oregon may be a small town, but it is rich in history and ambiance. What are some advantages to being located there?

SK: Silverton is a nice place, tucked in the foothills the way it is. We have killer views, plenty of recreational choices for the sports enthusiast or camping fanatic. Yet slow enough pace for those who want to shake the urban off their Nikes, but with classy little pockets of culture, and a reasonable drive from several major metro areas.

Opportunities for golf, fishing, hiking and other manner of outdoor recreation such as Silver Falls are within a few miles from Silverton’s charming streets and old buildings. The small boutiques and great restaurants are a favorite of White Oaks discerning guests.

Silver Creek bisects the town with the quaint walking bridges adjoined by our public parks. The amazing farm based landscapes continues to inspire those that visit.

We seem to have more artists and art lovers than other towns of Oregon.

Silverton is central to great Oregon attractions such as the state capital, skiing, hiking, biking, Mt. Hood, Columbia River, ocean beaches.

Carole Marie: How exciting to have White Oaks featured in the magazine pages of Better Homes and Gardens, Distinctive Kitchen Design, Cottage Style and Small Rooms Decorating! Is there anything else in the works you’d like to share with us?

SK: The bed and breakfast takes up a big part of my time. Our guests are looking for something very special and memorable. I am determined to provide excellent service and memories to smile about.

With the leisure time remaining, I find myself working with clients on home design and interior design. I don’t have the need to travel quite as often, as I can create a big part of my work over the internet.

The works still to be done are innumerable. {Just breathe SK!} I am currently working on my custom free-form rugs which are sent all over the world. You almost have to feel sorry for my family.

I have also been painting and upscaling old furniture and painting upholstery.

Fun Times. Big Smiles

Thanks for visiting.

SK & Modern Masters Paints

SK and The Oregonian and Oregon Live

The Oregonian/OregonLive with SK

By Janet Eastman | The Oregonian/OregonLive Email the author | Follow on Twitter

SK Sartell, a carpet sculpture artist, designer and painter, converted an old leaning structure - a storage shed - in Salem into a her home. The cottage is filled with her DIY redos - an old iron gate is suspended from the ceiling over the kitchen island and holds pans - and her reupholstered thrift store furniture finds. Photo by Janet Eastman

SK and The Oregonian
Janet Eastman and Oregon Live

Thanks for visiting. sk on elderberry

SK & Modern Masters Paints

http://www.hometalk.com/sksartell/project
http://www.pinterest.com/sksart
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SK's Field of Dreams

From sad to pretty dang happy.

I have the most amazing clients. Heidi is the creator and owner of Pine Lodge Labradoodles and finds wonderful treasures for very little money. I'm not sure how she is at the right place at the right time, all the time. She finds great deals and they land at my door, waiting their turn for a fresh lease on life.

This big abused lady was purchased for $30.00

Solid wood crowns, doors and base moldings. The sides are typical pressboard. She is over 7' tall and 3+ wide and 24" deep.

Her previous life was a TV cabinet. With the advent of flat screen TV's these big heavy cabinets are finding themselves out of a job as entertainment centers.

We can always find a perfect place for these retired, plain pieces.

After sanding and cleaning, I paint the entire cabinet inside and out with cream chalk paint. I sand between three coats of paint.

The door panels are then decoupaged with pretty paper. After the paper is dry, I sand a bit to show wear and coat with a flat poly.

The beautiful knobs, which come from Hobby Lobby, were a part of the inspiration for this cabinet. The handles were to be placed in different spots than the originals, and I wanted them to show off a bit. I carved a diamond back plate with edges to match the doors molding. Then the diamonds were painted with cream paint.

The raised stencil designs and name were created using Modern Masters Sculpting Putty and their amazing Metal Effects Paint in iron. It paints on black and when misted with the reactive solution, it actually rusts. I never get tired of watching this unique process.