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DIY: Paint-Swatch Weaving

CasaSugar — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:27:51 -0700

In part inspired, part stingy, and part needing fresh air, I decided to take a walk to the hardware store this past weekend and pick up some (free) paint swatches to use for an art project. Aside from being gratuit, a benefit of using paint swatches for an art project is that you can choose the exact colors you're looking for to bring your room together or just to add a touch of color. How you use the swatches is up to you, but I figured I'd let you in on how I executed this little masterpiece (ha).

Supplies:

Paint swatches
Scissors
Rubber cement
Frame

To learn the steps, and see this DIY hung on the wall, read more.
Here's how:

Choose your colors. I wanted to use pink, light green, and gray to pick up the colors in the room. So, I chose an array of swatches in each color, and brought them home. I wound up using three swatches of each color, and each swatch was just one notch away from the next, numerically (i.e. Green 12345, 12346, 12347). This gave it a subtle ombré look beyond the gradient of four or five colors on each individual swatch.
Cut your swatches. Cut each swatch into strips, a couple centimeters each. They don't have to be exact; I think it adds interest if they're slightly different widths and not completely straight (that's up to you). Make sure to cut off any of the numbers or text on the swatch before you cut your strips. Keep the strips from each swatch separated so when you line them up you won't lose the gradient effect.
Line them up. For the base of my weaving, I decided to have greens running across, and grays and pinks running up and down. I arranged the gray and pink strips side by side but opposite in saturation, so the lightest grays and pinks met, creating (sort of) the appearance of a gradient that runs from gray to pink. Arrange your strips visually so you'll know how it will work, but begin your weaving with only 2 sets of strips at a time (1 horizontal swatch, 1 vertical swatch).
Weave your base. Weave one horizontal strip across all of your vertical strips at a time. Continue until you've woven all of your horizontal strips across. It helps to tape the woven pieces to your table because they tend to want to unwind themselves. Make the weave as tight as possible; it's bound to loosen a bit. Be patient, it can be frustrating at times.
Create a focal point. I decided to weave a few strips in brighter pink and green, and darker gray together to lay on top of the base, creating a focal point. You could also thread some colorful twine through, or hook some sort of paper shape onto the weaving to achieve this, or leave the weaving as is.
Glue. Brush some rubber cement onto the back of your weaving and adhere it to some spare paper the size of your frame.
Trim and frame. Trim the edges so it fits the frame opening. Frame and hang!

Here's a peek at my little project in its place:

Before and After: My Paint Swatch Papercut Valentine

CasaSugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:00:00 -0800

I've shown you plenty of lovely Valentine's Day cards, but it's more personal to make something yourself. If you read my paint swatch weaving DIY, you know about my preference for paint swatches as an affordable crafting medium. Check out this slideshow to see how I've turned this pretty pink paint swatch into a little piece of papercut Valentine's Day artwork.

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Home Library: A Girl's Guide to Decorating

CasaSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:00:07 -0700

When I think of interior designer and stylist Abigail Ahern, who also owns one of London's leading interiors stores, there are a few things that come to mind. One is the Neo Baroque Chandelier in her collection - one of the most breathtaking and showstopping pieces I have ever come across. And the other is her perfected and signature use of Farrow & Ball's "Downpipe" paint from floor to ceiling - which inspired my own gray(-ish) kitchen. And last, her playful use of both scale and vibrant colors, evident in both her own home (which you can tour here) and her sister's, which was featured in the New York Times. What this all adds up to is that the girl's got serious design skills.

So it's no surprise that Ahern's new book, A Girl's Guide to Decorating, is filled with plenty of inspiring and helpful design advice, not to mention gorgeous photos. Want to hear about it? Then read more.

The book covers a few of the fundamentals of decorating, including planning, color, light, texture, and accents, what she calls "glamorous personal touches."

When it comes to planning, some of her tips may feel irrelevant if you're not doing any renovating, but overall her advice will apply to renters and homeowners alike, with words on arranging multi-use rooms and using different types of mirrors to your advantage.

Throughout the book, Ahern offers tried-and-true how-to advice on things like putting up shelves, hanging mirrors, and making over your kitchen cabinets - task that are never as easy they seem. This might be my favorite element of the book.

As for those glamorous touches, she advocates using eccentric and rare finds and mixing-and-matching to give your home that X-factor. She offers various routes for arranging display items on a shelf, as well as artwork and pictures. And to finish it off, she recommends switching out door handles and drawer knobs.

Since we might not all be sold on "Down Pipe," Ahern considers the effects of colors warm and cool on your mood, and attempts to conquer the query of good vs. bad color combinations. Color, as you know, is a personal, subjective choice, but Ahern manages to handle it analytically. With so many swatch options out there, this is a relief. Beyond that, she gets down to the bottom of paint finishes and their effects, which can be illuminating for some of us.

She continues this combination of technical, practical advice mixed with her own design tips through her chapters on light and texture. And all the while, she pulls easy and universally affordable style advice from the photographs of dozens of beautiful, unique rooms - including the home of former Domino editor Rita Konig. This terrific tome is equal parts informative and inspiring, and both are bound to help even a "dude" decorator.

Cool Idea: Julene Harrison's Papercut Artwork

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:00:32 -0700

I've completely fallen in love with British artist Julene Harrison's papercut artwork - which you may recognize from my Love Your City? Say It With Art slideshow. From one sheet of paper, she cuts these ornate frames with stunning typography and intricate imagery inside them. Many have romantic messages like, "I Carry Your Heart I Carry It in My Heart" or "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and even "Will You Marry Me?" She's also created more eccentric papercuts like the one that reads "I Have to Return Some Videotapes," and been commissioned by a Finnish ad agency. Each is more charming than the next - so much that I was inspired to re-create a San Francisco-themed papercut like this one for a couple of friends who are moving away. To see it,read more.

I did a little Photoshopping to change the text to "You Will Be Missed," added in an airplane and a glass of wine, and replaced Coit Tower with a frame for a photo of my pals. I've made some papercuts before from paint swatches, but using thin white printer paper was much easier. Since I've been using X-acto knives for years for all of my decoupage crafts, I was comfortable cutting . . . but I can't compete with Harrison's talent for design!

Would you like one for yourself or a loved one? You can have Julene make a custom papercut for you with whatever words and imagery you like!

7 Steps to Becoming Your Own Decorator, Step 1: Be Inspired

CasaSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:00:12 -0700

As talented as our favorite interior designers are, unfortunately, we can't all afford them. But that doesn't mean all hope is lost for those of us without a decorator budget. We can still take inspiration from them, and then by thinking analytically, create utterly chic homes for ourselves, which will inspire our friends. You're only a few easy steps away from becoming your own decorator!The first step to becoming your own decorator is to be inspired. You've got a leg up on interior designers here because you don't have to play any guessing games as to what makes you smile. For further details, read more.

Pull ideas and images from your favorite books, magazines, and runway collections, and just start an inspiration board. If you see a paint or fabric swatch or a wallpaper sample you like - even if it's out of your price range - save it.

Then, let this all simmer. Now, see if there are any themes running through your picks. Do you like purple tones? Trellis patterns? Architectural details? Textured fabrics? Keep your eyes open and you're likely to see a single thread which will serve as a jumping-off point for your design.
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Artist of the Day: Elizabeth Peyton

CasaSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:30:52 -0800

Elizabeth Peyton is a contemporary American artist who paints stylized and romanticized portraits of her close friends, celebs, and European monarchy.After graduating from New York's School of Visual Arts in the mid-'80s, she had her first solo show at the Althea Viafora Gallery in SoHo in 1987, and rose to popularity in the mid-'90s. Among her subjects, which are often inspired by photographs, are Liam Gallagher, Julian Casablancas, Jarvis Cocker, Chloë Sevigny, Princes William and Harry, Abraham Lincoln, Marc Jacobs (above), Keith Richards, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Eminem, and members of the Kennedy family. And, on Wednesday, just one day after Barack Obama was elected president, Peyton's portrait of Michelle and Sasha Obama at the Democratic National Convention was unveiled at her Live Forever exhibit at New York's New Museum. The exhibit, which opened last month, runs through Jan. 11. To hear more and see more images of her work, read more.

While conceptual, her paintings are also very real. And though her subjects are often the untouchable, her paintings are also quite personal and intimate, showing celebrities in a light we rarely see them. What's also striking is her use of color; be it a single swatch of kelly green on a pair of loafers or a palette full of vibrant color, Peyton's work is a visual force to be reckoned with.

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Casa Capsule: The Week That Was

CasaSugar — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:30:00 -0800

Louis XVI ghost chairs 16 different ways.
Found It! Olivia Palermo's mirrored pillows on The City.
Say "Owl Always Love You" with a DIY paint swatch Valentine.
Do you love or hate this anatomical heart print?
In cool mirror news, I found an innervision eye chart mirror and a Polaroid mirror.
It's Valentine's Day! Are there flowers in your house right now?
Are you digging all these deer motifs?
Tour this eclectic, rockin' Georgian flat in London.
Finally, the Benjamin Button house in New Orleans is up for grabs.

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Cool Idea: Manetone Pantone Painting

CasaSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:30:25 -0700

Graphic designer Tim Fraser Brown created a reproduction of Édouard Manet's "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère" entirely out of old Pantone chips. He painstakingly color matched over 5,000 chips onto a blank canvas over the course of four nights. The result is a bit Impressionism meets Pointillism, taking PMS to a new level of literalism. I love how all the details of the original painting, like the beer thought to cater to a British clientele, much debated by art cronies, are blurred. And, it's been said that Manet's painting is modern paraphrasing of "Las Meninas" by Diego Velázquez. I guess, in a way, "Manetone Pantone" is modern paraphrasing of "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère." It's certainly a heck of a lot cooler than my paint-swatch weaving . . .
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Coveted Crib: Sumptuous Sleeping Room

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:00:58 -0800

Leah Hennen and her husband Nick recently repainted their bedroom a rich, chocolate brown.

Leah writes,

So we finally screwed up the courage to paint our bedroom dark brown. (And when I say "we" and "paint," I of course mean Nick. Much as I love to choose paint colors, lately the novelty of actually laboring to put them on the walls has lost its allure. So thank you, honey-you're the best!) We hemmed and hawed about the actual shade of brown for about a year, with various paint chips taped up on the wall and big brown swatch painted in the corner. Finally, Nick made an executive decision and choose Benjamin Moore's Chocolate Sundae (over the even darker, cooler Bittersweet Chocolate that I had been angling for). I think he was right-the color is deep and luscious, but warm. Although the room faces north, it gets tons of light from a big corner window and a French door, so I wasn't worried about it being too dark. Crisp white trim, bedding, and a large bookshelf, plus mirrored accents around the room help offset the deep color.

To see a gallery of photos, just read more

I love that Leah sourced the furniture and linens from a variety of easy-to-find and easy-on-the-budget sources, such as flea markets, Ikea, Craigslist, and Ebay, among others. The room looks amazing, and the chocolate brown really brings out the crsip white of the linens and the brilliant blues in her ceramics. For the full story, check out Leah's fabulous design blog More Ways To Waste Time.

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Fab Ad: Swatch Spring/Summer '08

FabSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:00:22 -0700

I can never resist a Beatles tribute and that's why this Spring/Summer '08 Swatch ad campaign stood out to me when I was reading the digital version of V magazine. The girlie minidresses and shorts the models are sporting paint quite the fashionable picture. I'll admit that I've never thought of Swatch watches as cool, but these ads are helping to change my view. What is especially smart about these ads is that each watch style is complemented with a story. And in advertising, it's all about building that emotional connection with your customer. If you're an earthy kind of girl, chances are urban safari scene will appeal to you. If glitz and glamour is your thing, the dancers in poufy gowns will be right up your alley, or shall I say, gated community. Do these ads spark your interest?

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