Un bacio,
Natalie
Design Diary- Painting Techniques- The Simple Life in California and Umbria, Italy
Chocolate Strawberries - The Simple Life #3
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| chocolate strawberries |
-Confucius
Do you believe in that quote? I think it is definitely something we could talk about if not argue about, but then we would be making it complicated...no?
I don’t know the right way to do strawberries dipped in
chocolate is, but here’s what my girls and I did here.
I washed the strawberries in 1 part balsamic vinegar and 10
parts water, dried them off.
Strawberries are actually really dirty and can have a lot of chemicals
on them.
Abar (125 mg) of dark chocolate . If you get 70% cacao or more it becomes
a super food and it is good for your brain.
Then we mixed a little chunk of butter and a dollop of milk
and melted it in a metal mixing cup that was deep and small. I believe in whole foods.
Then we dipped in the strawberries and that’s it. It’s that fun and simple.
The girls of course begged to eat them right away so we ate
some and put the others in the freezer to chill.
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| this plate is from a ceramics line I designed and painted long ago |
Keep it simple then a little beauty creeps in.
Un bacio,
Natalie
I'm linking to:
Gold and Silver Leaf Tutorial
This is a really fun post because there are so many phases
of this little table project that I feel are nice just left where they
are. Knowing when to stop is key
for whatever you are doing. When I
was in Art School in NYC I was the one others came to, for me to critique their
artwork and to tell them when to stop working.
My plan here and remember plans make us happy, was to do
some silver leaf and then distress it. Leaf comes in silver, gold and copper.
I started by painting this table gray with acrylic paint. I already liked it simple as it is here,
2 coats, I let it dry many hours.
Then I painted on the silver leaf glue (water-based
mission) you can get it at the art store along with the leaf packets, here in Europe they cost about 5 euros for 20 sheets. So it is not as expensive as everyone thinks. The glue costs about double that, but
can last for years and many projects.
With the glue you must let it dry about 20-30 minutes. It should be tacky to the touch. You want to get the whole surface covered. I work fast, but if you feel nervous I
suggest you just do a section at a time.
I put the leaf on with an old make-up brush. It must be a
very light soft brush or it will break the leaf of silver. I also suggest you do it outside in a
non-windy place because the silver leaf gets all over and this drives me crazy. It is impossible to clean up because it
flies away and if there is a little bit of glue on it can stick to your floors.
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| press on with soft brush |
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| piece them together |
If the gray paint surface coming threw bugs you, just add
more leaf on top, either right away or with more glue and time.
I think it looks gorgeous without the distressing, modern
and clean.
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| silver leaf modern look |
Then I mixed raw-umber oil paint with a tiny bit of flax oil
(olio di lino). But you can also dilute it with turpentine, just a tiny bit either
way. I used a dry brush and first
brushed off the oil paint on a piece of wood.
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| don't get too much on the brush |
Then I brush it on the silver leaf and wipe it off (soft cotton cloth) where it is too much. The more you work the surface the less
brilliant the leaf will be. I brushed over the legs of the table too.
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| antiquing - dry brush in oil paint |
In theory I should have waited a few days for the oil color
to dry. I put on a coat of clear
finish, water-based polyurethane soon after, before the oil paint had
dried. I’m not too good about having patience and I like a little risk, if it was a big piece or for a client I
wouldn’t have risked it.
So I styled the photo of this table bold and intellectual and
feminine and romantic. Which way
do you like it best?
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| This book is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern it is supposed to be great |
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| silver leaf table |
Sweet regards,
Natalie
I'm linking with these lovely parties:
Happiness - The Simple Life #2
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| simple life |
“They” say that if you display in your home objects that you
love and that have attached to them sweet memories it makes us happier. Isn’t that just a simple and a gorgeous
way to live.
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| a corner of happiness |
I notice even that act of displaying them makes me
happy. Here’s what my desk looked
like before and believe me, I even cheated some because it was worse then this.
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| niete speciale |
Also if you wake up in a bedroom that is visually unimpeded
your day will be better. Our
brains like the freedom that our eyes see. I’m pretty good about the bedroom
being free of clutter. I even make my bed, which is another simple thing to do
that makes us happy. The Italians
believe in opening the bed and widows up for a good half hour to air it all
out.
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| crazy joy |
My problem is I dump my clothes on one big chair. I can’t seem to stop doing this. I even have a dear friend in California
who is a psychiatrist and he so mean and told me that I would never change that
fault. So far he has been right
(10 years and counting) I can only seem to correct that problem for a few days
at a time.
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| purple and lavender crystal door knob from my childhood bedroom |
Here’s a great quote.
“People change and forget to tell each other.”
-Lillian Hellman playwright (1905-1984)
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| a stone from the Adriatic |
I still hope I will change and then when I do, I’m
intentionally not going to tell my friend. I will just secretly know he was wrong. I’m so glad he never said anything mean
about my maturity level, or I might have to conger up a plan about that!
This leads me to one last point about happiness. Having a plan makes us happy. I wonder if this works if it is a
stupid plan?
Cheers,
Natalie
I'm linking to:
Quick Therapy For Those Afraid of Color
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| this is not my kitchen, but I wish it was - dark red and dirty pink love it! |
There is a design movement out there that thinks no color makes good design. Everything is white, gray, cream. I know I am treading on thin ice here because I am probably talking about 3/4 of YOU, my beloved readers. But I do like to shake things up every now and then. Basically design movements are all just a reaction to what came before, same as with fashion. I'm laughing recently because my 14 year old daughter is all over "high waisted pants".
Here is Nat's quick therapy for those of you afraid of color.
You can start by eating something that is very colorful, then imagine something in your life that color. What might it be, a dresser, a wall, bathroom towels...
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| blood-red orange slices |
You can go out and buy an accessory that is totally crazy for your style and see if people react more joyfully toward you. When women wear red or pink subconsciously men think it is sexy. Why because in the animal world the blush is a sign that the female is ovulating. We are all just animals, keep that in mind.
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| I bought this travel bag this week. It is not a great color for a dish-water blond like me but it makes me so happy it's ridiculous |
Pick something colored that does not go in the house for a tester.
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| in turn I believe guys who like color are sexy, confident and fun |
Throw a colored blanket over your couch and see if there is a family revolt or if actually everyone wants to sit there. If you live alone, take note how you feel.
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| change is good |
Add colors that you like. Do you like warm tones or cold tones?
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| kiwi-green and blue-gray |
And lastly it is a fun idea to add color to your Foyer this way the rest of the house can stay neutral and you still have a welcome when you get home.
What does everyone out there think of color?
Natalie
I am linking with:
French Country Cottage
Savvy Southern Style
Romantic Home
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beauty in the Simple Life
I’m always trying to live more in the simple life.
It’s been my desire since I was a girl.
It’s a long-ass on going project.
It has to do with slowing down and embracing more moments of
peace.
Then breathing in a conscious gratitude for what that moment
brings.
On a design level I’m trying to pare down, encourage color
and reflect a vibrant, happy life in our home.
It seems so simple and easy when I say it this way huh?
With affection,
Natalie
I'm linking up with these Parties:
Bicycle of Flowers
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| bicycle of flowers |
I was shocked to find this little scene at the end of my block. Isn't it gorgeous when life is surprising. On the tags of the bike is a poem that can be ripped off, the sign reads. We free the beauty.
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| we free the beauty |
Ernest Hemingway, writer
A less known book of Ernest that I highly recommend is A Moveable Feast, it is not fiction but more of a journal written when he was just starting out writing.
On the first page below the title is written.
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
-Ernest Hemingway to a friend, 1950
With affection,
Natalie
I'm linking with:
Between Naps on the Porch
Mod Vintage Life
A Stroll Thru Life
Flower Arch
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| flower arch |
For some very cool reason we have a flower fairy in our house. She arrives dark in the night on the eve of a birthday and makes an arch of flowers in the entrance of the birthday girl’s room.
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| beauty in impermanence |
Today Lucia turns 14.
That is pretty shocking for this Mama, because that means there is no
way I am 25 any more, even if my heart and soul tell me differently.
Lucia reads no joke 50 books a year in italian and english, she has legs a mile long and can be surprising with her one line jokes, but best of all she loves to be with her family.
People are always saying to me enjoy it now because it is fleeting. I believe if you give the right amount of freedom and trust the sense of family and desire to be close continues.
Buon Compleanno Lucia
Lucia reads no joke 50 books a year in italian and english, she has legs a mile long and can be surprising with her one line jokes, but best of all she loves to be with her family.
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| love how the rose vines moves |
People are always saying to me enjoy it now because it is fleeting. I believe if you give the right amount of freedom and trust the sense of family and desire to be close continues.
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| the geranium is so brilliant it is shocking |
Natalie
I'm Linking to these pretty parties:
Painting A Shutter
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| outside my balcony is a river the flows to Rome |
I wanted to change the space by my balcony now that it is
spring. It has been a long rainy
winter here in Umbria and the humidity was too much in the space. I had to take everything away from the
wall. I live in a Gothic Palazzo
with two feet thick stone walls, many of which are facing north and get little
direct sun. Plus there was no sun!
I had a lot of fun these days, because I cut loose and
painted a woman in vines on this inner shutter. Recently I am really caught up in vines. Anyone out there feel like they are
interlaced in vines? It isn’t a good feeling, but I will spare you the
difficulties of my life. I wanted
to make my woman in vines seem like she was hidden behind an old Venetian
stucco wall.
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| here' my girl in vines |
Here is the space before and also the shutter before.
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| the space before |
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| the inner shutter before |
Now I can use the space, have a cup of tea and write in my
diary, breath in the smell of the spring flowers and rest assured that I will
work my way out of the vines and into the garden of my future.
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| I love the roses with the mixed motif |
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| detail |
Cheers.
Natalie
I am linking to:
Peace
My heart is deeply saddened by the events at the Boston
Marathon. Although I am a
California girl living in Umbria, my mother lived in that neighborhood and even
married my father there. I have family and friends there, who are safe and
sound and certainly distraught.
Today I send a message of peace and love out to the world
and ask that you in turn, spread it around where ever you can.
With affection Natalie
Advice from Thomas Jefferson
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| Spring is finally here in Umbria |
Hello lovely readers, this post doesn't much have to do with design but if you look between the lines it is clearly the nature of design for living. I personally believe in delegating and the team effort. I at times find myself on a job site painting for 10 hours and repenting I hadn't eaten more, yet old Thomas has some simple good advice.
1. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain has cost us the evils which never have happened.
9. Take things always by their smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.
-Thomas Jefferson, U.S. president
happy monday
Natalie
How To: Faded Pattern On Shabby Chic Furniture
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| shabby chic furniture ideas |
I had so much fun doing this project because I love pattern
and it scares me a bit also. I
guess I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.
I believe with pattern in an interior it is more difficult to make the
space look pretty and simple, which is an aesthetic that I desire. Yet I also believe that our brains and
souls want the stimulation and repetition of pattern. It makes us happy, we think owwwh che bello!
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| I changed the knob to green glass |
Here’s what I did, it really did not take me long at all, just
a few hours. Granted the piece is
small, but there is waiting time involved.
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| before shot |
I painted this piece pale blue gray, leaving the ochre color
underneath.
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| sometimes I use heavy books to glue veneer down |
Where the tapped veneered edge of the door was coming apart. I took a tiny brush and added some glue
in the gap. I tapped it with masking tape to ahead it together. This is a
simple trick if you don’t have clamps or the angle is strange.
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| off-white motif |
I free form painted a scroll type, leafy design in off
white. Here is a Big Secret for
those of you who are new to painting, go buy yourself a liner brush. They make everything look magic and you
can touch up your own designs afterward by lining in on the edges. You could also do this process with a
stencil. With a liner brush you
want to pull the brush, never push it.
Then the brush does the work for you.
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| easy to add in the finesse after |
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| my best friends |
I painted in metallic silver on part of the molding. This gives the piece a slight glow.
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| you can leave it sanded off to your preference |
When my white design dried I sanded it a bit on the edges of
the cabinet and over the motif to fade it down, part of the original ochre
shows through. Then I took a small
brush and painted over some of the motif with the original blue-gray base
color. Let that dry.
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| I paint over the design to fade it out |
I tinted some clear wax in a dark kiwi green color with
Universal Tints. I like to cut up
old wool sweaters to use to apply the wax (use a light color). First I apply a lot of wax, then I wipe
it off right away. After about a
half hour I get a new clean piece of wool and buff the waxed finish, a light shine comes
up.
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| tinted wax in kiwi green |
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| buff the wax in and off |
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| keep life simple |
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| so pretty and faded |
Do you think it’s pretty? What do you think about pattern in your home? I like the idea of fading the pattern
to tone down the force of the motif and make it aged looking.
Happy Weekend dear readers.
Natalie
I'm sharing with these fun Link Parties:
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