DIY Project: Cardboard Faux Logs

How awesome is this project I found on Design *Sponge?

I have always adored a fireplace in the living room. Nothing beats the warm (in more ways than one) feeling that it brings. We have a great fireplace in our cozy little house, but we also have a little girl. As much as I would love to have a glowing fire in our fireplace and a hot cup of cider and a good book to go with it, a fire just doesn’t work with our lifestyle at the moment. So in the meantime, to achieve that cozy feeling, I made cardboard logs to hold the fire’s place.

Made of rolled corrugated cardboard, these logs are coated with plaster to add texture and a clean birch look. The cut ends are reminiscent of the rings in big, hefty logs, and the handmade appeal brings a special, fireless warmth that a pile of wooden logs can’t produce. So put away your axe, get out your scissors and fill your fireplace with handmade warmth! – Brenna (paper + ink)

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

Materials

• 12″ wide single-faced corrugated cardboard (aka “corrugated wrap”)
• masking tape
• scissors
• X-Acto knife or mat knife
• hot glue gun and glue sticks
• plaster of Paris
• small bucket

Instructions

1. With the ridged side out, roll the cardboard up as tight as you can into cylinders of varying sizes. Cut along the ridges with the scissors. My cylinders ranged anywhere from 5″ to 8″.

2. Hot glue the end of the cardboard roll to the body of the log.

3. Make a couple more cylinders, only 1″ to 2″ this time, and glue closed.

4. With the scissors or the X-Acto knife, cut the small cylinders at an angle, about 2″ to 4″ up, then at the next 2″ to 4″ measurement, cut the cylinder straight across. Repeat. These short pieces will make the branches that stick out from the log.

5. Hot glue the short branches to the main body of the log, with the angled side on the log. Use the masking tape to secure until the hot glue cools.

6. To apply the plaster to the logs, first remove all the tape on the outside of the log. You can use your hands to mix the plaster; just remember to remove your jewelry.

7. Play with mixing the plaster until you get a thin paste. The directions say to mix one part of water with two parts of plaster. I started with this ratio and added more plaster to obtain a thin paste similar to the consistency of runny oatmeal.

8. With your fingers, spread the plaster on the log with the direction of the ribs of the cardboard. Cover the sides of the log only, not the ends. You can add as much or as little texture as you like with the plaster.

9. Let the plaster set at least a couple of hours.

10. Arrange the logs in the fireplace, grab a mug of hot cider and a good book, and feel the warmth :)

Read more at Design*Sponge http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/01/diy-project-cardboard-faux-logs.html#ixzz1BJ41aGJj

winter white

Love this!

My winter mantle minus the white hand-made stockings. I purchased the globe like candle holders from Marshalls.  I would have bought them out if I knew I was going to be so crazy about them.

Studio Space

Columbia Pike Artist Studios (CPAS) in Arlington is currently working to establish a wait list for artists interested in acquiring studio space. While there are no current vacancies, some are expected over the next few years. If you are interested in being considered for future openings, please complete the application on the CPAS website.
http://www.columbiapikeartiststudios.org/Columbia_Pike_Artist_Studios/Studios.html 

(Please be aware that CPAS' application process includes a juried review of the applicant's art work before he or she can be considered for studio space).

experimental self-portrait

Self-portrait, 20" x 20" acrylic on canvas. I painted this painting in order to experiment with color. Not my typical color palette. I chose random colors in my combinations.

Painting portraits are very difficult for me. It is the only time I care to be a perfectionist. I am working on a commission of 3 children at the moment and I am a little stressed out. No one wants to hang a painting of children that do not resemble their own.

Here are a few portraits of my kids.

Jake and Hannah

Hannah

artists I admire and inspire

These are a few artists that have made an impression on me with their talent. I will feature  five more artists who inspire me.... soon.

Francesco Clemente "Alba"
I admired Clemente's portraits after I saw them in the 1998 movie
"Great Expectations". Modernization of Charles Dickens
classic story with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke.

Egon Schiele "Nu Asiss" 1910
Viewed a few pieces at the Phillips Collection years ago.

Schiele's work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced. The twisted body shapes and the expressive line that characterize Schiele's paintings and drawings mark the artist as an early exponent of Expressionism, although still strongly associated with the art nouveau movement.

Wayne Thiebaud "Girl in Blue Shoes" 1968

Many years ago I bought a print of "Cakes No. 1"at the National Gallery of Art. Personally, I prefer the woman as opposed to the baked goods and candy.

Wayne Thiebaud (born November 15, 1920) is an American painter whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries,boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks.  He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate the works of the classic pop artists. Thiebaud uses heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects, and the well-defined shadows characteristic of advertisements are almost always included in his work. 

Jenny Saville
Truly morbid, which I love, Jenny Saville caught my eye in  an Art New magazine . I have  been engaged ever since. Jenny Saville (born in Cambridge in 1970) is an English painter, she is one of the Young British Artist or YBAs. Saville is known for her large-scale painted depictions of naked women.

Alyssa Monks "Smirk"
While researching galleries, I came across Alyssa Monks. She is just  brilliant.

new life for an old sisal rug

Love this DIY.  I am planning to do this project in the next few weeks with an old sisal rug. If I do not have room for it at home I may take it to covet.


Inspiration for the graphic, a beautiful woven rug from Anthropologie.  I was looking for something that had no repeating pattern so that I could essentially freehand paint the rug without worrying about spacing and measuring.  The organic floral motif was perfect and it was sheer coincidence that the golden yellow was the exact colour I was looking to paint the rug.  I love the combination of charcoal grey and golden yellow [see here].

If you are thinking about painting a sisal rug yourself, here are a few tips that gave me a really good finished product [and bear in mind I am no expert, but have done A LOT of painting to A LOT of different materials].  First, I primed the rug with a primer.  I used a mid-grade primer, nothing terribly expensive but thick enough, you need something to help seal the fibres of the carpet.  It also helped seal up the linen binding on the perimeter.  I then applied 2 coats of an exterior grade latex paint with an eggshell sheen.  Exterior paints have a little bit of elasticity to them, which helps them stretch over the carpet and doesn't crack when bent or rolled, which inevitably this rug will be.  For the motif however, I simply painted with regular craft acryllic paints mixed with a tiny bit of white glue.  Again, the glue helps it be a bit more elastic.  I freehanded the motif, but you could also create a stencil or 'pencil' out the pattern first.  My suggestion would be to use chalk, it wipes away easily if you change your mind about something.  Once everything was dry I finished the rug with a matte waterbased polyurethane.  This just seals everything and allows me to wipe it down if it gets dirty [Lucy's paws being the main culprit here].  The matte finish and the elasticity of all the paints below actually make the sisal quite soft underfoot and it's actually quite warm too.  By sealing up all the fibres, the rug still has a woven look to it, and quite frankly, it's very hard to tell that it is painted and not a real woven rug.
DIY/Painted Rug

painting by me

"Doorway" is a recent painting I really like. You imagine a warm welcome from this adorable girl or the painting evokes some mystery.... who is she? The title is simple. I need to work on my titles. Often the title matters as much to the viewer as the piece itself.