Monday, June 27, 2011
July Special coming in a few days....
Thought I would tweak your interest just a bit these last few days of June. I will have a July special starting Friday for ......??? Here is a hint - can you guess?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Introducing New Annie Sloan Chalk Paint stockists!
June has been an exciting month so far. I have brought on two new Mini Stockists (mini? Maxi talent and enthusiasm!) to help in CA, and more are needed and wanted, so don't be shy! Now is a great time to get involved!
Drum roll now.......
Meet Tami! The newest member of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint family. She lives in Fairfield, CA and is SUPER excited to start sharing Annie Sloan Chalk Paint with everyone in the Fairfield, Sacramento area. She is soon going to be selling out of a shop and I will share that info as soon as it is settled. She is also working on putting together her first workshop either later this month or early next month. This is a great way to get introduced to this so contact her if you are interested. In the meantime here is her info:
Tami Fandrei
Patina Decorative Finishes
tami@patinadecorativefinishes.com
707-372-8162
Also new to the Chalk Paint family...I am excited to be working with Gay and her daughter-in-law, Monica who will be serving the Visalia, Exeter area and areas surrounding those cities. They plan to feature the chalk paint line at a shop in Exeter, so be looking for that. In the meantime, here is their contact info:
Gay and Monica
Embellish & Design
559-804-7411
baghull@yahoo.com
So many wonderful people joining in on the fun....I am so excited to be working with these fabulous ladies and can't wait to see what they come up with!
Tomorrow I'm back at the studio getting ready for Glitz in the Garden on Friday night. 3 Oaks Studio is part of Boutique Row at this fundraiser, so I'm putting on paint and a bit of glitz on some furniture pieces and doing a bit of barn worn aged look on another piece....a little gilding, a little paint, and tons of fun!!
Still painting outside the lines!!! and lovin it! Vicki
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Why I do What I do
Yesterday, I painted all day in Kingsburg at the home of a wonderful young couple. He had purchased a gift certificate for his wife for their anniversary to go towards a day of my time. She wanted to paint their kitchen cabinets, but needed a little boost to get going. He took the two small kids for the weekend and yesterday morning she and I got to work....and work we did - 9 hours straight, but talked, and laughed, and had a great time. I made sure she knew all the steps of what she needed to do before I left and we got a good chunk of it done, so she was well on her way. When it came time for me to leave, she teared up and said how much this meant to her; that with all she has on her plate now, family, small children, school, etc., she rarely did anything for her. She had wanted to do this for so long and she was so excited it was getting done now. This is why I do what I do - to be able to help people make their surroundings, their homes, their lives a little more of how they want it to be, more colorful, more beautiful, help them discover their inner creativity - I consider this such a blessing and I left feeling like I had done a good day's work and I wouldn't want to do anything else but this!!! So today, no pictures, no before and afters, (although I can't wait to see her after photos) - just a small story of how the little things in life can make such a huge difference. Enjoy your day with all that it brings. Back to the studio I go - Vicki
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The first Wine Country Event!
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| The word is out! Call the studio or secure your seat online as space is limited and this is going to be fun!! Painting in wine country - awesome! |
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Another wedding!
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| The studio after the feast and caterers had boogied out of there! |
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| The pink parasols during the ceremony! Gorgeous! |
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| View from the arbor area |
What does all this have to do with a creative journey which is what my blog is about? Well, this is part of our creative journey, and while I was walking through the vineyard the other morning, I realized that what my hubby and I have and are continuing to create here will live on for generations in family after family - the couples that get married here will have pictures on their walls and in their albums of our home. They will be talking about their wedding day with their children. When they pass on, their children and grandchildren will be looking through their albums seeing our creation here at 3 Oaks....what a blessing this is! I absolutely love be able to do this and feel very blessed to be a part of all these weddings and special events that are taking place and will take place here.
Creativity can be expressed in many different ways. This is one way my hubby and I express our creativity collectively and I love it!
Creativity can be expressed in many different ways. This is one way my hubby and I express our creativity collectively and I love it!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A Bathroom Redo with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and other things!
I take my granddaughters with me whenever I do a show. This is Faith and Hadley at the 3 Speckled Hens show in Paso Robles a couple of weeks ago. They really live on the east coast, so their little faces are with me in the studio or at any given show. That way I can show them they are with me all the time!
What a great time Anne and I had at the show........ and then I woke up on Monday to come home and had the flu! Yuck! I was in the hotel room and all I wanted was my own bed! But I did make it home that day, and the next weekend we had a wedding at our place which meant the studio had to be cleaned out for the buffet, and several projects had to be completed before the weekend.....no rest for the weary!
So I realize I have been AWOL for over a week. After the 3 Speckled Hens Show, which was a blast by the way, I hit the ground running here and haven't stopped until today! We have had orders to fill and emails to reply to and orders to fill....did I mention orders to fill? And the phone calls! And two new mini stockists have come on board - I will introduce them in the next couple of weeks and then send out a newsletter letting you all know where they can be found!
I received these pictures today in my email from a customer who redid her bathroom in Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint and Clear Wax. What a change! What a difference a day makes!
I LOVE getting pictures of your transformations! Send them to me and I will post here so others can be inspired by your creativity.
If you use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and love what you have done, share it!
If you have used Caromal Colours and love what you have done, share that!
Tell me what you liked about the paint, and what it has meant in your home!
I'm thinking of a great giveaway....what would you like to get?
Now we are prepping for wedding # 2 this year - day after tomorrow! and the studio is getting another cleanout! I will post pictures of the studio all set up for the buffet after this weekend.
There is something so special about being a part of a happy couple's special day and to think that what we have created here will live on in pictures in their families for generations...makes my heart warm! I love doing this!
Until next time, keep the paint flyin and keep smilin! Vicki
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Annie Sloan Redo
Yes, these are the tables I painted yesterday and posted...well this morning I went into the studio and decided I didn't really like the graphite tops so I just switched out the colors. The tops are the colors that the stencil was and the stencil is now graphite (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint) I painted right over the wax and about 30 minutes later the new tops were done! Better?
Here is another find I had gotten earlier this month...this was shown in one of my first posts along with a lot of other "junque" found in a backyard here locally. Since we do weddings on our property, I thought this might be a good addition to our "stash". I'm going to take it with me to the 3 Speckled Hens Show this weekend and use it as a checkout table. The stencil? Annie Sloan Rustic wax....just paint and wax - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Caromal Colours self stick stencil.
Have to get some orders made up tonight and then zzzzzzzzzzzz
Monday, May 16, 2011
Something different
This is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Provence, Scandinavian Pink and Arles over Graphite with Graphite tops and self stick stencil from Caromal Colours. Not sure these are my style, but that is something that is so cool about the chalk paint - if I don't like it I can go right back over the top of it again, wax and all! What do you think? You like them or not? Don't worry - you won't hurt my feelings....I just wanted some feedback. I look at them and like them, and then I take another look and not so much. I can't decide!
I've had a lot of people asking about my workshop schedule. Tomorrow I will post the summer schedule. But for tonight - it is sleep that is beckoning me.
Keep painting outside the lines and remember to Moosh and Smoosh!
Vicki
Monday, May 9, 2011
An Annie SLoan Kitchen Redo!
This was taken from the blog of my fellow CA stockist, Anne Skougard in Canyon Lake, down south. One of her customers recently transformed her kitchen using the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and I wanted to share with you the pictures so you can see Yes, it CAN be used on cabinets!!
So ready to do a project for yourself? Give me a call. Orders are going out 3 days a week!
Until next time, keep painting outside the lines! It's way more fun!! Vicki
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Tomorrow is Mother's Day and in honor of that day I would like to share a couple of pictures of my mother, Margie....the first is her high school senior picture back in 19....oh dear..probably 42..? And the other one is one of her about 10 or so years ago when my mom, my dad, my brother and I were all under the same roof for the first time in 20+ years. That was a great time! My mom passed away about 4 years ago, but her memory lives on....some of it good, some not so good, but she was my mom and she did her best and I love her for that. She was the one who taught me how to draw early on and bought me crayons when I was a little girl, showing me how to draw hands on my people and feet....so hard when you are 6! Later in life she tried her hand at oil painting, and was quite good, but then arthritis set in and she couldn't hold the paint brush any longer. She did like my work though and had some pieces in her home for many years. So here is to you mom and all the mothers out there - have a wonderful Mother's Day! May you have many more with your children!
Until next week - keep painting outside the lines! Vicki
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Good Day!
So today, I went to pick up a wee little ladder that I saw on Craigslist and when I got to the backyard where it was, the young lady who showed up just after me scooped it up! But I didn't go away empty handed....sometimes life hands you unexpected surprises! And the young lady? She has a shop so I gave her my card! I told her I know just what she needs to turn all this junk into treasures!
Wait till you see the after pictures! It shouldn't take long, they all just need to talk to me and so far, the ladder spoke and I listened. Tomorrow I'm thinking that little rocker is going to start looking a lot more fun that it does now.
Till next time! Remember to keep coloring outside the lines!
Vicki
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Quality time in the studio with Carissa and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!
Today I had some quality time in the studio with my daughter, Carissa and Annie Sloan Chalk paint! It seems I never get a whole day to just paint and enjoy being with Carissa, so today I did just that! Thought I would share a few pictures of today's projects and a little bit more....
-"The Blues" Different techniques and shades of blue from the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint line....love the crackle, and the color over color....what am I saying....I love them all!
This is a view from the studio to the vineyard....so peaceful! In front of window is another view of table just finished with Paris Grey crackled and gilded, and an old brass lamp done in the Caromal Colours parchment color with a stenciled lampshade.
This is a view from the studio to the vineyard....so peaceful! In front of window is another view of table just finished with Paris Grey crackled and gilded, and an old brass lamp done in the Caromal Colours parchment color with a stenciled lampshade.
Carissa hard at work on an old chest of drawers that had seen better days. When the knobs go on I'll post the finished pictures. Funny thing is she NEVER liked to paint before, but Annie Sloan Chalk Paint has changed her mind!
A small little table I picked up from Craigslist and did in an afternoon (to be sold) ...don't think I had a before picture of it....didn't have the heart to tell the lady I bought it from I was going to paint right over her newly varnished table top! This is Duck Egg Blue with gold leafing.
These are the sweet little boxes Carissa was working on today to give as a Mother's Day present to her mother-in-law. How lucky she is! Hope she isn't reading this!!
Just so you understand the salutation....moosh and smoosh is a term I say a lot when teaching with the Caromal Colours Country Living Artisans Collection, since you don't paint it, you simply moosh and smoosh the paint on! Now with Annie Sloan it is a bit different, you paint, but you moosh and smoosh the wax on! Gotta love it! So now you know!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Chalk It Up!!
These are the color sample boards for the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on the studio wall....at least the 1st 18 of them! I am waiting to get the other 6 up on the wall. I found these frames at Michaels for cheap...thought it was a great way to show the colors and with the wax as well.
An Annie Sloan Chalk Paint sample board done in Old White with a stencil done in the Rustic Wax....nothin but paint and wax!
Table - before - It had massive water damage and we took the belt sander to it and smoothed out the top the best we could.....pressboard - yuck!
This is the top of the table after painting with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and I added a bit of bling to it around the edges with some gold leafing from Caromal Colours. I love how the Chalk Paint crackles almost immediately when you dry it with a hair dryer.
Now my hubby says he wishes the other furniture in the barn would start talking to me since I told him a piece has to "speak" to me before I start painting it! Wait till you see what I scored from my cabinet maker friend! Alas, he is moving to Oregon, but almost GAVE me two beautiful antique buffets which he already stripped. Those are going to have to wait until after the 3 Speckled Hens show before I tackle those. In the meantime, I have lots of smaller projects needing my attention in addition to a Distressed 4 Success workshop on May 14th....I have a seat left if you are interested!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Hello! Let me introduce myself...
I'm Vicki and this is 3 Oaks Studio. I invite you to join me in a creative journey where we refresh, repaint and repurpose using the best DIY materials on the market today! Around here you will notice if it stands still long enough, it either gets painted, gilded, stenciled or all of the above.
This is a view from the studio porch. Now you can see one reason why this is my happy place! The vineyard is Steve's happy place (hubby) and those chairs are where you will find us a lot at dusk watching the sunset with a glass of wine and sometimes crackers and cheese. You are always welcome to join us!
Until next time.....
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- Vicki Shoemaker
- Clovis, CA, United States
- Decorative paint educator and owner of Old Town Clovis newest DIY shop - repurpose - quality handmade - repainted furniture and so much more - located on the corner of Pollasky and 5th in Old Town Clovis, CA I have loved repainting furniture and repurposing since I can remember, I was a painting contractor for over 15 years and now I love to teach others how to enhance their world with paint, color and design.
