Decorative Wood Wall part 2

A Wall in Progress

When I designed this wall in my graphic design program,  I always left the door out of the drawing. (see below) So when it came time to actually lay out that side of the wall, I wasn't sure what to do. But the more I thought about it, the door becoming part of the entire pattern was the way to go. Gene rolled his eyes but was up for the challenge...he's pretty good that way. He makes my dreams come true!

Next up, floors get sanded and stained...

Creating an Interior Wood Patterned Wall

Gene and I are still working on our stone cottage...well, mostly Gene. But I did take off a week to work on the living room fireplace wall with him. Here are some pictures of the left side of the wall.

Facci-Designed, Gene-Built wood wall.

I took a picture of the wall and I mocked up 11 different designs. See 4 of them below.

4 of the 11 designs I came up with.

We decided to go with 10ft pine boards in 2 in, 4 in and 6 inch widths. We tried out a few stains and settled on Dark Walnut, Early American and Ebony, with some mixing of each on some of the boards. I sanded and stained about 100 boards for this project. What a way to spend a vacation...

I also distressed 2 larger pieces of wood by torching, hammering, chiseling and poking it with a screwdriver to create an aged look.

Prepping for the pine boards

Gene prepped the stone wall by installing plywood and then black paper on top of that (just in case the seams weren't that tight or the wood shifts a bit.) Once the boards were dry, we started our pattern.  I chose the colors and lengths and Gene measured, cut and installed. For the boards that butt up to the fireplace, Gene painstakingly cut each one to fit tightly in around the stone.

Before and after of our wood wall project

Now onto the right side of the wall...where there's a door that leads to the bedroom...what will we do...stay tuned!

How To Decorate the Inside of a Pretty Egg

My mom would always decorate the inside of an egg for Easter. I was always amazed at the little sceneries she would create inside that egg. Here is my take on that special project. To decorate the inside of the egg, you can use a variety of things. Mini flowers, animals, trees, charms, birds, moss, etc. All of these miniatures can be purchased in your local craft store or online.

Gather your supplies:

• egg
• gold leaf
• craft knife or needle
• small sharp scissors
• glue
• egg dye/food coloring
• miniature decorations
• paint brush
• small piece of wood for base
• glitter

1. First you have to create your opening. Draw a frame onto the egg with a pencil. With a craft knife or needle, poke a small hole in the middle of your egg (try twisting it to create the hole).

2. Once you have a big enough hole, you can start cutting away the shell with a small, sharp scissor. You'll want to take your time. Small snips are best. Once the hole is large enough, empty the egg (and save it for your morning omelette). Clean your egg thoroughly. The opening doesn't have to be perfect, you'll cover it up with some trim later on.

3. Dye your egg any color you like or leave it in it's natural state.

4. Once your egg is dyed and dry, brush some glue on the inside of the egg so you can apply your gold leaf.

5. I used small pieces of gold leaf and patted it down with a dry brush. If some areas are not covered, just apply more glue and gold leaf.

6. With your brush, apply some glue to the outside of your egg. Use short and uneven strokes for a more "organic" look.

7. Apply small pieces of gold leaf to the glue and let dry.

8. Add some glue to the opening of your egg and glue on your trim. 

9. For the base of the egg, cover a small piece of craft wood (or a piece of cardboard) with some glitter. Apply some glue to the base (a glue gun works best) and glue your egg to it. Angle it up just a bit so you can see into it better.

Now you're ready to decorate the inside of your egg. I glued in some small pink flowers and let them hang over the edge of the opening. For the other egg, I used silver leaf for the inside and created a little scene inside with a miniature duck, flower and moss. Hope you found this craft egg-citing to do.