Thought I would post up some pics of our Textures Workshop.  We had a blast since everyone was funny and outgoing and ready to learn…love that vibe in a class!  When I pulled out my camera to start taking pics, Pam (one of our students), said “You know this is going to end up on the blog!” and everyone started laughing.  (Including myself.  I knew it was true!)

In the Textures class, we learn three finishes: Old World Plaster, ShimmerStone and an elegant Tissue Paper finish.  The Old World Plaster was turned into two finishes since I wanted to teach how to achieve bricks/tile/stones as well.  I also try to incorporate stencil work into the take-home samples since I think some textures could always use a bit of oomph.   

Stenciling acrylic colors onto the ShimmerStone…

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ShimmerStone is a shimmery plaster that once troweled onto a wall, gives a kind of suede lustre appearance.  It’s beautiful and comes in a myriad of colors.

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Here is Jorge with his Old World Texture…we gave the boards a worn and rustic appearance by having some darker areas and some faded areas.  His lower left corner had some really cool crackling going on (wish the picture did the finished sample justice!)

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Our website will soon be updated with classes at Benjamin Moore beyond May.  I know the next ones are: Metallics (June 7th), Textures (June 21) and Venetian Plaster (July 13).  We also have the Cabinet Refinishing workshops taught at our studio in the schedule as well. 

I was asked where one could purchase good stencils — that’s a loaded question since there are so many great stencil companies and retailers out there.  I thought I’d share the list with you as well.  Here are some favorite retailers (in no particular order):

Artistic Painting Studio, The Stencil Library, Royal Design Studio, Wallovers, Stencilled Garden, Stencil Search (a sorta-Google site for stencils), L.A. Stencilworks and Stencil Planet.  When I started out, the owner of Heart of the Home stencils, Laura, was super-nice and patient with me so I always feel good recommending her stencils as well.  In case you’d like to take a look at additional companies, Stencil Search has a considerable list of stencil manufacturers. 

Have a great weekend!