IDAL Convention - Portland OR - 7/21 thru 7/25

I'm hittin the road! I'll be in Portland OR at the Annual IDAL Convention. It's been 3 years since my last appearance, and this time I'll be bringing a whole new line-up of brand new products and techniques!

I'll be bringing a new line of faux-tiled furniture and showcasing new decorative plaster stenciling techniques. There are some amazing things you can achieve with just a little bit of plaster and a few Dressler Stencils! I'll be in Portland July 21st thru the 25th, so if you are close by, swing through and say hi!

The Brand New Website!!

After 10 years we thought that it was about time to redo the website. There were many reasons why, but mostly we wanted to add organization and functionality. Our new website is much easier to navigate and use.. You can now leave customer reviews of the stencils you know and love!

In celebration of our launch we're offering 10% every order placed! Stop by and check out the new site, I'm sure you'll be as pleased as we are!

The old saw mill

At the end of summer last year, I had some land cleared of some large cedar trees that were needing to be removed. the logs laid in place for the winter and last month my friend Bob helped me get them milled into lumber.

These were big logs, many of them up to 36" in diameter. Bob has a friend who has a small saw mill, and it was really great being able to see the mill in action. Ed, the man who owns it is 94! And he still runs the mill himself. It is a Woodmizer sawmill and consists of a horizontally mounted bandsaw on a track. The saw is pushed or can be hooked up to a motorized chain system to pull it along the stationary log.

I figured that I could get dimensional cedar boards (2x4's etc) at any lumber yard, so I kept those to a minimum, just getting some 1x12's and 1x8's for some fencing. Most of the lumber we cut was live edge slabs for art projects.

The wood was really heavy because of all the moisture in it. We needed to stack it to dry and put 1x4's in between the pieces. It is in a barn on my upper property now drying out to be ready for summer projects.

I think I will find a lather in craigslist and try turning some wood. I am also going to make tables and benches. Maybe I'll even do some woodburning designs onto some of the slabs. And carving as well. Can't wait!

Colorrama

Here is the color palette for the courthouse.

I painted the ceiling purple, the walls orange, ultramarine blue, turquoise, and yellow. the floor is deep red.

I wanted the inside to look like a jewel box, I will be adding pattern to the walls, and maybe the ceiling, depending upon my degree of disability!

I used a stencil on the base molding that makes it look like it is carved molding.

Rusty siding

I've been so busy in the last few weeks that I haven't updated the blog. Shame on me!

While I was waiting for the mud to dry on the walls and ceiling, I finally got the siding on the gable end of the courthouse. Each piece of rusty corrugated steel had to be cut to fit, so I got a new worm drive skil saw for the process. It has enough guts to cut through the tough steel without bogging down. With sparks flying, I felt like I was in Dante's inferno! But I got pretty good at it and Worked all day to get the entire end finished.


It now looks like a house!

Mud pies

The boys got the sheet rock finished and now it's time for mud. I am going to try it myself, now that I have troweling experience with my Italian plaster. It should go a bit easier, but we'll see how long my hand holds up. I have been experiencing burning pains in my last 3 fingers of my right hand. I got a great book, The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, by Clair Davies. It is a do it your self method for pain relief and works fabulously. I also got a Theracane whick is a tool for self massage, and it is totally amazing what you can reach with it. So I may very well be using it alot during my mud pie sessions.

I began moving in storage shelves into the new garage. Makes a difference being semi organized. It was driving me nuts having everything all over the place. I put more corrugated metal siding on the building and only have about 4 more pieces to cut. Then I can put up more bark singles and get the building exterior finished. I'd like to have that done by the end of the weekend. I figure that I can work outside in the day and mud in the evening.

I am preparing the front door jambs for installation today. I will be able to remove the ugly shed doors that are currently keeping me warm and dry and put in my recycled french doors. They will let more light in and be very welcoming. It was kind of fun building them from semi scratch. I realize now that I could have done them myself with my table saw, but now I know. I'll post pictures of the progress.

Siding and doors

I am finally getting the siding up on the Courthouse. I wanted the place to look like it had been there forever and be really creative at the same time. Susan's treehouse provided a really great inspiration for me. As you can see in the photo on the right, she used rusty corrugated steel, live edge milled lumber (it has one edge that is the outside of the tree) and then she also used bark siding. The bark siding is made in the Souteast and comes from the bark of tulip poplar trees. It''s put up like bevel siding with strips of tar paper between the house and the shingle rows. You screw them on with drywall screws and they go up pretty easily. Here's a photo of my first section all done.

You see the shiny metal siding to the right? That is on the garage section of the building. I like the contrast between the rustic and the new. I have a vertical piece of live edge lumber dividing the garage section from the workroom section. To the left of the rusty siding you can see a large piece of log that I used as trim for the double doors. Those are the gray wood that you see on the far left. They will be replaced with better doors this week. You can see the trench drain the front of the building. To fill in the gap, I just used 2x6's laid in there. They fit perfectly and the water can still drain around them into the trench.
As I get more done, You'll get a better idea of the final outcome. It is really fun creating as I go. It may drive some people crazy, but I work well that way.