New Video- How to blend paint with a spray bottle and using clay furniture molds

Have you ever stalked someone? There have been crushes on boys from my past that were obsessive but I’ve never had a celebrity crush and could care less about the latest drama from the Kardashian’s. I don’t own a TV. I’m an introvert and usually I’m too overwhelmed with work to care about whats happening out there in the world.

Then along came The Turquoise Iris… her work stopped me in my tracks and I found myself checking her Facebook page and disecting photos of her work like they were a math problem. I’d blow up the photos and study them, wondering how she blended her colors and composed her work with so much detail but yet it all flowed together in this harmony that I struggle so hard with. I’d mutter to myself as I scrolled through her feed… “not fair”

I showed this photo to my sister and anyone else who would look at it asking, “how does she do it?” 

I’d try, make a hot mess, sand it down and try again…

My friend Bobby stopped by, “hows the video going?” me- “bad Ive been painting for days and I can’t figure it out, I’m so frustrated I’m ready to set fire to this piece of furniture!” Bobby- “well everyone paints differently, the way you paint is your style and this Turquoise person has hers…” Me- “NO I want to figure this out Bobby! I’ve painted 10,000 pieces of furniture for goodness sake how hard can this be?” Bobby- “you’re getting obsessed with this, your furniture looks fine just finish the video and move on”

I did finish the video and  I was really happy with the result in the end, but it was different than was I was trying to teach myself to do,  Heavy sigh…. this is what it looked like-

after that I continued to stalk and my determination to crack the code continued…

A short time later, Dionne AKA The Turquoise Iris announces her new  paint tutorial for sale on Etsy for just $10. ( don’t be a fool get yours HERE  # not sponsored.)

WHAT?!!!!

I went, I saw, I tried again, here’s the video-
I still don’t feel like I have mastered this technique but at least I’m closer 🙂

Here’s what I learned this time…

Tip #1- start with a piece that has detail like a dresser or something that is broken into sections, like a buffet. Painting large flat area like an armoire is  more challenging to make looked layered and organic at the same time.

Tip #2- if you are trying to layer up a plain flat area the IOD clay furniture molds like I used for this help add a lot of character to the piece.

The molds and the clay are easy- easy- easy to work with and you can find them here!  Did I say they are easy to use?The results are crazy good!

This before shot shows the transformation…

I’m calling this the Marine Layer Finish because there is blue sky and sunshine under the grey…

I used DIY Paint colors, Gravel Road, Queen Bee and Mermaid Tale for this along with a bit of Weathered Wood and clear wax. 

My final tip- don’t obsess have fun! This method is very experimental, I used a water bottle to blend colors but I also tried pouring diluted paint into spray bottle and spritzing color on as well. Keep in mind that DIY Paint looks very different from wet to dry, so try not to judge your progress too much.

It’s looks pretty weird before it’s finished, trust the process 🙂

As mentioned in my video, you are invited to come learn, paint and create with me, The DIY paint Retailers, Dionne from the Turquoise Iris and Josi & Sally the creators of Iron Orchid Designs.

Come meet us in person at DIY Bootcamp on Sept 14-16  in Dagsboro DE at  Jayne’s Reliable

 DIY Bootcamp is a  FUN three day intensive  experience, workshops, paint classes and more! If you are in the furniture painting business this is for you! We have four spaces left- Details and tickets HERE!

Hope to see you then!

Debi