Final Product

Well the moment we have all been waiting for, the finished product. Well almost finished...

BEFORE 

AFTER

Nearing the End

Well we are nearing the end of passion projects this week. I have put countless hours into renovating my room, and doing my best to get it finished. I am sad to say I will not be completing my room in time for my presentation. Every individual piece is done and complete, but as a whole the room isn't finished to what I would have liked. I did accomplish my painting which is hung up, and painting my room. I have the other art work finished, my pictures printed off, and my verse printed off. But the problem I have crossed after hanging up my Marilyn Munro painting is where I want to place everything else. I came to the conclusion that putting my other artwork around her would take away from the piece not add to it. So my original plans have changed quite a bit. Because of this I dont want to quickly just place everything and say its "finished" since I know I wouldn't be happy with it if I would have done that. How I got to this point was the obstacles I had to face.

The obstacles that kept coming up was patience, and time. Since I had club volleyball, club soccer, and a couple of school sports in the mix the heavy duty work like removing wallpaper and painting was delayed until end of May. Even so painting took a lot more time then we thought. We worked two weekends, and every night in between for a couple of hours. We ended up needing to do more then one coat on the feature wall, and countless touch ups all over the room. This took a lot of patience since I knew time was running out. There were times I was getting frustrated, especially since I was running off of little to no sleep from not being able to sleep in my room.

Overall I am still very happy with what I was capable of doing and learning. Mickey Mouse no longer remains on my walls anymore which I didn't think would ever happen. Everything is back in place, my artwork is completed, pictures I want are printed off, I just need to find a home for them. Image excited to see my room now, and every time I enter I tend to just look at it for a few minutes and admire what I was able to get done. I still plan on finishing my room no doubt, but with patience so it turns out just right! I learned many things that include, how to remove wallpaper, edging is very important, take your time and it will turn out better, different styles of art and there's probably even more. 

While doing this project especially when doing my artwork a verse that I often liked to read was from 1 Corinthians 10:31 which read "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God". To further connect my faith the through line that I thought would fit best is Beauty-Creating. God is the number one creator, and we reflect him when we create. 

Tonight I plan on doing some finishing touches, possibly being able to hang up my pictures if I figure out a layout I like, and blogging a before I started and after what I accomplished pictures. Overall I'm glad I had the opportunity to do this project, and I wouldn't change anything about what I did and decided. 

Paint Overload

After over a week of constant renovations of wallpaper removal, putty touch ups, taping, sanding, edging, and coats of paint the room is finally almost complete. Other then very few minor paint touch ups the room is finally done being painted! It was quite the process I must say. One obstacle we definitely battled was finding the time, and of course patience to do a good job! Tomorrow I might actually get to sleep in my room, which I am very excited about. I moved a few things back into my room, and plan on doing the rest tomorrow. Over the weekend is when I plan on writing the song quote across my wall, and put up all decor. Then the room will be done completely. I will be posting before and after pictures as well for all to see the comparison! 

These three pictures just display the finished walls! As already mentioned, before and afters will be posted.

Paint and Progress

This past week I was away on a trip to New York with school, so I had to wait a week to continue working on my room. But as soon as I got back which was this past weekend me and my mentor got right back into prepping the walls, and starting to paint. 

On Saturday we used putty and patched up all the wholes in the walls, we also finished a pit of wallpaper removal and cleaning the walls. We didn't get as much done as we needed to but every little bit helped.

Then on Sunday after church we got right down to business once again. We sanded down the putty so it would be even with the wall. We then cleaned and wiped down the walls with warm water. Over all blemishes and putty we painted primer over top. Once everything else was prepped I taped all the edges and trim so we would be able to start painting once the primer dried. Since we had to wait an hour for the primer to dry, we were able to take a dinner break. Later on that evening the primer had finally dried which meant we were able to start edging. Edging didn't take too long, we just had to be careful since the tape would bleed a little. I worked along the door frame and bottom trim when edging, and my dad worked on a ladder and did edging along the ceiling. Finally we were able to paint. We only got to painting one entire wall and half of the two other walls. Tonight we were able to finish the 3 walls that are the lighter tone brown. I'm excited that part of the room is done. Soon I'll be able to  move furniture back into its place. For the past few nights I haven't been able to sleep in my own room because of all the painting and renovations. I must say the couch isn't nearly as comfortable as my own bed. 

We also were able to edge most of the feature wall tonight, and plan on painting the rest tomorrow night. So far I'm very happy with the results, and can't wait to see the final product. It takes a lot of time, patience and effort. This is definitely something you cannot rush! 

Colour Selection

As previously mentioned in my last post I had purchased two different colours to paint my room. One of which will be a light brown called Pinewood. This brown is being painted on three of the four walls in my room.

The second colour is a darker brown called Roma Antiqua. This will be painted on one of the walls as a feature wall. On this feature wall is where I plan to hang all of artwork and is where I will be painting the verse I chose on.

Progress Report

It's official Mickey Mouse no longer remains on the walls of my room. Saturday we didn't get to much of the removal, but we managed to buy and find all of our supplies! Me and my Mentor (Father) also were able to find and purchase the colors I am going to paint my room with. We bought two different tones of brown. Three of the walls will be painted the lighter ton of brown, and one wall the feature wall will be painted the darker tone we purchased. After spending a couple hours checking out Rona, and Canadian Tire we finally got home. Once home the first task at hand was the finish emptying my room completely other then my bd frame, and dresser. This took longer then expected which pushed wall paper removal to Sunday. Although we did get to score two of the walls.

SUPPLY LIST:

- paint

- wallpaper scorer

- putty

- paint brushes

- wallpaper remover solution 

- painters tape

- plastic drop sheet

This is the scoring tool. It helps the solution seep into the wall paper to penetrate the glue. This makes removal much more easier, and quicker.

Sunday we got right down to business. We laid down our drop sheet along the wood trim, and taped it to the trim with painters tape. Then we mixed the solution, and wet the walls after they were first scored. We then got to the removing. The little pieces that wouldn't come off, we would add more solution and use a scraping type tool to aid the process. At first we were slow, but as soon as you get the hang of it; it seems to go by quicker. I must say although we managed to get into a groove and remove it at a steady pace.. removing wallpaper is not something I'd like to ever do again.

                              

                                  

The second photo here just shows a close up of the wall after being scored and wet with the wallpaper removing solution.

Wallpaper and Removal

Well it's finally time! This weekend is when we begin to tear down the classic Mickey Mouse wallpaper that has occupied the walls of my room for my entire childhood. It will be a happy moment, but sad to say goodbye to what I've always known my room as. It will be quite the process. First me and my mentor have to remove all furniture, and most items out of my room to make the removal of the wall paper even possible. I am really looking forward to seeing the whole project start to come together. For the past few months I have mainly been working on art work, décor, blogging, and planning what I need to do. Now the fun actually begins!
I will be posting before and after pictures of my room for everyone who is curious to see the overall result and the changes that will take place. Also if anyone is interested in viewing the artwork I have talked about on multiple occasions throughout posts, I have created a page called 'Gallery'. The gallery page as of now has some of the things I have done, and am working on.


I have researched different ways to remove wall paper over the past few days. Some have multiple steps, some websites suggest using a steamer, and others say just tear it off! The way me and my mentor have decided to go about the removal is as follows, unless something changes in the process.


STEP 1: PREPARE THE ROOM
Place drop cloths at the base of the walls to be stripped. Remove all switch plates and outlet covers from the walls. Cut the power to the room.
STEP 2: SCORE WALLPAPER
Use a wallpaper scorer to create small holes in the paper, which allows the solution to penetrate through to the adhesive base.
STEP 3: MIX SOLUTION
While there are a number of commercially prepared solutions available, little works better than hot water and fabric softener. Combine the water and fabric softener in a large spray bottle at a concentration of one to one. Tip: Mix the solution in small batches to keep the water as hot as possible
STEP 4: SOAK WALLS
Use a spray bottle to saturate a section of the wallpaper. Spray only as much of the wall as you can comfortably strip in a 15-minute period. Allow the solution to soak the paper for a few minutes before beginning.
STEP 5: STRIP WALLPAPER
Grab pieces of wallpaper at a bottom corner and carefully pull upward. Use a wide putty knife to facilitate the removal of the paper. Repeat the above steps until all the wallpaper is removed.
STEP 6: CLEAN WALLS
In a bucket mix a tablespoon of dish detergent with very hot water. Use a sponge to wipe down the walls, scrubbing carefully to remove all traces of wallpaper adhesive. Finally, rinse down the walls with clean water and towel dry.