Decorative embellishments have taken the woodturning world by storm in the last few years. These decorative effects may include metal leafing, carving of the surface...]]> Overview

Decorative embellishments have taken the woodturning world by storm in the last few years. These decorative effects may include metal leafing, carving of the surface, colouring work, inlays with crushed stone, inlays with gemstones and precious metals, deconstruction of the finished form, patination, segmented forms and more. Long gone are the days when woodturnings were considered only as functional items for the home or workshop. Artistic and highly embellished woodturnings have raised the bar for woodturners as a whole, catapulting the art form into new and greater heights. One of the easiest embellishments you can add to your woodturnings to change the visual and tactile quality of the surface, is decorative metal leaf.

Types Of Metal Leaf

The process of applying delicate metal sheets to the surface of an object is known as metal leafing, or gilding and dates back to around 2500 B.C. There are numerous precious metal leaf materials available including gold, silver and platinum. Due to the high cost of genuine precious metal leaf, composite metal alloys are available that are difficult to distinguish from the more expensive genuine metals. These inexpensive alloys allow everyone the opportunity to use metal leaf on their woodturnings.

Metal Leafing Tips

• Metal leaf can be applied to the interior and exterior of turned decorative pieces. Dyes can also be used in conjunction with the metal leaf.
• Metal leaf should not be used on the surfaces of any woodturning designed for food storage.
• A sizing or adhesive is required to make the metal leaf stick to the desired area. This can be easily brushed, or sprayed on and allowed to dry until tacky. The sizing should never be allowed to fully dry. If the sizing fully dries, the metal leaf will not stick to it.
• Once the sizing has dried to a tacky state, the metal leaf can be gently applied to the treated surface with a static leafing brush, or by hand.
• The metal leaf will only stick to areas treated with the sizing, therefore when applying the sizing to the surface of your woodturning, make sure the desired areas are fully covered.
• The metal leaf sheets are very fragile and must be handled carefully. Broken pieces, or leftover scraps should be saved as these can be used to leaf small areas, or to fill in textured areas.

Applying The Metal Leaf

• When applying the metal leaf, do not have drafts or other wind blowing around your work area. This will make application of the metal leaf onto the surface much easier.
• A small soft brush, or burnishing cloth is useful for flattening the leaf on the surface after application. Be careful to apply the brush very lightly to the surface to prevent damage to the metal leaf.
• Once application of the metal leaf has been completed, allow the surface to fully dry. Lightly brush the surface to remove any unsecured leaf and prepare the surface for the sealer coating.
• A sealer is necessary to protect the metal leaf and should be applied when the surface has fully dried. The length of time necessary for the sizing to fully dry will vary, according to the product used, temperature in your workshop and the underlying substrate.
• Experiment with various colours of leaf on your woodturnings for the best visual effect. There is a new variegated leaf available that features a multi-coloured appearance, adding to the visual beauty of the leafing.

Closing Thoughts

The application of precious metal leaf to a turned surface imparts a touch of elegance to your work that is easy to achieve.

If the genuine precious metal leaf is not within your budget, many types of inexpensive man-made composite metal leaf are available that will allow to you achieve the same look for a lot less money. Metal leafing allows unlimited artistic freedom in its application and use and is an easy skill to master.

About The Author

-By: Steven Russell

Steven Russell is a professional artist, demonstrator and writer. His studio, Eurowood Werks specializes in hand turned bowls, platters and hollow forms with unique visual and tactile treatments. Steve’s website, Woodturning Videos Plus, http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com offers educational DVD videos and eBooks for woodturners of all skill levels. To learn more about woodturning, visit his resource library at http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/woodturning-education-articles.html which offers tips and tricks to master the art of woodturning.

In addition to his studio work, Steve frequently writes educational articles for international woodturning magazines, which are published in more than 75 countries around the world. As a highly sought after demonstrator, he has performed more than 1,760 woodturning demonstrations throughout the United States in the last eleven years.

No matter what your budget, you can get a tropical look in...]]> Your master bathroom can be a tropical retreat even in the middle of winter when you decorate it with a vibrant tropical decor.

No matter what your budget, you can get a tropical look in your master bath by just altering a few items such as your wall color, shower curtain and towels. When decorating a bathroom, some of the things you may consider changing include lighting fixtures, floor coverings, wall color and accessories in addition to your hamper and linen storage cabinet.

A major ingredient when decorating your master bath with a tropical style is your wall paint. For this look the colors can really enhance the feel – consider using earth tones or oranges, pinks and blues either in your wall color or your accessories. Try using a paint or murals on the walls, or go with tropical themed wallpaper and borders. It doesn’t need to cost a lot and if you are afraid of a bit of color, just paint the walls a neutral shade and add color to the room with accessories like towels, curtains, bath mats, soap dishes, trash cans and tooth brush holders.

How you dress your windows can affect your tropical decorating style. To have a terrific look in your master bathroom look at having tropical themed prints on the curtains or use simple wooden blinds or valances. There are different window treatments that can enhance this design style, particularly if you match them to other elements in the room.

Good lighting is a must in most rooms and the master bath is no exception. To enhance your tropical look, you might want to think about the actual style of fixtures as well as the type. IF your bathroom is large enough and you have some room on your vanity or there is other furniture in there, consider little accent lamps shaped like palm trees or a ceiling fan with palm leaf blades but try to stay away from anything which is stark or contemporary. The majority of master bathrooms can benefit from recessed lighting along with sconces.

It’s not necessary that you coordinate your hamper, linen storage, and vanity but the master bath should have a light and breezy finish on the furniture. To really enhance the tropical design theme, use items that have either painted or stained details in a tropical style of wood. Rattan or bamboo often works well for this look.

Decorative accessories are critical to pulling your tropical look together. You can even totally alter the look of your room simply by changing the accessories! Focus on selecting a shower curtain, towels and curtains, in colors and patterns that match your tropical theme. You’ll be amazed at how simple and inexpensive it is, and what a huge difference these changes make! Be sure to incorporate plenty of lots of green plants and you might even try adding some sea shells in glass bowls and other knick knacks with a tropical theme or feel to really spruce up your master bath. Unique touches like vintage souvenirs and linens from Florida or other tropical places can really make your bathroom stand out.

Your flooring should balance your overall decor, but if you can not buy new floors in your master bathroom then work with your floors by covering them with bath mats that have a tropical style. On the other hand, if you can spring for new floors, you might consider tile floors or a dark hardwood or bamboo.

A critical aspect that is frequently ignored when decorating any room are the walls. Even the ugliest walls can be made to look good by using decorative wall art and accessories. Try adding a tropical mural, vintage vacation posters or prints of palm trees and sandy beaches to your master bath walls to highlight the steamy appeal of your tropical interior design.

Getting a great tropical look in your master bath can be as easy or hard as you want it to be. Either way, paying attention to detail and making sure you match your furniture and decorative accessories will help you coordinate a rewarding new tropical look that you will be proud to claim you did yourself!

-By: Lee Dobbins

Lee Dobbins writes for decoratinghowto.com where you can learn more about how to decorate every room in the house.

While it may be tempting to just throw everything into...]]> Christmas is busy, fun, exciting, and sentimental. We love it all — all but the part when we have to clean up and put everything away.

While it may be tempting to just throw everything into boxes and worry about sorting it out next year, you’ll be sorry when a precious Christmas decoration or ornament gets lost or broken.

Following these 10 tips will help you…

A. Save time by getting all your Christmas decorations organized so it’s quick and easy to find them next year.

B. Save space by using the right kind of boxes that can be easily stacked and organized.

C. Save money by storing your Christmas lights and decorations in a manner that preserves their quality and extends their life span.

10 Quick Tips

1. Use Clear Plastic Storage Containers – These are great because you can see the contents without having to spend time labeling each box. Plus the plastic helps protect from moisture better than cardboard. When stacking, be sure to place the largest and heaviest boxes on the bottom and smaller boxes on the top.

2. Box the Beads – Pack the beads in small boxes such as plastic shoeboxes. If you use many strands of beads, larger boxes could become too heavy. To keep the beads from becoming tangled, place individual strands in baggies. If you prefer, you can wrap each strand around empty paper towel rolls and tape the ends.

3. Don’t Dog Pile the Christmas Lights – Don’t stack too many lights in the same box. The box will become too heavy and the lights on the bottom could be damaged. Lights can easily become tangled so individual strands of lights should be bagged separately or wrapped around paper towel rolls or something similar and placed in plastic grocery bags or large freezer bags.

4. Save Space with Re-Shapeable Decorations – Bows made of wired ribbon can be flattened and reshaped next year. Wired ribbon garlands and streamers can be tightly rolled. They don’t need to be flattened unless you need to conserve space.

5. Don’t Crush Your Wreaths – Wreaths can be stacked in larger boxes but each wreath should be wrapped with bubble wrap. If they aren’t wrapped then they shouldn’t be stacked. Bubble wrap can be purchased where office supplies are sold. Wreath boxes can also be purchased and are readily available on the Internet and in stores.

6. Wrap Christmas Ornaments Properly – Ornaments should be individually wrapped in white tissue paper or where greater protection is needed, wrap in bubble wrap. Since most ornaments are lightweight they can be stored in large boxes. If you still have the original boxes the ornaments came in, then store them in these and then place them in the storage container.

7. Protect Christmas Decorations from Moisture – If you live in a humid climate using plastic containers may not be enough to protect from moisture. Place packets of silica gel in each container to avoid damage from humidity. Silica gel can be purchased at arts and craft stores. If you cannot find individual packets, you can make your own by wrapping several tablespoons of silica gel in white tissue paper and securing with tape. Several packets should be placed throughout the box.

8. Guard Against Temperature Extremes – Delicate decorations such as ornaments made with photos or wax can be temperature sensitive. Store them in a climate-controlled area or they could deteriorate, melt or stick together.

9. Avoid Box Identity Loss – Attach a red ribbon or tag to each Christmas storage box. This will make them easy to identify next Christmas if they have been stored with other boxes unrelated to Christmas decorations.

10. Toss the Trash – Some people have a tendency to just “hang onto stuff” in hopes that they’ll find a use for it later. Don’t waste space by holding onto old ornaments you know you’ll never use again (unless of course it has some sentimental significance). Just toss out the trash.

A final note: You may also want to consider Christmas ornament boxes and wreath boxes for especially fine ornaments and wreaths instead of clear storage containers. They are available in stores and on the Internet. They are very convenient and some are even acid free for even greater protection for your fine collectables. They are more expensive, but for high quality, valuable ornaments this may be a worthwhile investment.

A little organization today will make you feel like a Christmas decorating pro next year. Happy un-decorating!

-By: Judy Hardaway

Judy Hardaway is the writer for Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com – an online Christmas gifts and decorating ideas resource site. For more decorating ideas as well as gift ideas such as unique Christmas gifts for men, visit http://www.Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com today.