Creative Juices Decor

Hi Friends! This is one of my favorite bathrooms I did for a client. Adding American Clay to the walls of her gorgeous home was just icing on the cake.  My client chose the American Clay product  Porcelina . " Porcelina is often compared to the Venetian plasters of Italy.  It is truly closest to quality of "porcelain" ceramics for which it was named.  Satin smooth, easily blended for marble-like surfaces, Porcelina casts a spell of beauty…with an edge of contemporary, crisp lustre.which is the smoothest of all the clay products and closest to the look of Venetian plaster".  (from A.C. website) For those that are thinking about doing American Clay in their bathroom you made a GOOD CHOICE! We did our own bathroom in American Clay and every time my husband takes a shower he feels like he is at a spa because the clay naturally absorbs water vapor and then releases this amazing clay smell back into the air! Our own master bathroo...

Happy Friday Everyone! I have been doing an American Clay project all week long.  I'll take the final "after" photos some time today but here is a sneak peak of all the colors I used - I had fun mixing and being "artistic" on each wall. 1) Savannah moss (it was actually more a brown than green) 2) Chesapeake Bay (very blue/grey) 3) Snow Canyon  (clay in it's natural whitish state) Since I have American Clay on my mind, I thought it would be fun to do a post on some of my past clay projects.  A little Before and After Showcase. :-) Before ENTRY with Colorado Red Clay - skip troweled After Tuscan Gold clay over concrete walls (this was an all green thermal mass home). After (such a pretty glowing color) One of my favorite clay projects was this guest room.  She wanted me to "age" the fireplace hood and then paint a true fresco of an antler.  It was HUGE (or else I just have a tin...

My in-laws are my neighbors and yes, it's a GREAT thing :-)   They have been gone for 2 months in Ireland.  While they were away, one of their closest friends  heavily encouraged me to do their entry in American Clay before they came back.  I had talked about it forever with my mother in law and I knew she would be very blessed so I buckled down and began the project. So, instead of reading my great novel (ha, I don't have time to read!) I got all the stuff out of my garage and walked over their house and got right to it. Here are the BEFORE shots. Upon walking in the door. And magically after many days and many hours - this appeared! Before: AFTER! OK so I'll go back a few steps :-)  Step one:  Initiate a helper....a willing child is a great choice :-) Apply one coat of American Clay Earth Plaster.  Tell me that looks good enough to eat. :-) After it dries, skip...

As all of you know, I LOVE American Clay .   I also know that not everyone can afford an entire room dedicated to the product.  One of the tricks I was taught at design school was optical illusions.  For instance, if you would like to make a small narrow room feel larger, paint just ONE narrow side a darker color.  (Not black, say just a darker taupe or even a separate color that accents the other three)  You can manipulate the feel of a room by the colors and shades you choose.  I love using this technique in bedrooms - not only can it make a room feel larger, it creates a focal point.  (and hey, it's not as expensive!) With this project my client wanted to add an accent wall of clay behind her bed.  She asked for something fun with lots of character to add elegance but also liven up the place.  This was not a typical application of the clay but we had a lot of fun doing it. Plain Old Boring Bedroom W...

Is the title enough to get you interested?  :-) I did this entire house in American Clay a few weeks before we moved into our new home.  It was crazy busy and insane for a month.  BUT, I finished their home, moved into my home and all is well the ends well. This was a beautiful home of a retired couple nestled away on 20 acres up in the country.  They built their home out of concrete and only used building materials that were natural, non-toxic and green.  Their goal was to create a thermal mass home, made without any toxic or questionable materials.  The decision to use American Clay fit right into that plan.  Of course, applying  American Clay over concrete walls was a challenge!!  To be honest, it had only been done a handful of times though out the history of the American Clay company.  I made many phone calls to the inventor of the product and at the END we had success.  (Note: we did have some trial and erro...