Faux Grass Cloth – Guest Post by Tracie Mobley {Tale Of Many Cities}

Hey y'all! I’m super excited to share a sweet friend with you today. Tracie and I met online in the blogger world, sometime back and have communicated ever since.  She is super friendly, reaching out to me, and I consider her a friend, though we've not met. I am sure many of you know what that's like! She is oh-so inspiring, as you will see when you take a look around her blog, Tale of Many Cities. She blows me away when it comes to her knowledge and creativity and what you can do when you aren't allowed to change anything but paint, which is how the  faux grass cloth came about! 

But, first a little more about Tracie's blog. Tracie truly is creative, she blogs about her home life, crafts, DIY projects, and oodles of other creative ideas! Check out her makeover on this storage cabinet:

Be sure to hop over to her blog to get the full effect of 

Tale of Many Cities!

Now, please welcome 

Tracie to Extreme Measures:

when we moved into our white blank space, {summer 2004}  i knew i had to come up with an idea to create a warm & fun family room.  my first thought, grass cloth!  so, we went with it!  since we’re not allowed to alter the interior with anything permanent, {military housing}  ..paint it is!  the wonderful hubs was a HUGE help on this one!!  {we both worked very hard, and if i remember correctly, neither of us could move our shoulders for a couple of days after we were finished..lol but definitely worth the efforts!!} 

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supplies list:

base coat paint {however much is needed to cover your space}

glaze paint color {same amt as base coat, just in case.. it’s not exact science! :)  we used burnt umber tinting w/ clear glaze}

paint roller for base coat

small foam roller for glaze

squeegee {notched out at every qtr inch.. or your desired size spacing}

painter’s tape

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ok.. here’s how we accomplished this look...

paint base coat {we used antique white}
measure out vertical ‘panels’  to your desired width.  {we chose 24 in}
tape off the panels
mark every other panel with a strip of tape, so you can alternate your panels for the glazing. {this keeps the work moving along at a good pace, as the alternate panels dry}

i apologize for not getting photos of the next step.  by the time we had gotten started on the glazing.. i had forgotten all about documenting the process. :(

but here’s what ya do…

using the foam roller, paint on the glaze mixture

while glaze is WET, drag the notched squeegee through the glaze in one direction, either vertical or horizontal, within each ‘panel’.. wiping off the excess glaze as you go

once dry… drag through glaze in opposite direction

if you like the effect, congratulations.. you’re done!  if not quite pleased, you may choose to ‘soften’ it by tapping {very softly} a soft white cloth over the pattern.  {we did not do the softening}