Decorating With Class

Add a 3rd Dimension to Your Faux Finish Business

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for Ornamental Plaster Molds, Raised Plaster and Painting Stencils and scads of ideas, techniques and inspiration.

Add a 3^rd Dimension to your Faux Finish Business

 

We introduced you to raised plaster stencils a few years ago and have watched the faux finish industry come alive with adding the technique of raised designs to their portfolio of services.

 

But now, you can take the concept of raised designs a step further by incorporating molded ornamental plaster in to your line up of specialty finish services. Combined with raised plaster stenciling, a new dimension in wall design can be easily achieved and serve to set you apart from the competition.

 

From highly ornate ceilings and walls in mansions and commercial buildings, to more simplistic ornamental plaster moldings and ceiling medallions in more modest homes, ornamental plaster has survived decades of décor style changes and is still a beloved trend that never truly goes out of fashion.

 

Typically considered a “Traditional” decorating style, ornamental plaster can easily be adapted to even the most contemporary decorating styles. That’s where you and your creativity come in to play.

 

The truly great thing about ornamental plaster is that it is a highly profitable service, yet because there are few in the faux industry who provide this service, you can command top dollar for it’s inclusion in wall or ceiling designs.

 

Molds are inexpensive and re-usable over and over. Since plaster of paris is a “pennies per piece” medium, costs are minimal, leaving you with the bulk of the project charge in your pocket.

 

So what about installation difficulty? It’s so easy you won’t believe it.

Common joint compound mixed with a little white glue (such as Elmer’s) is used as the adhesive today, where actual plaster of paris was used at the turn of the century.

 

How durable is the adhesion? My first cast plaster ceiling medallion was installed 4 years ago and to this day shows no signs of stress cracks, separation or disintegration of any of the plaster pieces or joints.

 

Simply butter the back of the molded plaster piece with a 1/8^th inch layer of the joint compound mixture, hold to the surface for 60 seconds and its there for good.

 

Ornamental plaster alone is very beautiful. Now combine it with raised plaster stenciling as the backdrop and you have an unusual design element to offer your clients.

 

Designing with ornamental plaster pieces is no different than designing with stencils. In many cases, one simple design element can be repeated to create unique elements such as detailed ceiling medallions, ornate wall frames, central motifs or molded borders and trim.

Wherever you would do raised stenciling, you can also do cast plaster. Ceilings, walls, fireplaces, back splashes, tiles, moldings, doorways, even exterior applications.

 

Ceiling designs and medallions are a big seller for faux professionals. Now, offer your clients one that was hand crafted out of raw plaster, with unbelievable dimension and watch what happens to your bottom line, your profit margin and your customer satisfaction.

 

 

See the picture tutorials on our website:

 

How to Cast and Apply Molded Plaster

 

How to Combine Cast Plaster Ornamentation to Raised Plaster Stenciling

 

My motto has always been; “When faced with the competition on your heels, simply out design them”. This is your opportunity to do just that and to do it with style.

Ornamental Plaster is Easy when you have a FREE pattern!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for innovative and fabulous ideas to decorate your home with NO experience and very little expense.

Ornamental Plaster is Easy when you have a FREE pattern!

OK, I know I haven't been posting much lately but I have good reason! I have been working hard creating new, easy ornamental plaster patterns that I now offer on the website for free, along with special pricing on the mold sets to do them with.

Now imagine creating this beautiful, ornate frame around your crystal chandelier in the dining room.
3 easy molds is all it takes to create this stunning beauty.
The use the same molds to create a frieze above doorways by re-arranging the pieces.

Those who are like me, who fall to their knees every time they see ornamental plaster ceilings, have perused the mold section of my website many times, yet have failed to make up their minds which designs to try because the "vision" of how they might look together just wasn't there. Well, it is now.




There are so many ways to combine the mold designs that I know I will be creating for years to come and never run out of potential patterns. Especially as I add new mold designs each year.

 Though it takes some time, I find I love designing with ornamental plaster. It's not at all like drawing a design and then executing the elements you create, it's more like taking shapes then finding a way to make them fit together to create a design. Very interesting and certainly different from anything I've ever done before.

So stop by the site and check out the Medallions, Frames and Friezes that I have created for you. Click each photo to enlarge it so that you can get the full ornamental picture. Then save it to your computer for future reference.

Ornate Ornamental Ceilings are a Source for Pattern Ideas!

You just bought a whole slew of our molds, excited about the possibilities of creating breathtaking ceilings and walls. Where can you get pattern ideas?

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website regularly for updated room ideas and projects and new stencil and mold designs that will help you create a dramatic home for little money and NO experience!

Create Your Own Drawer Pulls and Tie Backs with Concrete and a Mold

Most of us think of molds when it comes to candy and candles. But ah, you are missing the best! Join me for an enlightening lesson on the creative things you can do with ornamental molds!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.Com website for lots of tips, tricks and products to make your home unique and special!

A Plain Fireplace Becomes a Focal Point

Fay Forsythe, my most brilliant and talented Mother can't leave anything plain and drab. She always finds a way to make it unique and special.

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.Com website for great ideas and products that will make your home your "dream home" with all the DIY tips you need!

Turn Rustic Country Cabinets in to Elegant Traditionals

One thing about purchasing a home that someone else built is that you don't get to choose certain elements but must either live with or replace things you don't like.
Ah, but there's another solution! A make-over! With a little thought and some patience, you can change just about anything in a home that you don't absolutely love.
For me, it's the kitchen cabinets in our home in the mountains of Idaho.

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.Com website for lots of easy and beautiful solutions to your decorating, make-over dilemmas!

Creating an Easy, Elegant Headboard

I can't believe how many homes I go in to where I see no headboard on the bed. Headboards have a solid purpose and that's not only to anchor the bed in the room, but to allow pillow to have a resting surface. They can be simple or ornate, the choice is yours but here's an easy way to create one.
For more great Do it yourself projects, ideas and information, visit the Victoria Larsen Website.

Create an Elegant Staircase with Plaster

There's something mystical and majestic about a staircase. It tends to create fantasy and curiosity in us as we have an overwhelming desire to see what lies at the top of the stairs. Create a dramatic upstairs entrance with these easy and beautiful ideas.
Visit VictoriaLarsen.Com for awesome room decorating ideas done with stencils and molds.

How to Turn Throw Away Furniture in to Keepsakes

In my quest to rid myself of unnecessary items in our home, I nearly threw out this little desk that is in great shape but had no interest or use. What a ninny! I could simply re-do it! So I added cast plaster to it to give it some detail and wow! What an elegant desk it became!

Easy Wall Frame Moldings from a Mold

Finally back from our home in Idaho, I am now able to show you all that I spoke of in my last posts.

I love the look of creative moldings on walls but I have NO desire what so ever to measure, cut, nail and glue wood moldings in to place. Especially dealing with all of those angles! So I used plaster of paris  and a mold!

I created 6 Cast Plaster Frames on the walls in the master bedroom and faux finished them with the same marble finish that I did on the Cast Plaster Columns in the room.  

They were really easy!

For each frame, I cast 4 corners and 4 straight moldings using Plaster of Paris and our new Wall Frame Mold Set.
Applying them was a cinch. I pre-measured my finished frame and marked the wall in pencil. Beginning with the upper corner piece, I simply butter the back with joint compound and hold to the wall for 60 seconds.

Line up the second corner and do the same:

Now, Add the straight pieces:

And the opposite corner:

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Use your finger to fill any joints with joint compound, allow to dry then use an emory board to sand smooth:

For simple architecture, paint the color of your wall.

To add more color or design, paint the color of your wall or a lighter or darker color then faux finish the inside of the frame or paint a coordinating color inside and add a stenciled design:

Combine with other mold designs for super ornate frames! Get many different looks by adding different mold designs.

Consider doing a light fixture surround or use these combinations over doorways or windows. Ornamental moldings are a wonderful way to add elegance, beauty and class to your home.

Tomorrow I will show you the make over of the secondary office in our home in Idaho (the only blank walls I have left to work on!).