My sister and brother-in-law have been doing a lot of renovations to their house in New Jersey. It is an older home from around the turn of the last century and has many features that are not commonly found in modern homes. One of the interesting features is the inlaid wood pattern in the hard wood floors.
Some of their floors have been refinished and a special stain has been placed on the wood strips that make up the interlocking pattern. The pattern is made from a different kind of wood than the main body of the floor. You can see a section of floor that hasn't been restored in the foreground of this photo. The design strips are narrower and only slightly darker than the regular floor boards.
The pattern is very striking, especially after it has been stained with a darker color. I like the interwoven look and this is the type of design that is relatively easy to replicate in paper.
The pattern in the floor is similar to a design I created back in 2008 using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge and Design Studio. If you have an Expression and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge, you can try this design using the free trial version of Design Studio. The original post with the file and photos of many variations is HERE.
In that post I mention that the design is small and can't be enlarged easily. This was true at the time, but you can now resize grouped designs in Design Studio by selecting the entire group and holding down the control key as you use the handle to resize the image. If you are not sure how to do this, I made a couple of videos that give a step by step explanation. You can find them HERE and HERE.
The Picturesque cartridge came out a while later and it has a similar design on page 74 (fourth key from the right on the bottom row).
I think it is interesting to see how the same patterns are interpreted in wood, fabric (in quilts) and paper.
I hope you had a chance to check out the information about the Spring Training 2012 course that Ella Publishing is offering from April 23 to May 4th.
Check yesterday's post HERE to get more details and to leave a comment for a chance to win a free spot. Only the comments left on the original post will be included in the random drawing. There are five great instructors and access to the videos will never expire. If the random number generator doesn't pick your number, I think the course will be well worth the price - so sign up and join in the fun!
Please take care if you are in the tornado belt of the Midwest. We are expecting a very hot day (88 degrees predicted!) on Monday for the Boston Marathon and the Patriot's Day Parade. I'll be spending part of the weekend getting kits together for a class next Wednesday at the Senior Citizen's Center. I hope you have a great weekend!
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That is a gorgeous floor. You cannot find craftmanship like that in new houses. I love the character of older homes.
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