Long Island Press BEST OF 2009

Arlene Mcloughlin Murals has been nominated again by the Long Island Press as LONG ISLAND'S BEST ARTIST!! Please show your support for us and vote at http://www.votebestofli.com/ we are located under the "Arts and Entertainment " section. This is an honor for me and our staff here at the studio. We work hard for our Long Island clients , to bring new and exciting Mural looks as well as Plaster and the latest Faux Finishing looks to you! So thanks again for the nomination, and keep voting for us!

Illuminated Jack o' Lanterns

http://www.nassaumuseum.com/spookyhalloween.html This is a link to a great Halloween exhibit, at the beautiful Nassau County Museum of Art. I am looking foward to participating this year, and carving a Jack 'o Lantern for the festivities, I can't imagine how cool 3000 illuminated pumpkins will be at night! Halloween is my favorite holiday, and these kind of community gatherings really get people in the celebratory mood. There are also several really good Haunted Houses in the area, my favorite being the Bayville Firehouse. This Haunted House is definitely not for the little ones, but more for a date night or group of people. Go on a rainy night! The numerous corn fields on Long Island and hayrides, pumpkin picking and festivities are in abundance so go have some Halloween fun! And go ahead eat your favorite candy bar...I know the Grand will be in ,my trick o treat bowl

Redecorating for teens, and tweens

When kids get to a certain age, 11-12 they no longer seem to be interested in "characters" fairys or superheroes any more. I had this dilema recently with my daughter. We have muraled her room 3 times since she was born, her nursery was a circus theme, as a toddler she had Princess room , and then around 7 years old we did a Breakfast at Tiffany's look with Cats. She loves cats. So this year she will be 11, she has Jonas Brothers mania, and wanted bright colors, turquoise, fuschia and purple, How do we make this work? I came up with an India inspired theme. We used plasters in these bright saturated colors on the walls and furniture. The touches of gold, orange and fuschia accents really pull it all together , but the Taj Mahal type head board my husband and I cut from a sheet of plywood and upholstered really says "India Princess" Coming up with a color scheme is the easy part its finding the cohesive elements that make the story work. I look through magazines before I commit to anything for inspiration and ideas.Determining my theme helps too. Albeit India, sports, or just color. A scrollsaw and some good hand tools are helpful too.