Vintage Lace Bird

I was cleaning up the studio from the Holidays and came across some faux birds that were damaged in shipping. Somewhere along their journey the birds had gotten wet and the dyes on the feathers had bled and the over all effect was not pretty. I thought about tossing them but decided to experiment. I removed all the "feather mess" and had a useable form that I then decoupaged newsprint to. I found some Vintage lace that I cut up and stiffened with glue/water mix. After the new body, wings and tail dried over night I glued everything together and added two rhinestone eyes. Pretty cute for all ReCycled materials.

Weekend Wrapup- LED Fairy Candle

This is one of the projects that I worked on over the weekend, a LED Candle using one of the Fairy Images featured on Freebie Friday.
I scanned the image on to vellum using a HP inkjet printer. I then sprayed it with a matte fixative, trimmed it to size and glued it in place using spray adhesive. I used vintage lace and appliques to add some texture. I finished with some pearl jewelry findings.
Here it is turned on.
I love these LED candles, I think that they can be very boring as is. Lots of creative possibilities!

You may remember the ReDesigned stand from my Holiday Decor. I dressed up for Spring with potted Hydrangeas and a few birds.

Butterfly Clip

I am working on a wedding for next summer and wanted to take advantage of the butterflies that are on sale at the end of summer this year. All I found were these glittery ones. NOT what I wanted so...
I went to The Graphics Fairy blog and looked up butterfly images and found some I liked. I printed them on to Velum so that you would see the image on both sides. I did a clear matte archival spray to seal the image. I took the wings off the glittery butterfly and used a super fine black glitter on the body. I cut out the wings and glued them on to the body. For now I am leaving the clip that came on the butterfly. Maybe some will clip on flower arrangements and maybe some will be floating in the air. For my airborne ones I will remove the clip and string them on fishing line.



Here is a finished Butterfly!



Butterfly that landed on some dried Hydrangeas.





I am linking this to Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy.
Also linking to Funky Junk and Under the Table and Dreaming

Bee-utiful Candle

I used my favorite Bee image from The Graphics Fairy to create this candle. I was experimenting with a new vellum paper to print the image on. My previous printing on vellum and spraying with an archival sealer often created blurry images. This vellum is perfect!
Deb @ The Design Haus challenged me to create some new designs for the Holidays so new designs coming soon. I also love the Fleur de Lis Ribbon I found at a local scrapbook store. 2 favorite icons together on 1 project
I am linking this to Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy.

French Laundry Basket

I fell in love with this image @ The Graphics Fairy and have been waiting for just the right project to use it. I found this great weathered wicker basket and as soon as I got it back to the studio I had a Eureka moment! I think they are a perfect arranged marriage.

I transferred the image on to a twill napkin and adhered it to he basket with milliner's glue!

I am linking this to Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy and Shabby Chic Cottage.

Honey Bee Tray

This wood tray was a perfect candidate for an art transfer. After priming it white I painted and distressed the rim and outside plus the metal handles Satin Black. I painted the center Navajo White. NOTE: This method works best with an Eggshell or Satin Finish to the paint. If the paint finish is to glossy the image will not adhere correctly.

I have also found that the Mod Podge Transfer Method sometimes doesn't work well with color images. I only do Black & White images and then hand color the image with watered down latex paint. This gives a vintage look. More info HERE on the transfer method. After antiquing I used a waterproof sealer on this project since it can be used for serving. Wouldn't you love to have Breakfast in Bed served on this!

The Bee is from The Graphics Fairy, Thanks Karen!

Linking up to Brag Monday.

Frenchy Wine Basket

Wouldn't this make a great hostess gift? I added the vintage black ribbon and Fleur de Lis Bling to this basket I found in my gift closet. Don't you love the burlap covered wine bottles! Just a little spray adhesive and ribbon to cover the raw edge. Easy!

Burlap & Lace Magnet Board

I found this vintage frame that was in pretty bad shape but I loved the relief on it, reminded me of lace. I haven't done any of my Magnet Board projects in cream so I thought "Why not give it a shot"? After painting it Heritage White I started going thru my vintage fabrics and nothing Wowed me. I am working on a wedding and making all the flowers out of vintage lace and jewelry/buttons. (more on that later) The linens for the wedding are going to be burlap so.... here it is!
Love the rustic and refined together!

I am linking this to Passionately Artistic, The Shabby Nest , Under the Table and Dreaming and The Shabby Chic Cottage.

French Clock

You may remember this image I posted last week that I created using 2 fabulous graphics I found @ The Graphics Fairy. I had created it for a Wedding Program. Over the weekend I found this wood clock and had to do something fun with it. It was natural dark brown with 3 hooks on the lower part, probably for keys. I painted it Navajo White did the transfer method previously posted HERE and antiqued it with a new brown glaze. Tres Jolie!

I am linking this up to Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy & The Shabby Nest.

Beach Art

I wanted a touch of Summer in the guest bathroom so I created this fun Beach inspired artwork. I took some shadow box frames and sprayed them white, covered the backing pieces with some leftover fabric from a tye dye project, and mounted some fantastic mini watercolors collected from St Lucia and Barbados & Seashells. The Abalone and Starfish were in my Gran's shell collection. The shells with the minis are from the islands in the art.
I love how the tye dye fabric looks like water and really sets off the shells!

I am linking this to Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest.

Pillows

Have some tableclothes, curtains, or napkins that you want to recycle because of a stain or tear? I made these pillows from recycled linens. I got some great graphics from Karen @ The Graphics Fairy and printed right on the fabric using my HP printer. A little cutting and a little sewing and here are the results. More info on the process to follow, Enjoy!

UPDATE:

You can see this post with additional info on the process at the new The Graphics Fairy DIY.

A French Confection

I found this great wood plaque in an Estate Sale box, 12 various designs in all! It has taken some time to pair the right graphic with each wood piece. You can see a previous pairing HERE. I thought this Chocholat Store graphic from The Graphics Fairy would bring to mind the Vintage Store Signs that a proprietor would hang outside their entry. I used the transfer method described HERE. Now I want a Bon-Bon!

I am linking this to Passionately Artistic

and

Up-Cycled Books

Here's a way to get vintage looking books without the big price tag. These are Readers Digest Condensed Anthologies. First I sprayed them all over with Design Master Gold Floral Spray including the inside covers. If you don't know about the Design Master product you need to. Specifically created for the floral industry for artificial flowers, it can be sprayed on fabrics without the sticky residue that other spray paint leaves when it "dries". I then used a brush on chocolate brown paint to do the covers. I found some decorative metal and wood pieces, sprayed them gold, and glued them on the spines. There is no end to how these books could be decorated. Maybe a decoupage cover?

Vintage Tin Art

Deb @ The Design Haus gave me these 2 pieces of vintage tin to play with. I am not sure what they had started life as. Maybe part of a ceiling or building facade. I love the arch detail on them. I found a couple of images @ The Graphics Fairy and decoupaged them with MS Decoupage Medium that is supposed to work better on metal. I drilled some holes, threaded some ribbon and hung them at the store. I think they look great on the old wood walls.

Bee Hive

Can you guess what this started life as? You see them all the time at Garage Sales, Flea Markets and Thrift Stores. I have always passed them by because I couldn't figure out anything to do with them. Until I found this one, I really liked the frilly wrought iron edging.
It is a Trivet! I sprayed it all black then I Mod Podged an image found @ The Graphics Fairy and then antiqued it. I think it looks Tres Chic.
Here is the same image Mod Podged on a left over chip board box lid.

I like to work these little treasures on to shelves, a nice alternative to hanging everything on the wall.

Honey Bee

There was such a positive response to my previous posting on this transfer technique that I wanted to show my newest art project using the same technique on a different medium. Here I used a small 6x6 inch canvas that I painted brown first and then a coat of white. I used a great Honey Bee graphic found @ The Graphics Fairy, reversed it on the computer and printed off with an inkjet printer. I applied a coat of Mod Podge to the canvas and applied the image ink side down. Let dry over night (not great for the instant gratification minded). Soak thoroughly in water and when the paper softens, rub off gently, I use my finger and a circular motion. In this case I then tinted in the yellow areas with acrylic paint to get the striping for the Bee's body. Brush on another coat of Mod Podge to seal and then an antiquing coat of my new favorite color "Asphaltium". I did a light wash then I dabbed it around the perimeter with a sea sponge for that mottled look.

Now I have tried this transfer technique on wood and canvas. I like that I can hand tint the image after transferring, opens up all sorts of possibilities. I think this piece would be great grouped with other things for a wall collage, on a shelf, or nestled in a wreath. Sweet as Honey!

Butterflies

I found some round wood lids to some boxes when I was searching for something in my studio. I was going to toss them because I could not find the bases. I also found these pretty butterfly images that were printed but unused for another project. A little Mod Podge later and some eye hooks makes Spring time wall decor ready for a new home to fly to.

French Flower Market Bucket

Here is a French Flower Market Bucket ready for all those spring flowers. I found a great image @ The Graphic Fairy that I changed up a bit and printed on some wallpaper. A little snip snip there and a little Mod Podge there and your done!

Seascape Candle

This is another super easy project. I went to the local Hispanic Market and bought some Devotional Glass Candles. I printed a Coral image that I found @ The Graphics Fairy on to marbleized paper (didn't photograph as well as I hoped, it has a mottled quality) and Mod Podged it on the glass cylinder. I went thru my seashell odds & ends and using E600 collaged them on.
The seascape is a vintage art piece that my Gran made in the 1950's. I like the way these two pieces work together.

Pillow Update

I promised info on how to print on fabric using a home computer. Check out the post @ The Graphics Fairy DIY that features my pillows. Thank you Karen for including me on your new blog. Lots of ideas for decor, check it out.