Apiary Instant Art

I found this wonderful vintage Apiary etching in my vast book collection from my theatre days. I did a production of Love's Labours Lost set in the late 18th c. This would make a great companion piece to a Bee Art project.

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

Moon Maiden

Pretty French image of a Maiden on a Crested Moon. Who knew that the Man in the Moon is a Miss!

Fashion Plates

I found the companion fashion plate to the other set I posted previously. Beautiful.

Pretty Lady

Fabulous illustration from Millinery Magazine. She would be great as a transfer or for a scrapbook page. Tres Jolie!

French Label

I found this fabulous label going thru all my Costume files. I have 6 of these magazines and will be sharing some wonderful illustrations and some great projects too. Lots of fascinating ideas using ribbon! While I was at it I made a version without the wording so you can create your own label.

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.

Mirror Art

Here is another version of Mirror Art that I create using an existing mirror. I previously posted about artwork using mirror spray paint. Here I rubbed the mirror finish off the back and adhered an image that I found @ The Graphics Fairy using Mod Podge. This technique is a great reuse of vintage mirrors that have hazing or scratches in the reflective surface. Actually the worse the better as it creates an antique look!

Here, instead of a vintage mirror, I used a mirror tile left over from some long ago home improvement project. I had intended for this bird mirror to be used as a candle plate. I think it would look great in a bookcase propped up to reflect light in a dark space.

I am linking this to Funky Junk Interiors.

Instant Art- Vintage Fashion Plates

More from the Costume Research files. These are true vintage Late 1830's. They were research for a production of A Christmas Carol. They would be perfect for a Shabby Chic project or Greeting Card. Enjoy!

Sunflower Instant Art

I am working on an ivitation for a late summer party and found this Sunflower image in my stash. Great for an instant art project, greeting card, etc.

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.

Wood Rose Boutonnier

I am working on a wedding coming up in October and all the flowers are going to be either wood or fabric. Here is one of the boutonnieres made from a wood rose. I added a fantastic dried pod that was collected last Fall by the roadside and an Ostrich feather and burnt Couque feather. The stem was wrapped in jute.
I am linking this to Under the Table and Dreaming.

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.

Outdoor Room Makeover

BEFORE

To make the backyard appear larger I designed a seating wall with 2 piers at each end that would hold larger containers. This boundary fools the eye and magically the yard is bigger! This is an old trick that painters used to force the perspectives in paintings. I also had a cement overlay installed over the existing cement patio with a faux finish of fieldstone. We replaced some of the furniture with cast aluminum in a dark finish and painted and antiqued the white set of cast iron to match. To finish off the planting beds a new boxwood hedge and roses were planted and graceful topiaries loaded with Mandevilla and Diamond Frost fill the containers. A Beautiful Retreat and a perfect way to create an outdoor room.

AFTER

Closeup of the containers, I painted these to look like weathered terra cotta. They were originally gray. I used an exterior latex paint in chocolate brown and then drybrushed with tan, olive and rust.

I am linking this @ Addicted 2 Decorating.

2 Regal Crests

A few days ago I posted this Lion & Unicorn Crest that I had found with all my Shakespeare research. I did not like the way the scan turned out so I deleted it and did a new scan. I had so many inquiries that I posted an additional crest and the crown as a separate image.
I love the crown and thought it would be perfect for one of my pillow projects. You can see them HERE.

I thought this was a most unusual crest, very French!

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.

Bee Art

I have been going thru my book and research collection finding great images to share. Here are the first Bees to be posted, more to follow. They are perfect for an instant art project because they come on the vintage looking parchment.

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.