Crafting Secret: How I age a faux antique "mirror".

~Make-do wash stand~

When all you need is a small old mirror for a primitive craft project- .....and You don't want to use paint stripper or bleach and all that jazz..... I use a soda can~
I puncture the can with a knife, then, wearing gloves, I cut out a section.
I age the "mirror" using a sharpie and watered down black acrylic paint~
I keep the glass in the frame, for extra shine.
Happy crafting!

Craft of the Day; Print Upon Enamelware~ Old French Chic DIY.

I LOVE enamelware. 

When I picked up this old enamelware tray from the thrift shop,(I  love old junk made beautiful) I wanted to turn this tray into an old advertisement sign;  but how to apply such delicate print????   Stenciling was out of the question; the letters were to small......

Then it occurred to me, what if I printed on tissue paper! It is semi see- through..... Yes!!!!

HOW TO:

-Take a regular sheet of paper, and apply glue all along the very edges with a roll up glue stick.

-Then, smooth (over that gluey paper) with the tissue paper, shiny side down, starting on one side & smoothing outward so that the tissue paper is adhered tauntly to the undersheet. Cut off excess.(It may have a couple of small wrinkles.)

-When dry, print upon it, & then with scissors cut all along the edges to free the tissue paper from the under-sheet.

-Carefully, gently, apply roll up glue stick to the back of the tissue print, holding the tissue paper with your fingers to prevent grabbing and ripping. Apply the glue in small sections....GENTLY

-Lay the print on the enamelware, starting with a corner and smooth- smooth- smooth it outward, eliminating the air bubbles as you go. (dull old enamelware will look the best!) If it tears , just smooth down. It looks great  torn.

-You will be able to see the scuffs and marks of the enamelware through the paper, making it a semi-opaque print, helping the print to really blend into the piece.

Be sure to click on the "free stuff" postcard on the right hand side for more great ephemera!

More added each week!

Primitive Scrap Art~ Antique Paper Art

My latest artwork;

Scrappy primitive paper art~

I love expressing myself with random bits and pieces~

 I felt my colonial side coming out with this one.

 This is a old farmhouse catch all I made~ I also made the heart pin out of antique paper and wood.

 Then I got inspired~ I made bird pins from antique ephemera.

Of course they needed a nest, so I used an old clay pot, with antique velvet on the top.

 I call this piece " The Wings Of Affection".

 I covered the old clay pot using a stained antique book page.

 One of my bird hat pins on an ironstone plate.

This is an old world french style scrap art I made~ It is on canvas.

Have a blesssed day!

Valentine's Day Topiaries~

Today's craft project; Valentine Topiaries~

Applying moss to various shapes- cardboard cutouts, or Dollarstore Valentines plaques. I painted the plaque green, before applying the moss. I glue the moss on with a glue gun, thinly applying it to the edges and creases of the letters first,  then- do the flat surfaces. Do the back last.

I always twist a few branches together and join the ends with duct tape,

so the stem looks more natural, and not so much like a "pole".

I use doubled or tripled (glued together) cardboard box- cut out shapes.

There seems to be 2 types of florist foam out there~ "wet" (softer) and the hard

kind, meant for dried floral arrangements. I used the hard kind.

I always put it on the stick, and  insert my topiary LAST. 

If not, the hole becomes loose, and the stem wabbly as you glue on the moss.

Beware of glue gun strings. These should be cut off the moss with scissors~ (in order not to pull the moss off with it.) The moss is patted on, with a bunch of it in my hand. In order not to lose the letters definitive shapes, critical corners of the letters ate covered with  moss dust- the finer stuff that has fallen loose out of the bag. I prefer the brown and green kind of moss, as the I found that the very green kind made it look too fake. You will need quite a few glue sticks for this craft project~

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Craft of The Day~ Belle Jardiniere.

For today's project, I made an entire Belle Jardiniere drop cloth set~

Heavy weight drop cloth can be found in the paint section of your local hardware store~

I appliqued 2 dollarstore aprons, I made a pin keep, a hand towel, and a throw pillow.

I have included the free Belle Jardiniere graphic HERE 

I love printing on fabric!
You can use ironed on freezer paper to back your fabric~
~P