Showing posts with label Graphics Fairy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graphics Fairy. Show all posts

Monday, March 25, 2013

Decoupaged Mannequin


Hello my lovelies! This week I am so excited to introduce you to Mademoiselle Aimée.
I believe she had fallen on hard times after a celebrated career as a infamous famous burlesque star, and ended up on the fleamarket where she was sold off for $10.



 When she looked into the mirror her true image of style and beauty did not look back at her. She was once admired for her Joie De Vivre and she had a certain Je ne sais quoi that charmed everybody. Her look was now a far cry from what she epitomises, a romantic at heart with a carefree enjoyment for life! I brought her home with promises to make her beautiful again!

{So, I am known for deleting before pics. You will just have to imagine a gold spray painted torso and a bamboo kinda base}

For her make over, I gathered the following:
1. Primer and brushes
2. Vintage sewing patterns
3. Heritage multimedia sealer
4. Heritage glazing medium
5. Heritage matte varnish
6. Several images from the Graphics Fairy
7. Vintage music sheets - A5
8. Pair of scissors

Then on to the fun part!
I gave her torso a coat of watered down gesso to cover the ugh gold! While that was drying, I tore up scraps of vintage sewing patterns for layering. I worked in small sections, kept layering the paper until her entire torso was covered. I made sure that I secured the paper around and over all the edges. The sealer stops the ink from bleeding and also acts as an adhesive. Then she had to stand overnight to get completely dry!

Should have taken a pic at this stage....duh!

The next day I printed several images off  The Graphics Fairy. Like this beautiful rose.
  
Victorian Image Red Rose
I printed my images on the vintage sheet music and cut out the parts that I wanted. The images were then applied using the same method as the sewing pattern until I was happy with the design. I used the heads of the roses on her décolletage and cleavage and filled in other parts with leaves and left over sheet music scraps...it took on a life of its own! 

Then I thought it would be so fun to add images of beautiful french women. I went back  to The Graphics Fairy. While I lingered there, I found the lovely 'Pariesien' label and just had to use it. I also added a vintage numbered game piece as a fun addition!
To finish her off, I slathered her in glazing medium followed by matte varnish.



I think Mademoiselle Aimée is Trés Chic. Now her outer beauty reflects her inner beauty and self-confidence!

Then I turned my attention to the stand and base! Here I did some layering with CeCe Caldwell Omaha Ochre, Alaskan Tundra Green and Mesa Sunset. I distressed with a damp rag followed by a good waxing
and buffing!



She makes me smile everytime I lay eyes on her, If I think back to what she looked like on that dusty fleamarket all lonely and sad!

I hope your week started off with a bang and loads of inspiration for your next project!





You can often find me at these fabulous parties:







Saturday, March 9, 2013

Mid-Century Modern Cabinet Make Over

Welcome back my lovelies!

Cape Town is abuzz and gearing up for the spectacular, but gruelling Cape Argus Pick n Pay cycle tour. Our weather is getting cooler and it looks like winter is coming around early!

Anyway back to my post!

I loved this retro cabinet when I saw it on Bid or Buy Crazy R1 auction. I love the clean, simple lines of the piece and it did'nt look like it needed too much work. I put up a maximum bid of R100 (about $10) and nobody else bid higher, so this baby came home to me!
Here is the before! I did'nt let the dark scorch marks and the water marks on the top put me off!
  
Here is my messy kitchen counter!

See the bowl of salad in the background? Bad girl, I forget to eat when I'm excited to see the end result!




For the transformation I used CeCe Caldwell Omaha Ochre as a base color, and layered Alaskan Tundra Green over that. The green was also used on the legs. The sides and the trim was done in Young Kansas Wheat. Now, the colors looked very light, but I knew that the wax would kick it up a notch!
The antique dress form image is from The Graphics Fairy. There are many to choose from, but after much deliberation, I settled on this one!
I used the graphite transfer method, paint pens and Heritage acrylic paint to complete the transfer. Then I spotted the cute Frenchy gift tag in my stash. I modge podged it onto the drawer front, aged it up a bit and distressed the edges! I think it makes a sweet addition to the overall look. Once again 'Less is not more' for Moi!
The distressing on the cabinet was done with a damp rag, I applied clear wax and then light ageing wax!
I bought the cute crystal knobs at Handles Inc. They have a huge variety of hardware and I spotted some awesome hardware for that farmhouse look and made a note to self!


Is she a cutie or what?!!! This cabinet will be a cool addition to my soon-to-be craft room!


I also dabbled a bit in mixed media, but more about that later!
You can often find me at these parties:

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