My Craft and Antique Booth

Last week I bought a Canon Rebel so I can FINALLY start blogging again!  It's been so frustrating not having a  camera!  Hopefully I'll get a chance to take a photography class soon.  It's something I've been wishing for for a long time. 

 Since I have a camera again I have a lot of pictures of my antique and craft booth.  It's definitely a work in progress.  I like some things but some aren't perfect but then again that is the joy of old things.  You can probably see some of my old blog projects like pillows made from old skirts and the bingo card "Family" sign.  I'm hoping this booth will be a place I can display and give ideas to readers from blogland in person.  I'm not sure if a lot of my Mega Mall cronies are bloggers but I would guess not.   They have all been very helpful in teaching me things about having an antique booth even though I'm stubborn and like to do things differently sometimes!  

I have a blog friend, Mitzi and she has a few antique booths that I was able to visit for inspiration.  I actually purchased the colorful granny square blanket from one of Mitzi's booths.  I saw one like it in a magazine and was on the hunt for one ...very exciting find!   All the things I buy for my booth I would like to own (well I do own until someone else buys them!).  I also look for things I see in magazines. 

Have you tried the new Martha Stewart acrylic craft paints at Michael's?  They are for metal, wood and glass.  I painted these old metal bronze colored candle stands and vase with the glitter paint.  I was wondering how it would dry on the metal but they turned out really cool.( I had to do a lot of coats.)  There's also chalkboard paint in some great colors.  I painted the box with the drawer in mint green chalkboard paint. 

I'll be back soon!  I promise.  Next week we will start back with Lucky Linky....does anyone have any suggestions for who to use for link party hosting? 

Erin

My Metallic Paint Obsession

If you don't already know this I love to "thrift". (is that technically a verb?)  I could look at old stuff all day.  I could also look at new stuff all day because I just like stuff.  If I could be a hoarder I probably would but I don't really have the room for it in my house here in Midwest suburbia.    

I've been thinking about this silver leafed table ever since I saw it in an antique store in Grand Rapids, MI.   I asked the lady working in the shop about it and she said when she got it the top was separate from the base and it had been silver leafed but was chipping.  She applied automotive clear coating over it for a super protective finish.  You can't really see in this picture how gorgeous it is but imagine more variation and depth in the silvering. 

The base of this table was also amazing.  The artist who painted it said she used a metallic silver paint and then did a pickled effect in white over it.  She thought this would make an awesome desk with the chair that had been painted white and had a metallic print fabric on the seat.

The price tag on this set was only $298.  I wish I would have bought it when I saw it but I was broke that day.  I will definitely go back and see if it's still there when I visit ArtPrize in Grand Rapids next week.

Remember this old window?  I was playing around here in this photo with adding chair die cuts in each space.  I would have to staple fabric to the back and then glue on the die cuts and that would have looked kinda cool. 

I change my mind a lot so when I had my metallic spray paint out I sprayed it with silver.  I also stapled chicken wire to the back to use for flower pins and clippie hair accessories. 

Instead I framed one chair and painted my black decorative shelf silver metallic.  The metallic adds a little bit of a modern edge..a little more funk. 

Centsational Girl had a great post with pictures of metallic furniture back in February.  Check it out for more inspiration!

Creating Art with Vintage Paper

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I just love vintage paper products like cards, wrapping paper, labels, postcards, and sheet music. When looking through an antique market a few months ago, I found this old wrapping paper with kids having fun at a carnival. They look so happy! I started creating and came up with this pennant out of two pieces of poster board glued together and added some vintage lace and ric rac. The letters are distressed with brown ink. I also added y0-yo's and vintage buttons.

These are some things I am toying with framing. They're made with old book pages, sheet music, and die cuts made with card stock and velvet paper.

I may have these chairs matted and framed. It helps me to lay them out in a frame when I'm creating an art piece before I glue everything together. What do you think?

Yes, I have gone a little bit overboard with these chair die cuts!

Hat Box Makeovers with Guest Blogger Mitzi

I'm the guest blogger for Erin and Heather's Monday blog switch, and I couldn't be more pleased to be here with a new audience of readers, and hopefully some new friends. I'm just getting to know Erin and Heather, and have been impressed by their forward-thinking attitude toward their blog. Having a guest blogger each week is a great way to keep things interesting for loyal readers. What a great idea! Right now they are over at my blog, Mitzi's Collectibles, with their guest post.

Let me tell you about myself briefly before we begin today's project. I am a part-time antique dealer in central Michigan, selling my wares in two antique malls. Over the years I have acquired all sorts of fabulous vintage raw materials at auctions and estate sales that lend themselves to crafting. More specifically, old apothecary bottles, bark cloth, buttons of all shapes and sizes, ribbons and trims, colorful millinery flowers, sheet music, and jeweled bits and bobs that can be made-over into new jewelry creations.

If you visit flea markets, estate sales, antique stores, or even garage sales, you'll eventually come across some hat boxes. If you are lucky, they might be covered in wallpaper like one of my examples below. Other times, they might be striped or have the name of the hat maker on them. Since these boxes can be so useful for storage, why not gussy them up so they can be displayed on top of an armoire or shelf in your bedroom or craft room instead or hidden in a closet?

Besides hat boxes, you will need:

Foam brush

Mod Podge or other decoupage medium

Brayer to roll air bubbles out of applied images

Images you wish to ad to your box.

Embellishments such as lace, fringe, or ric-rac

Hot glue gun to attach embellishments

I keep a stockpile of laser copied paper ephemera for decoupage projects, including perfume and soap labels, Victorian trade cards, and old advertising. I've even color copied packages of eyes and hooks and cards of buttons because I like the pleasing patterns. Of course, you don't have to use copied vintage stuff. Other suggestions would be sheet music, wrapping paper, or scrapbook paper.

Apply your Mod Podge to the back of the images with a foam brush, position them on your box in a pleasing configuration, and roll out any extra glue and air bubbles with a brayer. You can use your fingers if you don't have a brayer, but it gets a bit messy! Then, apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of your image. Wait an hour or so, then coat the entire box with the Mod Podge. This is just to give the surface an even appearance.

When your box is dry, add some fun trims. I used blue pom-pom fringe, brown lace, and gold Dresden trim. Using a hot glue gun, apply your trim wherever you want. That's it!



You can see I used the Dresden trim to frame the ladies' fashion print, and the lace I glued around the rims of the box lids:

Here are a few tips:

If you elect to use Mod Podge, consider if it is gloss, matte, or satin. The different finishes will affect your finished project. Personally, I don't think gloss looks good on most paper projects. I used the matte version on my boxes.

I filled in some empty spaces with rose stickers from a simple sticker sheet purchased at Michael's.

If you have an ink-jet printer, buy some spray fixative and coat your images at least once, otherwise the colors will run when you apply your glue. Spray fixative is available in any art supply or craft store in an aerosol can.

Of course, you don't have to use vintage hat boxes. You can buy papier-mache stacking boxes at any craft store that are ready to paint or decoupage.

I hope you have a chance to pretty up some boxes of your own!

Mitzi

Bingo Card Family Sign

My mom found a whole box of vintage bingo cards in her basement that belonged to my great grandparents (she thinks).
The cards are in great shape and are a very thick cardboard. They are almost as thick and sturdy as a piece of wood. I researched the Oak Leaf design on them but had no luck finding any information.

I thought it would be fun to play with them using old buttons as numbers covers. These buttons belonged to my mom's Aunt Carrie.


I used a few of the cards to make a "family" sign. I drilled holes on the sides using a small drill bit and strung twine through to keep them together. I glued these pre -cut velvet paper letters on with white craft glue.



This is how it looks on my mantle.

What else could I do with these Bingo cards?

Also, did you notice anything new about the blog? It's getting a makeover that should be complete in a few days.

Have a pleasant day!
Erin


I also linked this at Blue Cricket Design

and
at Twice Remembered

Vintage Valentine's

I had a few more cool finds when I went to my mom's house last weekend. She has some old Valentine's displayed on this little wire picture holder. I thought they were so cute so I took a few pictures. By the way, I am sitting in Biggby coffee right now writing this. I just needed to get out of the house after being stuck in there from all the snow.

This is one I bought a while back...I was going to make something with it. (Not sure what yet.)




Happy Early Valentine's Day! I am heading to my son's kindergarten party today. How will you celebrate?