Monday, June 11, 2012
The Big Etsy Contest!!! It's Fun!
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| http://etsycontest.com
So check this out I discover this site in the Etsy blogs the other day and its really fun. As an Etsy shopper you get to vote on which item you like best with in a pre-set price range. As a shop owner you get to submit which of your items you want in the contest. Here's a couple screen shots.
So here is what the voting page looks like. The Big Etsy Contest pits 2 items for sale on Etsy against each other and YOU vote. It's really cool and very fun WARNING it is also addicting. Before you know it time has flown by while you were deciding winners.
Big Etsy Contest also puts up a page of winners for you to check out. They have the winners listed daily and monthly.
Shop owners is super easy to signup just go to http://etsycontest.com/signup.php and type in your shop name. They pull up your information and you choose what item you want in the contest and what days work best for what you have its that easy!!! And you listing is hyper-linked within the picture.
I entered https://www.etsy.com/listing/98271663/shabby-chic-ornate-oval-mirror-hand and had 30 wins which had me winning 45% of my contests. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. My mirror was in the contest on May 2nd and for the month of May it had 228 views and 11 favorites. I give lots of credit to The Big Etsy Contest.
So Check it out, it's fun and you might find the item of your dreams! Enjoy Tracy |
Large Vintage Clock Could Become a Shabby Chic Mirror
Check out
this amazing find! It's my favorite find so far. I have never seen
something like this before. I am really excited to get working on it.
I'm thinking about painting it white and distressing. I was also kicking
around the thought of replacing the clock with a mirror. Thoughts?
So
I'll be checking back in with updates and new pictures. Let's see some
comments I love the comments. Share your idea's and thoughts.Enjoy
Tracy
Friday, June 8, 2012
Grandma Table is Shabby Chic Now!
Live action before and after happening right here right now. I recently acquired 2 very interesting pieces. A vintage end table and this extremely interesting clock. So I thought I would share their transformation with you guys while it happens. So here's the table and as per usual I forgot the "real" before. When I realized oops I forgot pic's I ran to the garbage and pulled that contact paper back out and smoothed it on to the table. LOL! But seriously who puts contact paper on their table? Crazy! Also this table was filthy. I had to scrub the crevices with a tooth brush. So it's now all clean and ready for some paint.
I choose a Spring Green color chalk paint. As usual I'm always looking for your feedback. Please comment with your thoughts and share your ideas. What projects are you working on?
Are you reading for the final results???
Ok I'm pretty excited I tried 2
new techniques with this table. First I mixed a little of the original
paint and a couple drops of black paint in with my clear paste wax. The
color turned out like old guacamole that needs to be tossed LOL. Gross
right, but it's been in all our fridges at some point. Any how, I
applied the 1st coat of dark wax the normal way wax on, wax off.
(remember dark was after coat of clear wax) With the 2nd coat I applied
it in long strokes that accentuated brush strokes. And holy crap did it
look so very cool, I mean really I was so impressed. I am so totally
going to be doing this again. 
Enjoy,
Tracy
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
IT'S GLASSTASIC!!! RECYCLED GLASS GARDEN FLOWERS, BABY!
Two posts in one day that's a huge feat for me!! Any how this post is to brag and show you how I make my recycled, upcycled and repurposed glass garden flowers. This is an easyish, is that a word? it is on my blog, project but it requires a huge amount of patience. The first is to be selective when choosing your glass. Trust me on this one I have a drawer of glass that I picked up only to later realize that it would be darn near impossible to get a good adhesion with. You have to clean your glass, first with soapy water and dry then right before using with rubbing alcohol. I would also recommend wearing latex gloves to wipe down with alcohol and to continue wearing while handling you glass pieces. It's just a theory but I do think that the oils and lotions on our grubby little fingers can affect adhesion. And finally it take supreme patience to wait for the glue to dry, it can take anywhere from hours to days. I even waited a week before it was finally secure. So just relax and make sure you have a place to keep your work where it won't be in your way. Ok, that's my pre-advice now one to how its done. Sorry I don't really have a step by step since I wasn't blogging at the time I made these flowers. So now use this advice and pick yourself up so glass. Think about how you want to layer the pieces together making your flower, look for small glasses or cups for centers, and look for colors that compliment each other while catching the sun. I know I'm a bit fussy.
you. You do have to kinda a play with it a little some glass pieces adhere better with a thin coat other like a thick coat. Go with your gut. I know that seems incredibly vague and if I was reading a tutorial that said that I'd be like really! But honestly, it's art not science. So don't sweat it. Really relax.
Well now you have your hockey puck drilled 5/8th, your glass is all cleaned, your wearing your gloves and Lexel is standing by at the ready. First step is to rough up your puck by giving it a quick sanding, this helps you get very good bond. Then using the sand paper again rough up the area of the glass that you are gluing to the hockey puck. Re-clean both areas with the rubbing alcohol to make them dust free. Apply the Lexel to your puck, I used a bead around the perimeter and then zig-zag through the middle. Press you glass down on to your puck. I did it this way so that I could watch the glue spread out and do little twist to try to remove air bubbles. Now don't go all OCD trying to remove all bubbles just do the best you can do when the Lexel is wet. Make sure your puck is centered on the glass. I then used something like a heavyish (again new word) book to apply pressure while glue dries. Remember my advice of patience...now be patient don't add any more pieces until you have a successful bond.
I know it's hard to wait when all you want to do is create. That's why I start a bunch of first step flowers at once. A bit of assembly line kinda thinking. Remember be patient. Check your bond every day and do NOT proceed it you don't have a good bond.
I know it's hard to wait when all you want to do is create. That's why I start a bunch of first step flowers at once. A bit of assembly line kinda thinking. Remember be patient. Check your bond every day and do NOT proceed it you don't have a good bond.
After you have achieved good adhesion you can now prep your next glass piece. Make sure you rough up edges of the glass you are now going to glue down. Does that make sense? I think so. Apply a bead of caulk on the edge, if you have a flat surface apply the zig-zags. Press to adhere and if possible weigh down, if not don't sweat it. Repeat this down the line for the rest of your hockey puck prepped pieces. And again wait. Patience is the key to success. It might take a couple of days before bonding is complete. Just a little patience...
On a personal note a good rule of thumb is a maximum of 3 items per glass flower. I find it starts to get quite heavy and really pulls down on the bond between the puck and the first piece of glass.But by all means if you have a good bond and you think it'll work Go For It! I have 4 items on the blue plate flower because the last little yellow glass ball was extremely light.
Your flower is now complete and looking beautiful and your wondering what do I use to stake these up. In the true spirit of recycling and repurposing I have used old metal bars I had laying around from a crib that had a drop side. We used a sawzall to cut off the curved end and viola garden stake. I have also used 5/8th rebar. Rebar is a common steel bar, and is commonly used as a tensioning device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures holding the concrete in compression. Getting pretty technical there. You can pick up rebar from any home improvement store and some will even cut it to what ever size you need, don't worry they are sold in smaller lengths. You can paint your rebar green or copper or whatever color tickles your fancy. Pound your rebar or whatever metal stake you choose, make sure it'll properly hold the weight of the flower, into the ground. Again use your good judgement about how deep to go. You are looking for a sturdy foundation. Push your hockey puck flower onto the rebar, it sometimes take some pressure to get it to slide on. And your done.
I leave my flowers out in the rain but they do come in for the winter. I just don't think it's a good idea to leave your glass out in the snowy weather.
On the flower pictured on the left I found the Lexel bond wasn't strong enough to hold up that milk glass vase. After some trial and error I used a Liquid Nails Marble & Granite and Solid Surface Materials Adhesive. It doesn't dry clear but for what I wanted to do it didn't matter. I also used this to adhere the vase to the plate. That vase was unusually heavy.
All the flowers featured here are on their second spring and summer in my Mom's garden. Still going strong!
So after making these flowers I was inspired to make little plate towers, but that is a story for a new post:)
If you have any questions or would like to share your projects please leave a comment I try to check back everyday.
Enjoy,
Tracy
Heads Up Horatio Hornblower An Original Shabby Chic Idea
My original thought was to use spray paint, but lately I'm just not loving it. I sure that has everything to do with the fact that I am in love love love with chalk paint right now. So there the horn sat. The thought of spraying it was like blah! The thought of hand painting, sanding and waxing all those curves was like YIKES no! And it sat. I had ideas of using a paint sprayer for the chalk paint and believe me that thought is still floating around my brain, but that's just not cost effective for me and I haven't really heard good things about the sprayers in my price range. Ahhh but a girl can dream and I do dream of sprays and spraying chalk paint happiness....maybe some day. Finally I told myself quit being a lazy coupled with the fact that my children tried to play the cornet everyday, that sucker needed out of the house and into the studio (aka garage). 
I started out with an 1 inch paint brush for the first coat but really found it to be to big for the tight spots and unable to really hit those curves well. I switched over to a much smaller artist brush and while it took more time it really did improve the coverage. So armed with my little brush I set about getting that pretty turquoise on that horn. After 2 coats of paint I went on the waxing, which I must say was tricking. Did I mention all the twists, turns and curves? How about those tight spots? Did I mention those? Sometimes my dreams just make things seem easier after all it's a dream :) As odd as it was to dream of horn painting and the amount of eyebrows raised in my direction as I tried to explain what I was planning to do, I have to say this HORN is so stinking adorable.
Check out the pic's and let me know what you think? If I find more horns what colors would you like to see? And as always share your ideas. I look forward to reading the comments.Enjoy
Tracy
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