Vintage Brass Plate Makeover

When I purchased this old brass plate a few years ago I imagined coloring it somehow. I wasn't sure how to go about it, so it's been sitting on a shelf in my craft room. When Dawn presented me with a collection of Viva Decor Inka Gold metallic rub, this is what came to mind.

It's a perfect little square piece with a sweet scene of a gentleman greeting a lady who seems to be walking her two dogs. I love her dress! And the gentleman is pretty snappy as well. The reverse side shows I paid $3, very well spent, I think.

 

The umbrella is such a nice touch, isn't it? And the flowers and leaves around the edging could not be more pretty.

Before applying the metallic rub and alcohol inks I sanded it down with some very fine grit sandpaper and steel wool. There were some rust and green spots I wanted to sand away to stop the corrosion.

I applied a very thin coat of red alcohol ink on the roses and green on the leaves. I added some red and pink metallic rub on the roses. I didn't use ink on the rest, just the rub; green on the gentleman's coat and hat, and pewter on his hair. The dogs are a dark grey. The lady's dress and hat are purple, her umbrella is blue.

I rubbed some gold along the stone work and windows to help make them pop a little more.

I left the rest as-is.

I could not be more pleased with the results. For a change, something turned out exactly how I pictured it in my mind. Next time I go thrift shopping, I'll look at these old brass plates in a whole new light!

Wizard of Oz and Close Friends

Michael's had a great selection of Wizard of Oz stuff, so I scooped up some of it for my card-making and scrapbooking. There was so much I could have brought home with me, but I'm trying to thin the collection because I have nowhere to display it. So I passed it by. *sigh* Anyway, I was proud of myself I was able to put a bunch of stuff back I had initially grabbed.

The two kits to make Dorothy's house and the Emerald City were the most difficult to put back. It would be fun to put those together with the movie playing in the background. But I'm honestly okay with not having them. I have so much Wizard of Oz packed away, what good is it doing me if I can't even see it? Time to do some donating.

On to other things. One of my most precious friends came over and gave me some neat word clear stamps and a button embossing folder, so cool! But the thing I was most excited about was her handmade card. It's rare I receive things other people craft, so this really touched my heart. She did such a great job, I love the flower brads and rhinestones she added. The scalloped pieces she cut from her dies add just the right touch.

And that sticker in the inside? It could not be more perfect at depicting us when we were teens! Of course, the sentiment is the heart of the card. I keep it where I can see it and pick it up and read it over again because it lifts my spirits.

 Thank you, Twila, for being like a sister to me all these 40+ years!

House of Cards

I had a lot of fun making a few cards and playing around a bit with paints. Since I have so many cards to share, I'll save the ones of my painting for the next post. I also have a note card project I'm excited to have completed, so I'll share them and the details next time as well.

This little lovely was simply for the pleasure of it. The background was an experiment in collage stamping that I thought had gone bad, but when I cut it down to card size I decided it wasn't such a disaster after all. The lanterns were cut with a die then stamped with matching stamps, colored with yellow watercolor pencils and covered with Glossy Accents to make them look as if they are burning bright.

The Marci stamp is probably one of my favorites, she's so adorable. Dawn made a Silhouette cutting of the stamp and then I stamped her on that. She's colored with pencils, markers and Stickles. It's my first attempt at blending. The photo does weird things to her hair, it looks much better in real life. My daughter said the umbrella reminds her of the one Firefly's Kaylee carried with her. The inside lamp was made with a stamp I cut out and then backed with rice paper I colored with yellow marker. The bamboo is stamped with very light-colored green ink.

This is a birthday card for my daughter's co-worker. She likes anything Harley Davidson-related, but I wanted to keep it feminine, so that's why I chose this black print. The medallions are metal, the top one of which I highlighted with colors of metal paste.

The next two are sympathy cards for people who lost their pets, one a dog, the other a cat.

I stamped the sentiment on to a cloth sticker-backed piece and popped it up with pop dots.

I found out later, after I had made this card, that the cat was some type of French breed, so I think this was just about perfect.

She was very appreciative and said this was the only card she received. Sympathy cards are my most difficult card to make, but one that gives me the most satisfaction.

This is an anniversary card for the best in-laws anyone could ever hope for.

My brother-in-law's anniversary is on the same day as my in-laws'. They love everything cowboy/western, so I thought this sign was extra cute and fit the bill perfectly.

I colored the wood sign, backed it with rice paper and added sticker lettering.

This one's for my oldest brother's birthday, kept it very simple. I tied a bit of twine at the side and outlined the sentiment at the center. The background paper has shiny gold lines on it, so it's a bit more brighter in person than the photo shows.

Looking back through this post made me realize how busy I've been at my craft table. I like that. A lot.

Steampunk, Doctor Who and The Avengers

I love all those nifty gears you find in craft stores, but they can be pricey. So I picked up some packages of gear-like bits and pieces at OSH for cheap and died the silver with different colors of alcohol inks. I also used some watch parts on this card.

I stamped the boot in gold. It seems to need extra drying time, so I left it overnight since I had other things to work on. The crinkly paper behind the boot is scrunched up vellum I dabbed with several stamp pads in lots of different colors. The colors stayed on the wrinkles just as I wanted them to. That, too, needed extra drying time; vellum can be tricky to work with. The pop dots and double-sided sticky tape didn't want to stick, but the Tombow Mono Multi glue worked wonders.

The inside was kept very simple as this will be passed around my daughter's office for everyone to sign.

Speaking of my daughter, Valerie colored some Julie Nutting paper doll stamps I stamped up and made them like The Avengers/space alien she's been in love with lately. Left to right: Iron Man, Doctor Who, Thor (I dig the sparkly hammer) and Captain America. I love how they turned out!

Woodland Creatures

I've had this bag of wood cuts for eons and finally did a little something with them. I used some cute stamps and then coated them for safe keeping.

Woodland creatures are stamped on the 4-sided piece, a deer, bears, turtle and owl.

This piece measures about 2-3/4". The bears are stamped on the reverse side of the deer. All sides are coated in Mod Podge Hard Coat.

 The little turtle is on the bottom. It's a bit funky, but he's still cute.

The little fawn is my favorite, she's so adorable!

The owl is lighter than I wanted, but Dawn still wants to make a necklace of it. I coated it with Glossy Accents and added a couple of rhinestones for the eyes so she sparkles.

Easy-cheesy! The bats stamped really well and Valerie wants me to put a magnet on the back of it for her.

 I'm glad I didn't pass up this $2.99 deal at Savers!