Fall Decor: Rustic Silk Leaves and Feathers Wreath

 

Happy Monday all! We in America move full speed ahead to our national day of thanks and gluttony and I've finished the last of the things I'll make ( I think ) for this short season between Halloween and Christmas. Anxious to get started on some Christmas goodies so be on the lookout! 

Also humbled and excited to have been again featured in the Hometalk weekly newsletter last week! They included my Plastic Egg Acorns and Pinecones and I couldn't be more tickled. If you aren't on Hometalk, you should check it out both as a place to share your creations and to find even more inspiring ideas! 

Supplies:

• Square Wreath Form. I actually had some inserts from 12x12 shadow box frames that I used but you  could also use a square frame. 
• Silk Leaves (Michaels 80% off)
• Twig Vase Fillers (Dollar Tree)
• Feathers ( Michaels)
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

From left to right: Shadow Box Frame Inserts, Silk Leaves, Dollar Tree Birch Stumps and Twigs

The frame inserts are not the sturdiest so I glued two of them together to stabilize them. The silk leaves I found for 80% off at Michaels. I used two packages of 30 with a few left over.

These came in two sizes, the larger having some gold veining and the smaller being plain. I alternated these around the wreath. Pretty straightforward. After I glued the leaves around the frame I placed a few of the birch "stumps" , offset, "because I did" which is a technical creative term!

I have a ton of these twigs left over so may save them for next year or throw them in a vase. 

I grouped three feathers (Michaels, Art Minds or Creatology) at the base of each "stump", then added some of the twigs. 

To finish, I had some of these Acrylic Gem Maple Leaves in my stash from a past project so glued a few of those on. Living in the West, this may be another thing I leave up year round. Haven't decided yet. We don't have specifically "Western" decor but I like some bits here and there. 

Et voila!

Bead Embroidery: Angel Wing Pillow

I mentioned last month I was on a wing kick with projects like this and this. I finished the top of this pillow last monthy but finally got around to assembling it this weekend. I am NOT a seamstress! Sewing straight lines (questionable) is about my level of expertise. But it's done and I love it and the materials used sum up my style: a mix of rustic everyday materials and glam.

Supplies: 

• Fabric

This is the rustic part. I bought a couple of fabric drop cloths in the paint department at my big box HW store a few years ago and I'm still using them for things. So yes, this pillow is made from painter's drop cloth but of course you could use anything! 

• Beads

This is the "glam" part since I used a combination of antique French seed beads and metallic gold beads. I became enamored of bead embroidery last year at an art show and am working on my skills!

Process: 

I cut the dropcloth to the approximate size I wanted my pillow. Cut out the front and the back at the same time. Set the back aside. 

I freehand sketched the wing using plain old pencil, then started attaching the larger "outline" beads. I can see for some where bead embroidery would make people stressed but for me, it's kinda therapeutic. I think it's the repetition. And I will never be someone who's going for absolute perfection with each and every stitch and bead being uniform. 

After outlining, I beaded each of the sections with smaller beads and then finally filled in each section with the smallest beads.  You can see where some of my lines squiggle but I've found that you can fix this when you start filling in with other beads. The weight / pressure from the other beads will kind of straighten things out. It's a journey so practice practice practice! 

The dropcloth fabric fits perfectly with the fabric of my sofa and side chair. You can see another of my pillow projects (from waaaayyyy back ) in the background!

To finish, I stitched the top and bottom together, turned, stuffed and finished by hand.

Winter Blues Wednesday

Rustic and Glam: Layered and Gold Leaf Christmas Slat Sign

This is  a sponsored post. Materials were provided to me. Project idea and comments are mine. 

The team at Oriental Trading Company provided me an opportunity to play with some of their great products to come up with a Christmas project and needless to say I had too much fun. 

I created this layered piece using a plain slat board , a wood tree shape , a plain frame and Christmas themed scrapbook paper but the most fun part of this piece was the gold leafing! Foil and shiny is so popular right now ( wouldn't matter if it wasn't, I love shiny things). I also love marrying the most basic and  rustic supplies and the glam (for example, my Christmas tree includes Swarovski crystal ornaments and a tree topper made using a toilet paper roll). 

Here's what I started with: 

Plain Slat Sign

Unfinished Christmas Tree

Traditional Christmas Scrapbook Paper Pack

Gold Foil Leaf

DIY Unfinished Frames

Acrylic Craft Paints

Gold Leaf Sizing ( I used Mona Lisa brand I had on hand)

The unfinished tree is actually meant to stand up but since I never use things as intended, I glued the stand to the back of the tree to give it some dimension. 

I painted the sign using black craft paint and then dry brushed it with cream paint. I did the same for the unfinished frame. 

I traced the tree onto a piece of the scrapbook paper , cut out, and used Mod Podge to apply it to the tree. Once dry, I lightly sanded the edges.  

I cut the "Love Peace Joy" sentiment with my Silhouette from gold glitter vinyl  and applied it to a slat board piece I had in my stash ( also painted black and dry brushed cream. 

Now for the fun part! If you've never worked with gold leaf before don't be intimidated. Do be prepared that it's messy. It's like glitter and once you start to brush it off it gets everywhere so plan accordingly or plan to walk around picking tiny flakes of leafing off of yourself. But, there's nothing like it so it's worth it. 

You need a good glue and I've had success using Mod Podge or PVA glue but really you should use a glue made for gold leaf which is what I used.  I didn't want complete coverage so I just randomly dabbed my glue here and there. It sets up in about 30 min. 

You can see here the random way I did the gold leafing. When your glue is set you lay a sheet of the leafing on top and then use a stiff brush ( stencil brushes work well) to pounce it onto the glue. It will adhere to wherever the glue was and then pieces of it will break away. I save my excess to use for other projects. 

I did the same to the frameand then used more of the scrapbook paper under the glass as shown and cut a gold glitter vinyl reindeer to go on top of the glass. Once all my pieces were ready I glued them to the sign and done. 

Stay tuned! I will have a couple more projects using the supplies I received!