Victorian

On The Upcycle Shop- Now Open On Etsy!

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This Month, “On The Upcycle” has launched a small shop on Etsy!

On The Upcycle Shop will feature small decoupage items with additional items coming soon!  Each item is handmade and priced to sell!  Be sure and check us out and check back often!  Items will be featured as they become available. This month I am featuring various stained and painted wooden trinket boxes.

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These lovely boxes have metal hinges and magnetic enclosures.  Sizes and styles vary.

Stay tuned: On The Upcycle has a few interesting projects on the horizon. I have picked up a couple of really nice chairs,  and a beautiful early century window with multi colored glass I am eager to start. Hope everyone is enjoying there summer so far!

To visit the OntheUpcycleShop on Etsy—-Click Here!

I am “Thankful” For My Readers: Decoupage Wooden Tray Giveaway!

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The Thanksgiving holiday is a time to reflect on the many blessings a person has in their life. Many times the stresses of everyday life cloud our thinking and distract us from what really matters. I am so deeply blessed to have connected with so many wonderful people in my life past and present. This includes all those who have taken the time out of their day to stop by  “On The Upcycle” to read, comment and share ideas with me. It has been a little over 6 months since I started my blog and the response has been overwhelming.  A special “thank you” to those in the Word Press community whom helped lend a helping hand to yours truly along the way!

I thought to myself, that this would be a great time to show a small token of appreciation to my readers who have inspired me to keep going even after feeling discouraged. What better way to show it than a Thanksgiving day drawing and giveaway?!

Stay Calm and Craft- A Simple Wooden Tray Decoupage

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Win The Decorative Victorian Inspired Wooden Tray Decoupage Pictured Above:

All you have to do to enter the drawing is “Like” On The Upcycle on Facebook, and comment on this post.  I would love to hear what you are thankful for in life or if you have a favorite “On The Upcycle” project what is it and what do you like about it?  I will draw one winner on Thanksgiving day and announce the winner on my blog.  I ask that the winner contact me with their address, and I will happily mail your prize. Thanks again to all my readers and  Good Luck!

 

A Decorative Touch: Dollar Store Metal Decoupage Planters

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I found these metal planters at Dollar Tree in their lawn and garden section. These planters were functional, but not very decorative.  I was attracted to the shape, material and size of these planters.  Of course, the price was certainly right.  What was that? Only one dollar?

If you decide to use these planters  in the yard, make sure to use Outdoor Mod Podge to seal them for added protection.  My plan was to keep them inside. I decided to use Mod Podge Matte Finish to decoupage some Victorian imagery onto the planters. I cut out the images, glued them to the metal planters and did my best to smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles with my hands.  When dry, I used a paint brush to apply two coats of Mod Podge. Now, they display some lovely pink and purple Hydrangea from our back yard on our mantel.

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Deccoupage metal Planter

Decoupage Metal Planters

Decoupage “Ugly Tray” Re-styling using Mod Podge

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One of the things I look for when I go to thrift stores and swap meets are ugly trays.  I like them because they are great items to decoupage and I love decoupage!  They are also fairly inexpensive.  They are great practice and experimental pieces, and they are functional.  The possibilities are endless as to  themes and what you can do with these trays.  They also make great gifts. For My first decoupage tray, I used a freestyle approach.  I printed out all these lovely Victorian Era prints.  I love the Victorian era artwork and elegant look.  I had this old tray that was quite boring and a few times I had actually thought of throwing it away because it took up space and was just plain ugly.  I decided it would be a great piece to experiment on.   I painted the entire piece black with acrylic paint, and cut out the prints I wanted to use in the collage. I then used Mod Podge Gloss finish to glue the images to the tray.  Once completely dry, I sealed the entire piece with 3 coats of Mod Podge gloss finish.   I decided to hang the tray on our living room wall.   These trays also make great wall art.

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Victorian inspired Art decoupage birdhouse

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Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Yesterday afternoon, our family hit the flea market circuit  in the hopes of finding a kids sized wooden chair to convert into a Time Out chair, and any other items that would make a good future project.  I am happy to report that we walked away with several items: A kids wooden chair,   a wooden school desk and a few decorative trays.    It was an absolute beautiful day today to walk around outside and soak in the sun.  Yard sale season is also in full swing.  We saw many on the trip, but had to save our yard sailing aspirations for another day.

Today was also the day my most recent craft:  my Victorian bird house, would be ready to hang outside.    Prime real estate for some lucky little bird family.  I wanted to create a Victorian feel. I searched the internet for Victorian art and floral images.  I then printed out the images I wanted to use on my color printer.  I carefully cut out the images with an X acto knife.  I painted the bird house red and white.  Once the bird house was dry, I used the Mod Podge to adhere the cut out images to the birdhouse.  The possibilities are endless as far as the styles and themes you can create.  You can choose any images you like including family photos, sports etc.  I then applied 3 coats of Mod Podge allowing to dry thoroughly between coats.  I used a metal hook  and screw for hanging outside.

Materials:

Wooden bird house from Michael’s Crafts

Red and White Acrylic paint

X acto Knife

Outdoor Mod Podge

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