Red Victorian Rose Arts: April 2013

Fairytale Pail - A Journey in Recycling

Saturday, April 27, 2013

We've all seen something like what's in the above picture, either at a garage sale, flea market, or thrift store. It is very kitschy and out-dated, though rather cute if you like one stroke style painting. But it is still an item that will often wind up in a landfill because it is dated. The pail was rusty, though I couldn't say if it was because of real age or a solution put onto the metal. But when I saw it at the thrift store a memory arose in my mind of the lunch-pail tree in one of the Wizard of Oz stories. I was determined to buy it and give new life to this rather sad looking pail.

I gave the pail a coat of rusty colored acrylic paint to cover up the little design on the lower half, then opened up my scrap-booking stack of fairytale themed papers and rummaged around. What I wound up with is what you see in the pictures below, and yes, it is the same pail. It's amazing what a little glue, glitter, scrap, and paper can do for you! Now it is the perfect container for any and all kinds of craft materials (buttons, thread spools, ribbons, etc) or it can be used as a lunch-pail. Merely line with a cloth that keeps with the spirit, add a small icepack, place lunch items inside and you're good to go!

It is so unique and attractive it would be perfectly fine for an adult to use and makes a great conversation starter. And finally, you could put scrapbook materials inside, use it as a treat tin (lined with a plastic bag first), or put a small glass vase inside (then fill with your favorite fresh flowers). Currently it is being used as a decoration, sitting on my dresser being a herald of Spring! It spoke to me and I hope that other similar items will speak to you next time your visit your local thrift shop. You may just save something from the landfill and get a useful, beautiful piece in return!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Using images to tell stories in cardmaking

Sunday, April 21, 2013

1 comment

~{Spring is in the Air}~

~{Flowers Restoreth the Soul}~

The two cards above represent the style I use when I created with scrap-booking materials and show my love of Romantic Victorian imagery. The first card depicts a woman out for a walk along a winding path and she really reminded me of Diana from Anne of Green Gables. I used a picture from the cover of The Victorian Trading Company's catalog, I save each issue for this purpose. I chose complementing papers and scrap for it and gave it as a Birthday Card, though it could be used for other occasions. The die-cut piece behind the frame and the dragonfly both have glittery elements, along with the flower cluster, so it ties together nicely.

The second card I made for my own entertainment, using some lovely new scrap-booking papers based off The Secret Garden story. The little girl in the picture may seem familiar, if you scroll down through my blog you will see a scan of her. Yes, she is authentic Victorian scrap and she was thoroughly enchanting and reminded me of Mary from The Secret Garden. The basket of flowers and small rosette cluster in the upper left corner are also Victorian scrap and accent it perfectly. I used a patterned card base and some papers and trim to add texture and interest to the background and simply layered everything on top. The crowning jewel was the little silver key pendant I had saved from some jewelry making venture eons ago.

The key to making cards in the fashion of the Victorians is to place the image of the person in a position of dominance. Notice that even with the quote filling most of the second card how the eyes are still drawn to the little girl. She completes the idea of the card, without her, it would lifeless.

For cards like these it is advisable to hand-deliver them, as they are thick from the foam tape and in the case of the one with antique scrap, rather fragile.

Stay tuned for: a TUTORIAL on making Victorian Style pop-up dimensional cards!