Thursday, April 25, 2013

Birds In Painted Frame And A Plea To Noreply Bloggers!


Today I want to share a fun project I did, but first I have a plea to noreply bloggers. You may be one and not even realize it.

I've been getting a lot of wonderful comments from noreply bloggers recently. I used to try to chase them down to reply, but as my readership has grown I just don't have the time to do this anymore. That makes me sad as I do want to personally respond to your comments.

Are you a noreply blogger?  If you recently switched to a Google+ identity rather than blogger, you probably are. If your comments have dropped off suddenly, you probably are.

You would think this woud be an easy fix.  I spent half an hour trying to find out how to change the setting.  It is crazy how difficult Google has made it.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, I found this excellent tutorial on how to check to see if you are a noreply blogger, and if so, how to fix it. Robin at Fluster Buster has graciously allowed me to link to her tutorial here.

Please do me a favor and check it out, because I really love my readers, and appreciate each and every comment.  I do want to respond to you!

Okay, on to my project. I teased you with this picture a couple weeks ago, planning to post the finished product right away, but when I did, I didn't like it, so I started over.


I found this lovely frame at a thrift store recently.  I love the detail and the oval shape.  The glass, however, was not glass, but plexiglass, and was badly scratched.  Replacing a piece of oval glass is expensive!


So I decided to do something different.  First I primed my frame.


Next I used gold metallic paint to cover the area between the raised detail.


After that dried I used sapphire blue metallic paint over the gold, leaving a narrow rim of gold on each side.


As you can see, it's not perfect.  It didn't need to be as I was going to add another layer.


After that dried I brushed on a couple layers of gesso, wiping back most of it each time.  This is what I ended up with.


 I just love the way the frame turned out.  


I think the frame by itself would be lovely on the wall, but I decided to cover the plexiglass. It can always be removed to enjoy just the frame anyway.   

I printed off my script background first using this image from The Grapics Fairy. I lightened the image up by lowering the color density setting on my printer first.

I ran it back through the printer with this image, also from The Graphics Fairy. I did not lighten this one.

Sorry, I didn't get pictures of the process, but it was pretty simple.  I used a little of the sapphire blue metallic acrylic paint mixed with water to wash the image lightly.  While it was still wet, I spritzed a little walnut ink on, blending it a little and letting it be a little heavier in a couple of areas.

I let that dry overnight, then used mod podge to glue it to the front of the plexiglass.  You could also glue it to the back, but mine was scratched, plus I wanted to add some dimension to the front.  I just glued the whole sheet to the front, being careful that it wasn't crooked on the glass.  When it was dry, I trimmed the excess paper off.

Then came the dimensional part of this project.  I added a chain, using a necklace bail, and a connector to create the look of the cage hanging from the top of the frame.  I used a small dab of E6000 under each connector.





I really love how this turned out.  This one is available in my Etsy shop.  You can bet I'll be turning some more frames into dimensional art too ;)

Until next time keep craftin' n smilin'!



I've linked to these awesome parties:

17 comments:

  1. Deborah- That turned out really, really great. LOVE the color and it image inside the frame! Thank you for addressing the NoReply blogger. I used to track everyone downa and tell them. Like you, I no longer have time to do it every time. Some people CHOOSE to be NoReply and that's okay but I wish I knew that up front sometimes. Hope you have a great day- xo Diana

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  2. What a great job you did turning that frame into a piece of art!

    Judy

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  3. Oh my goodnes....
    This is so beautiful, it took my breath away!!!!
    I'm glad that you shared the process of it, because with the first photo, I went " How did she achieve this look?"( I knew right away it was with gesso though!)
    And the result....aw...I just love love love your creation:)

    Have a great rest of the week,Deborah!!

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  4. That's turned out beautiful Deborah! I love it!!

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  5. Deborah,

    You did a fantastic job with that frame - you have made it truly beautiful!

    Well done!!

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  6. It's beautiful! I'm so glad I've found smart people like you. :)

    -andi

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  7. Your work is so beautiful. Love every single of your posts. Your tutorials are also easy to follow and very informative.

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  8. I love it and thanks for sharing how you did this. Guess I better pick up some gesso. I seem to have a thing for frames and I pick them up whenever I find a good deal. I'm going to try this!

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  9. Wow, it's gorgeous, Deborah! I have a big ol' stack of frames and I've gotten tired of making bulletin boards. :)

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  10. You are a gifted woman. I just say WOW. I will be back for more.

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  11. Wow, gorgeous! You did such a good job ;)
    Jamie @ somuchbetterwithage.com

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  12. hello Deborah, Thank you for your visit and invite. I just shared my trash to treasure mirror at What We Accomplish Wednesday. :)

    I am crazy about oval frames, and yours is just lovely! Love that colour and the bird image!

    Wishing you a happy and creative weekend.
    Angela

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  13. Beautiful job on this frame! Love the sweet birdie and french background too. Just fabulous! Catherine

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  14. Your frame turned out amazing and the graphics you framed are so pretty.
    rita

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  15. Deborah what a beautiful frame you did. Turned out so nice. Keep up the good work. Then you turn around and sell it? I would have a hard time doing that. Andi

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  16. Wonderful project for using an old frame.

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  17. That is SO GORGEOUS!! Thanks for linking up at Romance on a dime!

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