French Country Sunflower Wall Hangings

Last year when I went to Houston I found a lot of great things for my kitchen at Hobby Lobby that were 60-80% off that kinda went with a French Country theme and I had posted all the decor I had put up in the It's Been Awhile...Let's Catch Up post.

Some of the things I bought were these little wall hangings, not sure what they are called, and I loved the blue on them but I didn't like the background and knew I wanted to change it with some Graphic 45 French Country paper. If you read my post a few days ago you know the reason it has taken me so long to alter these *okie stops and says a little prayer that she doesn't go to hell or get banned from Graphic 45 products for her sin*. I am sure the background on these would be wonderful for someone but just not me...it's not my style.

Once I finished the French Country Shadow box project and was printing paper well I knew that I wanted Sunflowers on these some how. I had to fussy cut a lot of sunflowers in order to get what I wanted but it really wasn't so bad since it was something I could do while watching TV in the craftroom. I was able to use my McGill Paper Blossom Roller/Piercer Tool Kit and Mcgill Paper Blossom Ball Tool Kit to help shape the flowers once I got them all cut out *okie wonders why McGill doesn't just sell both sets together in one convenient set but since okie isn't a marketing person she just shrugs and keeps writing her post*. In order to get the look I wanted I had to leave all the petals on the first layer, cut off what looked like the top petals on the middle layer and then cut off all but what where the top petals for the top layer. It might make more sense if you click on the picture and see it larger.

This was another flower on some of the paper and I liked how it was a side view of a sunflower and would add a little more interest on the wall hanging. I cut layers as explained for the flower above. I also cut some flowers and left them with only a single layer to fill in between the layered sunflowers. 

For the background of the wall hangings I chose to use the red gingham paper as it looked the best with the sunflowers. It was patterned enough to set off the flowers but not so patterned that the sunflowers got lost on them. I also used the same wire ribbon as I did in the bottom of the shadow box. I had to stretch it out a little to make it a little wider so it fit in the area I was doing. 

Now it probably wouldn't haven't taken me so long to finish the wall hangings but since I had 3 to do there was a lot of fussy cuttin' goin' on up in here! One of the wall hangings is next to the shadow and they complement each other well. 

The other two hangings are on my large arrangement wall and look so much better with the sunflowers in them rather than the mosaic patterned paper that was there originally. If you look at the bottom left hand area of the shelf you can see the match box project that I did in that class I talked about a few posts ago. I am still deciding if I want to leave the picture in the big white frame or do something different with some French Country paper and who knows how long it will take me to change it since I seem to be a slow worker these days.

French Country Shadow Box

Yesterday I told ya about printing my own paper and today I am going to show you the first project I made...with the subdued paper mind you!

This is the mess I had while trying to figure out what all elements I wanted in the shadow box, the rooster was a must and everything was added around him. If you look closely you will see how some of the paper is gloss and in order to brighten up the paper I added some Liquitex Gloss Medium Varnish. I had found some at Zipp Outlet for I think $1.97, I also had found some Liquitex Matte Gel but haven't used any of it yet because I'm not quite sure how to use it but I knew I should have it just in case *okie is ashamed to think of all the things she has in her craft room for a just in case situation*. I had scanned some of the stickers that was available to me along with the paper as I knew I would want to use some. 

Another thing I knew I wanted to use was some wire ribbon, much like chicken wire, that I had picked up at Hobby Lobby when I was in Houston back at the New Year. I had originally gotten it with a different project in mind, that will post tomorrow, but I thought it would go nicely in the shadow box as well, after all doesn't every rooster need some kinda chicken wire to keep it safe from other critters? It cut easily with some little jewelry wire pliers I keep in the craftroom and just tucked the ends back behind the matted paper. 

After getting all my French Country elements together I decided I wanted to add a clock to the mix and I used the Tim Holtz Weathered Clock Die that I had also found at Zipp, I paid a whopping $4 for it. I cut it out of some gold mica cardstock and then used some of the printed paper to back it. People who have seen the shadow box in person have asked me if the clock was real and worked and I had to let them know it was only paper.

I did a lot of dimensional work on the shadow box. The rooster is actually 5 layers and this view shows how he is layered. I curled paper, pop dotted things, made a little banner, layered the sunflower and probably a few other things that I have forgotten. 

I did add some Ranger Perfect Pearls on the Roosters feathers here and there, which might be able to be seen better in the picture above. I used the colors of Sunflower Sparkle, Blue Patina and Forever Green. They don't show well in the pictures but in person they really look good. 

I was really pleased with how the shadow box turned out and it goes in my kitchen quite nicely! Be sure to come back tomorrow and see the other project I made using the printed French Country paper!

I Learned How To Print My Own Paper

Okay so it's not something I really want to do because I don't believe it is cost effective but when I couldn't find what I was looking for I had to take some desperate measures!

I have been searching high and low for some Graphic 45 French Country so I could make some items for my kitchen to go with the Match Box Project that I made in a class that my friend Linda and I went to back in 2013. The only paper I could find was $60 for the pack and I am not about to pay that much for some dang paper! I did have a deal worked out with someone that I would send them a Foodsaver Meal Saver Vacuum Sealer and they would send me some of the French Country they had but that deal fell through as I never received the paper...and yes I did send the vacuum sealer.

One night at Stamp Club I was talking about looking high and lo for the French Country paper and the lady who runs stamp club said she had some left and would let me buy it. I told her I would just borrow it if she didn't mind and then see if I could scan and print my own. She loves the collection as much as I do and I didn't want to take what was left of hers. I also had a friend scan some of the 8x8 sheets she had and mail those to me. 

Back in August I had made a trip to Goodwill and hit one of those bargains of the century when I found a brand new Canon Pixma Pro 100, which I discussed in my True Confessions post, and I just knew I would be able to print awesome paper with this thing. I had never used the printer before but my daughter had used it a few times printing some pictures she had scanned that she gathered from her pawpaw and granny. She told me it printed great, I wasn't here at the time she printed them, and that is why I was so hopeful about being able to print the paper I wanted. 

My hope and excitement soon waned into disappointment and frustration as I couldn't get it to print the vibrant colors. While it was mediocre and quite subdued I thought I would just have to make it work. When discussing it on Facebook someone mentioned something about matte photo paper and the color management settings in the computer. I ordered some of the matte photo paper from Amazon, being a prime member does have it's benefits since I actually received it the next day. I played around with my settings in the color management and thought I would try it again. By this time I had already finished one project with the mediocre paper, which I will share later, but there was still another project I wanted to do.

Anxiously I loaded the matte photo paper into the printer and hit the print button for the picture that was on my computer screen. I actually went into the kitchen and piddled around because I didn't want to look at it and be disillusioned while the page finished printing.When I came back into the craftroom I think a squeal of delight escaped my lips as I was elated with what was sitting there! Here you can see for yourself how well it printed once I made the adjustments in the color management, which I have no idea what all I adjusted at the time, and used the matte photo paper. You really can't tell the difference between what I printed and the original paper other than the paper feels a bit different.

I quickly printed a number of papers to use and even thought about redoing the first project I had completed with the crappy paper yet I didn't want all the ink I had used to go to waste so I decided against it.  I also figured out how to print multiple images on one sheet, the sunflower in the picture is actually from a full 12x12 sheet and I just cropped it to what I wanted to use. 

Now let me say that if Graphic 45 finds out about this I will likely be banished from ever using their products again but I tell ya what....we crafters are a desperate kinda breed when it comes to wanting what we want and I justify my actions by thinking it is what they get for discontinuing such a wonderful collection! 

The two projects I made with the paper will post in the next few days so be sure to come back and see what I made!

My Weekend Project - Little Red Table

After I moved two month ago I decided I wanted some sort of theme for my kitchen and I thought something along the lines of French Country, actually the idea came from a the GRAPHIC 45 FRENCH COUNTRY MATCHBOX PROJECT that I did two years ago. The previous renters left a really hand island because they didn't have room for it and it was painted red and with red being my favorite color I knew that was going to be the base color for my kitchen. I have been slowly trying to figure out what else I could do with the kitchen and over the weekend completed a little wall area that I am quite pleased with.

Right after I moved I was in Home Depot and they were having Diva Day and one of the projects was a chalkboard and I thought "why the heck not" and knew exactly where I would put it in my new kitchen. Most people stained their chalkboards but I decided to paint mine. I used Behr paint and chose the color Allure. My friend Wendi was there and she was staining her chalkboard with some ebony stain. Just out of curiosity I rubbed some of her stain over the paint and loved the effect. Oh and you can see the island over on the left of the picture. I kept wondering what I could put under the chalkboard to make that little area look complete and then one afternoon after work I stopped in Goodwill and saw this little white table and knew that was perfect and the price was only $4.99! I did know it would have to be painted to match the chalkboard. Oh the dog in the picture didn't come from Goodwill, he was suppose to be my daughter's dog but I quickly became his primary caregiver and now she can't have him, but that's another story.

On Saturday I decided to get busy on the little table and I couldn't find my good paint brush and ended up using a crappy paint brush for the first coat of paint on the table. I knew I was going to have to do more than one coat and didn't think it would really matter too much for the first coat. I ended up taking pictures of the different stages because my friend Carmen wanted to see how it was coming along. After I got done with the first coat I really did wonder if it was going to turn out how I wanted and thought back about how different my chalkboard looked from the first coat to the finished project and so I kept my hopes up.

After the second coat of paint I knew it would be okay and I also knew it was going to look a lot differently after I got the stain on. It was at this point Carmen asked me about the little engraved swirls and I told her that for the theme of French Country I might paint them with gold paint. I knew I had some in the craft closet somewhere. 

I spent Sunday doing two coats of ebony stain on the table and painting the engraved areas with the gold paint. I really think it turned out nicely and I absolutely love, love, love the color!

Here is a picture of the table completed and in place under the chalkboard. It looks quite excellent in that spot and they compliment each other nicely.

If you notice the chalk art on the board please don't judge it harshly. It was my first attempt at chalkart and I used some cheap Prang chalk. I've never even attempted chalk art until I did that and I told Carmen "ya know it was really quite relaxing". I do have some Chalk pens ordered so maybe I can do some more art that will look a little nicer. I'll keep ya'll posted on that.