Then and Now...

Hello Crafters...
It's shinning and raining in Bangalore and absolutely the right feel to get your creative juices flowing!!!
Well, today's post is yet again a picture heavy post...which of mine is NOT!!!! Sit back and relax...
How does it feel to create your own home decor projects and that too space saving cos you are not buying something new but altering things lying around at home! Well for this there a re quiet a few of them!!!
I keep telling my husband," I haved saved you a fortune by not buying deco items" and in reality he has no clue how much I spend on craft supplies, LOL!!!
There again, the real satisfaction is playing with trash, and here it is the burlap panel! I made my own burlap panel for this project using an empty cereal carton box and an old gunny sack from the attic!!!

This otherwise untouched, rejected gunny sack got loads of attention and pampering from me....treated it to a good scrub and wash and later rinsed it in fabric softener...oh my! smells and feels great!
Well, you wondering, if it's worth all the trouble??? have a look...

I stuffed the carton with old newspaper for making it sturdy and then wrapped the burlap piece and adhered it with strong glue and also screwed in some jump rings on the top to make it hang! PRICELESS...literally!!!
Burlap panels are a rage now...I love the grungy texture and immediately can think of only vintage but amazingly it fits into a contemporary set up to..
This is what I did to it...

The panel was gessoed randomly and I played around with stencils from Prima(clocks), leaf stencil (local craft store) and home made texture paste in peach and green! The tissue wrap with mucic notes and butterflies too is home made and have scrunched it up in various places.

The top cluster of hand made blooms in shades of peach, all using the TH tattered florals and some die cut foliage too.

The bohemian gypsy in me had a feast!!! Loved making these beaded charms and hung them in different levels from the sides. You can actually play around with them by positioning it wherever you want!!! Hope you can see the vintage clock hanging from the rose!

 The floral cluster and the hand made floral spray at the corner and spilling to the edges of the panel. The lace flower is hand made too and has a generous inking and misting of spiced marmalade and wild honey!

 The thought behind this panel was to create a "then" and "now" of me...The "then" is me at 4yrs plus and the "now" is 42+!!! Just like the seasoned, old burlap...LOL!!!

The black lace at the bottom is gessoed with my finger just to give it a softer look. The TH clock and the hands pointing are chipboard pieces, heat embossed in white. The heart behind the little "me" too is a chipboard piece with scrunched up tissue wrap. The pocket watch is a die cut with TH visual artistry stamp( my fav embellishment for vintage projects). I have entwined a piece of black bakers twine to the jute rope(for hanging) to balance the black lace at the bottom.

Well, with that we come to the end of the "BEFORE" and "AFTER" of the old burlap and the "THEN" and "NOW" of me!!!

For this project, my husband got a good deal...not only on the deco piece but also,he got a gorgeous model to pose for FREE!!!!

What say???? Do let me know what you think about this project...am waiting, I had a blast making this for "me" with a lot of my favourites...re cycling, texture, colors, hand made blooms, charms, laces and mostly my current passion for mixed media and vintage style!!

Next time you see a gunny sack/bag, DON'T ignore it...there's a whole big canvas, waiting to be altered !!!!

Thank you all for your patience!!!

Am linking this to...

A Vintage Journey

City Crafter Challenge

Country View Challenge

Lulupu

Simon Monday Challenge

Until then,

Happy Crafting and re cycling.

Hugs.