Friday 20 March 2015

Dreams come True !

Hello Crafters,
Welcome to my page today and I have some good news for you.
By now, you all know my love for Vintage and it was a dream come true moment when Chris asked me to guest design this month at A Vintage Journey for their blogoversary.
The challenge this month is "Anything Tim" and as for me, all my projects have a (over)dose of Distress and  Vintage .A blog that inspires me the most and the products that I can't do without, I just had to take part in the celebration!
Do drop in there to know a little bit more about me and also to take part in the challenge and the celebrations. The goodies to be won are endless and irresistible!
It was my other dream to have a drift wood décor piece and today I present to you my “faux drift wood”  deco item which can light up any table. After all we are talking about celebrations at AVJ, right…

To make the drift wood, I used a horizontal piece of box, made a few circular openings on the top ( you will see why in a while) and inserted the empty tape rings.

 I stuck layers of tissue paper and cheese cloth and then spread homemade texture paste with a spatula all around the box. Once dry, I took my first collection of Distress stains, picket fence, walnut stain, brushed pewter and weathered wood and applied them and voila, my lovely faux drift wood piece was ready. Doesn't it look like it one of those pieces “washed off “the shore?
For the front panel: I have printed this lovely table quote from the net on kitchen tissue and have adhered it on canvas cloth with gel medium. I aged the canvas with DI antique linen and Vintage photo andflicked some black soot distress stain too.

The edges have been given a shabby look by machine stitching. I Have fastened the banner on the panel with TH hardware findings, which have been painted with black soot and brushed pewter D Stains and then “rusted up” using paper Artsy rusting powder.

The side panels: I made a faux frame using garden twigs and painted it with picket fence and brushed pewter D stains.

 I then printed the table manners quote and then framed it behind the frame with an acetate sheet too from packaging. Simple embellishments here, with a resin star fish cracked up with picket fence distress crackle and then walnut stain to highlight the cracks.
The back panel: A miniature banner that says it all. I dipped it in UTEE to get a glassy finish and have hung with natural twine.

 I have a thick layer of coconut coir for some dimension and texture here. I wanted the back to be simple to reveal the “faux texture” here. Looks good right?
Floral embellishments in the front: I love making them! All these lovelies are made using mostly TH tattered florals die. It’s amazing that you can make  a wide range of flowers with this single die. One of my favorites and I can’t do without it! The foliage too is mainly TH and the lovely ferns are using Tattered lace die.

The subtle colors of the flowers are all using distress inks and I wanted a soothing color palette on the drift wood, nothing too bright. I also did a “Tammy Tutterow” bow …colored the seam binding with DI and made the bow using her instructions to make a handmade bow maker!
The butterfly was my first experiment with D stains. When I got the package, I just opened the package and tried out the marbling technique with the few colors that I have and ran a water color paper over. I took all the stains in a lovely rainbow pattern and I use the monarch butterfly die to get this one. One dip in UTEE and this delicate thing turned out to be a toughie!
The little bee is a stamp and has been colored using D inks and sipped in UTEE too. A closer look and you can see the rusted hardware and a customized Ideology token! Do you see it hanging there, lol…yes I made that with a token die and D stains and wrote “avj” just so that it reminds me of this wonderful day!
The entire piece weighs like real drift wood and some wooden feet colored with picket fence D stain helps it to balance well!
Phew! Ready for a little more…
The Top panel: is where the surprise is…remember the circular cut outs? What do you think it is for???
Have a look…this is ultimately how I envisioned this drift wood to be on the table…
After all, “The fondest Memories are made gathered around the table” right… and with celebrations on here at AVJ, don’t you think the table needs to be brightened up…here it is…
With the candles and the cutlery…
A closer look at the center and you can see a battery operated LED candle glowing beneath the lovely lotus!
As the sun sets, it gets warmer…
The back side with the add on’s..”BON APPETIT”!
Finally, the end is here. Thank you so much for putting up with my loooong post…I had to share every bit with you, after all it took me 4 days to finish this!
Thank you Chris, Brenda and the entire AVJ team for this opportunity and hope this satisfies your creative needs and makes you play along the “anything Tim” challenge.

I would like to enter my drift wood decor in the following challenges...
Inspiration Journal - Spring
That's Crafty Challenge - wings"n" things
Unruly paper Arts- I am lucky ( can't get luckier being a guest at AVJ)
The Shabby tea Room - Spring Blooms
City Crafter Challenge Blog - inspired by the colors, beach, drift wood, dinner ware, star fish, lovely blooms!
(PIN) spirational Challenge- Spring
Lawnscaping Challenge - Distress (there is a lot of it!)
MIXED MEDIA WORLD - Anything Goes
Re cycle, Re purpose, Re invent- Anything goes
Until my next creative journey,
Happy Crafting and re cycling.

Cheers.

57 comments:

  1. Wow! This is amazing! Thank you for walking us through the steps you took.

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  2. .I was wondering how you are keeping in the diniing table till I read and saw the image below.
    Brilliant loved the way you explained every detail
    anandhirajan

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    1. Thanks Anandhi for your patience to go thru the whole thing and liking it too! Hugs.

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  3. Wonderful as always Rupa !! loved the 'eat your vegetables ' :)

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    1. Thanks Suman, I love the quotes too! Nice table conversation...loll!

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  4. You are a master of transforming your boxes!! This is truly magnificent! Thanks so much for playing along at CCCB!!

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    1. Thanks Ros, I really appreciate that from you.

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  5. Such an elaborate project Rupa.........splendid!

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    1. Thanks dearie...it really kept my spirits high for four days, lol!

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  6. Inventive and practical Rupa, wonderful piece of upcycling, looks amazing! :-) xxx

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  7. Congrats on your Guest spot Rupa, well deserved! What a gorgeous projects and such an amazing idea! I would love to have something like this for the cottage, wow!! Love the driftwood and all the wonderful foliage, flowers and creatures! An amazing transformation, well done! hugs :)

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    1. Thanks Pamellia. oh! I would love to make one for you..hope we get to meet someday. Have a great weekend and big hugs.

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  8. Stunning project, I love all the different elements you put on it! The flowers are so beautiful. I really love everything about it! Thanks so much for playing the Lawnscaping Challenge!
    -Samantha

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    1. Thanks Samantha...really happy to know you liked it all!

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  9. Wonderful creation, thanks for sharing with us at CCCB!

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  10. Hi Rupa, Congrats on the Guest spot with AVJ, and what a wonderful piece. It's a great idea and I love all the fabulous details you've included.
    By the way, I was in India 12th Feb - absolutely fabulous.
    Hugs, Avril xx

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    1. Oh! I wish I knew about your India trip, would have tried to meet you! Hope you had a great time. Glad you liked this table decor. Thanks and have a nice weekend.

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  11. Huge congratulations to you Rupa and so well deserved. It was lovely to read more about you over at AVJ. Your table decoration is so beautiful, I love how you decorated it all the way round and your faux driftwood looks amazing.
    Have a great weekend, Julie xx

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    1. Thanks Julie, it is is all my pleasure to be featured among such an ocean of talent. Hugs and have a great weekend.

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  12. Congratulations on your guest spot. This is a stunning project, wonderful textures. I did think it was wood before I read your super post.
    Yvonne

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    1. Aaa thanks Yvonne...just what I wanted to hear! Thanks and have a great weekend.

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  13. Rupa, your table decoration that you created to share with us at AVJ is simply stunning, I love all the detail you added to it, the flowers are so beautiful! It was lovely to learn a bit more about you too - thank you again! Anne xx

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    1. Thanks Anne...I had a great time making this elaborate project for AVJ. A project to remeber and a moment to cherish. Hugs and have a great weekend.

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  14. Just Wow. I am running out of words Rupa. This wood look is my fav. It looks so elegant. Texture is tempting me to come to your studio right away. Great idea of table decor!!!

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    1. Thanks Mridula...so when are you stopping by? Hugs.

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  15. Hi Rupa, I saw this yesterday on the AVJ blog and wow, what an amazing project this is! Every single little detail is so beautifully crafted, the main piece really does look like driftwood, so clever and I adore the way you have decorated it. A brilliant idea for party cutlery display, just stunning!!!

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    1. Thank you so much Astrid for taking the time to read through the entire project and am really happy you liked it. Thanks again. Hugs.

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  16. What an amazing project!!! Thank you for joining us this week at CCCB!
    Samra DT

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  17. Very Beautiful! Thanks so much for playing with us at Lawnscaping! /Karin

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  18. Thanks for stopping by on my blog and leaving a lovely comment. I love the texture on your faux driftwood and including the empty spools as cutlery "wells" was inspired - perfect!

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  19. Such an awesome Distressed project! Thanks so much for playing with us at Lawnscaping!

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  20. Such a super project. Thanks for joining unruly PaperArts this month

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  21. i came over from doodle artifacts blog. what you have made is creative, inventive, fantastic! i love your work! xo

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    1. Thank you so much Michele...that's so sweet of you.

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  22. What a beautiful box. Lovely art work. Great details. Thank you for joining us at Recycle, Re-Purpose and Re-Invent this week. Hope to see you back here again soon. Judy DT

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  23. What a fabulous creation you shared with us, Rupa - I'm sorry I'm so late dropping by to say thank you. So many wonderful springtime details and great textures and ideas. Lots of inspiration!
    Alison xx

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    1. It's always a pleasure to hear from you, Alison. Thank you.

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  24. This is absolutely wonderful. I too love vintage. Your creativity shines here!

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  25. Rupa... this is beautiful.. Can't believe that the base is cardboard... really looks like driftwood... Gorgeous. Thanks for creating with us at UNRULY PAPER ARTS

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    1. Thanks Toni...love to hear this form you! Hugs.

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  26. Rupa, this is truly an amazing piece and I loved reading every step. Very inventive and what a great way to use the empty tape rings. I have some I have been saving for a while but never though to do anything like this with them. Thank you for sharing this with us on Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent and hope you will come join us again next month.
    :) Chris / CS Designs

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    1. oh Chris, what a lovely thing to say...am so so happy you liked it. Thank you so much. Hugs.

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  27. My goodness, this is absolutely fabulous!! I love dirftwood and I am really impressed how you managed to make this look so real! I also love tha fact that it's both for decoration and for practical use with the utensils. Wonderful idea! The main text is so nice - some of the fondest memories are indeed made gathered around the table ♥ Thank you so much for sharing how you made this beauty. I sure would like to try making one for my own dining table :-)

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    1. Thank you so much Bibi,really appreciate you being here, reading the entire process and leaving such a lovely comment! I see you are my newest follower too, thank you so much for that too. So happy you liked this. Hugs.

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    2. You're welcome, Rupa :) I looked at a few of your posts and knew I had to follow your blog - absolutely love your artwork! Hugs back :)

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  28. Wow!! This is awesome!! Thanks so much for participating in our {PIN}SPIRATIONAL challenge!! Hope to see you again for our next challenge!!
    ~DEANNE~
    A Little Bit O' Paper

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