Friday, June 14, 2013

Instant Vintage Look

I love Industrial Chic design, perhaps because I live in a 19th century house filled with vintage beauties.
But sometimes, we need an extra vintage touch and all the objects around us are contemporary. Here's how you can turn a plain wood box into a mystery secret treasure box:





The box you start with can be made from any kind of wood, I used cheap balsa boxes from the craft store.
One thing though - the wood has to be raw (not finished with lacquer)



You also need some acrylic colors, but if you don't have acrylic colors, you can use watercolor or gouache, tempera, whatever, but in the end you'll have to varnish it with a matte lacquer. Good acrylic colors are permanent and they don't smudge in contact with moisture while the other types do.

So, let's get started:
1. first, mix black and brown acrylic colors in a jar. Set aside a little part of the mixture into the lid of the jar or  somewhere. Add water to the jar so that it becomes liquid and semi transparent.


 2. Paint the box, no rules, just paint it inside and out. Any brush will do. Don't worry if the color seems too dark, it will lighten up when dry, and plus, we're going to  partially sand it.














3. Let the box dry, then sand it all over, insisting on the edges.

4. Make a stencil of your choice out of a plastic or cardboard sheet. I've cut some random letters and numbers. It has to be quite rigid not to wrinkle when you brush on top of it, yet thin enough to cut it easily and to be able to work with the brush on it. Mine looks like that, dirty with black and white, as I already used it a couple of times before.





5. Moist the brush into the concentrated color left in the lid of the jar and then dry it a bit, we need an intense yet pretty dry color.
Hold the stencil in place with one hand and brush it with the paintbrush, lightly in the middle, more in the corners to be sure the corners will be visible, as they define the shape.

 


Ta-da, that's all!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Monday Moodboard

In the honor of my new to do list, which is pretty and organized as I'll be too (from now on), here are some beautiful geometric finds from European Street Team members on Etsy:



From left to right, up to bottom:

Pastel Chevron Necklace by ThePurpleBalloon
Circuit board geekery earrings by ReComputing
Neon Pink Necklace by MistyAurora

Modern Red Pendant by JagnaB
Geometric tribal bib necklace by HunkiiDorii
Cat Pyramid Print by Katlix

Coral Geometric Earrings by thefrenchboheme
Christmas flower acrylic Bracelet by HelenaRibeiro
Geometric Kinetic Necklace by StarDelights


Monday Moodboard    done!



Take a look at the other moodboards this week: Monday Moodboards

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Funny find at the fair!

So I had this drawing hanging on my hallway since I don't know when. It is a vintage drawing from 1929.



What do I find today at the vintage fair? I could not believe it! Not the same boys, but so similar!


I guess these outfits were quite fashionable back then :) This is one of the things I love at the antique markets and fairs, there is always a story behind the objects, I often find in different occasions photo of a young boy, then the next time a picture of him as a child, and the other time, the same guy on his wedding or with a big family :)

Monday, June 18, 2012

Romanian Etsians finally meet!

It was about time we met! The three graces of Etsy from Bucharest, Romanian capital :)
So here we are, Raluca, Anda and me, having fun at the "Street Delivery" event - an yearly cultural festival that takes a few streets and close them down for car traffic, so people can reclaim them and just walk by foot, doing street art, manifesting for a thing or another, dance and enjoy themselves.

(each year, the building in the background is painted differently)




Anda bought some lovely earrings made by by Atelier13 to help the girls at Fire Fairies be the first women team that participates at Mongolia charity rally. I, being cheaper, only bought a little spicy brownie that was so yummy and also contributed to support the gas for 6 km of their journey.


I loved the atmosphere... it was like finally, busy people with serious jobs, have found a playground, where they can be as eccentric and as creative as they wish.

A refreshing mix of tatooed guys, hats from the 60's, handmade items and protest placards, all surrounded by a live interesting melange of music styles.


It was fun. And it was so nice to meet the persons behind the beautiful handmade shops that I've known for so long! Funny, we live a few streets distance away yet we met on an international site!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Secret fabric swap!

So, together with a few of my European Street Team mates, we decided to swap between us some fabric scraps that we no longer need. Today I received a lovely package from Gia , all wrapped up in pretty Greek stamps.


I quickly rushed and opened it... Soooo cute! Loved the pretty fabric and I can't wait to use it :)


But what really impressed me was the care and love with which it was wrapped... oh-oh, the secret package I've sent to Diana is not pretty wrapped, why didn't I though of that? Well, I hope the content will make it up for it...

Friday, June 8, 2012

New Handmade Magazine on the Block!

Ceramic Ring by Sandra Maria Rosa


I want to share the first issue of a new handmade online magazine, created by my friend, the lovely Sandra Maria Rosa, you can find out more about her on her lovely blog or visit her shop.



Thursday, March 1, 2012

DIY polymer clay pendant

Each year, on 1st of March, Romanians have a tradition - they offer to each other little "martisoare" which are little decorative objects that symbolize the beginning of the spring. They resemble brooches and they absolutely necessary have to have a white and red ribbon with tassels attached. After you receive your "martisoare" you wait until you see the first bloomed tree and you tie it up to a branch of the tree. Quite a lovely tradition. This year, hoping to save a little money I made my own, from polymer clay which I gave a golden patina. I'd say they turned out great! They were appreciated little gifts. You can use this method to make much more professionally looking jewelry of all sorts:



This is just a little thing made for fun, but if you wanna go pro with polymer clay, I recommend you invest a bit and get yourself a real tutorial here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/101144233/polymer-clay-pdf-tutorial-oriental. Check out the pretty polymer clay canes too while you are there: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sigalsart