Everyone Loves Unicorns -Part 2 Shabby Chic with Spellbinders

Everyone Loves a Unicorn - Part 2 (Shabby Chic) 

Who doesn't love a unicorn? Spellbinder's Die D-Lites Unicorn Fantasy die  is especially D-Lite-ful.  

This darling Die- D-Lite is part of Spellbinder's new arrivals and is certainly going to add some fun crafty magic to your cards and projects. I've certainly been having fun this week with my unicorn set.

Spellbinders Die D-Lites collections are perfect for projects like embellishments for planners, journals, scrapbook pages, cards, tags, ATC's and whatever your mind imagines.  The unicorn is a wonderful addition to the collection.

And if you collect unicorns - this is a "must have".

Yesterday I posted my first project with the Unicorn Fantasy die .  It was a soft pastel application.     You can see the complete post Part 1 here and the card is pictured below.

Today's look is shabby-chic.  Your unicorn can be anything you imagine.  That's the beauty of the unicorn.

Below is an image of the pieces that come in the Spellbinder's Die D-Lites Unicorn Fantasy die set. 

It comes with a sweet unicorn, cloud dies and a rainbow.    

 Spellbinders has another new release that  I used on this card as a background doily.    It's Nestabilities Ornamental Doily Etched Die . 

The clouds have been layered for added dimension.  I inked the edges of the dies with Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink -Walnut Stain for accent then layered with an adhesive foam dot.  I like the drama it adds to the card.  ( The only kind of drama acceptable in life is paper drama.)

 My gorgeous paper is from Maja Design's Vintage Spring Basics Collection.

I used the wonderful compact and portable Spellbinders Prizm Die Cutting and Embossing Machine  to cut my Unicorn shapes.  These dies will fit in most die cutting machines, however.  

One last closeup of the Spellbinder's Die D-Lites Unicorn Fantasy die.

Thanks for stopping here to look.
You can see Part 1 of my Unicorns post  right here.

You can find the Spellbinders Die -D-Lites Unicorn Fantasy here.  

You can shop for all the Spellbinders new arrivals right here.

You can also learn more about the SpellBlogger program right here. 

Products Used: 
Spellbinders Die D-Lites - Unicorn Fantasy S3-259
Spellbinders Tool 'N One
Spellbinders Nestabilities Ornamental Doily Etched Die - S5-284
Spellbinders Die D-Lites
Spellbinders Prizm Die Cutting and Embossing Machine
Spellbinder's New Arrivals
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink -Walnut Stain

Ranger Tim Holtz - Mini Blending Tool (Round)

Maja Design Paper Collection - Vintage Spring Basics ( 4th of March and 7th of May)

Home Decor - Shabby Chic Love Canvas

Shabby Chic Mixed Media Canvas

This home decor canvas was a collaboration for two amazing companies - Maja Design and Petaloo.  

I originally crafted it to be featured at the Petaloo table at Winter 2017 Creativation ( formerly known as CHA or Craft Hobby Association).  The sweet folks at Petaloo needed pieces to go on tables - not walls - thus I created to be either a tabletop piece or to hang on the wall.  I did decorate and finish the backside of the canvas so that if used as a tabletop home decor piece, then it was beautiful on both sides and could be picked up and held.

I thought this would be perfect on the table for a bridal shower or at as a table top piece for a wedding - because it is pretty from all sides.  

The original canvas is 5"x7" and 2 inches deep.  Once gussied with some gorgeous Petaloo flowers, my own lace trims from my stash and some floral berries, it is a bit bigger. 

Let me tell you a little about the flowers I added to decorate the piece.  I wanted to grab flowers that followed the gorgeous colors of the paper but wanted to pull more green from the paper.

To do this,  I used the following:

 Petaloo Darjeeling Hydrangeas  

 Petaloo Darjeeling Mini Rosettes  in Green  

In the close up above and below, you will also find the following flowers and a butterfly too:

Petaloo Darjeeling Butterflies - Teastained Cream 

Petaloo Darjeeling Mini Rosettes Green 

Petaloo Penny Lane - Forget Me Nots - Antique Red 

Petaloo PennyLane Mixed Blossoms - Antique Red 

Petaloo Penny Lane - Forget Me Nots - White

I used paper from two different Maja Design Collections : Enjoying Outdoors and Summertime.  Many of the collections can be mixed and matched which is what I chose to do. 

Here are some additional additional photos of different angles.  Because this piece has dimension and is made to be looked from all angles, more photos seem necessary for the full effect. 

You can find this piece listed in my ETSY shop right here - along with other pieces I have made that can be found here.  Grab it before it's gone.  

And as always - thanks so much for stopping here .  I appreciate your time,  I know you have many things to do with your time so the very thought that you stopped here is very much appreciated.  

Petaloo Products:
Petaloo Darjeeling Butterflies - Teastained Cream 1488105
Petaloo Darjeeling Mini Rosettes Green - 1491-107
Petaloo Penny Lane - Forget Me Nots - Antique Red 1837-050
Petaloo PennyLane Mixed Blossoms - Antique Red 1836-050
Petaloo Penny Lane - Forget Me Nots - White 1837-000
Petaloo Darjeeling Hydrangeas - Green 1493-107

Maya Design - Summertime collection
Maja Design - Enjoying Outdoors Collection
Canvas 5x7x2
Trims - lace
Floral Berries

Flying Unicorns Off The Page Project September

DIY Shabby Chic Home Decor

Create your own DIY shabby chic home decor easily.  

Here is a soft shabby chic clock that is easy to make and looks like it came from an exclusive gift shop. 

Two main products: 

 Tim Holtz - Idea-ology Collection - Assemblage Clock

White - Gesso (Do not buy Heavy Gesso or extra heavy gesso)

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Tim Holtz - Idea-ology Collection - Assemblage Clock from: Scrapbook.com

The Crafters Workshop - Gesso - White - 8 Ounces from: Scrapbook.com

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How to Paint the Clock
The clock form is stark, modern metal.  To soften the appearance of the clock and achieve your "vision", you'll need to alter the metal somehow. 

 One thing to remember is that  acrylic paint applied to metal scrapes off quite easily unless the metal has been properly primed.  I used white gesso for the primer - because it helps paint and paper grip the metal and stay in place without peeling off.  

I wanted a romantic shabby chic clean look, so I dabbed white gesso onto my clock with a natural sea sponge.  Why did I dab with a sea sponge?  Because I started with a paintbrush and the stroke marks looked ridiculous.   And that's the honest answer.  

The sea sponge has a soft surface that can absorb more paint than a paintbrush.  The dabbing technique is a way to get an even coverage with a bit of cool texture.  

Once primed with gesso and allowed to dry, you can paint or cover with patterned paper, spray mists.  I just left the gesso "as is".  

In the process of dabbing and painting, I got gesso on the face (glass or acrylic) of the clock.  I should have removed the cover or at least taped it off for protection. 

But I did not .  Alas I like the look and continued on with the technique.  Is it called technique when it's derived from a mistake?   haaaaaaaaa - I'm not sure. 

Here are some other options for altering the metal on the clock: 

• Waxes are wonderful and provide great coverage for metal surfaces. 
• Prima's Paste combinations by Finnabair create rich patinas and rust effects.
• Alcohol inks provide an interesting alternative and can result in a unique marbleized effect.

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Prima - Finnabair - Art Extravagance - Rust Paste Set from: Scrapbook.com

Prima - Finnabair - Art Extravagance - Patina Effect Paste from: Scrapbook.com

Prima - Finnabair - Metallique Wax - Vintage Gold from: Scrapbook.com

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Once the gesson was dry, I moved on to decorating and started with a strip of patterned paper along he outside edge and inside the clock.  I used Kaisercraft True Romance collection ( old collection from stash)  and many Prima goodies (flowers, resins)- to create a warm shabby chic feel.

I topped with some pearl strands,  lace  and a dab of  green web weave trim.

The little decorative banner at the top of the clock is a resin piece.  Chipboard works nicely too.  You can create your own resin or mold easily.  

Thanks for looking. The full product list is at the bottom of this post

Shop Here

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Tim Holtz - Idea-ology Collection - Assemblage Clock from: Scrapbook.com

The Crafters Workshop - Gesso - White - 8 Ounces from: Scrapbook.com

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Prima - Finnabair - Art Extravagance - Rust Paste Set from: Scrapbook.com

Prima - Finnabair - Art Extravagance - Patina Effect Paste from: Scrapbook.com

Prima - Finnabair - Art Alchemy - Metallique Wax - Vintage Gold from: Scrapbook.com

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Supplies:

Tim Holtz Advantus  Idea-Ology Clock

Kaisercraft True Romance Affection P1218

Kaisercraft True Romance -Day Dream P1213

Prima Dell'Atre Resins 891466

Prima Abbey A Flowers 571795

Prima Charlotte Flowers 571450

Web-weave trim

lace

Pearl string

floral berries