Lessology Challenge #55-Pretty Tassels

 

 

 

This month's Lessology challenge is all about Tassels... the only other rule is you must use something upcycled in your project.  I was very lucky and when I won the Lessology challenge a few months ago, my prize package just happened to have a tassel in it.  So I was all set when this month's challenge came along, right?  Noooooo..... I have had that tassel hanging in front of me for a while now trying to decide what I would do with it... and then  remembered all of these little canvases I got for almost nothing recently somewhere and I decided I'd start there.  Then my niece has been loving all that is France these days and her new bedroom is decorated in this theme so I thought .. ok... that will work... and off I went.

 

I started by painting the canvas black.  I took some old CTMH paper that had handwriting on it and sprayed it with water and wrinkled it up and sprayed it again and wrinkled it up and then straightened it out while it was still damp and modge podged it onto the canvas.  After that was dry, I took some Tim Holtz distress ink in a Old Paper and Old Photograph and did some distressing because the paper was pretty white and then stamped a couple coffee stains on it.  I let that dry and painted some light splashes of white gesso on the right hand side where I knew I wanted to stamp the Eiffel tower.  I also mixed it with a bit of purple distress ink and added some swipes of purple.  When dry, I took the purple and mustard distress ink and just kind of swiped it across in a few thin areas.  When that was dry (theme here... I tend to have a second project going so that I don't lose my mind during dry time), I stamped the Eiffel Tower over it.  At this point, I sprayed the piece with some workable fixative so be sure nothing would smear... and then... you guessed it... waited.. for... it... to .... dry... (sigh)

 

I had tried to stamp Je T'Adore right on the canvas, but it didn't come out how I wanted which turned out to be a good thing because I ended up embossing it in black on some white paper, cut it out, and then added all kinds of inks to that and the look makes me happy.  So what's upcycled here... see that little castle?  That is a button that used to belong to my Niece's great grandma.  My Sis-In-Law gave me a bin of her grandmother's buttons.. some new and some old.. a while ago because she just didn't know what to do with them and figured I could use them.  So I've been trying to include some things from there when I make things for her and I thought it would be nice for Izzy to have some on hers... plus.. the castle .. perfect, right?

 

There's that oh so pretty tassel... thanks Yvonne!!

 

Also, a while ago I cleaned out my jewelry box of old costume cheap jewelry and instead of throwing it out or donating what would probably end up thrown out anyway, spent some time taking apart necklaces and earrings and I have quite the collection of little charms to use here and there.  This one was silver, but I used some gold paint on it..

 

The black flowers with gold on them were leftover from old projects and the purple ones had been cut, but today I added some extra variations of purple colors with watercolors and then squished them and sprayed them with some gold color shine as well.

Here are a couple more of Grandma's buttons... I just love that amber colored one there and another goldish brassish one hiding under the flowers.

 

Please head on over the Lessology challenge blog and check out some of the VERY cool and beautiful pieces that have been created... and if you're feeling randy, play along!  You might surprise yourself.

 

Be sure and come back tomorrow for Atlantic Hearts!