Vintage Vignette
5 Materials
$5
2 Hours
Easy
This simple, sweet little project was quite a challenge for me, because we had to "Make it look old." Most of my projects are about making things look new again. I live with the old, battered, worn, and distressed day in and day out. When I paint or do a project, typically it is to update things, not age them. It was quite an adjustment in perspective for me to find something that was relatively new and make it look old. I started a few projects, but they depended on good weather and time, and I didn’t really have either this weekend.
I was down to the wire this afternoon when I decided to “age” or antique a handkerchief.
While I was pondering what to do with the aged linen, I remembered the haul that I made at Goodwill this weekend. I had picked up quite a bit of vintage jewelry for really cheap prices (most less than $1). In particular, I loved the cameo and the flower earrings. So instead of using the handkerchief that I stained with coffee, I picked an embroidered napkin that I had purchased from another thrift store for 25 cents a while back. Don’t you just love all the flowers? They remind me of Spring!
First, I pried the cameo off that unfortunate bracelet that someone had glued it to with some type of foam glue. It was nasty! Poor little lady! I cleaned her as best I could by prying that stuff off and then scrubbing with alcohol.
Isn't she a beauty?
I had a pretty good idea of the vignette that I wanted to create, but I still needed to make something look old. I took this picture frame that I had purchased over Mardi Gras at yet another thrift store and decided that it was a good project piece.
First, I drew all over it with furniture markers. There was really no set pattern. I just wanted some darker colors to show underneath the wax. I made sort of a wood grain look, but I wasn't real exact about anything.
I used each of these colors, and then I rubbed silver wax all over the top of the marker colors.
Then I started buffing the wax off.
It took a while to get the aged look that I wanted. Don't worry, if you don't like how it looks, you can buff it off or add more wax and spread it around for better coverage. Then you buff it to a shine. This is a metallic silver wax.
Vintage Vignette
When I was satisfied with the way the frame looked, I finished arranging the pins, earrings, and cameo into the look that I wanted. I fastened everything to the napkin, then pulled the napkin taut around the cardboard inserts for the picture frame. I stapled the napkin to the cardboard backing so that it would stay in place. The cameo is hot glued to the napkin.
A better look at the jewelry. The brooch in the bottom left was my grandmother's. Everything else came from thrift stores or Goodwill, and cost 59 cents to 99 cents each. Even the frame was only $1. All together, it was about $5.00 or less, and that includes what little I used of the markers and silver polish, which I already had on hand.
Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 10 comments
-
Beautiful! I have some pieces (they were my mother's) I want to put in a shadow box for my niece. But I like your idea a lot better. Thank you for the inspiration.
-
Been thinking about doing this as I have several brooches that were my mother's and several Christmas pins. Will do 2 separate frames and will use my daddy's handkerchief on one and a beautiful old doily on the other. Love what you did. Good idea for some of those earrings without mates, old childhood jewelry, too. Love what you did!
-
Thank you so much! It sounds like you have a fantastic project in the works with your two vignettes! Please post pictures when you're done, so we can all enjoy them!
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?