With Christmas over and the New Year sliding in soon, this is the last post of the Rustic Luxe series... I wanted to end this creative series combining the most rustic item I could think of with the most luxurious... I wasn't quite sure what it would be...until inspiration hit me at work one day in the lumber department... What is more rustic than rough concrete? And what is luxe than gold leaf? What if I combined them together... My inspiration came from these...
These are dobie blocks, used to hold rebar in place when pouring a concrete slab...I've played with these before - see my tutorial for my bud vase holders here - but for the holidays I was thinking of making candle holders with them...how festive for New Year's Eve...I gathered together my supplies...
Normally these blocks come in a section of 9 or 16 blocks, with divisions between them for separation. I used a wide rigid putty knife and a sledge hammer to break the sections apart. Once apart, I formed a holder for each candlestick by first straightening out the wire supports and then, using a metal pipe for a support, wrapped the wire around the pipe. Once the pipe was removed, it was easy to slip in a candlestick. I revised my idea of using gold leaf and instead went with heavy body acrylic artist paint in a deep gold color. After taping off sections on the concrete block, I used a stiff brush to apply the paint...surprising only two coats were needed to give a good solid color. With the candlesticks completed, it was on to the rest of the tableau...
Gold splatters on a length of kraft paper for a table runner was another Rustic Luxe combo...I used a can of gold spray paint which was leaking badly...but I ended up liking the drips and drabs on the paper...the chestnut garland (first seen in the Thanksgiving dinner centerpiece and then hanging from my Christmas tree branch) makes its final appearance with its nutty texture and the glint of gold beads. A few poppy pods sprayed with a bit of silver paint fill the bud vases...
A swath of wide silk ribbon tied around a small galvanized bucket is the perfect Rustic Luxe champagne holder... Vintage ironstone plates and silver cocktail forks are waiting for the appetizers... all is set for this small intimate gathering to begin...
As we close out 2015, I want to thank you for visiting my blog, leaving your comments, giving me your support... I hope that the new year ahead holds all the promise and opportunity you desire...cheers!
Amid all the hustle and bustle of the season, I find one of the most enjoyable activities is gift wrapping...yes, I'm one of those...which shouldn't come as any surprise since I love working with paper...and fabric...and found objects...of course with a bit of metal (wire in this case) thrown in as well... So I gathered together my supplies and got to work... As per usual, I like to use what I have at hand...or acquire as inexpensively as possible...here's the round-up...
The Rustic part is the copper wire as well as a few snippets of greenery from the yard...the Luxe part is the vintage buttons, fabric ribbon made from old linen tablecloths and wax paper...yes, waxed paper - there's quite a nice sheen to the paper that gives just the slightest shimmer in the light. I also added in a roll of paper first aid tape - a poor man's washi substitute -details here about my discoveryof this inexpensive tape - and a few sheets of colored tissue paper....both the paper first aid tape and the tissue paper came from the dollar store. Using an idea from Martha Stewart years ago, I wrapped the first two gifts in colored tissue paper and then wrapped each gift again in a layer of wax paper...mutes the color of the tissue and adds that slight shimmer.
Then I used a length of thin wire to encircle each gift and embellished the wire with buttons and tiny silver beads. Since the wire is thin, it is easy to manipulate and fashion into whatever designs you want. I went with plain and simple...
The metal box shown in the picture above was given a little bling with a silver seal topped with two vintage buttons...I punched two small holes in the top of the tin to thread the wire that holds the buttons in place. I also wrapped up two gifts in a shimmer of white... white tissue paper on one, waxed paper on the other and then embellished each in its own way...
Copper wire encircling this gift holds a found white feather in place...a strip of paper first aid tape with a message of "peace" stamped in gold adds the final touch...
The second gift is tied up with a length of linen ribbon...old worn and stained linen tablecloths are torn into strips of about 1" wide...the frayed edge of the ribbon giving a nice texture to the monochromatic tones. The final embellishment is a tiny vase...created from a string of burned out tree lights...I just snapped off the bulbs from the wire string, pulled off the green plastic connector and was left with just the bulb...its made of plastic but still looks glass-like with its faceted edges...I twisted a length of wire around the top, attached it to the top of the gift and added in a few sprigs of color- voilà Lest you think that I am super organized and have all of my holiday gift giving under wraps...I do not...and in fact, should probably get on that right now.... Linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Party Junk and Knick of Time Vintage Inspiration Party - holiday inspiration at both abounds!
A couple of weeks ago I had a neighbor complaining about all the horse chestnuts she had to clean up...I mentioned that I'd be happy to have some chestnuts...and before I knew it, a large bucketful arrived on my doorstep...
You've got to admit that next to turning leaves, chestnuts are the epitome of autumn... With such a bountiful supply, I thought that I'd string them together...so I gathered up supplies... pulling out some beads to include with the chestnuts...
I drilled a hole through the chestnuts with my Dremel drill, using my drill press attachment which made quick work of the drilling...though I was surprised at the mess of yellow goo since the chestnuts were not yet dried out. I decided to use rusty wire for stringing the chestnuts...I knew that they would be heavy and I wanted the ability to shape the garland of nuts into a form rather than just having it hang in a drooping loop which would have been the case if I had used string.
Including a silver (or gold) bead along with the clay and wood beads I had, added that bit of luxe. I finished off each garland with a curlicue of wire that would be decorative as well as practical for hanging. I'm thinking that such a garland will look grand spread across the Thanksgiving table...
the rustic tones are a nice counterpoint to the linens...
and those gold beads give a touch of luxe....along with the worn silver patina of vintage flatware, its just the right amount of bling... All of the flatware at our house is old vintage silverware...I like the mix of patterns and designs...I don't bother with shining it up...it goes into the dishwasher so its plenty clean...and once a piece becomes too worn out, it gets tossed in the art supply bucket and I pick up a few more pieces at the next estate sale... You might notice the willow napkin rings...made by simply wrapping a slender twig of willow into a circle and twisting the ends to secure the circle. The texture of the twigs adds another layer to the tabletop...
And what I like best about these chestnut garlands...after they have graced the Thanksgiving table, they could easily hang on your Christmas tree...
A couple of months ago I wrote about the anticipation of spring...and shared my "eureka moment" of putting a rusty mattress spring on top of a jar to give support for blooming tulips... Anticipation waned as the bulbs shot up their green sprouts...and then withered to brown. For those of you who know me...I don't have a green thumb...try as I might, I have a hard time getting green stuff to grow...except moss...easy since I live in the Pacific NW... I finally had to give it up...threw the tulip bulbs in the back of the garden and washed out the jar...and then...eureka again!
The rusty spring is the perfect flower support...with just a few stems, it holds the bouquet upright...
Stems can be any length since the winding of the spring offers support from high to low...which was ideal since I have just the beginnings of blooms in the garden, many of them with short stems...
Since the beginning of the year, I've been having these art parties...a time for friends to get together and create...just for the fun of it! Last Friday was one such party...though there were only three of us (the end of school, work schedules and summer visitors keep others away) it did not diminish the amount of creativity, inspiration or enthusiasm...
It started with many large containers of assorted metal pieces...
lots of wire...
and other odds and ends... the rough idea was to make some sort of mobile/windchime/garden art with found metal pieces...
The construction process began...it was the first day of summer, so we worked outside...under the canopy on the patio (this is the Pacific NW...it might rain...) As you can see, Calvin the golden retriever wanted to create too...
After a couple of hours of snipping, bending, eating, gabbing and drilling, beautiful creations emerged...
I needed a little more time to finish mine up...too much gabbing with friends... but hung my completed mobile in the front yard the next day...
If the truth be told...to create without a purpose in mind...but to go where inspiration leads...
that's what feeds my artistic soul...and to be able to share that experience with friends... makes for the best afternoon ever...
Linking up to Kim Klassen's Friday Finds...to find possibilities.....unique treasures...... special moments..... life's lessons......little things.....big things too...... nature's beauty..... heart shaped stones, a special cup.....a pretty flower....wise words....whatever special thing made your week...
