Did you ever purchase any of these?
I did. And I never used them. They have been hiding in a stashed away container in my studio for a few years now. I remember at the time, I liked them well enough. I thought the center cut out was really cute and could be used all sorts of different ways (think tiny photo charms, etc).
I came across them and decided that I was going to alter them to match my current style and taste, into embellishments that are so pretty and feminine, I will be dying to use them on EVERYTHING!
I knew just what supplies I wanted to use. My favorite Jacquard paints, Neopaque and Lumiere respectively. Also some stamps and other lovelies like cheesecloth scraps and custom dyed ribbon scraps.
To make the paint stick to the metal, I sanded the surface of each first.
Then I inked a really cool text background stamp with StazOn ink and pressed the surface of each flower into the stamp.The stamp is from the Stampers Anonyous Collection by Tim Holtz and is called Reflections. It can be ordered from Scrapbook.com.
To me, the stamped background and slightly distressed metal sanding look tons better already, but I want to go further.
To embellish the center, paint a tiny wood circle in your color of choice of Lumiere or Neopaque, as well as some of your metal flower edges.
Take a old pair of scissors or some jewelry or other pliers, and bend the metal prongs on the back of the flower inward.
Now you have a flat surface to glue your wood circle to. Flip the flower over, right side up and place a strong tacky glue on the back of the circle. Then press to the flower center.
Now you can embellish that cute little center with stones, leftover stickers etc...
Cute huh? I chose to make little prize ribbon type embellies by dying torn muslin strips with Idye.
I glued some small scraps of cheesecloth to the back of the flower, along with the dyed ribbon.
Satisfied with my shabby chic looking "new" embellishments, I now search for a way to merchandise my pretty little creations so I can see what i have rather than tucking them away and forgetting about them for another four or five years. I may be big into Art Deco or Egyptian looks by then, who knows?
I decided to place self adhesive magnets to the back of my flowers (the kind that can be easily peeled off) and display them on this dollar store metal tray.
I like these much better now. For more embellishment makeovers, see my post on using Pinata inks to alter brads.
I am on a big altering old supplies kick right now, so check back for more ideas to give your old stuff new looks!
Live Life Creatively,
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