Santa Tags

So you have finished dying your bottle brush trees and there is still dye left in the bowl. 




I am not one to waste anything so I always have cloth or shipping tags at hand to soak up the rest of the dye.

I buy the tags by the thousand.

Pre-strung.

I leave the strings on when dying, but may replace them with ribbon later. 

I put a handful into the dye making sure they do not stick together.

Stir.

Using a metal spoon or paint stick crease the tags for a more distressed look.

I place them outside on screens to dry.

Watch out for the drips if you choose to dry inside.

The dye is permanent on most surfaces.

It takes several hours for them to dry.

This is Apple Green Rit Dye.

 Aqua Blue.

Petal Pink.

I used Old World Santa images to make the tags.

Mod Podge the images to the tags.

Added a layer of Mod Podge over the entire tag.

Painted a gold edge.

Left the back plain for Christmas messages of cheer.





See y'all!

Come visit the Riverfront Antique Mall dealer page on Facebook:  Dealing On The River and like us!

ETSY SHOP IS CLOSED

 I will accept reserved listings if you see something in the blog posts you want.

An Altered Stack

Not a single original idea in the post today.

To reduce the number of books sitting around doing nothing, I made altered stacks of books.

Used up quite a stack of them along with twine, lace, keys, and other bits.


 

I do not use my vintage photographs.

I copy them on vellum.

They are quite see-through.


Cut them out with deckle-edged scissors to fit the front of the stack.

Some vintage lace attached with glue strips.

A tag or a key or a rusty star.

The stack of loose pages is secured with thin twine.











 

I make sure the ornamentation is below the people in the photo.

 A fake hydrangea.

I think I love the sides as much as the fronts.

If you are going to alter one, you might as well alter a stack of books.

And decorate them in many ways.

Just think maybe a descendant will buy one and never know they are related.

If you are my age, you will remember the photographer who walked around the neighborhood with his pony.

We also had a photographer with a goat cart.

The stirrups are dated 1952.

Clever photographer!

The altered books are available in Booth W-10 (Riverfront Antique Mall) and in my Etsy shop where you can use the 10% off coupon below. 



See y'all! 

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA15

SHOP HERE! 

Show And Share No.255
Vintage Inspiration Party #184
Feathered Nest Friday 

 

 

Distressed Donna Sign

Take a large canvas.

Gesso the heck out of it.

Add some umber.

Add a little gel medium.

Add a photo.



Add apple pie spice powder to the paint.  (For a rusty effect!)

Add old dictionary pages.

Add torn and worn lace.




















 
Add a shutter slat star.

Add a shutter slat sign with my name.

Add a shutter slat sign with the phrase "Trust in the rusty and crusty stuff!".

Voila!

It adds up to my new sign for my new booth.

Booth W-10 at Riverfront Antique Mall in North Augusta, SC.

I am waiting to shop with you.




I know I have been missing after promising you I would return, but I had dental surgery which knocked me out for a few days.  Also my Etsy shop was in worse shape than I first thought.  I have a boxload of items to clean, research, and write listings.  Keeping up with the larger booth is more work as I am getting slower and slower to complete tasks.  I am sure it is the cold weather and not my age!

No smart comments, please!

See y'all!

NOTE:  I updated my coupon code for my Etsy shop.  I was embarrassed to find out my coupons had expired.  There are new listings for you to browse.  Enjoy!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA15

SHOP HERE! 

The Cottage Market Presents Junkin Joe Every Friday
Party Junk #263 

Abandoned Art

Can we say "Cluck, cluck"?

Yes, I was chicken.

I was nervous.

I called Chucks twice to make sure he was available in case I got into trouble.

This was way out of my comfort zone.

I created a piece of art and abandoned it in a public place.

YES, I DID IT!!!

It was exhilarating.

Yes, I will do it again.

It was all part of the Art Abandonment Project.  It is a world-wide group on Facebook.

Anyone can request to join.  LINK

Here's what I did:

Found a board.

Painted it red.

Mod Podged an old bag to it.

Made some unsanded grout/paint mixture.

Poured it on the board.

Made a big puddle.

Plugged in the hair dryer.

Turned it on high heat.

Blew the heck out of the paint.

It cracked and creeped into a wonderful pattern.

Used Distressing Ink to age and make some dots.

Used a sponge to stamp a heart.

Used a wide blade chisel to scrape the surface smooth.

Used sandpaper to bring out some details.

Added a saying.

Added some black lines around the heart.

Added some more chips.

Found a dog image (Graphics Fairy - thanks!).

Found a tag (Horror Monster - thanks!)

Distressing Ink and varnish over and over and over on both.

Found a star stamp to put on the opposite of "dog".

 

Found some leather lacing and eye hooks and some rusty wire.

Assembled the whole thing.

The easy part was now over.

I am always comfortable when creating.

But the abandonment is scary.

What if no one takes it?

What if it is thrown away?

What if?

What if?

What if?

Just do it, Donna.

Stop distressing over it.

So I made my official label with the official logo.

Followed other directions of placing it in a sealed, clear bag.

Wouldn't want Homeland Security and the FBI after me!

Gathered my art, my camera and my courage.

Called one more time to make sure Chucks was at home.

Walked right into a place where true animal lovers are found.

The receptionist was distracted and had to leave the desk for a minute.

I quickly propped the bag against the counter.

I pretended to take photos of the plants and murals in the new lobby.

She told me to walk about the facility and take all the photos I wanted.

I wanted to leave and let someone find the art piece.

I was there for about twenty minutes, but no one had found it yet.

Have you ever participated In Art Abandonment?

Have you been the lucky recipient of found art?

I am proud I participated.

See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

The Cottage Market Presents Junkin Joe Every Friday