January 30, 2013

Guest Post - Damask Subway Art and Eleanor Frame Tuttorial

Hi!  I'm Ashley from Simply Designing and I am really excited to be here today to show off a project I've been working on with some amazing PoppySeed Project products!  I've ordered and created a few crafts from PoppySeed before but I've really been oolging their frames and plaques that they have recently added! I fell in love with them when I actually was able to see them in store last summer and have been bound and determined to find a place in my home for them! I have a piano room in my home that I am slowly working on completing.  In the room I have a large wall that is empty.  I've struggled with what to put on this large wall but I knew that a couple of plaques and frames would be perfect on it and after a lot of planning and thinking, this is what I came up with:



To create this look you will need:
Here's how to make these!
First I used my 120 grit sand paper and lightly sand both my plaques and my frames.  They were in great condition when they arrived, but I always feel better when I give my wood a quick sanding before I paint.
Next I used a foam brush to apply the texturizing cream to the boards and the frames.  I applied it in a straight line on all of my wood, going in the same direction but you can get as creative as you want with this.  I did a light coat of texturizing cream but if you want a more distressed look, use a thicker coat of cream.  After this is applied, you will need to let it dry completely.  I let it dry overnight before doing anything else.


Then I painted my board and frames with a coat of brown spray paint.  This is the color that will show through when you sand at the end.  I wanted a rich brown to show through so I gave my boards two good coats of spray paint.  Because it is in barely hovering above 0 degrees here in Indiana, I spray painted these in my garage and had to wait a long time in between coats of paint.  No, it is not exactly recommended to paint when it is 0 degrees outside, but my garage is substantially warmer and I knew the risks associated with painting in cold weather.  I knew my finish might be a little bumpy or I might have some cracking.  Both of which, since I wanted a distressed look, were ok side effects by me.  And I allowed a couple of hours in between coats of paint instead of only minutes to make sure the paint dried completely.
In between coats of paint I took my 320 grit sand paper and gave my boards and frames a quick sanding and then wiped them off with a clean knit rag before applying the next coat of paint.
After my brown was dried, I applied my Heritage White spray paint.  I am slightly addicted to this spray paint color!  It is not cream, and it is not white, it is a really pretty, perfectly warm white color that I am just in love with at the moment!  Again, I sanded in between coats of paint and waited until the paint was completely dry before moving on to the next step.
At this point my frames were almost done.  I gave my frames a quick sanding with the 320 and then the 120 grit sand paper to make them look distressed and to get some of the brown paint showing through.  My frames were complete at this point and I was ready to insert my photos and hang them!


Next I worked on finishing my plaques.  I applied the super cute damask vinyl decals that came with my plaques.  I was really careful to make sure that the decals went on straight and made sure they were securely adhered before proceeding.  I love using vinyl as a reverse stencil and have done this on many occasions.  It is a really simple process but takes a little time and patience.  However I have always gotten great results and this time was no different!
 
 
I lined my vinyl up carefully in one corner and removed my backing paper just a little bit at a time to ensure a clean adhesion. 
 
 
I removed the transfer tape at an angle, again in small sections being very careful that it all stays on the board nicely.
 
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After the vinyl was on securely  I coated my plaques with a couple of coats of turquoise spray paint.  Again, allowing plenty of time to dry and sanding in between coats of spray paint.
 

After this paint was completely dry I carefully, using tweezers, a lot of patience and an episode of Downton Abby to keep my motivated :) , peeled off each piece of vinyl from the plaques.  This took some time as the design is intricate and there are a lot of pieces to it.  But as the vinyl started to come off, I could tell that my work was going to be well worth it!!
 

After all the vinyl was removed, I took my 120 grit sand paper and distressed the heck out of my plaques!  It is really hard to tell in the photos, but they are distressed quite a bit in person and I absolutely LOVE the look!
 


I played around with the placement of my items on my floor before I hung them.  I decided on a slightly asymmetrical layout.

We hung the plaques and frames on the lonely wall in my piano room and it gave instant life and a splash of fun color to the room!  My wall is looking more complete and my piano room is being close to being a completed room!
 
I am loving how these turned out and can't wait to try my hand at another PoppySeed project really soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my post!  If you have a moment I'd love for you to visit me on my blog at Simply Designing!  You can also find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google+.
 

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