glass wall tray

Here is a glass wall tray I have designed to sell on ebay and etsy. The frame I got at Hobby Lobby in the photo section..added handles. I cut black and white scrolls and colored them with colored oil pencils. The center picture is from a book I purchased at the Louvre book shop in Paris

1. Spray paper wirh shellac cut out.Elevate glass about 4 to 5 inches so you will be able to work underneath
2..Using plasta-tac adhere the picture and scrolls to the underneath side of the glass.
3..On the front of the glass use a black Sharpie pen to.outline the picture and scrolls
4..With you fingers, spread thinned Elmers glue in the area of the large picture
5..Use a slightly damp cloth to press the print to the glass making sure there are no air bubbles..let dry
6..Brush glue on the fronts of the scrolls (besure you remove the pieces of plasta-tac )use the cloth to press scrolls in place. Let dry.
7..Wipe off the Sharpie outline from the front of the glass
8..With a small artist brush, brush waterbased varnish on the edge of each paper print and about 1/4" out on the glass. This will ensure  paint will not seep under your prints when painting the background.
9..Use a sponge to apply the background color. It will take 4 to 5 coats to cover.
10.. Hang on the wall when not in use for all to enjoy

                                  STARTING NEW CLASSES IN JANUARY

THERE IS ALWAYS A LET DOWN AFTER CHRISTMAS. THIS IS THE TIME TO GET INTO SOME WONDERFUL PROJECTS FOR THE NEW YEAR. COME JOIN  THE FUN AND MEET NEW PEOPLE TRUST ME..YOU WILL HAVE A BALL!!!!!

BEGINNIG DECOUPAGE...MONDAY JANUARY 10th-9-12:30
I FURNISH ALL THE SUPPLIES ,MATERIALS AND NOTES (YOU JUST SUPPLY THE BODY) $30.00 PER SESSION

SOME OF THE DECOUPAGE STYLES WE WILL COVER ARE CHECKED CHINA ON TILES, REPOUSSE (HOW TO STUFF A CHICKEN AND OTHER THINGS) COLORING YOUR BLACK AND WHITE PRINTS WITH OIL PENCILS, AND USING DECOUPAGE ON YOUR FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES

BEGINING FURNITURE PAINTING AND DECORATING THURSDAY JANUARY13
9-12:30 I WILL FURNISH THE MATERIALS SUPPLIES AND NOTES-$35.00 PER SESSION

SOME OF T HE FINISHES TO BE COVERED WILL BE LEAFING METAL AND WATER BASED..AGEING, ANTIQUING, DISTRESSING, OLD CRACKLE EFFECTS, TEXTURED AND COLOR RUBBED THROUGH.

A DEPOSIT OF $15.00 WILL HOLD YOU A PLACE IN CLASS..FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL ME.. jessupenterprises1@gmail.com or call 480-860-6558

What a wonderful week this has been. Tuesday was the decoupage garage group class. I was surprised early with a birthday party (Sunday is my birthday) Rou made her awesome chicken salad and a beauitiful carrot cake..with one candle on it thank goodness, Donna brought fresh fruit for all to enjoy and Karen make the dearest card that only Karen can do and every one signed it.Well that did it..I think my bladder is connected to my tear ducts because for the next few minutes they kept handing me Kleenex. To top it all off they all got together and bought the cutest pig chalk board you ever saw it's in my kitchen. I collect pigs and even have a special pig tree in the living room for Christmas. Melenda brought a beauitiful vase of flowers Denise brought birthday ballons and a dear china pig box with a baby pig inside. I am so blessed with this wonderful group of ladies the Lord sent to me.

decoupage trays

You can never have too many trays..to keep and to give as gifts. Here are some tray ideas you might  like. For the black and white chicken print tray, I reduced the black and white chicken print to fit the tray. I photo-copied the black and white checked fabric I had left over from doing my office. Used it along with different borders to design the tray. This is my favorite..it's sassy

The wine tray was painted white on the inside.. the outside painted black. The edges were painted in a silver metallic paint. The border and toile grape wine makers print  were sprayed with spray shellac before I cut them out.

The Country French Tray. I photo-copied fabric I purchased in St. Remey Provence. The boy playing the flute is from my Country French Prints, I painted the outside and edges of the tray to match the red in the fabric.

the decoupage garage group

Dubbed the "Decoupage Garage Group" by Donna (my studio is in our large garage)  we decided to celebrate with a luncheon during class on Thursday..didn't get much work done. First, the return of Denise from Italy, bearing gifts for each and everyone. Second, for Karen V. going to the Creative Conection Convention in the Twin Cites, Minnesota. The food was devine,,Rou brought her infamous broccoli salad, Karen brought chicken strips to go with it and wonderful fresh peaches, Donna brought strawberries with a cream cheese and something else in it as a dip. Brittany brought great cup cakes and her darling daughter just in time for lunch. I furnished the ice tea..ho ho. What a wonderful group this is..I teach them decoupage, they teach me friendship and love. Bless them all.

My Office

 Thought I would show you where I spend most of my time every day- my office. I did not need the closet space as much as I needed an alcove with a very comfortable chair. 

 The top of my desk was painted in black and white faux marble. All the woodwork was done by a former student..he did all the cabinets,book shelves and built in French cupboard bed (we had to bring all in through the double windows) Jack and I did the finishes.

We padded the walls around the built in bed (which is a twin bed by the way) Below are built in drawers and files to hold all my prints, notes for class etc.

A couple of decoupaged wastebaskets

I have been doing decoupage ever since Noah said we have landed on dry ground you can get off now, yet through all the years of teaching, cutting, pasting and designing, I realized the other day, I have been working harder not smarter. Case in point when designing the wastepaper basket I cut out this flimsy border I was going to use around the Country French figures. I had a heck of a time trying to hold the border in place...I had four different prints and ovals to glue on the wastebasket.. good grief !!!! Then the light bulb came on..get out the old trusty glue stick, glue your print to a a sheet of paper, glue your wreath around the print make a photo copy cut it out and voila it is done.

 Another idea for a wastepaper basket using the same idea of gluing the prints on a sheet of paper. I used orange shellac to age the prints and the trims around the flower prints. They were a series of flower of the month prints I got at the National Trust store in London. The border trim at the bottom and the top edge of the basket are trims I carry.

 Shown are all the paper pieces that I used on the black wastepaper basket. You can see how much easier it is to just cut out the assembled print. (remember, work smart... not hard. )

crackle finish lamp and table

The lamp base was finiushed in a crackle painted peel and antiqued. The shade was done in decoupage with wrapping paper I got at the General Trading Company in London. The pigs were cut out and glued above the checked border I painted at the top and bottom of the shade. The end table was stripped and finished in pickle pine. Wooden knobs were painted in black and white checks to match the lamp shade

fireplace

When we moved into our home the mantel around the fireplace was oak and had to go, we had to come up with something else. I had always wanted a copper hood fireplace but copper hoods are very expensive so I designed a faux copper hood. Daughter Jorjann's father-in-law is quite a woodworking expert, he decided to use luan (a thin sheet of mahogany) to cover the wooden frame. We used copper leaf squares with a raw umber glaze over it to look old and aged. Large upholstery tacks were used to simulate rivets The old tiles, under the hood, are from a 17th century chateau we brought back from France.

lg cabinet

The large cabinet,we found out, was photo copied wood grain and could not be stripped. We painted the cabinet black like the inside panels in the kitchen cabinet doors. The inside panels on the doors were removed and avary wire was installed. An antique cut work table cloth was tea stained, cut up, and gathered behind the wire.

kitchen area

Cabinets were stripped and stained a light fruitwood. Center panels on the doors were painted taupe and then black rubbed through.Wood molding in a French fruit design was painted and antiqued and applied to the upper cabinet doors, edges around the doors and drawers were copper leafed.

Breakfast table

I designed the faux tiles to go on the top of the breakfast table using fabrics I had used on the cornice board over the French doors

kitchen faux wine tiles

I wanted something different behind the sink area, I went to the library and got a book on French wines. The wine labels were quite small, I took the book over to my favorite photo copier and ask then if they could enlarge them to 6X6 inch squares. I used masonite to decoupage the wine labels to simulate tiles.

Hubby Jack did the faux beams using colored mud and a curry comb over polyfoam square beams.

straw walls

Real straw mixed with dry wall mud was used in the wall finish then aged with rottenstone.

Welcome to my blog, this is all very new to me and as the saying goes "It's hard to teach old dogs new tricks" and believe me I am in that category.
Karen Valentine did an awsome job designing my blog I love pigs, collect pigs and even have a pig tree at Christmas, so it was fitting to use pigs on m y home page (husband Jack said people will think it's a cooking blog.)
I have started teaching again furniture painting techniques and decoupage and now have some wonderful creative ladies in class.
I am in the process of putting my blog site together and will be giving you tips and sharing with you pictures of our Country French home. Stay tuned for coming attractions. Bless you, Vonda