Monday, January 10, 2011

shabby chic or vintage?


Hi everyone,

I hope everyone's having a good Monday. Let me start the week by inspiring you with this little frame I made to hang in my studio. I used a lot of Webster's Pages products for this one, starting from the petite papers Life's Portrait in the 6 X 6 format. I love, love, love Webster's Pages. I'm just wondering though: is it shabby chic or vintage? I'm having a hard time making the distinction. If someone could explain to me the difference, I'd really appreciate it.



I love this die from Tim Holtz called Caged Bird. I've used it in the past and I'm not about to retire it. On the cage, I used a fun technique I just learned yesterday through a video by smscapper. It's called the Drunken Scotch Technique where you basically put liquid glue by Scotch on your chipboard piece, then add alcohol inks over the glue then heat set until you see bubbles forming. It creates a fun effect, almost like wrought iron:

The only problem I had was with the glue. I used the liquid glue from Stampin' Up! but the effect is not the same as what was shown on the video. I'll have to buy the glue cuz I really had fun making it. To finish it off, I rubbed some metallic cream in gold and green to make some sort of patina finish.


Although it didn't come out the same as on the video, I'm quite happy with the results. My little bird is glued directly on the card but the cage is popped with 2 layers of foam adhesives.


I love this quote from Tim Holtz's Shabby French set. It speaks to me and will inspire me to be more productive.


Try something different today and just go with it! It's good to get out of the box sometimes.

Have a nice stampin' day !!!

4 comments:

Sophie said...

The technique sounds interesting.
I love your frame. Very pretty.

And according to Wikipedia: Shabby chic is a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the same time, a soft, minimalistic, and feminine feel is emphasized to differentiate it from regular vintage decor; hence the "chic" in the name.

There. I learned something new too!
Sophie

Valentina D. said...

Shabby Chic by its name has an atmosphere of benign neglect but still has an elegance surrounding it. Vintage style decorating, on the other hand, has the potential of bringing you back to your grandparent's home. It is similar in a way to retro style decorating. The furniture may resemble that found in the Shabby Chic home. It may be well loved with peeling paint and many dents and scratches from much use. The differences are not found so much in the furniture used in the two styles. What separates the styles is the accents and accessories found in the vintage style home.

Anonymous said...

Well all I know is that this is one of the most beautiful projects I've seen! What a gorgeous piece of art. I need that die now!

Card a la Carte said...

Thank you guys for your compliments and your savvy. So now I get it: Shabby Chic is Vintage with a feminine twist... kinda, sorta :-)