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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Marie Antionette Christmas

I love images of Marie Antoinette, maybe because I love Frenchy type things and you can't get anymore French than Marie.  I started out with some aqua ornaments.  I wanted the vintage glass ones, but they are really expensive so I opted for the ones from Joanne's that are already 50 percent off.  They are genuine plastic, made in China, which I'm trying not to buy any of that stuff this year, but I made something with it that I hope to sell so I told myself it was okay.
These were just plain balls, and I wanted them to have a more vintage look so I brushed some gesso on them.
Then I blotted it off with a paper towel.  When it was totally dry, I took my thumb and massaged the ball.  This exposed some of the finish below but still left a lot of cloudiness.  Next I sprayed it with Deft lacquer in the satin finish (available at Home Depot).
I found an image of Marie on the internet and printed the wallet sized photos (9) of the image.  Next I placed it on my copy machine and reduced it to 60 percent.  This gave me the size image I needed for the ornament.  Once Marie was copied and cut out, I cut the corners since I didn't have an oval shape to work with and I wanted to cover a little more area of the ornament anyway.  Then I snipped little cuts around the image so it would lay as flat as possible on a round surface.
Next I decoupaged only the back of the image and stuck it on the round ball trying to keep it as smooth as possible.  Then I sprayed the image of Marie with more Deft Lacquer to seal in the ink.
Now I was ready to embellish.  I glittered around the image, and by the way, I did two sides of the ornaments, and then I tied some pretty faded blue seam binding around the top of the ornament.  I used Tacky Glue to attach it to the top so it would not slip off.  I tied a pretty bow, embellished with some junk jewels and Marie is ready for her debut.
Thanks so much for taking a look.  Tomorrow I'll show you a neutral version I did with this same technique with some old sheet music.


I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style
                                           
Thursdays        The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best


11 comments:

cheyenne said...

I love them! take care, Darlene

Darlene said...

Oh I'm sorry I was signed in to my daughter cheyenne's account and posted the above comment. I'm always doing that. I love the ornaments and they are very pretty! take care, Darlene

Shabby Brocante, Karen said...

Maggie, these are fantastic! You have already made me start thinking about my tree...for NEXT year!!! I can hardly stand that. Great tutorial. Thank so much!!
Karen

chateau chic said...

Your ornaments are beautiful, Maggie! You're very creative.
Mary Alice

Vickie @ Ranger 911 said...

Very pretty, especially with the added bling of the vintage jewelry. I'll have to remember your aging process for the plastic ornaments. They truly looked old when you were done with your magic!

NanaDiana said...

Maggie- What a neat idea. I love them. I see lots of Marie Antionette around blogland and don't think I ever thought much about it before then. Gorgeous! xo Diana

Marisa said...

Those ornaments are beautiful.

Donna said...

Oooh, la, la! Your Marie ornaments are oh so French, and tres chic, too! Love the colors. Is that German glass glitter you used, or regular glitter?

Unknown said...

Oh wow!!!!!! You are amazing!!!! Thanks for linking up!

karen@somewhatquirky said...

Maggie these are really nice. I really like the addition of the gesso. Did you know that you can use the Deft over the picture? I always put lots of finish over the picture-makes it look like it is under glass.

Life according to Lenetta said...

Hi, Great post. Very nice!! I found you through the blog hop. Now following you.Please stop by and say hi when you get a chance.
Be sure and check out my new Blog Hop that we just started, It's Weekly Goals Link Up. It's a great way to stay on track. Have a great day. :) Here's the link in case you want to check it out. Thanks again.http://lenettacarnes.blogspot.com/2013/01/weekly-goals-linkup-1.html