Personalised Wall Plaquette

Hello again everyone,

I have another one of my decoupaged name plaquettes completed and I wanted to show it to you.

Like the previous one, this is also floral themed and depicts a fairy on the right hand side.  It is découpaged with some beautiful rice paper from the Stamperia collection and on this one I have also included some texture by adding some heavy body paste here and there.

The butterflies were made using cardstock to back some ricepaper butterflies that I fussy cut from a sheet and then glued to the plaquette giving it a 3D dimension.

For the letters, I used acrylic paint to fill in a pencil outline, a bit tricky but a super fine brush did the trick.  Finally a pink velvet ribbon was added for hanging.

I hope you enjoyed my post.  You can comment below with any questions or comments or use the form on the right to email me.

Bye for now

Easter Egg Decoration

I can't believe its that time of year again, it came around so fast!  I love the spring and this year I decided to add to the cheer by decorating some eggs and making my own Easter wall-hanging decoration.

The eggs were part of an Easter art gift set to my son last year which he never got around to completing so I felt obliged not to leave them there another year undone.

There was already drawings printed on the eggs and for two of them, as you can see, I just painted the eggs and coloured in the drawing using some felt tip pens.

For the second two however, I covered over the drawings with some chalk paint and decorated them using ribbon and some fancy silver sticky tape.  I added some coloured ribbon for hanging and then made the Happy Easter plaquette.  I added some hooks for hanging the eggs and a chick which I painted yellow.  I'm really pleased with the way it all turned out and this little decoration can be used year after year!

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you try some of your own - its easy!

Bye for now

Mother's Day Gift Idea

My last post promised more gift ideas for Mother's Day and with only a week to go, I said I'd better start posting.  I seem to be keeping things very simple this year and the heart below is just that.

I painted it in a grey colour called cement and added some nice words that I found online.  I used the pencil trick to transfer the writing.  Print your words the way you want them to appear on the heart, then, on the back of the page colour over the entire area behind your words using a HB pencil, place it in the position you want it on the heart (face up so you can see the words), secure it with some tape and carefully go over each letter using a pen or pencil.  When you lift the paper the outline will be imprinted on your heart.

Now all you have to do is go over it to darken it up using a marker or whatever you wish.  I used a black pencil and then I sealed it with some gloss varnish.  I added a bird motif which I glued on and some dashes around the edges to enhance it a little.  String for hanging it and it's done.  You could also use ribbon if you want a more fancy heart and you could add a rose instead of a bird or some découpage.

Thanks for following my posts, drop by again soon to see my final Mother's day gift idea and remember, if you have any questions you can contact me by email using the form on the right hand side of this page.  Bye for now...

Great Gift Ideas

It's getting close to that time of year again where we spend our time planning for Christmas and trying to source unusual gifts for friends and family.

It's a difficult job trying to find something that is a little different and doesn't cost the earth.  This year, Funky-Junk has the answer with their beautiful handmade vintage style photo hanging plaquettes.  These plaquettes are all one of a kind, affordable and make wonderful gifts.

With a choice of background design and colour, a little ribbon and peg hangs from the frame which gives the option of placing a photo if desired... but these decorative plaquettes with their fabulous design and colours look great in any setting with or without a photo attached.

Peach Roses Vintage Style Photo Hanging Plaquette

To see more of these lovely plaquettes, click here or go to the 'For Sale' tab at the top of this page.  If you don't see anything suitable, contact me by email using the form on the right hand side of this page with your contact details or stating required colours/pattern/design and I can make to order.

Halloween Countdown

Every year I post a Halloween craft and this year is no different.  You may remember the Scary Lanterns and the Painted Halloween Plates that I posted in previous years and which are still being used today and look just as good as when I first made them.  With only 6 days left, I am running a little late this year but I have been working hard creating some cute Halloween wall decor.  This year it's in the form of plaquettes large and small.  Today I am posting on one of the bigger ones.  I will post again later in the week on the others

For this one, I used a range of media from acrylics, tissue paper and print paper to sharpies etc. and ended up with this flying witch wall plaquette for my front door.  It has been given several coats of varnish so that it's weatherproof but this would look equally as nice as an indoor decoration.  It got the thumbs up from my DS so that's the main thing!!  Hope you enjoyed looking, let me know what you think by leaving a comment.  Have a scary Halloween!

Vintage Floral Plaquette - Christmas Collection

As part of my Christmas collection I present the Vintage Floral Photo Hanging plaquette.  This lovely plaquette is made with my current favourite colour scheme and I think it will be a big hit with Funky-Junk followers.  All of my available plaquettes can be seen on the Sale page, you can get there by clicking on the For Sale tab at the top of the page.  Orders/requests can be made by email by filling in the form on the right hand side of this page.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me.  A link to my Facebook page can also be found at the top of this page.  I just love this beauty!

Irish Plaquette

I wanted to design some plaquettes that were typically Irish and I chose this Guinness theme as my first.  I thought it would be nice to start with some old Dublin scenes which will have a special appeal to Irish people living away from home and visitors to Ireland who may wish to bring something handmade of Ireland home with them.  This Guinness plaquette is now in an Irish home in France.

Multi Frame Plaquette

This is one of my larger plaquettes for hanging several different sized photos.  I painted this one in pale grey with a darker grey crackle finished edge as usual using my own mix chalk paint.  Pastel hearts and sparkle finish completed the look along with some varying shaped frames.  It is making a long journey at the end of the week, all the way from Dublin to it's new home in Arizona.

Vintage Roses Photo Hanging Plaquette

My new design Vintage Roses Photo Hanging Plaquette went down a treat with it's new owner and resulted in an abundance of requests for the same style so I will be a busy bee for the next while making sure I get all my orders completed in time while at the same time keeping up with the furniture upstyling taking place in my small studio!!  I can barely fit myself in at the moment due to the amount of work going on - I need to think about a bigger space soon!

Here's some pics of the Vintage Roses Plaquette which can be used for hanging a favourite photo using the mini peg which is attached to the ribbon within the frame.  This time, I went for a vertical design and included the person's name inside the frame as an added touch.  She loved it and I am happy to say there will be more similar to this in the near future.  Thanks for dropping by, don't forget to call again soon to see what's happening at Funky-Junk. Orders can be made by filling in the form at the right hand side of this blog page or on the Funky-Junk Facebook page by clicking the tab at the top of this page.

Vintage Roses Photo Hanging Plaquette

Key Hook Plaquette

It's always good to make something decorative but when it's useful too it's an added bonus.  This key hook plaquette has just been given its final touches and it's ready to hang in a nice hallway in someones house.  Découpaged lettering, painted key, some gold hooks and chain style braid completed this look.

Salle de Bain Plaquette

I'm addicted to making these bathroom plquettes - they are so cute.  This one's a simple design but effective.  For the bath I used a very old print that was one of many that I came across in my collection from almost 20 years ago when I first moved into my house and was crazy into home decor, découpage, furniture renovating and stencilling .....actually.....just like I am now!!

The bath cut-out was perfect for this little job, I just added some paint and a little sparkle to it. I dry-brushed a distressed effect border to the plaquette edges, added some typography that I transferred using a HB pencil.  A few coats of sealant, dark finishing wax and some pink ribbon finished this off nicely while it waits to be hung in someone's bathroom.

Salle de Bain Plaquette

Another bathroom plaquette just completed, I love these small sized plaquettes which are perfect in kitchen's and bathrooms.  This one is painted with dark grey chalk paint, has a simple stencil, some French writing and light distressing and is finished off with white cord.  I'm currently putting the final touches on another 'Salle de Bain' plaquette which I will post soon.

Crackle-Glaze Vintage Style Bouquet Plaquette

I was dying to try out crackle-glaze on my Plaquettes to see how it would work out and how it would tie in with the overall look.  In the past, I had only used commercial crackle glaze and was curious to see what effect I would get from a DIY version.  Almost 20 years ago, my first crackle -glaze project was my bathroom floor for which I used shop bought product - it was a huge success and the topic of many a conversation for years later as it added an unusual and quirky look to the bathroom - what pity I didn't keep any photos of it as it has since been tiled over.

Please click in to see a bigger sized picture

 

Anyway, back to the subject in hand, I decided to try out the DIY crackle-glaze on the plaquettes using some PVA and two different coloured paints - above is the result which I am  thrilled with for a first attempt.  This is a great way to achieve the crackle-glaze look without it costing a penny!  I always have PVA and paint in stock anyway but even if you do have to buy some, it is very cheap.

You just paint on your base coat - that's the coat you want to see coming through and in the above pics I used a very pale pink (it looks white), once dry, you paint on your thick or thin coat of PVA depending on what size cracks you want.  Thick = bigger, thin = smaller.  Leave it for a minute or two and then paint on your top layer of paint in the opposite direction to that of the PVA using one stroke.  Do not go over the same spot twice as this will prevent the crackle from appearing.  You will see the cracks appear as it dries.  Simple! This can be used on any surface for different craft projects.

I finished off by using a stencil to add the bouquet in the pale pink colour that was used for the basecoat and then added my usual frame and ribbon etc. These plaquettes make pretty presents for all occasions.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you like my post.  Please leave any comments or questions below and I will be happy to reply.

Le Bain Vintage Style Plaquette

A Shabby distressed look for the bathroom, this Plaquette was made using découpage techniques and some hand-painting and stencilling.  Some colour washing and a little dark wax gave it the 'old' look that it has.  I'll be sorry to see this one go...

Painted Bird Plaquette

I have definitely found my niche and my day job is getting in the way..........what to do?  A lotto win would remedy the situation but until then I will have to battle on with my blogging and creative work on a part-time basis i.e. nights and weekends!!

That said, I have a few new Plaquettes on the go and this here is the first of the batch.  It's great thinking up new ideas and designs, experimenting with colour and different textures and finishes and I am very happy with the results as my pictures are looking good.

This lovely plaquette is base coated with a dark grey chalk paint (my own mix) - I used 3 coats to get a more solid colour.  I then taped up a bouquet stencil with decorators tape just leaving out the sections I wanted to use on the piece and I taped it lightly to the dry painted wood.  I couldn't find a bird stencil that I liked anywhere so I made one. I found a bird outline on the internet, printed it out, traced it onto card and used a craft knife to cut it out.  Really handy as I can keep it for other jobs!

Be careful when painting over the stencils not to use too much paint.  I prefer to use a stencil brush but you can use a sponge if you prefer.  It's best if the brush is almost dry so blot it on some paper before applying it. Remember, you can always add more paint but you can't take it away.  I used a rhinestone for the bird's eye which I glued on.  I sealed it up with about 6 coats of sealant and then waxed it for the final coat.  I used some shiny silver ribbon for hanging it, which I found in my supply and which I thinks adds to the piece.

These make great presents for any occasion.