Sunday, May 17, 2009

Knock and the door will be opened


Well blogger friends, these are our materials for the project today. Gold frames bought at a garage sale for $2, burlap leftover from a previous project, postcards from San Juan Puerto Rico, and parchment paper.


I've had the postcards since our trip to San Juan a couple of years ago and I just haven't known what to do with them. I didn't like the idea of just putting them in a frame; that's way to simple. (wink)

I began by cutting the burlap the size of my frame opening.

Then I glued the burlap pieces to cardboard which I also cut the size of the frame openings. I used spray adhesive for this.
The postcards were too white and crisp for my taste so I aged them by brushing coffee
on the postcards with a sponge stick. You can see the difference it makes in the photo above.

My frame was too bright gold for my project so I used a sponge stick to apply stain and then wiped the excess stain off. This toned down the bright gold and gave me the desired finish.

I used the parchment paper to back my postcards and I also printed a verse to go along with my door theme. (You might have noticed all my postcards have a unique door found off the streets of San Juan. They all have such character. I was really drawn to the colorful old houses with ornate doors.) So back to the project, I also tore the edges of the parchment paper and inked them by rubbing the edges across a brown ink pad to give them an even more aged look.
You can see the finished project in the photo above and below. (Sorry about the glare of the glass.) The verse in the first photo reads, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find..." The verse, found in Matthew 7:7, is continued in the second frame, knock and the door will be opened to you."
I had another postcard from a visit to Paris several years ago of yet another door. I guess I really am drawn to doors! (I usually pick up painting, drawings, etc. on postcards when I travel since after spending the moolah for the trip who can afford anything but a postcard.) HA! I decided to add it to my other postcards so I aged it also like the others and framed it with parchment paper and burlap.

Since I have a grouping of doors, I thought some vintage keys and an old porcelain door knob would compliment them so I placed them in a vintage bowl edged with brown transferware and put them on my old desk below the frames.

One end of my table needed a little height so I found this reddish candle holder around the house. Reddish didn't work, so there was nothing to do but paint it brown and rub it down with a gold glaze.

And here is the final view of my old desk in my foyer including frames, candle holder, and an old dish filled with keys and a door knob. What do you think?

More work than if I went out and bought a couple of prints somewhere, but much more rewarding and I have an one of a kind display in my home. This project was also very thrifty and I knew Rhoda at Today's Thrifty Treasures and Susan at Metamorphosis Monday would be proud of me for that!



35 comments:

Laura said...

It looks amazing. what a great job you did!

laura

Anonymous said...

Wow, great job. Now that's being creative!

ellen b said...

Wow I'm impressed. Great job Marsha...

Beth Niquette said...

How VERY creative and original!

Wow!

Robin said...

WOW!! Those are just AMAZING! Everything just looks so great together, too!

{{HUGS}}

Robin :o)

Kammy said...

You really tied everything together so well. Love what you did with your frames ! You are so creative !
Hugs ~ Kammy

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

What on earth is wrong with me. I don't ever feel like creating like that any more! You did such a wonderful job...and as I looked at it..I so wanted to feel the urge to do something, paint, sew, scrap, anything at all. Nothing. I'm BAD!

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Love the pictures you created and the vignette is just so pretty all together. Hugs, Marty

Joyce said...

Nice job.
Joyce

Anonymous said...

Those turned out fantastic. Thanks for stopping by. I'm off to look around your blog now.

Carol said...

Wow, those turned out great! Always wanted to try the adhesive spray. I'm loving that desk of yours too!

Dana and Daisy said...

great job on transforming those objects into artwork!

The Tattered Cottage said...

Absolutley beautiful. I purchased a couple of gold frames and you have given me inspiration!! You did an amazing job.
Toni

susan said...

This would be such a great way to use postcards to remember a special place or vacation. I love the aging of the postcards!

DesignTies said...

I love all your door pictures. I'm drawn to interesting doors too, and I wrote a post all about doors a while back. If you'd like to check out the doors I found, you can see them here:

http://design-ties.blogspot.com/2009/03/hooked-on-delicious-doors.html

Your framing project looks great. And the dish with the knobs and keys under the frames is a nice touch :-)

Kelly @ DesignTies

abeachcottage said...

love your framing project, I am inspired

happy met monday

Sarah
ABeachCottage

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Marsha, I love your project! And what a great way to use burlap. I really love how you did the postcards with the edging & ageing, it looks so special now & what a great way to display memories of your trip. You did great, what creativity!

marmielu said...

I really like what you did with the frames and postcards! I have several gold frames I picked up last year at the thrift store, which I need to "adjust" so I can use them. Thanks for showing how you did this.
Mary Lou

Michelle @ Sweet Something Design said...

Whoa! Those turned out great! I like the whole display!
Michelle

Anonymous said...

I can't really add anything new to the comments, but I just couldn't resist adding my own "wow"! Thanks so much for sharing and for giving us all a great idea to file away for the future.

Fifi Flowers said...

VERY clever!

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Great idea...and they turned out to be very classy and unique...

Christi @ A Southern Life said...

Very clever. Great job!

Kim @ Starshine Chic said...

They turned out fabulous. Great job. And I love how you added scripture and the extra touch of the keys & doorknob on the table.

Ruth Ann said...

Sooo beautiful! The colors are amazing! Great job!

CJ'SMOMMY*KIMBERLY said...

WOW You are creative!!! You'll be ready for Rhoda's burlap party too.Your really on the ball.Thanks for sharing with us.

Holly said...

Oh my goodness, I love it!! We must be kindred spirits.:)

Unknown said...

That looks AmAzInG! I love, love, love it!

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Really like your pictures and your vignette you created. You did good!
Glenda

Anonymous said...

How beautiful your work is. Loved the prices too!

Christina said...

Great project and love the vignette you created. Looks wonderful!

Saz said...

Thats amazing how you bring things togtehr and they all become one! Great display I always wish I could do that with my bits and bobs, no can do!!

great! thanks for popping by!!I too will returns

Maureen said...

Awesome! You need your own show...

Marsha said...

What a wonderful idea - it really does look amazing. You have definitely have a knack for decorating and creating. Great work!

The Stylish House said...

Marsha,
This turned out very well. I especially like that used parchment paper behind the pictures. It adds a nice finishing touch. ~Cathy~