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Various Updates

ByGail Wilson Published on Updated on
25 Comments

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I’m sure you remember this project. I got this giant candlestick and pot lid during the Hop & Shop in Indy with Sarah and Beckie.

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I painted it all up to match and put it in my front flower bed by the fish pond. But! The birds do not like it. I am guessing they think it’s too deep. I tried to put a little something in there for them to land on, but no, they still didn’t visit. I do have a small (very old) concrete birdbath that the birds frequent every day. But I really wanted them to like this one.

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I picked up some enamel lids. I actually had already bought this one when I found the other two at Joey’s booth for 50% off.

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You can tell that it is more shallow.

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I used a mixture of the same two colors.

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I used the sage first.

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Then I used a dash of the turquoise.

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You can tell that it is NOT near as deep as the original one.

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Please ignore the dying overgrown vegetation. It’s been so hot that I haven’t taken very good care of the yard.

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100_9366 This shadow box is the one I made for my shadow box tutorial. Ya’ll know I was never really happy with the finish. I continue to struggle with paint choices. I know that paint can make or break a project. Check out my first experience with changing my mind on this desk. I’m currently working on a project. I’ve got the primer on it, but can’t decide on a color.

100_5874 I painted the whole thing with Rustoleum Heirloom White. I sprayed the front and inside, and brushed on the back and outside parts. I was NOT going to try to paint the inside again with a brush.

100_5913 Then I lightly glazed jus the frame, leaving the inside alone.

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100_5951 I used some of Jamie’s items to stage it. I don’t have a place to hang it. It will wait in storage until I find a new home for it.

Now about the fabric I printed on:

100_5889 I ironed half of it so that I could wash it as a test.

100_5896 I used a very old pillow case to cover the drop cloth.

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This is how it came out of the dryer. You can see that the left side is faded. I washed it in a regular cycle in cold water. I also used Fray Check on the ironed side. You can see that it did make a difference.

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Here it is laying on the other one I printed. I realized that I don’t think I ever washed this drop cloth. I have had it for years and actually use half of it for a “drop cloth”. heheheh   See how different the fabric looks? I wonder if it would have “set” better had it been washed prior to printing? If you were to see the ironed part without seeing the other one, I’m not sure you would know that it faded. It just sort of has that aged look to it. So, to sum it up, ironing did help set it. I made a little pillow with one of the images:

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gail

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You can reach me at gail@MyRepurposedLife.net

My Repurposed Life

Gail Wilson is the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. She is obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believes that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again, including herself!
Gail reinvented herself during a midlife crisis and has found purpose again. She hopes you will find new ideas for old things and pick up a few tools along the way.

25 Comments

    1. You are fantastic! I am an artist and create all things that I can with my own graphics and you have opened up a new world for me. The printed on fabric. And I think the drop cloths are made of canvas some heaver and some lighter. What was the lightness or the heaviness of what you sent through your printer?

    2. Chris,

      I can’t really say how light or heavy the drop cloth was. All I can tell you is that I always buy my drop cloths at Home Depot. Good luck, have fun!

      gail

  3. Gail et all..
    There is a product called Bubble Jet Set and also a wash by the same company. This is a treatment for the fabric that makes the ink jet ink set. I have used it and it works better than not setting. It also depends on the tightness of the fabric weave, composition, brand of ink, ink settings,length of time the ink has set before ironing and/or laundered, type of detergent, etc. So many variables
    Ink Jet ink is not formulated to be permanent..not like laser ink that is heat set and has a different chemical make-up. So it is rather surprising when something does make it through the wash etc.
    The fabric is soaked in the solution, dried and then it can be fed through the printer. Ironing the pieces of fabric onto the shiny side of freezer paper helps stiffen it up and leaves no sticky residue.
    You can get this product at most quilting supply stores.
    I hope this helps
    ruby t

    Reply

    1. Something I am about to try that I read on the internet. After printing on your fabric, place the printed fabric in white vinegar in a flat pan for 5 minutes. Remove fabric, hand wash to remove vinegar, dry and use how you like This process is supposed to “set” the ink.

  7. HOWDY! MY INK RUNS IF IT BECOMES WET, CAN I TREAT THE FABRIC ONCE ITS BEEN TREATED? I READ SOME WHERE THAT YOU CAN SPRAY IT WITH VINEGAR? I WAS THINKING IT WOULD RUN IF I SPRAYED IT. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? I SEE THAT YOU WASHED IT, I’M WONDERING IF YOU’RE USING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF INK IN YOUR PRINTER. LOVE YOUR IDEAS 🙂

    Reply

  13. You will have to let us know if the birds like the bath any better now that you have used a shallower lid. This is definitely in my list of projects to do. I can think of a spot in the backyard where it would look great.

    Also… thanks for all of the details and trial and error that you post with each project. It takes a lot of guess work out of it and makes the average person feel a little bit more confident about trying to pull off some of your great ideas.

    Love your stuff… as usual. 🙂

    Reply

  14. that birdbath is awesome! and my garden looks even sadder- the heat this summer just really hurt it, and i didn’t want to get out there and help it because it was so hot! i figure next spring we’ll have a little garden revival. for now, just waiting for mum season. 😉

    Reply

  15. that birdbath is awesome! and my garden looks even sadder- the heat this summer just really hurt it, and i didn’t want to get out there and help it because it was so hot! i figure next spring we’ll have a little garden revival. for now, just waiting for mum season. 😉

    Reply

  20. Gail that bird bath is adorable… great idea with the lid… I put a few larger rocks in the water so the butterflies and birds can land on them without getting their feet wet… it seemed to do the trick.

    Great job on the shadowbox. Thanks for taking the time to figure out the ironing vs non-ironing… that was my fist thought, can you wash it after. I really want to do that technique, now that all my questions have been answered. Thanks for posting that.

    Have a great day.

    Hugs, Deb

    Reply

  21. Love that old bench the candlestick is setting on in the first picture. Any old wood that shows it’s wear catches my eye.

    The birdbath is really pretty. Sorry the birds didn’t like it.

    The shadowbox looks great now. That would make someone a great Christmas gift.

    Reply

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