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.
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.
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.
You can tell that it is more shallow.
I used a mixture of the same two colors.
I used the sage first.
Then I used a dash of the turquoise.
You can tell that it is NOT near as deep as the original one.
Please ignore the dying overgrown vegetation. It’s been so hot that I haven’t taken very good care of the yard.
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.
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.
Then I lightly glazed jus the frame, leaving the inside alone.
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:
I ironed half of it so that I could wash it as a test.
I used a very old pillow case to cover the drop cloth.
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.
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:
gail
![transformation-thursday-button2[1]](https://lh4.ggpht.com/_TrDKdmiRg0Q/TG0xHjPkcLI/AAAAAAAAJf4/iZ8sCTsqaLA/transformation-thursday-button2%5B1%5D%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800 "transformation-thursday-button2[1]")
I appreciate you reading my blog in your reader and/or via email.
You can reach me at gail@MyRepurposedLife.net
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.
Christopher Fugle
Check out: http://www.practicallyfunctional.com/diy-custom-printed-fabric-tags/ for the vinegar setting trick. Back in my heyday when tinted jeans were the rage (ooops gave away my age there) all the denim companies set their jeans for vinegar rinses to set the dyes up properly. The cheaper jeans did not and those with cream couches found denim stains permanently etched into the fabric.
Chris
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?
Gail Wilson
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
holly
Thanks for sharing the printer transfer technique, I am anxious to try this!
ruby t
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
Le Grenier d'Elisa
hello, my ink wash dissolves on my prints on fabric. Do you have a solution please because I'm ironing my motive, nothing to do!
HELP! HELP!
thank you
Elisa
Carlton Edwards
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.
gail@myrepurposedlife.com
Thanks for letting us know Carlton. I appreciate you sharing that with me and my friends.
gail
Mountain Woman
Did you use an ink jet or laser jet printer when you printed on drop cloth fabric?
My Home Rocks
I've been exploring the vintage label effect myself, love it!: http://www.myhomerocks.com/2012/04/the-vintage-label-effect/
Unknown
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 🙂
Ms Bingles Vintage Christmas
Oh, I love your birdbath! It is my favorite color!
You did a wonderful job on it!
Thank you for sharing~
Leticia
Lindy
Awesome birdbath. I love the color and the sweet little bed where it lives. So cute.
L.
C'est Magnifique
I love that bird bath, I want to make my own! Can I ask how you attached the lid to the candlestick since it has a handle in the way?
Tania
Meg
I remember that bird bath the first time around! Do the birds like it now! I am very happy with your shadow box change. It turned out great!
Gail, I'd love it if you'd link up to my Friday link party!
http://alittleknickknack.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-post.html
Have a lovely day!
Happy Cottage Quilter
Now that is totally cool! I love the birdbath and will be on the look out for a large lid at the local thrift stores. Very creative.
Jeralee
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. 🙂
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper
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. 😉
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper
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. 😉
Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence
Love all of it, but especially the birdbath.
Erin@likegrandmas
Great idea, I want a bird bath and this makes it more achievable!
Stephanie
That bird bath looks wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing the fabric do's and don'ts that you are learning, saves me time!
Amy
oh man! I just passed up a whole box of enamel lids (FREE) - now I have to go back and get them, lol!
Proper Prim
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
Granny J
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.