A single stencil can inspire an entire project and really take you on a journey! 

One of my favorite classic novels is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. I've always been fascinated with the roaring 20s, so it's no wonder I fell in love with the new Art Deco Wall Stencil from Finnabair and Prima Marketing. 

There is just something about the mix of classic art deco architecture, short flapper dresses and short hair, fascinator headbands, and stories of bootlegging during prohibition that make for a truly intriguing period of time during U.S. history. 

So when I was thinking about what I wanted to do with this gorgeous new stencil, I really wanted to create an entire project that was an ode to the Roaring 20s. While looking for inspiration, I remembered that I had a piece of costume jewelry from a friend's speakeasy themed birthday party. (It was a fun night where we were all dressed up in costume and danced the night away in basement bar!) This piece of costume jewelry was a fascinator headband inspired by the very one Daisy Buchanan wore in the latest The Great Gatsby movie (you know, the 2013 one with Leonardo DiCaprio). 

I wanted to create something soft and feminine, much like Daisy. so I pulled out some gorgeous pink and mauve colored items. You can always create your version in any color you like, but here are the Prima products I used: 

To start, apply the Modeling Paste through the Art Deco Wall Stencil on your canvas to create texture. Once it is dry, paint your entire canvas with the Dusty Rose Impasto Paint. After that dries, gently dry brush a bit of the Aqua-Rose Opal Magic Paint over the top of the stenciled texture to highlight it a little.

Create a resin mould from the large frame in the Vintage Ladies Moulds. I love how there is a shell at the top of this frame that looks like the art deco shell pattern in the stencil. Plus the vines at the bottom are sort of like the sparkly rhinestone portion of those fascinator headbands that wrap around your head.  Water down a little bit of your Impasto Paint and apply it to the mould. Before the paint dries, wipe off the paint from the raised areas to create easy highlights for a shabby chic look.

While that dries, fussy cut out some of the gold leaves from the vines paper in the Watercolor Floral Collection Paper Pad. Some other options might be some of the vines from The Plant Department Collection. I prefer to use a swivel craft knife and self healing mat to fussy cut, but a small pair of scissors will also work.

I trimmed my shell lace from Reneabouquets down into two pieces—the upper portion with the shell piece and the lower portion. I don’t like to waste and if you aren’t going to see the lower portion because it’s totally covered by flowers, you might as well cut it off and use it somewhere else on the project! Using Heavy Body Gel, glue the shell portion of the lace to the top of the frame, so the shell peeks out over the top. Then glue the frame down to the canvas. 

Using some of the small pink pearls from the Memory Hardware Pearls IV set, glue pearls around the inside of the frame. Then glue down the first layer of flowers. Tuck the rest of the lace under the flower on the bottom of the canvas. 

Add on the top layer of flowers, adding the lace drops under the flower at the bottom of the line. Tuck your fussy cut leaves under the one on the top of the line of flowers, feathering them out to mimic a fascinator headband. Add the brooch or button on top with more Heavy Body Gel. For the finishing touch, add a few Say it in Crystals. 

I really, really love how this project turned out. The texture, the feminine touches of pearls and jewels, and of course the gorgeous flowers! This truly is an art deco inspired mixed media piece!

Until next time, happy crafting!

Adrienne

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