THE ALTERED FLEA: San Francisco

Showing posts with label San Francisco. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Repurposing City Maps & Picture Frames

Our older daughter lives in "The City by the Bay," which also happens to be my old hometown. She absolutely loves everything about San Francisco. On our last visit, I noticed she didn't have any coasters, and since she is "borrowing" her grandparents' antique furniture...let's just say, the coffee table will soon need a new coat of varnish. Until then, I decided to combine fun with functional, and use an old SF map to create coasters and a coordinating serving tray for her.

Here is the tray I started with, found at a thrift store for $3.

Someone had previously added handles onto a picture frame, so it saved me a step.

I painted the frame with an antique white paint using a light brush stroke here and there to give the tray a distressed, vintage look. After all, paper maps are vintage, right?

After deciding on the section of the map for the tray, I cut it to size to fit inside the frame and decoupaged it into place. Then I painted the handles sage green to match the green parks on the map. I sealed the entire tray with antique-colored decoupage to emphasize a vintage look.

Then I cut four 4" squares from another section of the map and decoupaged them onto stone tiles.

Not leaving well enough alone, I decoupaged a small box to neatly hold the four tile coasters when not being used.

For the photo op, I leaned the tray against my kitchen wall, coincidently right under a schematic of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now I'm going to pop the tray and coaster set into the mail -- marked fragile, handle with care -- and surprise my daughter with a little handmade DIY.

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Monday, November 5, 2012

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

They say you can take the girl out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the girl. Well, in this case, the city. You can take me out of San Francisco, but you can never take San Francisco out of this girl. Or something like that. Let me explain it better with an altered art project.

Recently, as you baseball fans all know, the San Francisco Giants ~~won~~ swept the 2012 World Series. It was an exciting week, as long as you were rooting for the orange and black uniforms. To celebrate their win, I created a keepsake using a recycled tin can and a few embellishments...and chocolate kisses.

I used the same technique as my Pull Tab in Case of Chocolate Emergency altered can. This project is easily adaptable to any sports team, holiday or event! It's very easy. Start with a can of pineapple chunks, soup, beans, or whatever canned food you have around the house. Be sure the can's bottom has the sharp edge just like the top. Turn the can UPSIDE DOWN, and using a can opener, remove the BOTTOM "lid." Eat the contents, then wash the can really well and let air dry.

I used black cardstock paper and a Giants logo that I printed off their website. I decoupaged the paper and the logo onto the can, remembering to work UPSIDE DOWN. I'm repeating this base on experience because it's easy to forget that the bottom will be the top when you are finished.

Since it's Autumn, I found a package of chocolate kisses that were orange, silver and red. I knew the orange and silver ones would be great as they match the Giants colors. What to do with the leftover red ones? Save them for a later project! [Who am I kidding? Just eat them.]

I decided to make several of these Giants cans, so I only filled half of the can and used white shredded paper to fill the remaining space.

Then glue the "bottom" lid back on. Last time I made these cans, I used hot glue, but the lid didn't lay flat. This time, I used the decoupage medium, and held the lid in place for a few minutes. It created a perfect seal. No one will be the wiser. That's the fun thing about this gift. The recipient will not know how the chocolate got into the "un-opened" can.

Then I added embellishments including orange & white twine [found in the craft aisle for a dollar at WalMart], foam baseball, bat and cap [found an entire package at the grocery store in their dollar bin]. The decoupage worked great for adhering the embellishments as well as sealing the can. I tied a large orange ribbon to the tab, but felt it needed one more embellishment.

I stamped "SF" onto a small white tag

and tied the tag onto the ribbon.

My niece is a huge fan of the Giants, so I'm going to send this altered can to her. Maybe in return she'll send me a 2012 Giants World Series baseball cap. Let's see if she reads my blog!

Editor's Note:

If you're reading this post in or after September 2013, it is safe to say our beloved San Francisco Giants [will] clinch the division title again...this time, for last place [sigh]. #toomuchpressure

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Irish Coffees at the BV

Nothing beats a cold, foggy day in San Francisco than a warm Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista. Except maybe two Irish Coffees! Just a week ago, we sauntered into our favorite local establishment and imbibed in a couple of these delicious liquid refreshments. The fact that it wasn't cold or foggy isn't really important! [It was actually close to 80 degrees that day.] However, we didn't miss our chance to dine at The BV anyway. After all, it's been a San Francisco icon since 1889.

Back in Southern California [tell me again why we ever moved?], it was time to think about a gift for Father's Day. I immediately remembered the two napkins I [accidentally on purpose] took with me that day. The napkins detail a beautiful line drawing of The Buena Vista. How can I incorporate these into a gift for my husband?

Although I'm a master at decoupage, I had never used napkins in any of my projects--until now.

I gathered all my supplies: the napkins (obviously), 4" ceramic tiles, paper cutter, sharp scissors, off-white cardstock, corner rounder, liquid chalk, Mod Podge and a brush, and a pint of my favorite Irish Whiskey [this item is optional].

Since the napkin was so thin, I decided to first decoupage plain cardstock onto the tile. I cut two 3-3/4" squares, rounded the corners and edged them with brown chalk. Then decoupaged the cardstock to the tiles.

I cut out the illustration with sharp scissors, keeping the napkin folded. It was easier to get a precise cut using the four napkin layers. Then I CAREFULLY decoupaged the just the top layer of the napkin to the front of the cardstock tile.

It was a little tricky to lay down the thin napkin, but if you work gently and quickly, you get a great result. Three more coats of decoupage and felt rounds to the back finished the project.