DIY New Life for Old Plates, Millinery Flowers and Junk Jewelry

I wanted to share  a little project I love to do when I have some spare time away from making jewelry to create FUNctional assemblage pieces. I have collected shabby old vintage and antique plates for many years now. I wrote about it in 2012 for Stampington, along with a mirror plate project that was a bit more simple. I love this little plate mirror project because it incorporates many things that I love to collect~ mirrors, vintage jewelry, old plates and vintage millinery. I love the results I got with this recent project. I think the key is not to over think your design...just go with it! You can always go back and add or subtract as you see fit. When I first started this project, I did not tape the mirror in place on the plate and it slid to one side and cured that way. I decided to fill the bottom in with flowers and broken bits of vintage jewelry. This one has a shabby old vintage watch in the mix, as well as flowers and velvet leaves from old hats, vintage pins with missing rhinestones and backs, and bits of tatted lace.

Basic materials you need for this project:
broken jewelry parts (Ebay, Etsy)
old (or new) millinery flowers (Estate sales, Etsy, Thrift Stores)
round, beveled mirror that fits into the center of your plate (I got mine at Michael's)
old plate (check thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales)
E-6000 and/or hot glue gun (Michael's, Walmart, Etsy)
popsicle stick
blue painter's tape (hardware store, grocery store)

close up of assemblage mirror plate embellishment

large chipped vintage Wedgwood dinner plate, embellished with flowers and old jewelry

Spread the glue onto the back of the mirror with the popsicle stick and place on plate. Tape edges down with the painters tape until cured (about 8 hours).

Tape should peel right off, leaving no residue.
Use hot glue to adhere the millinery flowers to the plate. Since they are not weighty, they shouldn't come off easily.
Use the E-6000 to adhere the jewelry parts, using the painter's tape to keep pieces from sliding around if necessary. Let cure for 12 hours before hanging with a plate hanger.

 If this inspires you, Don't forget to pin this to your craft board on Pinterest! (and please credit me as well!)

If you would like to purchase these one of a kind pieces, visit my Etsy Shop.
www.SacredCake.Etsy.com

Free Easy DIY Earring Display Idea

 I don't like my favorite assemblage jewelry to hide in a box, so I made something simple to display my assemblage earrings that is easy to make, and makes each pair easy to see and enjoy, wear and replace.

What I did~
I added small eye screws from a picture hanging kit to an antique rubber carriage wheel. The rubber is very hard, but very easy to screw into. I used a saw tooth picture hanging bracket for the back. Just nail it right into the hard rubber.
I also used a chemical called "Novacan Black" to make the bright metal of the eye screws look dark and aged.
I did something a bit differently in another post here,  
to display my favorite necklaces with a large antique tricycle wheel.
Hope this inspires you! I love to display my artful collection of earrings. Earrings pictured clockwise from the top are Sacred Cake,  Age Before Beauty, Sacred Cake,  Fanciful Devices, and Read Between the Lines.

I've even found some for you! just follow these leads by clicking on the photo:

Decorating Ideas with Vintage Jewelry

Just fun kind of post about what I've been doing with some vintage jewelry as home decor! Vintage jewelry can be found so many places...garage sales are probably the cheapest place, followed by thrift stores, flea markets and then antique shops. Also, online one Etsy and ebay!
The vintage rhinestone necklace stash above has come from several years of picking them up for a dollar or two, or tangled in one of the bags of junk jewelry I've purchased to make my assemblage jewelry out of.
My first idea was to use the vintage necklaces as curtain tie backs~

vintage rhinestone necklace tie back

vintage brooch, vintage multistrand curtain decor

 I use old  shabby pieces of lace held in place by vintage brooch to disguise an ugly lampshade, and an old multistrand vintage pearl necklace (bought for a song) to use to hold the curtain back from the window. I made a pendant lamp out of antique lace scraps as well. Here is the lace pendant lamp idea.
I love very shabbiest of things, and this old lace dress is a favorite that graces an old painted door that leads to the laundry room and storage area. Notice at the top of the hanger, I have put an old brooch. Very easy. Just close the brooch and slide the brooch over the end of the vintage hanger. This is a great way to display special jewelry that would otherwise be languishing unseen in a box somewhere. Behind the dress  is a holey old lace table cloth I added for more texture. I think when decorating with lots of shades of white, it is important to have layers and lots of texture.
The little felt and button heart pocket was a gift from my mother, and seems to go perfectly with this little vignette.

antique dress with vintage dry cleaner hanger and pearly brooch

for us, the shabbier, the better!

My husband and I both love super shabby things in shades of white mostly. We are slowly renovating our old home, but that doesn't mean that it can't be  enjoyed and decorated in fun ways in the meantime! I found a fun use for the pile of vintage necklaces, that I combined with the chandelier in my studio, which is already festooned with antique "Willow" children's tea set pieces and old chandelier crystals. The antique chandelier is from the early 1920's, and came with a gorgeous slag glass marble held in the center by long leaves of metal. I'm still considering painting it white eventually.

antique chandelier, tin Willow plates, rhinestone necklaces

assemblage chandelier with rhinestone necklaces and children's toys

The chandelier looks much better "in real life"...very sparkly! I don't have the best kind of camera...just a point and shoot type. As you can see, the ceiling is missing from the studio! I kind of like it, but I'm thinking it needs something else...maybe old doors or window frames? I'm thinking old linens and some tacks. I'm SO not wanting to do sheet-rock. Lord save me from sheet rock!

The butterfly mobile in the background came from a favorite Etsy shop called Royal Buffet. Mollie, the owner, has also written a wonderful book on paper craft which  I LOVE, (did I mention I am a paper hoarder?) 
Mollie's book is called ~ Make & Do: Paper Fascinations for Every Lovely Occasion.

antique mirror with paper garland and old brooch

 I often festoon mirrors and picture frames with broken brooches. The one above is a big rhinestone brooch that I glued on to a piece of filigree, then attached it tothe mirror with a tiny nail. The garland is something I made years ago for Christmas, but I like it so much I left it up. It says "Joyeux"...French word for "Joyous". I love the juxtaposition of sparkly things with shabby things.
I hope you like these ideas.. Please share them with friends. I'd love to hear your ideas as well!

Blessings to You and Yours,
Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake