Botanical Gardens

Create Helen Cant’s pretty botanical-themed découpage jewellery set

Heritage style is a key trend this season with designers taking inspiration from the past to bring to the present. This project transforms simple wooden craft shapes into pretty antique style accessories by painting and covering with a range of gorgeous images that can be printed from your home printer. Complete with an elegant box for storing your trinkets, this set’s ideal for bringing a touch of on-trend vintage glamour to both your wardrobe and dressing table!

Preparing and Printing images

1. Visit http://www.thegraphics fairy.com and browse the free Clip Art categories selecting a variety of images to use. We chose ones from the Botanical, Birds & Eggs, and Bugs & Butterflies sections). Place the images into a blank A4 document in a program of your choice with ruler guides. Measure your wooden shapes and box and begin to plan the composition of the pieces, identifying the sections of the images you are going to use. Scale the images referring to the document ruler guides so that the identified sections fit the wooden shapes.
2. If your program has an option which allows simple shapes to be drawn, try creating a to scale representation of the wooden shapes. Then use these as a reference to help you to size your images. Alternatively, create rough trial prints and experiment, cutting out sections of the images and fitting them to the wooden shapes.
3. If necessary return to your document and make any required adjustments to the scaling. Once you are happy with the size of your images, load good quality matt coated paper into your printer and print them out. For optimum printing quality, ensure your printer is set to its’ highest quality level in the preferences menu.

Trinket Box

1. Tear strips of plain paper from an old book or sheet music and adhere using PVA glue to the rim of a blank box lid, so it is fully covered. Cut and tear flower and butterfly motifs from the downloaded images. To fit a section of an image to the edge of the box lid, lay it over the top, then mark with a pencil by feeling the edge below before cutting with scissors.
2. Tear vintage sheet music and pages from an old book into small pieces. Lay the butterfly and flower images on top of the lid in their desired positions. Mark the areas of the lid not covered by the images then adhere the pieces of torn sheet music and old book pages over them using PVA glue.
3. Using more adhesive, stick the butterfly and flower images to the lid, in the spaces between the text. Ensure that you press down well to ensure no air bubbles are trapped beneath, then leave to fully dry. Tear some appropriate accent words from an old book and adhere to the lid using PVA glue before leaving to fully dry. Tear a further selection of pieces of sheet music and pages from an old book then adhere to the rest of the box, using PVA before leaving to fully dry.
4. Use a soft brush to apply a coat of varnish to both the lid and box to seal the paper then leave to fully dry. Coat the edge of the lid with PVA then adhere a strip of lace ribbon all the way around before leaving to dry. To finish use strong glue to adhere three topaz flat back gems and a flat back flower cabochon to the lid.

Brooch

1. Apply three coats of a suitable shade of acrylic paint to the edges of a square wooden shape then leave to fully dry. Cut flower and bee motifs and a section of script type from the downloaded images. Use straight cuts where the images meet the edge of the wooden shape and torn edges elsewhere. To create a worn effect on white areas, dab with a used tea bag then leave to fully dry.
2. Firmly adhere the images to the wooden shape using PVA glue overlapping them slightly for a layered effect. Ensure that you press down and flatten the images well to ensure no air bubbles are trapped beneath, then leave to fully dry.
3. Using a soft paintbrush, apply a coat of varnish to the wooden shape as before to seal the paper then leave to fully dry. Drill three small holes at the bottom of the wooden shape and thread a 9mm jump ring through each. Create two beaded head pins and attach to the jump rings along with a leaf charm before closing. To finish use strong glue to apply a brooch finding to the reverse.

Necklace

1. Mix blue, yellow and white acrylic paint together to create a shade of green to complement your selected images. Apply three coats to the front and edges of a wooden heart shape allowing the paint to dry between coats. Cut and tear a sheet of vintage music to create a selection of pieces to fit together along the left side of the wooden shape. Secure using PVA glue.
2. Using a craft knife, cut a bird motif from the downloaded images and also tear a section of appropriate text from an image. To give the torn paper a vintage appearance, dab with a used tea bag then leave to fully dry. Using PVA glue firmly adhere the image and text to the wooden shape. Ensure you flatten and smooth the paper well to make sure no air bubbles are trapped beneath it. Cut off any excess paper overhanging the edge of the shape or alternatively fold it around the edges ensuring it is well adhered.
3. Using a soft paintbrush apply a coat of varnish to the wooden shape to seal the paper then leave to fully dry away from sources of fluff and dust. Mix a small amount of strong glue according to the manufacturer’s instructions then apply a flower cabochon to the top left-hand side of the wooden shape before leaving to fully set. Mix a further small amount of strong glue then apply a bail to the reverse of the heart, before again leaving to fully set.
4. Thread a bead cap followed by an 8mm pearl and 6mm light pink bicone onto a head pin, trim the excess then form a neat loop using round nosed pliers. Repeat three more times, then create four beaded head pins using single 8mm topaz glass faceted beads. Cut a 46cm length of chain and pass through the bail. Using 6mm jump rings, attach the beaded head pins to the chain at either side. To finish secure a jump ring, extension chain and lobster clasp to the ends.

Earrings

1. Apply three coats of a suitable shade of acrylic paint to the edges and one side of two small square wooden shapes as before. Cut two matching sections of flower motif from the downloaded images. Firmly adhere to each of the shapes using PVA. Ensure that you press down and flatten the images well to make sure no air bubbles are trapped beneath, then leave to fully dry. Using a soft paintbrush apply a coat of varnish to each of the blanks as before to seal the paper before leaving again to dry.
2. Drill a small hole at the top of each of the wooden shapes. Thread a bead cap followed by a 10mm pearl then a 6mm topaz glass bicone onto an eye pin. Trim the excess then form a neat loop using round-nosed pliers. Repeat to create a matching pin. Open two 9mm jump rings and thread through each of the holes of the wooden shapes before attaching to the beaded eye pins. To finish, slip onto earwires.