Growing up in a small town in the 1980s and 90s meant growing up with the ghosts of the Gilded Age. Edwardian buildings lined our streets, often still in use. Newer corner stores took the place of older ones, and they still looked much the same as they always had. Going to visit friends or family often meant climbing century-old staircases and treading on century-old wooden floorboards. And if you were in the right place at the right time, you could stumble on fading artwork from the turn of the 20th century. Liminal spaces could still be found under bridges and in alleyways, and they offered you the chance to enter the Belle Epoque, to really feel it all around you. It always felt eerie and oddly comfortable, like visiting someplace you’d forgotten.
To be totally honest with you, I don’t know for sure why I’m drawn to antique advertising and packaging. It could be the fact that it was always there from my earliest memories, or that I was exposed to those liminal spaces and they worked on me on some deeper level. There might even be some weirder explanation. But I found my way back to this aesthetic a few years ago and it’s still a big part of my life. In trying to figure out ways to play with that aesthetic and make it useable in my life, I stumbled on cabuchon jewelry and magnets. Now I can make a lot of my own Mary, Everything swag, from bookmarks to pendants, and it looks better than a lot of what I could find if I used, I don’t know, Redbubble or something.
I won’t be able to give you a full DIY tutorial complete with pictures because of time constraints (I’m so sorry!) but I can tell you roughly how it’s done, tell you about my own artistic process, and give you ideas about where you can find tutorials and materials if you’d like to try for yourself. It’s a skill you can learn fairly easily, and with time and practice, you can get away from the kinds of mistakes that will ruin a piece and force you to start over.
What you’ll need:
-Ultra high quality prints of the art you want to use (Go to Staples and order these from the print counter - you’ll thank yourself!)
-Glass cabuchons in the shape you want (Get these from Amazon or Etsy stores that specialize)
-Glamour Seal glue from Annie Howes (Get this specifically; there’s no alternative. Anything else will discolor and ruin your piece.)
-E-6000 clear epoxy (like $6 US for a good sized tube at Jo-Ann)
-Your jewelry setting. This can be anything from a pendant tray to earrings to a hair clip. If you’re making magnets, I’ll explain how I do those below.
-A good pair of scissors
-(For magnets) Your choice of fabric to use as a backing. I like unbleached muslin for a lot of magnets but some pieces demand colorful calico prints instead. Use what speaks to you - you really can’t make the wrong choice.
-(For magnets) - The actual magnet itself. I’ve been getting neodymium magnets like these - they work well for 1” squares as well as smaller tile magnets.
Optional:
-Adobe Photoshop (I use it for everything so for me it’s indispensable)
-Clear nail polish (for basic office paper - i.e. if you didn’t go to Staples and have your stuff printed on their medium-weight paper)
-Folders to store your image prints
-Plastic organizer containers to store backings, findings, ribbon, fabric, and half-finished pieces
-A box to store everything in. You’ll end up with a lot of supplies, so it helps to have it all stored in one place. I bought one of those boxes that look like a suitcase (without handles) from Jo-Ann and decorated the inside with printouts of Edwardian and 1920s ads. I call it my “Edwardian Box”.
-Spray adhesive if you want to try lining the backs of your pendant trays with nice fabric
Getting Your Bearings
Firstly, the links I provided are just to give you a jumping-off point. I encourage you to shop around - there are so many sizes and shapes and finishes out there, so make sure you find the look (and price) you want. That being said, I’ve loved everything I’ve bought from Annie Howes; you can rely on her for quality. Plus, she’s got the puffy square glass tiles. I kinda dig those and I haven’t found the puffy ones anywhere else.
Also, a basic search on Etsy will provide you a rabbit hole you will easily get lost in without hope of getting back out. There’s basic graphics and there’s the junk journaling collage stuff, among other things. It’s quick and easy to buy digital downloads of art - sometimes too quick and easy - so before you hit the “pay now” button, make sure you have exactly the art you want. If you like part of a collage but not the whole thing, you might want to take a few minutes and see if you can’t find the original, the way it was before it got put in someone else’s collage. They had to get it from somewhere, right?
That Magnet
Alright, so you have your high-resolution printouts, your magnet piece, your glass, your Glamour Seal glue, and your fabric. Let’s do this.
Get that glass handy and make sure it’s clean. Squeeze a dab of that glue onto your art. This is kind of a trial-and-error thing - there’s no one right size. It depends on your piece. But there is kind of a Goldilocks zone - too much and you oversaturate your piece and get it everywhere, too little and it won’t stick. But the first time doesn’t matter as much - put a dab on there and rub it in with your finger. The Glamour Seal stuff is water-based and non-toxic - it’s a lot like Elmer’s glue. Get the area you want to use good and covered. Now squeeze another little bead of it over the area you’re using - and then drop your glass onto it. This is where that “learned skill” I mentioned comes in. What you’re gonna do is start gently pressing the glass down and squeezing the glue out. Flip it over and start using your fingers to flatten the paper against the glass, gently massaging the glue bubbles out. You want to get it as flat as you can. What makes Glamour Seal special is that it dries completely transparent, as long as you don’t have too much of it. If you do have too much of it, you’ll saturate your paper and it’ll fall apart on you when you start pressing it against the glass. If you have too little inside, you can lift your paper just a bit and squeeze a little more in there - just don’t pull your paper all the way off the glass. You’re committed now, for better or worse, so don’t remove it completely.
Once you’ve flattened it and it looks fairly good (you might still have a few tiny pockets of glue but that’s alright - those will dry and fade), leave it to dry for about twenty minutes or so, paper side up. Once it’s dry, grab those scissors and cut around your glass. You won’t want the paper sticking out too much - it should be neat and flush.
Now is the moment of truth. Did you go to Staples and have your stuff printed on their medium weight paper? If you didn’t and you’re using basic thin office paper, you’ll need to coat the back of the paper with a layer of clear nail polish. The reason for this is that the E-6000 we’re about to use will discolor your piece so bad it’ll barely be recognizable when you’re done. It’s harsh stuff for inkjet prints. But if you’ve got good quality medium-weight paper, it usually resists the ravages of epoxy.
Squeeze a small dab of E-6000 onto your fabric and put the paper side of your piece onto it. We’re doing the same thing we did last time, except that you won’t have to worry about the same level of delicate craftsmanship. Just smoosh it on there and rub the fabric in. Make sure the entire back of the fabric, at least the area that’s touching your glass and paper, is wet with the E-6000. Also make sure there are no bunches or anything in the fabric - you want it smooth and taut and flat. Wipe any excess epoxy off of the glass side and leave your piece to dry, fabric side up. This time we’re gonna give it 10-12 hours. It takes E-6000 about 24 hours to set fully, but these last steps won’t matter so much for that.
Come back in about 10-12 hours and cut your fabric neatly to match the shape of your glass. You’ll want it flush with the edges. Once you’ve done that, add another tiny dab of E-6000 on the middle of the fabric and drop your magnet on it. Get it smooshed on but don’t smoosh all the glue out from under it - you’ll still need a little between the magnet and the fabric to keep the magnet attached. Wipe off some of your excess and leave it to dry, magnet side up, for a good 24 hours.
When you come back, the magnet should be attached firmly and your piece should be ready to stick on the fridge.
Like I said, I couldn’t take a ton of pictures of the process because of time constraints but it’s a fairly simple process. Once you’ve made a magnet, doing stuff with jewelry trays should be pretty intuitive. And if you’re still confused, Youtube has a bunch of tutorials.
Once you have your stuff set in trays, you can attach them to ribbons for bookmarks, or to jewelry findings to put on chains to wear as pendants or bracelets. There’s so much you can do with this.
Surround yourself with your aesthetic!
Excerpt
The crosswalk is the busiest place in town any time of the year, and even if Braddock has a fraction of the people in the summer, it’s still bustling. As I’m coming up, I spot a girl approaching from my left. She’s ghostly pale like me, with auburn hair cut in a short bob around her soft jawline. The most striking thing about her is her narrow, almond-shaped eyes. I’ve always thought chicks with eyes like that are really cute. They catch mine as I approach, and there’s a kind of click; two people in a crowd with matching energy. She greets me with a narrow, witty smile. I return hers in my usual unintentional way, soft and genuine and a little bit sad-looking without ever meaning to seem that way. And we stand there for a minute, waiting for the traffic to clear.“Say, is it gonna be dry like this all week?” she asks.
“Um…” I wish I had a better answer ready. “I think so? I haven’t really checked the weather.”
“Why, I sure hope it is.” She stares back across the street at the shade of College Green. “Anything I hate is rain in the summer.”
Roll my eyes in agreement. “Ugh, totally.”
I sneak a look at her. She’s wearing a brown bell-shaped hat, the kind that were popular in the 1920s. She’s wearing a 20s style dress, too: green, knee-length, with a round-cut neckline and loose cap sleeves. She’s even wearing old-fashioned brown stockings and brown heels. It catches my eye and I stare for a second or two; it’s a hot day for stockings, especially the old-fashioned silk kind like that. And her shoes are really retro, like old church grandma shoes. She must shop at that vintage thrift store all the way up at the far end of Court Street; it’s the only place around here where you could get clothes like that, unless she goes thrifting in Columbus.
She’s standing here next to me, watching the street, not self-conscious at all. Like she wears stuff like that every day without even thinking about it.
Then she looks at me, glances away, looks at me again a little longer. Her eyes linger on my top and on my legs, and she looks away again, blushing. I’ve always been a little bit empathic and I can feel curiosity in her glance. And…attraction?
Nah, that can’t be right - girls are never into me. Maybe I look too preppy, I don’t know. I’m a D&D nerd, raised on video games from the age of five, but because I wear an Abercrombie hoodie or Hollister shorts or flat iron my hair, people assign me a whole package of expectations - Courtney is a bitch, Courtney’s stuck-up, Courtney’s a backstabbing gossip, Courtney’s rich. Courtney is heterosexual...? Look, I’ll be honest with you, I’m gonna have a hard time living up to all of that. Maybe not the bitch thing - because yeah, I’m probably a bitch - but the rest of it?
Sorry, no can do.
The traffic finally stops from the other direction. I give her one last smile - which she returns warmly - and step onto the street. A few quick steps take me to the other sidewalk. I stop and look at my slender Fossil watch, making a pretense to turn in her direction again for one last look. She’s awfully cute, and I love her chic vintage style. I wonder if she’d think I was creepy if-
There’s nobody there. I glance around to see if she took off in another direction. Nothing. There are plenty of people around, walking dogs, wearing flip-flops, riding bikes. But no girls with vintage clothes.
She’s gone. It’s like she was never there.
But she totally was there! I talked to her!
Unless I’m finally losing it?
I rub an eye with the heel of my hand, not really caring that I just stamped dry mascara on my skin. Maybe I need to get out more. Maybe I need friends. I stand on the busy sidewalk for a moment, completely disoriented, before remembering that I was looking for a place to sit down and eat my salad. But even as I make my way onto College Green and up toward the Civil War statue, looking for a place to sit, I can’t get that girl out of my head. Not just because she was cute. Something about her, that weird click when we saw each other.
Eh, maybe I’ll see her again. I shove a straw through the lid of my drink. Nobody just vanishes.
I wish you could just disappear.
Though I guess if you wanted to disappear, this would be the place to do it. Outside the city limits, the nights are dark and old, and people who vanish are never seen again.
About the Author:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment