I love going to antique stores and thrift stores looking for inspiration and objects that can be made into art. Vintage items have aesthetics that lend themselves perfectly to telling stories through creative repurposing. Lately I have been buying up a bunch of vintage wall hangings. I finally decided the white retro sconce needed to become a bird cage.
I decided to repurpose the wall hanging on the bottom.
I started sketching my idea by tracing the back of the sconce onto paper so I could get the dimensions and proportions right. I knew I wanted to make an owl out of paper to give the artwork a 3D pop because the wall hanging had a few inches of depth that could be filled.
Early sketch.
Defining the lines.
Checking how the design measured up inside the wall hanging cage.
I started making the bird out of scrapbook paper. I decided to use shimmery scrapbook paper on this instead of my usual upcycled paper because I wanted it to feel really playful and vibrant.
'Who' is that? (couldn't resist)
I used Color Shift acrylic paint that I have never used before to give the paper illustration a bit more depth.
Side by side of the little owl. I named him Romeo.
I started constructing the other parts. I scratched up the plastic wall hanging so glue would hold the paper elements to it. I used Alene's craft glue for the entire project.
Making the flowers was the most time intensive part. The two flowers took hours with the cutting, painting, and curling, and then glueing together.
Painted a shimmery back onto the wall hanging and started putting together all the parts I painted.
As I put the pieces together it became obvious that my scale of the flowers was off and only one could fit inside after putting in the leaves and the owl.
I moved the other flower to the bottom and accented it with some remaining leaves and added the butterfly to it to make the owl the true focal point of the top.
Even though there was a bit of rearranging needed the final piece turned out perfect! I just love Romeo the little owl! I don't think Romeo will live with me. I think he needs to find a new home to fly away to but I don't really have the heart to part with him just yet. I would love to see him land in a child's room.
Little Romeo is all cozy in his new home.
The final piece is actually kinda hard to photograph. It is much more dimensional in person than it shows up in images. He really looks comfy in his new home!