My Resene Upcycling Award entry

Ambi from Parnell

For my Resene Upcycling Awards project I chose to create these 18th Century French & Italian Rococo inspired pieces from old wooden picture frames, an old desktop craft easel, a wooden box that originally contained a board game and some handmade greeting cards.
All items have been upcycled with 95% recycled materials at an absolute minimum cost for material used. Unfortunately I don’t have 'before' pics because I began the projects before I knew of the Upcycling Awards.
The plain old picture frames were a kind gift from a friend returning home to England.
I made my own mouldings to decorate the plain frames with paper pulp made from newspaper & hot water. To do this I invested in a reusable silicone Efex Mould by ReDesign, from Dooney & Daughters, a lovely boutique vintage interior design supply shop in Remuera.
Other misc materials - paper napkins/adhesive used are from $2 & Red Cross Shops.
For handmade flower cards, I used bits of old lace & cardboard found in my craft box, flowers from my garden & wild flowers picked on my daily walks, dried & pressed.
All paint colours are from Resene test pots-metallic paints, Gold Dust & Bullion for gilding are from free test pot vouchers I got in the lovely Resene goody bags, when attending seminars at Home Ideas Centre Parnell 4 yrs ago, when I was doing my home renovation- (yes the paint is still good!). The base colours-Ziggurat & Gum Leaf-again free test pots I got by swapping food cans which were sent to local foodbanks for those in need by Resene in Feb/Mar when they supported The Salvation Army with the wonderful Resene Hunger For Colour campaign.
The beautiful blue embossed Italian bedroom wallpaper in the background I used for my photography is Resene Italian Classics Wallpaper Pattern No 4151.
Total cost for all materials used for all 6 pieces was under $5.00.
My intention is not only to recycle to save the environment but also to create beauty from trash that would otherwise end up in landfill. Also to support small local businesses, ethical NZ businesses and charity organisations. These items then become gifts for my friends & family - trash to treasure, and possibly even some day, trash to cash.

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