Sunday, November 14, 2010

Queen of Junque - an upcycled crown

I've been crowned a Queen of Junque!

Okay...so I had to make my own crown...does it still count? :)

It all started when I saw this:

In my friend's garbage can. Yes, I garbage can dived. No one saw me so it was sneaky garbage can diving too. My friend and her husband had installed a clothes dryer and this was a leftover piece or an old piece, I can't remember. I saw it and knew it needed to be a crown. But that was months ago!

In September I bought a bucket at Goodwill and turned it into [this project]. It came with a little of what I called "Christmasification" that needed to be removed but I had just the thing to use them on (they were whispering "crown adornment" at me, I swear)


I needed height on my "crown" and since this was looking very much like a shabby chic junque project (and I knew I had a ton of it) chicken wire seemed my best bet! I made sure to cut a section wide enough to fit the circumference of the dryer fitting.


The lip in the center of the fitting was perfect for holding my chicken wire in place and I snipped the excess off the top leaving little uplifted bits to look like crown points. Where the wire meets in back I simply twisted it together to hold its round shape.


I recommend wearing some medium thickness gloves for working with the chicken wire. I also had some medium sized wire cutters (not the tiny ones I use for jewelry making).


Twisting the beaded sprigs onto the chicken wire was just a matter patience and a little finesse with some needle nose pliers.


For the bottom half - since I didn't want it to be rough or scratching any surface I happened to set it on - I used a long rectangle of white eco-felt and glued it both inside and outside of the crown edge.



I used some white decorative trim to cover the seam between the eco-felt and the dryer fitting.


And that, dear friends, is how I got crowned Queen of Junque. My friends and family now know that I will really make something out of anything. No one's garbage cans are safe! ;)



Also, don't give up if you have an idea and it doesn't come together right away. Like I mentioned earlier it took me months of little bits trickling into my stash and for me to formulate the right way to put them together.



But I think I need a smaller "head" for it to sit on...








Linking to:










House of Grace's Twice Owned party

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday


18 comments:

AlphaBetsy said...

Wow...that's gorgeous. I would never have thought it was a dryer piece and chicken wire. :)

theUngourmet said...

So pretty! I love that you found such a great way to use the "Christmasification" bling. :)

Myléne Hillam said...

Great project Molly. Having just built a house I recognised the base as ducting and I love that my dryer is now ducted outside (no more steamy laundry!). But I LOVE how you've put the left overs to an equally good use... your crown is superb!

jennwa said...

That is so beautiful. Great idea.

Megan said...

Gorgeous and clever! So's the crown ;-).

But who did you abdicate the "Queen of Spiders" throne too? And who is in charge of your minions now???

High Street Cottage said...

May I say...It's genius. I love it. I love that it was free. I love that you saw something extraordinary in what others saw as debris or garbage. I love that you saved the pearly bits instead of tossing them out from another project. And I love how it turned out. xoxo tami

Unknown said...

That is amazing and so beautiful!! GOOD JOB!!

Michelle said...

I so love this! It has been a long running joke amongst my friends of me being a queen yet I've never found the right crown. Maybe I'll have to keep my eyes open and make my own crown too!

Lacey said...

Um... WOW!.. this is just darling!

Theresa MacNaughton said...

Your crown is beautiful! Thanks for sharing how you created it. :) Every girl needs a pretty crown, I think. :) Theresa

Anonymous said...

so cute and unique...I swear I would have cut the you know what out of my hands doing that...

Take care,
Lisa

Jessica @ Decor Adventures said...

Really clever! I've always wanted to put a crown on the top of my tree but I haven't found one yet.

Maybe I'll jsut have ot make one!

Karisa said...

Wow, that's beautiful! I love upcycling projects like this. Thanks for sharing and for linking up at the FaveCrafts blog hop! I can't wait to see what you make next month :) P.S. We're doing a special mailing of the FaveCrafts newsletter on Wednesday to recap the blog hop, and your project will be featured!

Unknown said...

Fabulous crown! Have a sweet day!

PEACHES said...

Ooo la la!! That's is really beautiful! I never thought about chicken wire on a crown... Hmmm... You may have gotten my wheels turning.

Ginger said...

I loved this idea awesome! Don't you love friend with cool stuff to give away (bless them)Thank you so much for sharing this idea with us!

Navi said...

Hi! great job... Thanks a lot for sharing this project.Glad to know there's another crazy one like me who's fond of collecting junk to use it later for a craft project! I am running my own cottage business on handicrafts. junk like that of a clothes dryer is not available in my country - India but you treated my eyes and mind through your project!!! A big thanks to Favecrafts as well
Navneet

Michelle L. said...

Hi, Molly! That is the cutest junk upcycle, I really really love it.