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3.2.11

Shabby What? - Shabby Grubby....

Grunge-ing (my own word) a nice miniature is not an easy thing for my clean, neat and tidy brain come to terms with; much as I love the work of real shabby miniature artists who seem to know exactly how much is enough, the process doesn't come naturally to me. 

I can't say I like what I've done.

 

I think I went a bit too far, my husband wants to put it on the kerbside for the metal recyclers.........hmmmm, is that a compliment or a criticism?


At least the banged up cream coloured jug does look more used now, not so 'brand new with artfully applied chips added'.  I don't like the other two jugs much, they were better without the grunge.

I used thin washes of two paint colours, an amber sort of one for the rusted marks and and a dirty brownish black for plain old dirt stains.  Dotted the wash on and spread and dabbed with my fingers.  When there was too much I wiped it a bit with an almost dry cloth, that left a hint of colour in the depths of the brush strokes in the white paint and looked more natural.

26 comments:

  1. I think it is a nice amount of grunge. Maybe it looks too much when it is empty but perfect with items on it. :) I struggle with 'ruining' perfecly good things too. :D

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  2. You did a great job Susan. They certainly do look authentic. Perhaps this style will just take some getting used to.

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  3. Ok Susan, I have no idea what you're talking about. These are AMAZING!!! If you don't want them, I'll take them...LOL. =) They really do look beautiful. Your table is perfectly shabby and I love the jugs. Did you use beads for the bottom part of them?

    You should be proud of them because they really did turn out well! =)

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  4. I really like the distressed look you have done for the table. The jugs look great, too. Beautiful work!

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  5. Thankyou all so much for such encouraging comments, you are special people!!

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  6. Susan it's beautiful - absolutely nothing wrong with it. I wish I could prodce work as good as that :-) If hubs puts it out on the kerbside let me know I'll drive by with a mini pickup for it!!;-))

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  7. Oh Susan dear - the table is fab, stop being a worry-wart! Now you can make one for me!!!! Hugs - Lidi

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  8. Susan, these are absolutely wonderful. Have another look at them! You have done a great job and they are as good as I have seen anywhere....the jugs are great, the table is great! Keep up the good work!

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  9. Me encanta tu trabajo.Has conseguido un estado Shabby, perfecto.Felicidades

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  10. I too do not think you "grunged" it too much, it looks so perfect, wish I could do it that way;-)

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  11. Looks very nice all, the table and the jars!!!

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  12. I really like them all - super work.

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  13. WOW! This is a fantastic job , Susan. :) REALLY! Just take a look at a real shabby one and tell me yours is not exactly like one.

    I hang out with miniature artists , very very good ones who also don't like grunging a perfectly good piece. In fact they love it perfect. So if you are anything like them, then you have taken a big big step towards making anything you want. I , on the other hand, can't stand anything that is perfect. For me, if I should be able to make a flawless piece one day despite my prejudice, :), then I think I have taken a similar big step and will give myself a big pat on my back. So give yourself that big pat!

    Everything in this 2 pics look really shabby now :).

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  14. Susan- I think the table is stunning! I actually think it's perfect and is probably the sort of thing I would drag off of the recycle pile in real life :) Wonderful work! I think you have a future in "shabbying"

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  15. Susan, You have done a wonderful job on them. I am with you and find it hard to grunge items up but, you really did so well on that table. You have it chipped in all of the right places and it isn't overdone. I love the washes that you have done too. They are perfect!!

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  16. El resultado es perfecto. Un gran trabajo. Quizá no lo pondríamos en nuestras casas pero lo shabby es muy romantico y nostálgico. Espero que el ciclón no le haya afectado. Besos.

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  17. Crikey, so many nice comments! Looks like the metal recyclers miss out this time ;) Maybe this experiment is the start of a shabby project...

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  18. I do like it
    Just beautiful old stuff
    Greetings, Diny

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  19. El cambio a mi parecer le ha favorecido, está estupendo y si lo pones en la puerta de tu casa espero ser yo la primera que pase para llevarmelo, ja..ja...
    Un abrazo
    maite

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  20. Para mi gusto , mucho mas real que lo que normalmente utilizamos para nuestras casitas, yo creo que no era todo tan super nuevo , ni tan super pulcro como nosotras queremos hacerlo.
    Saludos desde España.
    http://lolyaliminis.blogspot.com/

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  21. Big or little I'd take 'em all in a NY minute! In my opinion, the grunge is what makes them perfect! You couldn't have done a better job.

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  22. Hi Susan,

    I love what you did to the round table and vases. The round table is so so lovely! Did you build it by yourself or was it a kit? I never seen it anywhere. But everything is perfect!! Great job!

    Pei Li

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  23. Thanks Isabel for visiting and leaving such kind and encouraging comments :))

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