DIY Vintage Winter Art with IOD Winter’s Calling

One of our favorite things about this project is that it doesn’t have to be limited to Christmas décor.

For this project, I took the beautiful IOD Winter’s Calling Transfer and used it to create a completely new composition filled with birds, botanicals, vintage typography, and layers of aged character.

Rather than using one section of the transfer exactly as it was designed, I cut apart elements from several different pages and layered them together to create my own piece of vintage winter art.

Then I took the aging even further with milk paint, stamping, crackle, dark wax, and an embellished frame. The finished piece has the feeling of old artwork that might have been tucked away in an attic for decades.

And although Winter’s Calling was introduced as part of the IOD Christmas release, the birds, botanicals, and beautiful vintage elements make this a piece I could display throughout the winter.

Materials Used

• IOD 11"x14" Gallery Blank

• IOD Winter’s Calling Transfer

• IOD Trimmings Mould

• IOD Air Dry Clay

• IOD Ephemeral Type Stamp

• Sweet Pickins Milk Paint – Juniper

• Sweet Pickins Milk Paint – Proper

• DIY Paint – Chocolate

• DIY Paint – Weathered Wood

• DIY Dark & Decrepit

• Paint Couture Two-Step Crackle

• Sweet Pickins Dark Oil Wax

• Sweet Pickins Dark Beeswax

• Paint Couture Venetian Bronze Lux Metallic

• Paint Couture Bronze Lux Metallic

• Paint Couture Topcoat

• Titebond Quick & Thick

• Spray bottle and brushes

SHOP THIS PROJECT →

Creating the Aged Background

I started with the artwork first, using the shadow-box side of one of our IOD Gallery Blanks.

For my first layer, I mixed Sweet Pickins Milk Paint in Juniper to a fairly thick consistency and spread it evenly across the base.

Next, I mixed Sweet Pickins Proper, but I didn't apply this color evenly. I added it in small strokes, misted it with water, and then dabbed at the paint.

This started giving me the uneven, timeworn texture I was looking for.

I used a fan brush to bring a little more Juniper back in and started mixing the two colors together in different areas. I really wasn't trying to make anything too perfect. I wanted different shades and variations throughout the background so there would be plenty of depth once everything else was added.

This was definitely one of those play-as-you-go backgrounds. I just kept dabbing, layering, adding, and taking away color until I liked what I was seeing.

Before moving on to the transfer, I applied a topcoat over the milk paint. I wanted a nice, sealed surface so I wouldn't risk lifting any of my milk paint while applying the transfer.

Creating My Own Winter’s Calling Design

The IOD Winter’s Calling Transfer is absolutely beautiful just the way it comes, but I had a different vision for this project.

Instead of using one complete section, I started cutting apart individual elements from several different pages.

I especially loved the little hanging bell, so I knew that had to find a place in my design. Then I began adding birds, greenery, botanicals, and some of the other elements, moving things around and layering them until everything started to feel like it belonged together.

This is one of my favorite things about IOD transfers.

You can certainly use them exactly as they're designed, but you don't have to.

Cut them apart. Layer them. Combine pieces from different sections. It's a really fun way to take a transfer and turn it into something completely your own.

There was one area where cutting apart the transfer left me with a spot that needed a little help, so I mixed some paint to match my background and blended it back in.

It didn't have to be perfect. With the aged look I was creating, I think those little imperfections actually add to the character.

Once I had everything where I wanted it, I sealed the transfer with another topcoat.

Adding Vintage Lettering and Details

After the transfer was sealed, I did a few little touch-ups and extended some lines where I had rearranged the original designs.

Then I brought in the IOD Ephemeral Type Stamp.

I added bits of lettering and script here and there in the background. I love how those faded stamped details make it look like there are even more layers underneath everything.

It gives the artwork that old paper and ephemera look without taking attention away from the birds and other main elements.

Transforming the Gallery Blank Frame

Once I was happy with the center artwork, I took a break from it and started working on the frame.

This entire piece is actually one of the Gallery Blanks we carry at Aunt Bea’s Attic. I used the shadow-box side, so the frame was already there—I just wanted to give it a lot more character.

I started by mixing DIY Paint in Chocolate and Weathered Wood. Together they made a really nice grayish-brown color that gave me a good base for the aged finish I had in mind.

The frame already looked better dark, but I wanted it to look more ornate and antique.

And that's where the moulds came in.

Adding IOD Trimmings to the Frame

I pulled out some of my IOD Trimmings Moulds and made a few different pieces so I could see which design I liked best.

I ended up choosing a design from my original Trimmings 1 Mould.

Mine is the older version of the mould, where the ends of the trim have a straight edge. The newer version makes continuing the pattern easier, but these older pieces worked perfectly for what I wanted to do.

I cast the trim using IOD Air Dry Clay, cut the ends on a diagonal so they would meet at the corners, and attached everything with Titebond Quick & Thick.

Then I painted over the entire frame and all of the new mouldings with my Chocolate and Weathered Wood mixture.

I didn't want the mouldings to look like something I had just glued onto the frame. Painting everything together really helped them blend in and look like they had always been part of it.

Going Back and Aging the Artwork

Once the frame was coming together, I went back to the center artwork.

I added DIY Dark & Decrepit over the background to deepen everything and give it even more of that aged appearance.

But I kept looking at it and thinking...

It needs something else.

And what it needed was crackle.

I used Paint Couture Two-Step Crackle, applying the first step and allowing it to dry before applying the second.

As that second step dried, all of those wonderful little cracks started appearing across the surface.

That was much closer to the old, timeworn look I had pictured from the beginning.

Bringing Out the Crackle

Once the crackle had developed, I wanted those little cracks to show even more.

I went over the artwork with Sweet Pickins Dark Oil Wax. It has a beautiful dark brown color, and I wanted that color to settle down into the cracks and emphasize them.

I still decided I wanted a little more definition, so later I went back over the center with Sweet Pickins Dark Beeswax.

Sometimes that's just how these projects go. I don't always know exactly how many layers something will need until I see it.

I keep adding and adjusting until it looks right.

Giving the Frame an Aged Bronze Finish

Now that I had added all of that beautiful detail to the frame, I wanted to bring it out.

For that, I used Paint Couture Venetian Bronze.

I worked it over the raised areas and into the details to bring out the texture, shadows, and all of those little crevices.

Venetian Bronze is one of those colors I find myself reaching for over and over again. I especially love it when I'm trying to create an aged metallic finish.

At the very end, I also added a little regular bronze.