Louis - From Drab to Fab

Published in 2014 by Struik Lifestyle
(an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd)
Company Reg. No. 1966/003153/07
Wembley Square, Solan Road, Gardens, 8001
PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
www.randomstruik.co.za

Copyright in published edition: Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd 2014

Copyright in text and photographs: Almie Louis 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and the copyright holders.

PUBLISHER: Linda de Villiers
EDITOR: Cecilia Barfield
DESIGN MANAGER: Beverley Dodd
DESIGNER: Helen Henn
PHOTOGRAPHS: Meyer and Rene Photography
PROOFREADER: Anja Grobler

ISBN (epub) 9781432303914

ISBN (PDF) 9781432303921

ISBN (print) 9781432302023

My gratitude in life is due to my Creator who inspired me daily through His creation.

I am ever grateful to my Husband Alan, my greatest supporter, who never gets bored at my ideas. My adorable kids who recognised everything I made. Colia, you are my proudest fan, Calvyn my practical fan and Ame my precious soundboard.

Thank you to my mother who always inspired me to think outside the ordinary.

Special thanks to Beatha, your handy hands were a saving grace. Shiela Cooper for helping me to put my actions into words. Meyer and Rene, my photographers, who managed to capture my imagination.

Lastly, thank you to my publishers Struik Lifestyle, especially Linda who gave me a chance, Cecilia for her careful editing and Helen for her charming design work.

Theres a clich that says the only constant in our world is change. It may be a clich, but its also true. Technology, the environment, societys structures, even relationships all are changing at a rate that is often far less comfortable than many of us would like. And its for that very reason that so many people are fighting to slow things down, to preserve the good, to save the planet, to create beauty and not to be conned into a throw-away mentality.

In the interests of going green and sustainable living, we are constantly asked to reduce, reuse and recycle, but I suggest that while youre on your way to becoming a fully fledged RE warrior, dont limit yourself. What about repurpose, restore, return, revitalise, revise, revisit, reinvent and, most importantly, rethink?

If you ask most people what junk is, theyll say its anything old, worn and drab, of little value, or something that should be thrown away. I, on the other hand, see junk as a springboard for ideas, a starting point for something grand and fresh for the garden or home. Items of junk can become new creations overnight. Over the years I have started to look and think differently about items lying around my house or garden pieces that ordinarily would have been discarded because they were way past their best. With a rescue and craft process, all junk can be given a second chance and welcomed back.

I grew up on a farm in the Free State province. Everything was homemade from jam to ball gowns. The skills I learned from creating something from nothing have proved to be invaluable. There are no limits to the imagination. I love homemade items, but I dislike things that merely look homemade.

The concept of grand can differ. I noticed while running craft lessons that each individuals final object looked different to the persons next to them. The difference was in the love and effort they put into their work, thus grand took on a different meaning with each person. My grand is merely an idea to inspire you to discover your own grand.

Perhaps youre wondering how shabby can be grand and fabulous. In my opinion, shabby chic is stylish rather than fashionable, and therefore your style reflects a quality as opposed to a newness. And quality is always fabulous.

In this book I aim to give you ideas for reuse (to use an item again after it has been used), recycle (the breaking down of used items into raw materials that are then used to make new items), as well as up-cycle (to take a plain, ugly or cheap item and turn it into something of beauty and value). In this manner, the amount of waste entering landfill sites may be reduced and resources and materials conserved. Moreover, I hope the ideas will show you how a dash of creativity can transform unwanted products into desirable items. From Drab to Fab also provides you with the necessary techniques to achieve this, because one persons junk is another persons treasure.

It gives me great pleasure to create things that people want in their homes, or to give a friend a handmade gift. My objects are not necessities, but rather things that elevate your life. I hope this book will inspire you to create something from nothing, taking something menial and transforming it into something beautiful and decorative. It does not require a lot of skill, money or resources. You just need to start somewhere, and when you are done, to stand back and proudly proclaim that you did it yourself! Every object in this book represents a recycled or reused item that has been modified by a craft technique to create an objet dart for the home.

The techniques themselves are very simple and achievable for any crafter. I learnt them from my mother, my mother-inlaw and friends, or discovered something by chance. Someone once said that the best learning process of any kind of craft is just to look at the work of others.

So invent outside the ordinary, have fun and enjoy the results!

Think left and think right, think low and think high. Oh! The things you can think up if you only try.

Dr Seuss

AGEING

A process that precipitates maturing to create an instant shabby look. It only works on metal objects and is achieved by painting such objects with a rust activator or by burning them over an open fire. (See .)

CANDLEMAKING

This craft has come a long way since it was first developed by the ancient Egyptians, who we are told, used the core of reeds as wicks in pots of melted animal fat. Although no longer mans major source of light, candles remain important in marking celebrations, romance and luxury in our homes, and are also significant in various religions. (See .)

CRACKLE GLAZING

A paint effect used to create the appearance of varnish that has cracked with age. Suitable for use on any surface, including wood, stone, porcelain, glass or metal, it gives any object a spectacular make-over for an old-fashioned or shabby-chic look. (See .)

DECOUPAGE

Also known as pasting, decoupage with cut paper dates back to twelfth century China, but the craft has even more ancient roots from Siberia. It was not until the seventeenth century that it became known as decoupage as a result of its enormous popularity in France and Italy. Decoupage is a way of decorating almost any surface with pieces of cut paper, glue and varnish. The raw decorative materials of decoupage are all around us: magazines, cards, wrapping paper, napkins and illustrated catalogues all waiting to be transformed into something beautiful. The real magic of this technique is in the way in which the object is finished; a variety of varnishes can make it a very grand object indeed. Interesting effects can be created on a dull surface for an antique cracked look (see for decoupage.)