Wednesday 19 May 2010

Vintage Vegas Birthday Gift

My neice asked me if I'd make a piece of art for her house a few weeks ago, and as her birthday was coming up I said it could be her gift. She was pretty prescriptive about what she wanted - it had to contain vintage Elvis/Vegas stuff, Vargas pin-up girls and tattoo designs by "Sailor Jerry", so the resulting piece is much more her than it is me, but that's fine because she absolutely loved it :) (Her husband liked it too, which wasn't as important, but he's gonna have to see it every day, so it's just as well, lol)

It's pretty large, the frame is around 18" square and 1 1/2" or so deep, which allowed plenty of room for dimensional elements. The heart, spade, club and diamond symbols were made by melting coloured UTEE, pouring it onto a craft sheet and then cutting out the shapes with cookie cutters before it hardened. Most of the vintage movie posters/playing cards etc were found online and printed out, then distressed/inked/sanded to make them look older. As ever, click on the image to see a larger view! :)

[Edit to add - The frame is Ribba from IKEA. It comes in a few sizes, all the same depth, maybe an inch and a half or so. I used the 50cm x 50cm one (approx 20" x 20")]

20 comments :

Dorothy said...

Thats just awesome Dan!!!

Karen said...

Wow Dan, this is just too cool!! I love it!!

misteejay said...

Wow Dan. What a great piece and so glad she loved it cos it really is fab.

Toni :o)

Hels Sheridan said...

Fabbydabbydoodles :O))

Leigh said...

Great work Dan, glad she loved it.

Sue said...

What a great gift! I am sure she will treasure it always. You are so talented!

Mole said...

Very clever!

kelly said...

That is brill, lucky niece :)

Angela Mclean said...

This is a GREAT gift.... No wonder your niece loves it... I'd love it too!!!
Angela xxx.

TinaB said...

Brilliant! What a great present xx

Claire said...

that is fantastic Dan :)
x

Unknown said...

It truly is rather beautiful ... I love all the detail ... fabulous work my friend XXX

Lynn Stevens said...

oh I bet she Loved it! Great collage!

SallyB said...

What a lucky gal to have an Uncle like you!! My Uncle bought me a photograph of some spitfires for my birthday ... he forgot I was a girl!!!!!! TRUE. :)
Just wondered where did you get the frame Dan? x

Andrea said...

that looks truly wonderful Dan and what a different personal gift x

Micki said...

That is a very unique piece.
Micki

Lindsay Weirich said...

Wow, that is very cool Dan!

Suzy said...

Dan its gorgeous. I bet she was thrilled with it.

Katie - www.ladyfromatramp.co.uk said...

I have the best uncle ever. You have done me proud with this one.

It has pride of place in my living room as it encapsulates everything I love!!

I'm glad everyone else liked it too :)

Katy said...

This is totally cool, love it.

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