DIY Wall Art Project: Yard Long Victorian Roses Tutorial
Have I got a project for you. I recreated a beautiful Yard Long Victorian Rose painting with a little mineral paint and the IOD Painterly Floral Transfer. It’s not just the perfect embodiment of the Victorian era – it’s easy and you can do it, too.
No time to read this right now? No problem – pin it for later.
Watch the video where I lay out my design, explain critical techniques, and even fix a big fat mistake dead center in my project. (you’d never know it was there!)
HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR OWN SWOON WORTHY VINTAGE YARD LONG VICTORIAN ROSE “PAINTING”
This might be the shortest supply list ever – but it brings maximum impact!
2 packages of IOD Painterly Floral Transfer
Wise Owl Paint (contact us here for colors and ordering details)
IOD Thin Mount with Grid Lines
Sealer
Paper plates
Wood for Frame
Painterly Floral Cabbage Roses and Leaves For The Win
PREP YOUR WOOD PIECE
My yard long piece of wood was pine, a soft wood that can be marked with the IOD transfer tool. The finished piece doesn’t show any damage, but just an FYI while you’re picking your wood.
I painted a few coats, using Wise Owl Paint, and blended the colors to have a subtle area at the bottom of the piece. I used that as a base for my design, as if the rose sway was resting on a table top. I also sealed the wood after letting the paint completely dry.
PREPARE YOUR TRANSFER PIECES
I take the time to cut out individual leaves and roses, for my project, from the larger transfer sheets. When I’m building a wide layout, using individual pieces helps to create the loose and airy style common to these vintage Victorian paintings.
While having leaves, leaf clusters, rose buds, and large and small roses individually cut and sorted onto paper plates is how I like to work – there are drawbacks. Smaller transfers pieces can be more difficult to work with, even while making it easier to create your design layout.
START BY ADDING LEAVES
Begin laying out the leaf transfer pieces to create the layout of your design. I rub-on leaves on one side of the board, arching to the top and the bottom. Then I move to the opposite sides to create that outer border for the design. (min 1:34)
The leaves in the Painterly Floral Transfer are light and dark, so as you’re adding them, work to get a variety and balance of colors. Keep in mind where the roses will go as you choose leaf color variations. The darker leaves pop the lighter cabbage roses, adding depth.
When you feel like you’ve added enough leaves to one side of your board, it’s time to move to rose buds and smaller roses. If you need to get a visual of how these traditional Victorian pictures looked, head over to Pinterest and search “yard long Victorian Rose pictures”.
You’ll see loose arrangements with air between roses and greenery and smaller roses trailing on the sides. And all the greenery! The main reason you need two packages of the Painterly Floral Transfer is to have enough leaves and stems to give the arrangement a realistic look.
Keep in mind that a realistic look means the two sides of your design won’t be completely symmetrical. Flower arrangements never have mirror images on both sides either.
ADDING IN ROSE BUDS
Painterly Floral transfer contains a 4 bud and a 3 bud rose stem. I started out by placing the 4 bud rose stems to one side of the project. Applying these transfer pieces will be on top of other transfers – and that can get tricky, but I’ll give you some tips for that in a minute. (4:07)
CABBAGE ROSES AND MORE LEAVES
As I work on adding to my floral spray, I am always working toward the center of my project. That’s where the largest cabbage roses will be and I use the largest one to check periodically for where I need more leaves.
The center rose will be in the foreground and that means all the other transfer pieces are behind it. From time to time, I pick it up and place it in the middle to just eyeball where I need to add more leaves or a smaller rose.
Let’s talk about adding transfers on top of other transfers. Visually it’s harder to tell if the transfer has successfully come off the backing when you’re adding it on top of another transfer. Gently and slightly pick up the edge of the backing as you go along to check for complete adherence.
Each time you successfully add another transfer piece, use the backing paper to gently burnish it to make sure all the edges are adhering to the project surface. If you watch the video, you’ll see me doing this several times throughout the process.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
From time to time, turn your board upright and step back to see how the overall layout of your design is looking. This will give you a chance to see where you might need to add more greenery or rose placement.
I work from one side of the design toward the middle. Once I am in the middle, I will begin to play with the placement of my large roses. I pick out my final leaves and apply them, then move to the outer two larger roses. This way I’ve begun extending my design to the opposite side but keep my center rose in the foreground. (7:06)
When I add a leaf or leaf cluster, I place some at an angle for interest and to get a natural look. Think about all the floral arrangements you’ve done – remember how the greenery behaves? Try to get your piece to have the same quality.
FINAL TOUCHES
Once all the roses and leaves are on my piece, it’s time to add on the words across the top, Les Roses. This part of the project was completed off camera, but I can walk you through it.
I used the IOD Decor Stamp Typesetting and IOD Ink in Black. My paint was well dry before I began adding the transfer to the surface – but just an FYI if you’re typically a fast worker – wait for the paint to completely dry.
Again, start by cutting out the individual letters from the stamp, but leave them on their backing at first. Grab the IOD Thin Mount, and using the grid lines as a guide, lay it on the project surface. Place the individual letters on the grid line to spell out Les Roses.
Now remove the letter stamps from the backing and attach them to the thin mount. Time to add the IOD Decor Ink to the Ink pad. Get it on thick so you can get a juicy stamp. I take the ink pad and pat it across the letter stamps. Then I make sure there is no ink on the thin mount to get a clean impression.
In “Les Roses”, there are two E’s and three S’s. So, as you layout your letter stamps, reuse the letters you need to get the correct spacing for the surrounding letters.
After making your first stamped impression, you can reuse the E and the S where they are missing by attaching them in the new position on the thin mount. You’ll need to do this twice for the third S.
The last thing I did is have my husband add the framing for me, after I painted the wood pieces and let them dry. And that, my creative friends, is how I made this beautiful Victorian Roses piece of wall art!
Did I mention how much I love the IOD Painterly Floral Transfer? What have you made with it? Give this project a try and then send me a picture, please!