Shabby Chic Bookends with IOD Moulds

Shabby Chic Bookends with IOD Moulds is really a post about using the junk you have on hand to make something beautiful!

I have had a box of these reject linoleum blocks for more than 20 years (yeah I’m an “old” hoarder of good junk!) I use one from time to time to support a project I’m painting but the time has come to get rid of them and make something functional!

Trash to Treasure

When I teach classes or do projects, I want the finished piece to be something I can use or give as a gift. The shabby chic bookends meet both of those criteria! Using up something (junk) that you are holding on to for what seems like forever is good therapy! I was real happy to empty that box out and use those pieces for something beautiful.

The blocks themselves are 6″ x 4″ x 3/4″. The finished bookend are 6 3/4″ high 6″ wide and 4″ deep. We assembled the bookends and then starting making the castings, the fun part! Allowing each layer of IOD Mould Castings to dry overnight minimized the shrinking and cracking. The final finishing steps were painting, dry brushing and waxing.

A Perfect Finish Shabby Chic Bookends with IOD Moulds

I have always loved the Shabby Chic look for decorating, a style created by Rachel Ashwell in the 1980’s. Soft worn and adorned with flowers is the trademark which our IOD Heirloom Roses Mould achieves effortlessly! We actually used the Heirloom Roses Mould and the Laurel IOD Mould to make the Shabby Chic IOD Bookends. The IOD Air Dry Clay worked perfectly. We saw very little shrinkage and very little cracking.

Do you have some “junk” that needs to be repurposed into something useful? This is an easy project if you have extra wood pieces. Or you can add the IOD Moulds to any surface that you can glue to.

We have begun our YouTube channel and now that we have internet in our studio more videos will follow. Here is the step by step of the Shabby Chic Bookends with IOD Moulds from our YouTube Channel.