A Paper Post
Each Christmas I ponder ways to include French Country decor as I decorate for Christmas. This year, an Eiffel Tower photo taken on a cloudy, dark day was inspiration for creating a glittering gold framed Christmas print.
Read how a throw-away photo of the Eiffel Tower was transformed into a beautiful French Country Christmas print.
French Country Christmas
Eiffel Tower
The transformation from a dark Eiffel Tower photo that narrowly escaped the delete button to a sparkly Christmas print is a miracle of modern day digital photos, laptop computers, and photo software. All good transformation stories start with a look at a ghastly before.
Before
The original photo is a color photo, but is so dark, the photo looks like a black and white photo. I took several shots from this view, slightly changing the photos to get the best one possible. I almost deleted the photos from my computer after I saw them, but kept them because of the location where the photos were taken. This is the only series of photos I have of the Eiffel Tower from this vantage looking down a street of buildings toward the Tower.
Transformation Process
The first step was lightening and brightening the dark photo to reveal colors in the buildings and trees surrounding the Eiffel Tower.
The second step was applying photo software to create a watercolor version of the brighter photo. Unfortunately, I did not record exactly what I did. I just kept manipulating the photo until I liked the changes.
Multi-Media Process
I printed the photo on lightweight 8 1/2" x 11" watercolor paper that would go through my printer without jamming. I cut out a letter size piece of watercolor paper from a large sheet bought from a large craft supply store.
To give the print a little more definition, I used a gold paint pen to outline the rooftops, some windows, and the Eiffel Tower structure.
I added information about the photo (La Tour Eiffel and Paris, France) using a font on the computer before printing the watercolor photo.
Each night the Eiffel Tower is a sparkly light show for five minutes on the hour until around midnight. German glass glitter sparkles much like the hourly light shows, but capturing the sparkle of the glitter is difficult in photos. Viewed in person, the Tower photo sparkles, sparkles, sparkles!
I first read about German glass glitter on Miss Mustard Seed's blog a few years ago and was intrigued with it. This Christmas is the first time I have used German glass glitter, and it is fantastic! There is no comparison between ordinary glitter from craft stores and glass glitter.
The print is framed in a gold wood frame with an 11"x14" opening. I mounted the watercolor print onto a larger 11"x14" piece of watercolor paper by using glue dots to attach the photo to the bigger watercolor paper. The dots raise the Eiffel Tower photo slightly. An 11"x14" piece of art mat board holds the watercolor paper in place inside the frame. There is no glass covering the photo to allow the photo to float above the background paper.
Print Display
A vertical gold standing easel holds frames up to 30" in height and 1" in depth and is great for displaying prints in a small footprint. It works well at the back of displays, at the back of a buffet with food in front on the buffet, and on narrow mantels. The two easel pieces holding the print can be adjusted up or down as needed.
Shown with other Christmas decorations, the Eiffel Tower glittered photo looks very much like Christmas decor. The easel holds the print above a small holiday vignette on the pine chest. A white metal crown candle holder is another little bit of French Country style in the Christmas arrangement.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
A French Country Christmas!
