Primitive Shoo-Fly Tutorial

Well, I promised a tutorial. And so I deliver you one. This one took a little longer for me to post because I am going to show you three examples with three different types of shoo-flies. I was a little hesitant to post this because of my husband. He had said if I did a tutorial no one would want to buy one from me. But I thought, you know it's not fair to people out there who really want to make one and can't find the information they need. I too was looking everywhere online for how to make one. And no one had a tutorial. They were just selling them. So, I am going to post this and in hope, it will help someone out.  I hope it will help YOU to make your own if you want. I am not saying you should not buy one. By all means there are plenty of beautiful ones out there. I am just giving you some ideas on how to make one if you are interested in doing one yourself.  Ok, onto the fun part.

Lets begin.

What you will need

1. 
   
   A strainer( try to look for one with the handle connected to the rim on the OUTSIDE of it. Not connected IN it. You'll see what I mean with the pictures below) or a pre-made shoo-fly from a store like Hobby Lobby.
2. 
   
   You will need pliers for removing the metal handles on the metal strainer. (omit this if you are using a different type of strainer or you are using a pre-made one.)
3. 
   
   You will be using my faux rust technique (You can look back on it on my blog. Look under Faux Rust Tutorial.)so grab the primer and rustic umber. On these shoo flies I used Autumn Brown
4. 
   
   A wooden knob or your knob of choice( I used old kitchen cabinet knobs)
5. 
   
   And lastly, if you are going to be using the strainer with the plastic rim you will need jute rope.

Ok, here are the three different types of strainers I have used in this tutorial. You can choose which one you would like to try.

The one on the left is the pre-made one from Hobby Lobby. The one in the middle is a large strainer with a plastic rim. And the one on the right is the metal one. Make sure its the one with the handles ATTACHED to the rim. I like this kind because it doesn't leave holes. If you can't find one then by all means use the ones with the handles attached on the inside. To cover up those hole you can use some wire and wrap it through the strainer and around the hole to make it look like a repair.  Those are great looking too!

(This is what I mean that the handle is attached to the rim.)

If you are going to use the one from Hobby Lobby remove the flowers from it completely.

Once you have all the flowers removed from the cover remove the ones on the rim and handle.

Now that it is stripped of the flowers and trim you can now prime it with your primer. Once dry, paint the cover with your Rustic Umber or Autumn Brown. Then if you like you can wrap some twine around the handle for a more prim look. And then your done.

( Update: I think I am going to add some rusty wire to this shoo fly. I am going to have it attached to the underside of the handle going to the rim. I'll post pics of it when I finish.)

( Update2: Here is the finished screen.)

Now if you are going with the plastic rim strainer you will need to remove it from the plastic rim

You may find that you have to work the mesh a little. But once it gives it is pretty easy to pull away from the plastic rim.

Here it is with the plastic rim removed. At this time I put my knob on. I primed it and painted it altogether with the cover. But, if you have a wooden knob ,you can paint it and add it later.

 Once primed you can then spray it with your Rustic Umber and or Autumn Brown. Add your knob to the top ( If you used a kitchen cabinet knob then it should already be on.).  Then with this one I used jute rope to line it and create a rim for it. I just glued the rope all the way around it. But you can choose not to use one at all. It still looks very prim.

Here it is without the jute rope rim.

Here it is with the jute rope rim.

Now to the tough one. I am not going to lie. This sucker was hard.

I had a tough time removing the handles from the rim. I didn't have a blow torch so I just popped it in my oven. I didn't have it on the highest setting because at the time I had a pantry cake in there. So, it was on 170.  But I had it in there for quite some time. You can put it in your oven at a higher temp. You just want to help soften the metal so you can work it off better. But if you have a blow torch then go ahead and use it. It might be easier. But whatever works for you use it. This just worked for me.

After I took it out of the oven

(Be careful when removing, it will be VERY HOT!)

  

 Once taken off you are ready to prime. After it is primed and dry, go ahead and spray it with the Rustic Umber paint or Autumn Brown.

 Add you knob of choice and your done!

Well, there you go. I gave you three choices to work with. I hoped I have helped you with this tutorial. All I ask is that you do not claim this tutorial or pictures as your own. If you do decide to put it on your blog or website you need to give me (Genevieve @ Olde Pear Primitives)credit for it and link it back here. For all the work I have done on this tutorial it would not be fair of you to claim it as your own. Plus, the blog fairies will get you. And you don't want that.

Thanks For Stopping By!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License