MIXED MEDIA CANVASES

I have been having an "arty blast" creating canvases using the monthly videos from Christy Tomlinsons' "The Art Society".   Check it out.

Almost all of the supplies I have used were already in my stash.  Learning new techniques to use what I already have on hand is great, makes any new art supply purchases quilt free.  hmm  That does sound convincing LOL

Here I painted over a 6x6" canvas that I had never been happy with. (Reuse is good!)  The writing is a stencil from The Crafters' Workshop which I stencilled on using white pen.  Love the "chalkboard" look.  I used Graphic 45's "French Country" for the feathers and rolled flowers.

This one is a 6x12" canvas with the background created using napkins.  I topped that with several layers from a vintage lacy dinner napkin.  I covered this with a sepia toned finish.  The center is a metal piece from my stash mounted on vintage French text.  I used a Martha Stewart mold and Model Magic to make the bird and Distress Inks to colour her.  I think a day creating with different molds and building a stash of these would be fun.

Another 6x6" canvas, this time covered with fabrics.  Vintage ric rac, a sweet doily topped with a molded and stamped heart, the metal bird is from Tim Holtz.  Vintage, homey goodness.  Do you hunt the thrift shops for supplies?  I often find packages of ric rac and seam binding for a few cents.

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES (ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS) CHALLENGE - MARCH 16, 2014

It's time for the second of the two monthly challenges at My Artistic Adventures!  On the 16th of the month Heather offers a Christmas Challenge, the theme this month is "On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me" and you must use three of something.

I hope to have 12 peat pot ornaments by the years' end!  Basically I have set myself a challenge within the challenge LOL  For this project I have used Heather's Vintage Angels collage page.  She has incorporated all of my favourite elements into this sheet; a sweet vintage image, music paper and birds!  Heather gets wild and crazy creating new sheets so be sure to check on her Etsy shop often!

My project was created using a 3" peat pot painted with white gesso as the base.  I have covered the pot with bits of lace and trim, topped the rim with antiqued silver tinsel trim and used an "evergreen" tinsel stem for the handle, which will blend in with the green of my tree making the ornament appear to float.   I have filled the pot with satin and pearl flowers (liberated from a bridal piece), light blue vintage stems and blue mercury balls from my stash of vintage Christmas bits.  I used a plastic snowflake as the base to build up the stars (each one is popped up with foam dots) as the background for the angel image.  Two of the cardinals are wired to "fly" in front of the stars.  I have used Stickles on all the edges of the images for that extra vintage touch.  Bows front and back are the final touches.

Note:  I have a large stash of glitter products but the one that I go to consistently are "Stickles" from Ranger. The fine nozzle  allows me to lay down a nice edge, which is my preferred look and I find that less glitter drops off  than when using other products.

Come and play along with us, check out the lovely projects from Heather, Helene, Carol and Shawn!  See you there!

CHRISTMAS IN THE BANK (03/2014)

The inspiration for this little bit came from the monthly video club I now am subscribed to "The Art Society" created by Christi Tomlinson.

In my stash I have a set of Cavallini Christmas Washi tapes and a number of 4x4 inch shallow canvases, which I used to create a half dozen of these.  I covered the canvas with the tapes, no adhesive.  Shaded between each line a bit.  Covered them (I actually did 6 of these) with Mod Podge and then glittered them up with Stickles.  The "evergreen", tiny red balls and ribbon went on last.  I think these are the perfect bits to add a a little holiday decor on a shelf or bookcase, as filler in a bowl or gift basket.

Building your own "Christmas In The Bank" is easy and fun when you "save it up" a little each month!

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGE - (MARCH 2/14) ST PADDY'S DAY!

It's time!  Time for the first of two monthly challenges at "MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGE" the theme is "St. Patrick's Day or Spring".  Do check out the challenge and some outstanding inspiration from the design team members!

FAILTE  (IRISH FOR WELCOME) WREATH

I adore the green & pink shabby chic goodness Heather created with some of her image sheets for St. Patrick's Day, so different from the classic Irish green but she has those too!  I have been creating these paper ribbon wreaths for most holidays since taking a class last summer and learning the basic build.

The base is a 7" styrene wreath form.  I dug through my paper stash to find an assortment of soft green patterned papers and cut 10" x 1.5" strips, depending on placement it takes about 24.  I put double sided tape down the outer inside edges of each strip, placing each strip one by one around the wreath form. 

I have used Heather's Shabby Chic St. Patick's Stamps as my focal image, layered (with pop dots) that onto her Dark Green Traditional Stamp Base  and then layered again onto a Swiss dot card stock which is the same I used as the base for my banner.  I built up dimension on the banner message by layering different colours of Stickles, letting each layer dry between the adding the next. A technique I created trying to cover up a mistake but now use quite often.  Isn't that the way LOL  The gold/silver metallic trim is from May Arts. The glittery shamrocks are from Michael's, the wild roses are Martha Stewart.  I used Dew Drops in a light green mix on the ends of each of the paper ribbons.  Final touches are a swipe of Platinum Stickles on the edges and a vintage pink/rhinestone button on the bow.

I hope to see you playing along with us at the My Artistic Adventures Challenge!

Note:  I have entered the following challenges;
Just Inspirational Challenge - Anything Goes,
Divas By Design - Make It Sparkle,
Creative Corner Challenges - Green,
Crafty Cats - Anything Goes,
Craftin Desert Divas - Glitter
Challenges 4 Everybody - #39 (always Anything Goes)
Totally PaperCrafts - Make It Shine

Really Reasonable Ribbons - Show Me the Green and Ribbon