Choose Joy

I have another mixed media project to share with you today. This is another 16 x 20 canvas made to be hung in our office gallery. I was inspired by this canvas I saw on Pinterest. I loved it and decided to make my own version. I started by cutting patterned paper in various lengths but with a width of 2". I used gel medium to adhere them to the canvas. I used some acrylic and distress inks applied with a baby wipe to provide a color wash over the collage background. Using thin cardboard, I made a pattern for the leaves and flower petals. The petals are about 5.5" x 2.75". Using the 6" x 6" Blooming Garden Collection of patterned papers by Our Daily Bread Designs I traced and cut lots of petals. The petals, leaves and stem were distress with distress inks. The sentiment was printed on the same patterned papers using my computer. The edges were distressed and a black marker was used to free-hand draw a double border that was intentionally not straight.

The center was made by layering two patterned paper die cuts and then topping them with bugle beads and seed beads. Gel medium was used to adhere both the die cuts and the beads. A china ink marker was used to add shading to the petals, stem, leaves and sentiment panels.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Background - Prima (Printery Collection 6 x 6 pad), Flower Petals and Sentiment Panels - Our Daily Bread Designs (Blooming Garden Collection 6 x 6), Flower Petals and Stem - The Paper Studio
Inks: Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
Tools/Embellishments: Distress Markers for leaves/stem (Frayed Burlap, Shabby Shutters), Faber Castell Pitt Calligraphy Pen (Walnut Brown), Cousin Corp Glass Bugle Beads, Spellbinders dies (Petite Scalloped Circles Large, Standard Circle Small), Seed Beeds - unknown brand, Staedtler black fine tip marker, Distress Collage Medium, Master's Touch Matte Gel, Distress Paint (Blueprint Sketch), Craft Smart Acrulic Paint (Pale Blue), Computer Generated Sentiment

I'm entering this canvas in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Add Some Texture
Crop Stop April Challenge - Use Items/Brands from the Crop Stop Store (I used Ranger, Spellbinders, Fiskars, Cuttlebug, and Prima)
Crafty Creations Challenge #364 - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting with me today. I hope you're having a good weekend. Please come back soon.

Ideal Beauty

I think this canvas is one of my first, if not the first, projects in the "mixed media" category. It is certainly my first canvas. At work, my boss wants to replace the poster type artwork with originals made by company employees and their families and have an art gallery type look. He provided the 16" x 20"canvases. I told him I work with paper not paint. He said, "That's OK. I don't care what you put on the canvas as long as you make some artwork."

I started with text tissue paper on the canvas. However, when I applied the acrylic paint over it, the text got completely covered. Lesson learned for the next canvas: use a baby wipe to lighten up the paint so you don't cover the paper underneath. I applied multiple shades of blue for the sky, and various greens for the grass. I used white gesso for the clouds and then later used texture paste and a stencil for addition texture on the clouds. (Click any picture to enlarge it)

I knew I wanted a tree but wasn't quite sure how to make it. I finally found a couple artists on Pinterest and YouTube that used hot glue strands to make the tree. It gives great texture and mimics bark really well. After the glue cooled, I painted it with multiple shades of brown for the bark and green for the leaves. I wanted some separation between the grass and sky, so I used a rubber stamp and dark green acrylic paint to stamp a row of bushes across the canvas. For additional texture, I colored texture medium with a medium colored green paint and used a stencil to add additional bushes on top.

I colored more texture medium with various shades of paint and used a brick stencil to make the path. After it dried, I put white acrylic paint in a fine tipped bottle and used it to make the grout. The Julie Nutting "Audrey" stamp was paper pieced. Copic markers were used to color her skin and hair and to add shading to her clothing. She was popped up over the canvas.

After printing the quote on white cardstock, I die cut it and layered it on additional die cuts for dimension. I inked the edges of the clouds and layered several in the sky. I sprayed them with some glimmer mist spray to give them a shimmery look. Some paper flowers and paper punched butterflies add the finishing touches.

Supplies:
Stamps: Penny Black wood stamp (Splendor), Prima Julie Nutting cling stamp (Audrey)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Distress Ink (Dusty Concord, Tumbled Glass)
Papers: Recollections Printed Tissue, Hot Off the Press patterned paper (Lavender Rosebuds), Core'dinations cardstock (purple glitter)
Paint: Anita's Acrylic Paint (Hunter Green, Foliage, Espresso, Earth Brown, Latte), Craft Smart Acrylic Paint (Pale Blue, Apple Tart, Bright Palm Denim), Folk Art Acrylic Paint (Metallic Pearl White), Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint (Red Apple)
Copics: BV0000, 000, 00, 11, 13, 17; E00, 11, 31, 35, 37; R20; YR20, 24
Other: Artist's Loft White Acrylic Gesso, Teresa Collins Modeling Paste, Deco Art Texture Medium, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (pearl), Want2Scrap stencils, Ad Tech Hot Glue Sticks, Ranger Distress Collage Medium, Art C Brass Template, The Paper Studio Poppies & Paperie White Beaded Micro Flowers, Fiskars Butterfly Punch, Spellbinders Grand Big Scalloped Ovals dies

I'm entering this canvas in the following challenges:
Through the Craft Room Door March/April Special Challenge - Mixed Media
Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge #36 - Anything Goes
Alphabet Challenge Blog - Y is Your Choice
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge - Mixed Mediums

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a great week.