Photo Transfer Canvas

I recently had the opportunity to take some classes with Jen Starr. This was the one I was most excited about — transferring a photo onto canvas. The background was painted with acrylic paint and stenciled and stamped … then we transferred the photo (in my case, the lighthouse) and then added the metal around the edge. The rest, I finished at home, finally!

I won’t tell you how to transfer the photo because that was Jen’s class, but I can share some of the work I did to the piece.

First, I should tell you that touring this lighthouse was a bit of a life-altering experience. During the 96 steps to the top, I realized that my lifestyle changes made in diet and exercise are working. I also pushed myself to deal with my fear of heights. And, I had a paranormal experience. Much more on all of this to come, but because the place was so special, I wanted it to hang in my living room.

If you look closely, you will see that I forgot one of Jen’s instructions in doing the transfer, so I am missing a couple of pieces, but I feel it adds to the paranormal quality of the art, don’t you think?

Jen also stressed in her class that the elements added have meaning and not just be random pieces of art. I took that to heart and nearly every piece included is done for a specific reason.

The metal quote (from Tim Holtz) is there to represent the paranormal experience. The keys tell of my courage and determination to “own” the lighthouse and climb all of those steps despite the full-blown panic attack I was having from my fear of heights. (The anchor and metal corner piece are decorative … hint: I painted the metal corner embellishment with Distress Paint to cover the brass.)

Suel Choix (inked wooden letters) is the name of the lighthouse. It’s name, in French, means “only choice.” The story goes that some French sailors were caught in a storm and this bay was their only choice for survival — hence the little French sailor from Prima. The lighthouse was once the center of the fishing community in this part of Michigan, so I included the fisherman from Prima as well.

The arrow signifies movement and direction, which I took in climbing the stairs. The compass is for the journey we took to get there — we had to use GPS because it was so far off the main road — and the admit one is for the tickets we had to purchase to see the lighthouse. The wooden saying, a moment to remember, also painted, is so I will always remember that if I set my mind to it, I can do anything!

By the way, the chimney and roof are actually in front of the tower. When I cut out the picture and saw how it looked like it was painted onto the tower, I thought it led a ghostly quality to the canvas.

A Lacy Canvas

I have been on Pinterest quite a bit lately. One of the things that keeps popping up is lace and vintage neutral fabrics made into books, banners and mixed-media art.

I wanted to play with this style myself, but not wanting to get out the sewing machine, I thought I would try it with canvas.

I started by adhering pieces of cheesecloth, eyelet and lace to the canvas with Prima’s Heavy Body Gel. This is a great medium for adhering heavy and difficult-to-adhere items. I put on a layer of the gel, then the lace, and then another layer of the gel. It worked well, except I noticed it can easily build up inside the pieces of lace. I also didn’t like the sort of plastic look it gave when dry — even though I did not get the glossy, it still has too much shine for me.

I also used a stencil and texture paste to add a bit more texture and design. This didn’t work too well on the bumpy lace, but you would never know if you don’t try.

I wanted to add a little color, so I spritzed it with Dylusions spray. Again, not the best solution, but it did add a bit of color here and there. One problem was that when I went to glue anything on top of it, because it is water soluble, I got a bit of rose ink on my canvas. NOTE: Use permanent or archival product instead!

Next I used Archival Ink and an ink applicator to color the lace. I added a photo of my husband’s grandmother (a favorite of mine) and then I went to work adhering flowers, gems and other embellishments.

I used chipboard letters and the same Archival Ink to create the title … 

Many of the objects I added were leftovers from other projects or the last one of something I have been carrying around for years. The buttons sewed onto tulle was something new I purchased at the Great Lakes Mega Meet. The key is also new from Tim Holtz. The fragment (square clock face) had been made years ago for another project and was never used. I finally put it to good use!

The metal stars and flowers are new from Prima. The bird charm I made by trimming a piece of art from Craft Fantastic to fit an old bezel I had from Hobby Lobby. I then coated the entire thing with a layer of Globecraft UV Resin (which I haven’t used in years. Globecraft is now part of Sweet Stamps.) and let it sit in the sun for a few minutes to cure. I forgot how much fun that stuff was!

I love how my canvas turned out, although I do need to find a different medium to adhere the lace next time. Have you tried any of these techniques?

Texture Paste Resist Canvas

When Tammy Tutterow posted the Transparent Texture Paste Resist on Fabric technique on the Ranger Blog, I knew I had to try it. I’ve included the link here, so you can follow her instructions and see the beautiful project she created.

But, I also wanted to show you my take on her technique.

Use Archival Ink and a stencil to create the background on a canvas. Use washi tape to hold the stencil in place while working.

Use another stencil and apply Transparent Glossy Texture Paste.

 

Once dry, spray with Dylusions ink. Randomly blot and dry until you get the result you want.

Add ribbon with Scor-Tape (or similar). Adhere charm, wires and flowers with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive.

Use the Crop-A-Dile to create holes in the top and add to hang.

Peeps Canvas

For those of you who don’t know, I am obsessed with chickens. I fell in love with them during a trip to Key West years ago and have been in love with them ever since! For the past three years, I have been blessed with raising chickens and Peeps, one of my original hens, is my favorite. Peeps is a commercial breed — valued because they lay an egg almost every day for about two years. But she is my favorite because of her calm, loving personality.

When she was just a chick, she hopped up on my hand and we became fast friends. She doesn’t mind being held and hugged for a minute or two, is always curious and willing to try new things and is never afraid to take on a dog (through the safety of her fence).

I thought she deserved a place in the house, so I created this canvas of her.

I started by painting the canvas in Distress Paint — I mixed silver and a couple of blues.

Then I used Texture Paste and a stencil to add a chevron pattern. I cut out a silhouette of Peeps and adhered it with dimensional foam adhesive. The title is cut out of cardstock. The other words are rub ons from Tim Holtz. I love them … they are not typical rub ons and they go on easily on canvas, fabric, metal or whatever.

 

I used some leftover buttons and flowers and some feathers from the chicken coop … I think the little one in the front is actually from Peeps.

I added a little burlap behind the photo and used embossing paste and a stencil to add more dimension to the top. The tag is an actual tag that came on something my husband bought at the farm store. I thought it was cool, so I kept it and used it here.

I love how it turned out … it makes me smile every time I look at it. Peeps could use some love and well wishes right now … she is currently trying to fight off an infection that makes it hard for her to breathe. I’m hoping she’ll get better because I absolutely love my Peeps!!

Created by Sydney

This is Sydney. She is my cousin’s daughter parrot. Becky, my cousin, has five parrots and each one is awesome, but Sydney is special. She is an amazing bird. She talks, she sings opera, she laughs at jokes. Sydney even senses emotions and responds accordingly.

I recently spent a few days with my cousin and while she at work, it was just me and the birds. While I was upstairs in Becky’s studio, Sydney, who was downstairs, called me repeatedly. We spent hours yelling through the house and mimicking each other. “Hi” “Hi” “Helllloooo” “Hellloooo” etc.

But, one day I was particularly sad (I suffer from chronic depression). That day, Sydney started calling me “Baby,” singing to me, and telling jokes — I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but I figured it out when she started laughing. After a few hours, I really did feel better. I figured the change in Sydney was because she was getting to know me better, but the next day we were right back to “Hi”.

Anyhow, Sydney likes to go up to the studio when Becky is creating. She has a special cage on Becky’s desk where she works on her own cards and creations with leftover cardstock and adding-machine tape. I “stole” some of Sydney’s adding-machine tape when I came home so I could turn her work of art into one that would forever hang on my wall.

I started with a blank canvas that I painted with Distress Paint. (Distress Paint is like acrylic paint, but while wet, it reacts with water. And I love the feel the paint has after it dries.)

 

Then I used stencils, Distress Paint, Ranger Archival Ink and Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 Embossing Paste to create a background.

Then, I went over the top with a light layer of paint and some Distress Ink to help calm down the boldness a bit.

Next came Sydney’s work … I sprayed the adding-machine tape with Glimmer Mists and crinkled it up. All of the tears and cuts along the edge are Sydney’s work. After it was dry, I sprayed it lightly with Ink Refresher to keep it soft and malleable while I was gluing it to the canvas.

Next, I stamped some quotes and sayings from Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 onto white cardstock. I cut them apart and used Distress Ink to color them.

 

 

 

I added a photo of Sydney and some feathers from some of Becky’s birds.Then I added a variety of doo dads and flowers to finish off the piece.

I also made one for Becky to hang in her studio …

 

Focus, focus, focus

That’s what I keep saying to myself. It is my word of the year. The word that will keep me on track, reduce my stress and allow me to make my business a success.

It is also a word I have trouble “focusing” on. I sit down to make a card. I glue on a flower, cut a piece of paper, then decide I need to look something up online, check my e-mail, play a few games, answer a question for a customer, get up to get a drink, do the dishes, collect eggs from the chickens, take a picture of the cats to post on Facebook, throw on a load of laundry and soon the whole day is gone and I have yet to finish one simple card. Then I forget about the card until I remember I have a deadline and then I stress about finishing it!

This may be my typical day, but I am sick of it. It is time to get my act together and FOCUS on getting things finished.

That is what I decided in December and again on January 1. It is now half-way through February and I am still working on staying focused. There are just so many distractions!

I thought if I kept the word in front of my face, it would help. So, I created this little 5×7 canvas in my favorite colors (they match my kitchen perfectly) to help remind me to focus.

I started by spritzing a 5×7 canvas and a Linnie Blooms pocket with Glimmer Mists.

I put them in a box on the way to the recycle bin to contain the mess.

While those dried, I coated some Linnie Blooms hearts with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive. (I used my finger to spread it around so I got the entire heart).

Then I covered each heart in Art Glitter glitter. I use a coffee filter to collect my extra glitter. It doesn’t stick to the filter and then I can pour it right back in the jar.

 

I set those aside to dry and turned my attention back to the pocket. I wanted the pocket to look puffy, so I folded up a paper towel and tucked it inside.

Then I followed along the front flap of the pocket with a bit of Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and coated it with clear glass glitter.

I used the same glue to attach feathers and the pocket to the canvas. I used the Tiny Attacher to attach the ribbon and burlap.

Then, I glued the hearts on the front.

 

I cut tags out of kraft paper using a Tim Holtz die. I then inked the edges with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and then in Black Soot.

I added flowers, a metal clock (because this is all about time), a metal button, some twine and the word FOCUS in big black letters that I cut out with a Tim Holtz die. I also used some little sticker letters (also from Tim Holtz) to put the words To Do and Today on the tags. And that was it! Can you see how puffy the pocket is?

 

Here’s a close up of the corner of the pocket …

 

You can see how the adhesive dried clear and now you just see the chunks of glass for a pretty, soft sparkle.

Now if I can just stay focused …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap It with Stencils!

This month’s challenge at Scrap It Girl is to work with stencils.

I have been a fan of stencils for years, but I fell in love with them all over again after Wendy Vecchi showed me all of the cool things you can do with embossing paste. I took a stencil, embossing paste and a bit of Glimmer Mist to create this 10×10 canvas …

Click on the image for a closer look …

I sprayed the mist on the canvas first. After it was dry, I applied Wendy Vecchi’s embossing paste with the stencil. As it dries, it absorbs some of the color from the Glimmer Mists. Very cool!

i then added papers by Bo Bunny, stamps by Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi, a wreath by Memory Box, buttons by 7 Gypsies, washi tape, lace and feathers (from my chickens). I love it … what do you think?

Want to play with stencils? Create a card, project or scrapbook layout showcasing your use of stencils and enter it into this month’s challenge at Scrap It Girl. You could win a great prize package!

Warning: This post may offend

I used to keep a spotless house. I used to wash walls every few months, mop the floor every week, clean the bathroom and dust the house every day. Then, I went to work full time and found myself struggling to be a mom and housekeeper while working. I finally decided life was more important that a clean house and I lowered my standards. Yes, it took some time, but eventually I found myself able to cope with dust on the ceiling fan and spots on the windows.

Even though I no longer have a full-time, outside-the-house job and my children are grown, I still find so many things to do that cleaning my oven is not a priority.

A few weeks ago, a friend posted this on Facebook:

And I knew I had to have it hanging in my house. Of course, I didn’t want my husband to think I should be in heels and a dress everyday, nor did I want a reminder to clean the tub, so I created this:

I started with a 6×6 canvas. Then I used metal stencils (the chicken is from Dreamweaver, the dots are from Lasting Impressions) and Claudine Hellmuth’s Studio Gesso to create the texture. I just laid the stencil where I wanted it and used a puddy knife to spread the gesso and then lifted it off.

I washed my tools immediately (this stuff is permanent if left to dry) and let it dry overnight.

Then, I used Claudine Hellmuth’s Studio paints and water and painted on the colors in my house … browns, blues, yellows …

I used my Non-Stick Craft Sheet as a pallet and didn’t worry about cleaning my brush between colors. I started with the light and then went darker. Sometimes I used a dry brush, sometimes I made the paint into a glaze with lot of water … I heat set the paint between some coats and used a paper towel to wipe off the excess on others. I kept going until I had the look that I wanted …

Then, I decided it needed a little metal, so I added metal corners from Tim Holtz. I wanted them to be a little more aged, so I painted them and then wiped the paint off like this:

The one on the far right hasn’t been wiped off yet …

I glued them in the corners with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive.

Finally, I used American Crafts Cardstock and a Lifestyle Crafts letter die to create the wording. They, too, were a bit too bold when I was done, so I took my paintbrush and smeared just a hint of paint to the letters as well …

Now everyone knows my philosophy on cleaning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Much To Be Thankful For

Sometimes life is tough. It is easy to get caught up in the negativity that surrounds us. So, it is important to keep reminding ourselves what is the most important.

In my life, I am thankful that I have two beautiful children who are happy and healthy and starting their own adult lives.

I am also incredibly thankful for my amazing husband who does everything humanly possible to make me smile — even if it means telling bad jokes or doing silly dances — things he would probably deny if questioned.

To help keep me focused on the positive and important things in life, I created this 8×10 canvas to hang in my home. (click on the photos for a larger view)

I created the background with Glimmer Mists in oranges and yellows.

The paper is Authentique’s new Thankful line.

I used dies from Tim Holtz/Sizzix to cut out the leaves, then added a bit of Distress Ink and molded them with my fingers to be dimensional.

Then, I added a few acorns, cut out from the paper, and topped them with Distress Stickles. They give a soft sparkle without it being in-your-face bling.

The word Thankful is cut out with my Cricut and the smaller words are cut with a Lifestyle Crafts die.

The globe is from Globecraft Memories. I ran the frame through an embossing folder and then coated it with enamel powder. I made the family photo sepia toned to match.

For the final touch, I added a few Piccolos — tiny, laser cut pieces made from compressed chipboard — and coated them with enamel powder. I love the elegance they provide.

 

What are you thankful for?

 

 

 

Trick-or-Treat Canvas

My how time flies when you are having fun!

I have so much to do right now, I get overwhelmed, cannot figure out where to start and end up doing nothing. Do you ever have that problem?

Well, one thing I did manage to finish this week is a Trick-or-Treat Canvas. It is my first attempt at making a canvas and I love how it turned out!

This project was inspired by Jen Starr’s canvas, here …

I ran into a few problems … did you know Perfect Pearls Mists and Distress Inks will not work on treated canvas? Glimmer Mists will, so that is what I used on this one.

After spritzing and spraying Glimmer Mists until I liked the result, I added black paint to the edges and a bit of dry brushing to the front side.

The houses are cut from Tim Holtz/Sizzix die cuts in both cardstock and Shimmer Sheetz. The Shimmer Sheetz are then embossed with texture folders and I added a bit of alcohol ink to the silver ones.

The little bits behind the windows are cut from Reminisce paper and covered in Glastique to give them a bit of sheen. I then added some ribbons, buttons, lace, etc.

The witch is cut from Graphic 45 paper. I coated her with a thin layer of Glastique, too. It gives her the look of a canvas painting.

 

The letters are chip board from Maya Road.

I started by adhering them with Removable Glue Dots onto my non-stick craft sheet.

Then, I used Ranger Archival Ink to color the tops. This time, I didn’t want any color on the sides of the letters, so the ink pad worked well. (Don’t use Distress Ink for this — it will react with the Glastique).

Then I added a thick coat of Glastique to the top. It goes on white, but dries crystal clear.

As a final touch, I made a few dots and stripes with Liquid Pearls, added a bit of twine and Dew Drop from Robin’s Nest.

The bats are actually cut from a strip of ribbon.

I think it turned out pretty cool. It is going to be for sale at a resale shop that sells home goods in Argentine — between the Police Station and Seymour Road, on Silver Lake Road.