Starbucks Altered Canvas

The idea came to me when I saw Simon Says Stamp & Show's blog challenge last week: "What are you known for?" Sadly, I wasn't able to work on the project until the challenge deadline passed, but I forged ahead because once an idea is stuck in my brain, it's there to stay until I complete it.


I will be teaching this project to my All Things Tim Club this month. (That's Tim Holtz, of course!)

I love my Starbucks, as most of you probably already know. I'm sipping on one now in fact. (Venti half-caff Americano with light cream.) I actually stash Starbucks stuff in a little bin in my studio. Lids to the frappuccino bottles, cups, wraps, cards, etc. I saved this cup in particular because it has the old Starbucks logo on it. (I prefer this one to the new one, personally.) I hated to cut it in half, but how long am I gonna hold onto a paper cup? Might as well pay tribute to it and work it into my art. Right?

Here's how the project came together...

(products listed at the end of this post)

The canvas measures 8 x 16 inches. I started by adhering paper to the front leaving a half inch of space around, then painted the edges with Red Pepper paint dabber. Messy, not neat.

To grunge it up, I rubbed Chocolate Gelato here and there, smearing it with a wet finger.

I ran over the whole thing with Vintage Photo Distress Stain. (Again, messy.) After it dried completely, I applied some texture with a brick wall stencil and some embossing paste. I had planned to rub color over the bricks, but didn't have to. I learned as the embossing paste dried that the color of the stain absorbs into it and the color comes through. (See detail photo below) This was a happy accident. 

Next is a 4 x 5 inch canvas. I painted the outer edges with Pool paint dabber, then spritz over the whole thing with water and London Blue ink spray. 

I stamped some dots over the surface, rubbed some Lettuce paint dabber with my finger along the edges, and once dry I gave it a shot of Patina mist.

In my stash I had some of the coffee wraps (what are these things really called?) and ran them through the Vagabond using various heart dies. I painted the raised ridges with Snow Cap White paint dabber and then Red Pepper around the edges with my finger. (See those messy fingers?)

Next, I cut out several flower shapes from Watercolor paper and had some serious fun with Dylusions sprays. Such wonderful vibrant color! After they dried, I stamped this image with archival black ink.

From artist canvas paper, I cut these letters after spraying them with color. After, I inked the edges with Walnut Stain.

I toned down some of the bright colors in the flowers with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain. I added some butterflies (with texture) and some flourishes painted with Pearl paint dabber and inked with Walnut Stain. Buttons, metal flowers and gears adorn the centers of the flowers. As you can see, I did some stamping in the background using a coffee stain stamp and other various texture stamps.

I stained the cup with some watered down color and stain, then after cutting it in half, mounted it to the smaller canvas. Here's a good look at how the embossing paste bricks took on the color of the stain underneath. 

A faucet knob makes the perfect center to this large flower.

Sometimes things work out so nicely. This piece just makes me smile. Isn't that what being an artist is all about? The love of creating and the satisfaction with the finished piece. What a delight!

Thanks so much for popping in today to check me out. I hope you grab your paints and sprays and start having some inky fun!