Choose (to "Bee") Happy Mixed Media Canvas

Good Monday morning all. I hope your weekend was fabulous. Ours was busy with my Annual Spring Cleaning Craft Clearance Sale which was a huge success (thanks to all who came out)! and then yard work on Sunday in the beautiful Florida sunshine and cool temperatures.

Today I want to share with you a fun mixed media canvas project using lots of new Tim Holtz goodies. (See the links at the end of this post for all the products and where you can find them.)

Let's go!

An 8" x 10" black canvas transformed into this lovely mixed media piece for my home. Let me take you through the steps to make your own, and pass along some things I learned along the way...



Start with Tim's new Mini Clipboard and remove the hardware from the top. (You'll need a basic screwdriver.) Paint the sides and then the front of the board with Ground Espresso Distress Paint and let dry fully (left), then dry brush streaks of Gathered Twigs DP, let that dry, then dry brush streaks of Brushed Corduroy DP. If you like, you can add just a few dry brush strokes of Ground Espresso for depth (right). The idea is to create a faux wood look.


Use painter's tape to tape off all but 3/4" of the left, right and bottom edges. From the Paper Mosaic Kit, mix about two Tbsp. of the "grout" into a small cup with a teaspoon or so of Brushed Corduroy DP to make a colored grout. (Just mix it until you like the color.) Use a palette knife to spread the grout on the outer areas, as shown.


It's important to peel up the painter's tape immediately after doing the grout; slowly and gently and you'll get a nice smooth edge. I've spread my grout rather thinly, but you can certainly do it thicker. It just takes longer to set and dry completely. Set this aside while we do some other stuff.


Onto ivory cardstock stamp the two large floral images from "Lady Rose" using Potting Soil archival ink. Use a water brush and Distress Crayons to color. I scribbled the crayon onto my non-stick craft sheet and mixed water from the water brush into it. You can layer more color for added depth and shadow.


The great thing about using Distress Crayons as opposed to water-based markers is that once the crayon is dry, it doesn't budge. Won't smear or fade if more water or color is washed over it. That's a huge bonus for mixed media projects, art journal pages, and such.


Fussy cut the florals then brush a thin layer of Distress Collage Medium, Vintage over them. Set aside to dry. This collage medium gives an aged look. 



Stamp a large bee from "Art For You" using Jet Black archival ink, and color her as desired using the water brush and Distress Crayons like before. Fussy cut the bee and place two layers of foam tape on the back of the body.


From a 3" x 4" page in the Dapper paper stash, trace the oval inside a Baroque Frame and cut it out a little larger than your traced line. Before adhering the paper oval to the back of the frame, dab Mushroom alcohol ink over the surface of the frame to age it.


By now, your grout should be fully dry. (Check it carefully and don't rush this step. And definitely don't use the heat tool to speed it up. This can create unwanted bubbling.) Cut 24 squares 5/8" each from desired paper. I used some vintage rose paper in my scraps. Before adhering, lay the pieces in place onto your clipboard to check the fitting. I had to snip a few squares with my scissors for even spacing. Adhere the squares to the clipboard onto the grout using the "glue" in the Paper Mosaic Kit (left). Set aside to dry a few minutes, then spread a layer of the Collage Medium, Vintage over the entire surface of the board (right).

While that step is drying, cut a 7" x 8 7/8" piece of decorative paper from the Dapper paper stash and ink the edges with Ground Espresso Distress Ink. Adhere paper to an 8" x 10" black canvas using Matte Medium, pressing from the back of the canvas with one hand while the other presses from the front side to get a good seal and strong hold. Cut three strips of Lace from ivory cardstock (you'll have to piece them together to get the full 7" length). Ink the surfaces with Antique Linen Distress Ink, then the outer edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Adhere the lace, as shown.


Once the Collage Medium is dry, apply the Glaze from the Paper Mosaic Kit to each tile as directed in the instructions. Set this aside to dry completely.


From Kraft Core cardstock, die cut several colors using the Tattered Pinecone die and roll them to resemble roses.  Tim has a great video on this technique.


Rather than die-cut leaves from a die, I decided to use stamped leaves. I liked the idea of mixing the feel of stamped and die-cut images, plus I wanted to tie in the feel of the previous stamped florals. Stamp several leaves from "Nature Walk" onto ivory cardstock and color each as desired, then fussy cut each, eliminating the stems.


If your clipboard "glaze" is completely dry, you can start to assemble. First, apply Mushroom alcohol ink to the surface of the metal clip and, once dry, affix the hardware back onto the clipboard. Adhere the stamped florals to the canvas with Matte Medium, then use a stronger glue or hot glue to adhere the clipboard to the center. 


Die cut a large Doily from ivory cardstock and age it with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo like we did with the lace strips. Adhere to the center of the clipboard, then adhere the Baroque Frame.


Adhere the roses, leaves and the bee next.


Select some Big Chat stickers for your piece and ink the edges with Vintage Photo before adhering to your piece. I sprayed two 16" strands of seam binding ribbon: one with Fired Brick and the other with Victoria Velvet Distress Stains. Once dry, I tied them to the hole in the clipboard into a flouncy bow.


Here are a few close-ups of the details...





You can finish off your piece by adhering some vintage ribbon around the outer edge of the black canvas, if desired. (I love to get all my ribbon from May Arts.)


Now you can add some hardware to the back to hang your piece, or simply place it in a pretty display stand on a mantle or table top. 


I hope you've enjoyed the project today. Remember to always support your local craft and scrapbook stores first when searching for your supplies. Or you can always find all these products at online stores like The Funkie Junkie Boutique.


Thanks for stopping in. Have a great day!

                                       
                                       

Comments

  1. Beautiful girly! You amaze me with your eye for every little detail...it is perfection!!!!

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  2. Beautiful... I just love this! Thanks for the tutorial!!

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  3. Beautiful love all the detail and your flowers are gorgeous . Thanks for sharing your great tutorial

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  4. What a vintage beauty! Wonderful, easy to follow tutorial.

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  5. Fabulous and stunnin work with those rose stamps!!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

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  6. Annette...this is such a sweet project. You have a fabulous eye for detail, girl. Your rose stamps are gorgeous the way you've finished them. Love the die cut lace and the sweet tea roses, too. Beautiful art!!

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  7. So pretty. I love these details. Fussy cutting roses -amazing. The tiles around the edges are lovely too.

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  8. This is absolutely gorgeous Annette!! stunning layout and design!

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