Hi there! This is Sarah Pendergrast, and I'm delighted to be here today with my first post for write. click. scrapbook. I had so many ideas of fun things to share, but decided I would do something a little different today, and share one of my favourite home decor projects, canvases! I made my first set of mixed media canvases about three years ago for daughter's bedroom. They were a big hit, so since then I have made several more themed sets, including a seasonal set of trees for a teacher gift, a Halloween set that I display every October, Mario and Louigi and recently, a set of summer-themed canvases that I donated to our school's silent auction. I really love how the summer canvases turned out, so I wanted to share them here today, and give a little tutorial to show you how you can do the same at home, using your scrapbook supplies.
My first step is to choose a canvas size, and decide how many will be in the grouping. I usually buy my canvases at a local art store, but I have also seen them at dollar stores - just make sure there are no staples around the edges. Next I paint the the base colour, using acrylic paints. If I'm doing more than one, I try to make all the base colours work well together. I usually add in a few little streaks of accent colour so the base doesn't look flat. I should add, I am NOT an artist, so please excuse my non-technical terms and simplicity of painting! Also, please excuse my messy desk!
Next I sketch out my designs (or at the very least create a mental sketch in my head :) ). I then try to choose about a dozen patterned papers in different colours that will be consistent for all canvases. I've found that smaller prints work best, and my personal preference is to try to include one print and/or music print, and one woodgrain - but it really doesn't matter. The papers I might choose would look something like this:
Next I get to work on assembling my designs. There are lot of different ways you can cut the shapes, including die-cutting machines (like a Big Shot or Revolution), punches, hand-cutting, and in the case of the summer canvases, using an electronic cutter like the Silhouette. Since not everyone has a closet full of tools, I thought I would do a canvas for this tutorial using only a pair of scissors - not even a paper trimmer or a ruler!
I start by laying out my basic design on the canvas, and using Modpodge, adhere the pieces to the canvas:
After the Modpodge starts to dry, I start adding in details,using a variety of supplies. For this example I used some adhesive cork sheets, a few metal brads, some green buttons, washi tape, a wood veneer die cut, some very old prima flowers, and some mist (to change the colour of the flowers). I did not use that circle punch shown - it was just part of my messy desk!
When I'm happy with the overall look, I set it aside and let it dry for several hours. My finished piece for this tutorial, using ONLY a pair or scissors, turned out like this (canvas size: 11 x 14):
Finally, here's my set of summer canvases (canvas size: 12 x 12) using the same techniques I showed you today, but with a little help from my Silhouette ;)
Bicycle Party
Escape
Swing
Surf
Since I was donating them, they never made it to my walls, but they looked cute on the piano for a couple days!
I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial, and that it will maybe inspire you to try a little something different with your scrapbook supplies.
