Christmas canvas part 2

Hi everyone, where has this week gone? Today we will be finishing off my Christmas Canvas.

The next stage is to add your paper to the inside of the canvas. The hardest part, is that while it is a 30x30 canvas that I have used, and the paper is 30x30cm, it will not fit inside the space available, so you need to trim it down until it is just wider than the space.  I have used Kaisercraft Turtle Dove Calling Birds page.  I was careful to make sure Santa was intact, but cut off the angel on the right hand side, because I wanted to use that later.  Because I had two sheets of this, I cut out a 2nd Santa and children, and inked around the edge with a brown distress ink.  Then I added foam dots on the back, and then layered it on top of the other image, to give dimension to the page.  As with the photo below, if the piece is two big, it will sag, and I find it best to add some cardboard to brace it through the middle, but I still use the foam around the edge. 

Time to really play! I started with some Twiddleybitz chipboard,  and I sprayed it with Glimmer mist, and then painted glimmer glam over parts of it.  When spraying with any sprays keep some gauze beside you, and wipe up the excess with it, then you have coloured ribbon to use later.

 I also sprayed some white roses

then i cleaned it up, with the gauze.

Then I painted some parts with glimmer glam, to give a sparkle, and glued it to the right hand side of the canvas. If you have some tulle on hand, then why not staple it on top? Then I decorated and added few other Twiddleybitz chipboard pieces.

I painted the top again with glimmer glam, and covered the bottom with left over paper (make sure you sand and ink the edges)and then add a little piece of gauze that has been cut up. Then I added the blue rose - after curling the stem. Wrap the stem around a pencil or something small, and then pull it off (Smooch bottles work well).
 

Next I used one of the new Kaisercraft bird nests which I stapled on to the shelf in the canvas, and then glued some eggs in.  I had this little bird (I keep a stash of them) they have little metal pieces, which I pushed into the nest.  I put a little present behind the bird into the nest, from the Twiddleybitz set, which I painted and covered with paper.   I added Kaiser craft holly sprig, and then some large Kaisercraft blue flowers and a little snowflake metal brad.  I decided a few feathers would add a soft touch.

Then I decorated a little Twiddleybitz sleigh with paper, and distress stain, and some bling, some red roses, small leaves, and a little clock button, and a small metal bells that I had. 

Finally I added the angel that I had cut out earlier and I fitted it in behind the birds nests, and then I added another Twiddleybitz Dear Santa chipboard that  I painted with glimmer glam, and then added Kindy Glitz crystalina. Leave to dry!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and are now keen to try one of your own!

Christmas Canvas tutorial

Hi everyone
I seem to be on a Christmas roll at the moment, even though it is September.  But if you want to make your own Christmas decorations, or gifts, then you need to start early, especially if you are using products that are not always in your stash.
This next project was inspired by everyone asking me for information on my tree canvas that I had loaded in the Gallery.

So I am going to do a step by step through the products that I use to decorate my new christmas canvas.

Firstly I prefer the back of a canvas to the front, I love the fact that I have a built in shelf, that I can put three dimensional things into. This is a deep edged canvas.  I was going to show a picture of the finished project, but then I thought perhaps by not doing that yet, you will get some inpiration to make up one of your own. I have used a 12x12 canvas.

So firstly I use Gesso. You can use Modelling Paste as well if you have it. It is better, but it is more expensive. So use what you can afford.

I use a knife or something smooth, a credit card works well (I always find that I can't go shopping after doing that, so wouldn't recommend unless you have a new one!). Do it thick enough that you can't see the staples, and the ridge or any grooves in the back of the canvas. (I don't always want to cover the grooves, so the thickness is up to you). Sorry but now you have to let it dry around 12 hours - I just leave it overnight.  Don't try to dry it quicker with a hair dryer or heatgun. I have heard that if you dry the top, the bottom stays damp and it can grow mould and your project will not last very long.

Next day, we are up to the next stage.  This is a tricky one, if you want make it to dimensional, it is hard to stick things to it, so if you have modelling paste do not put it on to thick, if you are impatient and you don't have modelling paste you can use gesso again.  Lay a template over the canvas. I have used the Crafter's Workshop template snowflakes. (I do personally like the Crafter's Workshop ones, mostly because I have 20 odd designs but they are 30cm x 30cm so it tends to work well for scrapbooking).  But use whatever you prefer.

Spread gesso over the design around the edge, fill up the design, spread it smooth over the top, as below.

 Then very gently pick up the template from two corners at once.  
NOTE: Now I know you are tempted to wash this off now, but if you are a scrapbooker or art journal person, lay the stencil with the gesso side face down on some cardstock, and then rub with a brayer, or rolling pin gently, and the gesso will go onto the page, pull up the stencil, put the paper aside to dry and then later on you will have a page ready to spray or ink or well what ever you want for your next project.  You can wash your stencil now.  Yes now you have to let it dry again for 12 hours!

Believe it or not this is going to be quite a vintage look, but for some reason I decided to use a very bright blue paint, oh well, the brain wasn't really in gear.  But that's okay because now we really get to play with some more cool products.

I used the stencil again, and I worked out where it been originally, and I stencilled using silver paint, over the design, to get some snowflakes really showing up. I used a dauber as the design was quite hard to get into.  Now that we are brighter than ever, it's crackle medium time.

You cannot be thrifty with crackle medium so pretend you are spreading peanut butter or jam onto toast, (quite thick). Spread it all over the blue paint, then leave it to dry overnight.  No trying to hurry it - it doesn't like it at all.

Now that has taken that bright blue away a bit, and I love it, but.... we want layers and layers. Layers are important just like in scrapbooking or cardmaking.

Glimmer mist was next, but I often use distress stain to do the same trick. I find that it adds a really awesome look quickly, I have used a brown and an aged brick, not too red, but enough to help drop that colour down, especially in the cracks.  This dries really quickly,so  use a heatgun very carefully if required (hair dryer works fine). 

Next I used distress ink and rubbed all the edges and then again over the top of the whole canvas. Then I rubbed some versamark ink over parts of the canvas, and tipped on some distress embossing powder, then use a soft paintbrush to gently move it around, and then tip off the excess. 

Heat set the embossing powder, with a heat gun.  Do not use a hairdryer it will not work!

Finally I used a sealer, to ensure that it doesn't flake if it gets knocked, and if those pesky summer flies land on it, then it is able to be wiped.  Sorry it was a bit glossy and the photo was not as clear as I wanted it.

Now the fun part.  Decorate it, (but that is next week's project!).

Here is another one I have done with similar techniques:

And finally here is a scrapbook page, using the left over gesso from another project.  I saw this sketch some where a couple of years ago and this was my version of it.  This has had distress ink over the top of the gesso to make the backgound.  

So go and get your hands dirty and create a canvas. Pop back next week for more messy fun!

Scrapbooking - Bobunny tree house in Zimbabwe

Hey everyone, I wanted to show you this fun layout I did with Coralie Buser.  I am giving us both credit as she was the one who cut out all the leaves, and inked all the edges.  We used Bobunny paper, it was just perfect to make a base for a tree house for her son and friend in Zimbabwe.   I also used a few scrap n season birds, that I won.  She left it half done on my desk, and I just couldn't not have a play.  When she came back and it was all done, she was really pleased with the result and I didn't get into trouble for finishing it for her.   

Advent Calender Part 2 decorating

Hi everyone, here we are ready for part two of the Advent calender for Artfull Crafts.
Time to decorate the whole project.  I started by thinking about my Christmas tree and what I put on to it, as I decorate it ready for the festive season.  As with the rest of the project I only used Kaisercraft Turtle-Dove paper

I started with making some presents.

The presents I made needed to be very little.  I cut six little squares of cardboard about 1.5cm x 1.5cm, and taped them as above, on the reverse side of the paper I wanted.  I made sure I left an extra piece of paper on the sides as shown in black above, so I could tape the boxes together.  (The picture was crooked so i couldn't make them look square, sorry).  You fold them up into a box shape.    Once they were together, I put a piece of paper strip, as if it were ribbon around them.  A bow on the top, and a a couple of red  Mini-Paper-Blooms and some leaves for colour.  

Next I decorated some reindeer.  I wanted them to be bounding up the sides of the tree, like they were running up the steps.  This is last years reindeer. 

I covered the Reindeer with paper, and inked around the edge of him.  I then distress stained his antlers and legs.  But I still wasn't happy, so i distress embossed his antlers to give a furry look.  I used ranger distress embossing powder vintage photo embossing powder.  I then heat set it.  I made a small chain for around his neck, but the bells were all to big that I had, so I left them off. I made two of these reindeer, facing opposite ways. 

In the photo above you should be able to see the red circle and cream rose by his tail.  I cut strips of paper and then quilled a loose circle.  I glued this on to every point on the tree, as I felt the edges were just to hard for the look of what I was trying to achieve.

I also added the white paper on the sides of the tree as above as well.

 
It is a little hard to see, but I also put lime tulle behind the presents and I ran a string of hand knotted acrylic crystal like beads down the side.

Then lastly I added some mini pine cones that i added some Kindy glitz and stickles to, and then I carefully made holes in all the boxes and added brads onto every one. I was careful as some numbers are quite big and I had to make sure the numbers would fit - so some brads are not centred. I used different sized and different coloured brads on the different coloured boxes.  I then added the numbers from the  Turtle Dove Numbers stickers sheet, a few wooden flourishes from Kaisercraft, and then for the star, I put paper on the back, and then bling stips  to brighten the front.

Then it was finished. It got to sit on my bench for a few days, and then I packed it up so very carefully and couriered to Timaru, where it is sitting in Kasiercraft section of Artfull Crafts.

So now it is your turn.  Enjoy.
All the best Jo

Kaisercraft - Advent calendar

Hi everyone, welcome to my first full technique blog. I will be doing one part this week, and another in a weeks time.  For this project that I have designed for Artfull Crafts, I have been given the new release Kaisercraft Christmas Tree Advent Calendar Small  and the Turtle-Dove paper collection also from Kasiercraft.

For this project you will need several different sheets of paper, I tend to use reasonably plain or small designed paper, this means you can add more embellishments, also you don't have to worry about half patterns or half pictures on your little boxes.

So lets go: 
Firstly layout all the pieces of the calender, as pictured below. 

There is also a picture of this on the back of the packaging of the calender.  This gives you an idea of what you will be going to do.  Start putting the tree together, don't glue.      

This is so you can see where all the pieces are going.  If you trace around the shelves on the outside, you can see which parts need to be covered in paper, and the rest can be painted, as they are behind the boxes. When you are painting any Kaisercraft project, make sure you either put it together first before painting or make sure you do not paint the tabs.  This is because as you paint, the tabs swell and then they do not fit into the slots very well.  If they do swell you will need to sand them to get them to fit.  This particular design actually has good sized holes, so it quite easy to fit the pieces together. I used Kasiercraft Off white paint. 


Next we are going to put the drawers together:

This is the outsides of the box, this is the side that is covered with paper.  I cover all of this, except the bottom.

This is the inside of the box, I paint this inside piece, but I usually paint it after the box has been put together. I'm not sure why, but I have made 10 plus of these and I always do this. I also spray with glimmer mist inside the box to try and cover any brush strokes.  If you wanted to put paper inside, you could do it now.

 To make the boxes, glue up the sides of the box as shown and then hold together for a few seconds. Or if you have someone sitting beside you doing nothing, get them to hold them for you. Thanks Mum! (Green Tombow glue is best for this as it has a thin nozzle and dries quickly).

Then it is time to start decorating.  Paint inside the box, or cover in paper.  Then starting on the outside if you measure the front of the box, you will find it is a square, but watch out because the sides are rectangles.  
Cut pieces for all of the sides (I used the I used the Maid's paper which has a range of squares, that will fit the front panels perfectly).  You can do all the same colour, or a mixture of colours.  When you are doing the front pieces, after you have cut the piece out, lay the box on top of the back of the paper (make sure it is up the right way), and draw the half circle at the top.  Cut this out by hand, or punch out if you have the right sized circle punch.  Glue all the papers on. Blue Tombow is best for paper to chipboard/wooden project. It has a nice thick applicator at one end and is the right consistency to glue the surfaces fully).

Then sand the edges of the box (sandpaper) to make sure that the paper is flush with the cardboard, sand downwards, this stops the paper from ripping off.  I then use a distress ink or a chalk ink, and go around all of the edges in a co-ordinating colours.  I used a jumbo java chalk ink. This saves cutting up a heap of papers.   

Now it's time to decorate the back of the tree. I then cut a tree pattern from the Partridge paper, if you cut the paper in half, trace one side of the tree and then the other, (remember the boxes cover the middle), it will not go all the way across.  This will also need a join close to the top which I have covered with embellishments.  Glue these pieces on and use an emery file if you need to tidy up the edges. Then glue all the shelves together (you can use Green Tombow or PVA for this step) and put them in place. You will have something like this:

 I then inked all around the outside of the tree, you can see the brown ink.  I also inked the shelves, to keep the cream tone down. 

What happens next?  I'll show you next week.