It was the beginning of December and I just needed a break from the reality of running a business. I went into my studio, turned on the music and just started to play. From that little experiment with the Studio Line I realized several different "things" that I could share, that would hopefully add a new twist to what can be done with this fabulous line of products.
I have no formal fine art training and so whatever I come up with is purely accidental. It is at these times when I am just exploring and experimenting that I am in my happy spot :D Today I hope to share a couple of ideas that came from that creative play:
- embossing on sticky back canvas is way cool,
- sticky Back Canvas "Ribbon Strips" can be the perfect embellishment to your project,
- the "old wallpaper" technique that I shared in this post can be glammed up with Perfect Pearls,
- you can use the Studio Line paints with your stamps,
- and finally you can add "dimension" to items created from a single layer of Sticky Back Canvas.
To begin I took a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" sticky back canvas and cut it into smaller pieces. I then "painted" these with gesso and allowed them to dry. At a later date I hope to share some of the other wonderful things I discovered as I played with these pieces. Today I am sharing one of the first of those ideas.
I had no direction as I started this creative process. I was playing, experimenting and taking pictures as I went along. I had no idea what the outcome would be until I was well into the process - LOL! I wondered what would happen if I tried using embossing powders on this surface.
It is extremely important to make certain that your gesso covered sticky back canvas is dry. I then used an anti-static embossing buddy to rub the entire surface. I stamped my poppy image on the surface using black pigment ink and embossed using fine detail black embossing powder. After heating it the detail of the poppy jumped up off the surface of the canvas making it so very easy to paint the flower.
I added water to Modern Red Studio paint as shown above.
Painting in the poppy allowing the very thin paint to pool and flow.
Next I brought out Dash of Red and added it to the previous mix.
I continued to pool color on the surface, not worrying if the color might "spill" outside my lines since I knew I would cut out the end result. As you can see I also added Sable Brown to the center of the poppy. When applying color to flowers I always like to google an image of the actual flower before beginning so that I can get a fairly accurate idea as to what the true colors are.
I then allowed this to dry.
As you can see I also added a little yellow to the color tones of my poppy. Curiousity had me wondering what would happen if I added layers of color using an old technique in which you watercolor using reinkers. The yellow layer was added with a slight wash of Scattered Straw reinker.
The final step was to lightly spritz the poppy with a mixture of Fired Brick and Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls. (Instructions for creating here-just utilize the colors listed above.)
During this experimental process I discovered that using Gesso on decorative paper brought on an appearance of aged wallpaper. In my previous post I shared how to "scrap" it on. In this post I want to propose a second method to you. Add some water to your gesso mixture on your non-stick craft sheet.
(Tip: Use your craft sheet to protect your desk and make cleanup a cinch. Most often I allow my paint/gesso mixes to dry and then use my craft scraper I scrap the excess into the trash. Then I wipe the surface clean.)
Next I added some Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls to this mixture. I then painted over the surface of my Nook and Pantry papers completely altering the look of the bright yellow paper to coordinate with the color tones in my Poppy. The very subtle gold shimmer that peeks from the paper surface brings about a sophisticated, yet rustic appearance.
I wanted to experiment with dry brushing on this paper. To dry brush I make certain that my brush has all moisture squeezed out of it. I then lightly dab it on the surface of a dry paper towel to spread the fibers. Then touch only the ends of the fibers to the paint that is in the lid of my paint containers. This paint is usually thicker - the perfect consistency for dry brushing.
The photo of the brush above is what it looked like after I had dipped it into the lid. This is still too much paint in my opinion and so I dabbed some off on to a dry paper towel before I gently drag my brush from the edge of my project towards the center. In other words I start on my craft sheet and drag it towards the center of my paper sheet.
Hopefully this picture gives you a better idea of how much and how the paint was applied.
This picture shows the difference between the original, absolutely spectacular paper that Basic Grey manufactured and the one that I felt would be more appropriate to go with my earthy, textured poppy. It is so hard to take good photos and capture the beautiful irridescent light of the altered paper.
After my poppy paint was completely dry I removed the protective backing from the canvas and squeezed my poppy into a dimensional shape as shown. I then applied Matte Multi-Medium to the sticky back surface of my poppy. This did two things. Once dry it was no longer sticky, and it added some additional "stability" to the dimension of the poppy.
As I looked through my supplies for the perfect ribbon I just couldn't find something that I was excited about. This was such a clean simple piece, with some rusticity to it and I didn't have anything on hand that seemed to work. It then hit upon me that I could create my own RIBBON STRIPS from sticky-back canvas!!!
I cut a strip of sticky back canvas to the approximate size and painted it black. After it was dry I spritzed it with my mixture of Fired Brick reinker, Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls and water.
Next I selected a fairly bold crochet ribbon. I wanted this to act as my "stamp." I painted it with Modern Red as shown above. I then carefully picked it up, placing it face down on to my black canvas strip. I VERY gently pressed the crochet ribbon in place and then picked it back up leaving a very unusual "stamped" red image in its place.
As you can see the pattern is not distinct, but it was precisely what I thought fit this beauty.
The last element that was needed to tie it all together was a subtle, rustic flourish behind the poppy.
It is easy to stamp using Studio paints. I find that by painting a very light layer on my non-stick craft sheet and using this as my "ink pad" I can add a rustic painted look to my projects.
One last side view in hopes of giving you a better idea of the finished look. I hope that sharing my explorations with you will give you the courage to just try it---I hope that you too can find stress relief and excitement as you explore with the fine art tools that you have in your possession. You don't need lots of education to try something new. It's OK to make mistakes and throw things in the garbage if they don't work, but miraculously it is amazing how often these explorations don't end up needing to be trashed.
stamps: Memory Box Open Poppy, Stampers Anonymous Take Flight
ink: Pitch Black Adirondack Pigment Ink Pad
paper: Basic Grey Nook and Pantry, Memory Box Persimmon Notecard and Envelope
accessories: Studio Line - Gesso, Modern Red, Dash of Red, Sable Brown, Charcoal Black, Sticky Back Canvas, Brushes; Non-stick Craft Sheet, Craft Scraper, Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls, Jacqueline Crochet Riboon
