Canvas is such a wonderful textured fabric that is so popular in the papercrafting world right now. Is it any wonder with its beautiful texture and limitless possibilities? Recently I ordered some Canvas ATC's. That's Artist Trading Cards if you are unfamiliar with the term.
ATCs are usually 2.5" x 3.5" in size. Many crafters collect and trade them and they are a great little panel to experiment on. I had thought to use them as a base for embellishments. I've done that and it's a great way to use them. The other day I decided to take a more artistic approach and use them to make a little stamped canvas panel for a birthday card for a friend. I'm pretty excited with how it turned out so I'll show you how I did it.
First of all I used a Craft Sheet to protect my work surface. This will get slightly messy with inks and water so this makes it super easy to clean up. I'm using a Hero Arts Basic Grey Stamp from the Konnichiwa line called Floral Blossoms. Using Jet Black Archival ink I inked it up and stamped my canvas ATC. Heat setting at this point will make your ink permanent.
Next I've added in my first layer of color. To do this I first mist the canvas with water so that the color will bleed all over the canvas and give you a beautiful watercolored look. A Mini Mister is perfect for applying water over your canvas. Apply inks to your canvas with a waterbrush and just get lots of color onto the canvas. It really doesn't look too exciting at this point but don't worry. It's easy to pick up ink by squishing your ink pad lids into the ink pad and then using the lid as a palette. After this step, use a heat gun to dry the canvas well.
Next build up the color slowly by adding in more color and shading with ink on your brush. You can also use dye-based markers to add in more precise details.
White gel pen makes it easy to add white highlights for a finishing touch. I really like the look of stamping over the entire piece when done with some text or a subtle background stamp. I've over-stamped this piece with the Old Letter Stamp in Aquamarine Archival Ink.
When creating a detailed panel, I always love to keep the focus on my mini work of art. That means a nice clean and simple white card base and a couple simple accents.
Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom!
Happy creating!
Supplies: Stitches ATC Canvas by Prima Marketing, Floral Blossoms Basic Grey Konnichiwa Cling Stamp by Hero Arts, Old Letter Writing Stamp Set by Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages Stamp set by Hero Arts, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Aquamarine Archival ink by Ranger, Crystal Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Wood Buttons by Maya Road, Crushed Olive Distress Ink, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink, Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, Wild Plum Adirondack Ink and Sunshine Yellow Adirondack Ink by Ranger, Rose Bud Memento Marker by Tsukineko