I've been making stuff - honest!

It's true, I have been making stuff just not blogging.  Life (that thing we have to do between 12am and 12pm) has just got in the way a bit.

I had a play afternoon a few weeks ago with my best mate Kate, (Kate who lives here not in the US) and I thought we'd use some canvases that you can get from that well known craft store chain. We used an A4 and A5 size.  Kate made a great photo display wall hanging with a wooden clothes peg so that she could change the photo whenever she liked. It looked great and I think she had a really fab afternoon - playing.

I started by using the fabric tag I'd made the day before, in a you know just one of those let's see what happens kind of way.  I cut a tag using the Tim tag die from calico, painted the back with some PVA glue to stiffen it, love how it curls up on the edges.

On the front I wanted to make a transfer print using matte medium and acetate of a photo I'd taken. I really love this image transfer technique which Leandra (Mrs PA) had shown me ages ago at an Ally Pally show. Basically you print your image on acetate, spread a reasonable layer of matte medium on the surface you want to transfer on, put the acetate face down over the medium and start applying pressure with a bone folder or an old credit card.  Gently start to peel away the acetate to check if the ink is transferring.

I love how you never know whether it's going to work and that you never get a complete transfer and that's it's all faded and blurry. Once it had all dried I added some brown DI's and stamped some text.

Now for the canvases. 

The large one I first painted in a very light linen colour acrylic,rubbed a candle over to act a a bit of a resist and then pained with pomegranate slightly watered down. Rubbed back the top layer a bit to show a little of the linen colour. Then started stamping with Tim papillion stamp set and and backward text stamps in a purple ink. Added some swirls in pumice DI. 

For the embossed bits I used the big papillion text stamp which I adore and the little sewing location stamp with old linen distress embossing powder, I think it adds a nice contrast to the damson background.

Then the smaller canvas was painted in the linen acrylic and some old paper and burlap DI added in to add depth and tone. some more stamping and embossing. Cut out some swirls from grungeboard, painted and put them through a texture plate, then highlighted them with some old silver inka.  I also added this in around the edge of the big canvas.

Then stuck it all together and thought about how I was going to hang.  Um, metal wire through eyelets will probably work and tie in with the aged look. so that's what I did, but NOOOOOOOOOOO it looked all wrong and I thought "oh sugar" ruined it - humph.

Well I slept on it and had that light bulb moment, I don't actually want to see how it's hung up I need to attach a ring to the back and loop some ribbon through it, but how do I cover up the eyelets - flowers and lots of them! 

So after lots of stamping with a Wendy Vecchi stamp (daisy like just in the photo - it was meant to be) and cutting and inking and gluing (love the centres - craftworks candy) with the glue gun  and curling to give shape I had lots of flowers.

I think the light bulb moment worked - what do you think?

Happy crafting over this Easter weekend whether it'sin the garden, in the craftroom or a bit of both as it will be for me!

jo
xx