TO HAVE AND 2 HOLD

For this project i wanted to go back into my crafting stash and use some stamps that have been around for some time. i know  when it comes to new projects that we all undertake we like to play and explore our new crafting items and we build up the crafting box pushing older items back and further back. So for this i dived in and used a set of stamps from KANBAN that were all the rage 12 months ago. There is a selection of KANBAN Stamps available from THATS CRAFTY ON LINE STORE along with a wide selection of other stamps and 90% of all the crafting materials that i tend to use with my projects.

MATERIALS USED:
12 inch Blank Cheap Canvas
Pages from an old Book
Kanban Stamps
Basic PVA White Glue Thinned down for gluing paper to canvas base.
White Gesso
Selection of Eco-Friendly Acrylic Paint
Selection of Templates. Here i have used DYLUSIONS TEMPLATES.
White Stamping Card
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad
Selection of Flexi Markers
Selection of Glitter Pens
Tim Holtz Distressing Embossing Ink
Clear Fine Embossing Powder
Heat Gun
Drawing Ink and Pens
Collection of Dylusions Inks
Ranger Adirondack Rust Ink Pad
Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA Glues or Pearlidoodles
Lettering cut from Cardstock and an electronic Die Cutting machine
Sharp Tipped scissors
Double sided Foam Tape.
Embossing Craft Mat.

LETS MAKE A CANVAS!:

One of the best ways i know to cover an basic canvas is to use pages from old books that i bought from Car Boot Sales and the odd Charity Shop. One of the cheapest ways to then attach the papers onto the canvas is to use a thinned down PVA Solution and an old brush.

By ripping the edges and then layering the papers so that at first they do not overlap.

After you have a base layer down by using the ripped sections as well as ripping the paper into segments you can start to build up a layer of paper and text thats interesting. Try not to let the text flow along a line when you're layering up.

Then the final thing to do when you're 'prepping' your canvas is to use a layer of Gesso. Now then this is where you have a choice. Gesso comes in Black, White as well as Clear. The reason that a lot of artist use Gesso is that it lets you move colour on a canvas. it not only works for 'wet' mediums but also your drying mediums such as chalks and Pan Pastels.

Once the Gesso had dried this is when you're starting to get creative. Select your colouring mediums and lay down some colour. i have used a lot of acrylic paints during my years of being creative and in  ECO-FRIENDLY i have found a paint thats very wet [by this i mean is able to be moved across a canvas and you only have to use a small amount] and the depth of colour or Hue is bright and keeps its colour when thinned down.

Let's now get the templates out and whatever other colouring mediums you're going to use. I did use DYLUSIONs Ink Sprays. They have been used however i didn't on this occasion take a photo of the ink bottles. Here i have shown the after effects.

Once the inks had dried [with the help of a Heat Gun] i took some India Ink and started to draw around some of spray ink marks.

Then taking another KanBan Stamp from another collection [Same style and Theme] using a ink pad that fitted into the colour scheme i started to make impressions onto the canvas. i wanted to do this so that it gave some depth in figures. The two stamped images that i wanted to use would just look lost so by doing this it added depth and followed the theme.

Here you can see the background stamping.

As l was using Flexi-Markers i had to pick the right stamping ink to use. So for this i used Memento which is a nice clean black that works very well with these pens.

As it was going to be a 'Wedding Theme' i opted to use glitter pens to add some depth and colour. it would also lift the colours that i had used.

As i normally do when l stamp out images and then cut them out from white card i use a blue grey marker to edge. This helps the stamped images to look as if they should be there and not just placed.

Once i was happy at the overall finish of the figures the next step was to emboss. This was done to give the figures some depth as well as make them reflect the light  bit giving more depth. The male figure has been placed into the Ultra Fine embossing tube ready to be heat blasted!

Using a gold coloured paint that had been thinned down to a thickness such as double cream it was dripped down from the top edge. This was in my minds eye to look like a curtain that the Bride and Groom walked through.

To give the 'drip's' some depth i once again used a Sepia Indian ink and pen. Selected which side that the light was coming from and just added some shadows. When you're doing this remember to keep the dark shadow layers going in all the same direction. if you don't then it will not look right.

i have not used Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA Glues in a long time they have been a forgotten embellishment tool in the crafting box.They will also give a lot of interest and cast shadows when its looked at. So a few careful dots was placed in the circles and along the lines of the drips.

All that was left to do was to use my electronic die cutting machine and cut out the wording i wanted to use. in the past i have been searching round for good type stamp sets or i have printed out using my computer.

Completely forgetting that these machines will cut out any font that you have on your computer. This is the first time that i have used this style of lettering and it will not be the last thats for sure.

If you have any questions about what you have read or seen on my blog then please send me a message and i will get back to you a.s.a.p.