Steampunk Canvas for Gina's Designs

Today I'm sharing an altered inverted 8 x 10 canvas that I created in a fun Steampunk style.  The adorable image and the papers behind it were digital freebies from Ephemera's Vintage Garden.  I thought that the Steampunk chipboard shapes from Gina's Designs really complimented this image.  I used the techniques described below on the chipboard shapes.

The butterfly, the hot air balloon, and the gears corner at bottom right were first given a light coat of gesso.  I always use a light touch with the gesso, usually just a dry brushing with a fan brush,  because I like the natural shading it provides when some of the natural chip color is coming through.  I then used a variety of different colored gelatos on the butterfly.  I blended the colors with a touch of water then let it dry.  To get the distressed and grungy look I was after, I sanded it back so some gesso showed through.  I followed that with a touch of Prima chalk ink in a burnt orange color.  By that point you couldn't even tell that I'd ever used the gelatos, but that's OK because with each layer of color you add, you'll get more depth and dimension as an end result.  I added a bit of stickles here and there, some bead connectors and I coiled some copper wire for antennae.  

On the balloon, I stamped a script stamp with perfect medium, then added shades of perfect pearls.  It has a beautiful sheen to it that doesn't show in the photos.  For the balloon overlay I embossed with copper embossing powder, sanded some of it off, then touched it up with Prima Chalk Ink in burnt orange.  

For the gears, I simply ran it through my Big Shot in a dry embossing folder, then rubbed it with different shades of Gilder's Paste.

For the chipboard Word Ribbon Title of "Explore", I rubbed the raw chipboard with Prima Chalk Ink in the burnt orange shade, added a touch of Tim Holtz tarnished brass Distress Paint then rubbed gesso over the letters.

To add texture to the image itself, I used a grungy edge stamp with shabby white embossing powder to make it look like ocean foam, and then I added some amber frosted flat back pearls.

To create the texture on the frame of the inverted canvas, I began by using matte Mod Podge to apply torn papers in colors to match the project all around the frame covering the staples.  I then dry brushed gesso over the paper using a light touch.  I followed with some Art Anthology dimensional sorbet paint applied through a stencil all over the frame.  I trimmed in some of the blank spaces with Tim Holtz distress paint in tarnished brass to highlight.  I added gel medium and applied glass beads and some little stones (lower left corner)

I made the grungy flower at left with the spikey shapes of the Tim Holtz Tattered floral die (I cut two), and in the center I used a Sizzix daisy die (I cut two), and punched out sun shapes for the center (I punched out three), then I added some glass beads.  The flower at right is just a simple rolled rose by Die-namics.

Thanks for looking!

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Butterfly of Gears

Hot Air Balloon Stack Up

Word Ribbons 3

Gears Borders and Corners Shape Set

Other:
Image by Ephemera's Vintage Garden

Butterfly by Renea Bouquets

Altered Inverted Canvas - DT Project for Gina's Designs

Today I have another Summer themed project, a 12 x 12 inverted canvas featuring our mermaids, one of my favorite shapes to play with.  The larger mermaid I had custom cut in a larger size by special request. 

 I began my project by painting the wooden frame on the backside of the canvas with gesso, followed by ink sprays, then texture paste applied through a stencil.  I rubbed on more gesso to get the look I wanted.  I then flipped the canvas over, and applied a script patterned tissue paper to the front side of the canvas with Mod Podge.  I followed that by spraying the script paper with ink sprays in ocean colors.  I then cut the canvas with sharp scissors randomly from the center, then rolled the sections and adhered them to the frame with hot glue.  At that point the canvas has no backing so I adhered a 12 x 12 sticky backed canvas sheet to a piece of 12 x 12 chipboard.  I painted that with an ocean scene and then adhered the piece to the backside of the canvas with gel medium.  Then I just needed to decorate the inside and of course my mermaids.

I painted the mermaids with gesso, followed by a white pearlescent paint.  When the paint was dry I added texture paste and used a small painters spatula to create swirls to look like fish scales.  When the texture paste was dry, I painted over it with various shimmering paints like silks, twinkling H20's, pearl-ex powders mixed with water, and acrylic metallics.  The type of paint didn't really matter as long as it was shimmery, and I just used whatever I happened to have in the colors I wanted.  I drew the hair on with a thick coat of glossy accents, forming waves, and then poured glass micro beads over the glossy accents.  I was happy with the way they turned out.  Thanks for looking!

Gina's Design Products Used:

Mermaid Shapes Set

Custom Cut Mermaids (8 inch by special request)

Beach Shape Set

Sea Horse Shapes

Palm Tree Shapes Set

Lace appliques by Cathy's Crazy By Design on Etsy

Altered Canvas in a vintage garden theme

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite themes again.  Nature!  Somehow for me, it's the theme that comes most easily, and gives me the most pleasure in creating.  I began with a simple application of gesso to the frame, then streaked it with some various colors of Folk Art acrylic paints.  When the paint was dry I added some Kroma Crackle.  This crackle product can take a couple of days to "cure" and finish crackling, so I just leave it and move on to other projects.  When it fully "cured", I rubbed on some Prima chalk inks in various colors to bring out the crackled finish.  I found a nature collage style of design paper in my stash that I'd picked up at Michael's, and I secured it to the back of the canvas with mod podge.  Now comes the fun part.  I began to gather my chippies and to ink, emboss and crackle them.  I looked through my "nature" stash and found nests, birds, eggs and mosses.  After that it only took an hour or so to decide on my final arrangement and to adhere the pieces to the canvas.  The gorgeous butterfly is by Renea Bouquets on etsy.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Chipboard pieces have been colored with Prima Chalk Inks.  These are a great tool for coloring.  If you buy the big set you will have plenty of colors in the same family to use for shading.

Feather Shape Set

Tree 3 ( a portion of the tree can be seen on the inside)

Topiary Trees (basic instructions are below the post on how I colored it)

Grass and Foliage

Postage Frames

Build-a-Layout Country Living (the wagon wheel) crackled with TH distress rock candy crackle paint

Ornate Corners (inner corner top right)

Fall Shape Set (the rake) colored with chalk ink then TH distrees embossing powder to look like rust

Coloring the Topiary:

I began with a light dry brushing of gesso followed by Prima Chalk Ink.  I "shaded" the pot by leaving the thinly coated white gesso uncolored in the center to give it a rounded look.  For the topiary, after I colored with shades of green chalk ink, I added some clear glass bead gel and left it to dry.  It will dry clear.  At that point you will have lots of texture from the beads that will be stuck to the chipboard.  I then rubbed on some Gilders Paste in Vertigris over the beads and along the edges.  Done!

Steampunk Canvas

This steampunk reverse canvas was made as a gift for a man.  It was a bit of a challenge for me to create a canvas without any flowers, but I'm really happy with the end result.  On the inside I used a mask and spray inks.  On the frame I used embossed metal foil tape with a sticky back.  In preparing my steampunk elements I tried to use different techniques to get as must interest and texture as I could.  I began with the chipboard art doll which I papered with a free schematics paper that I downloaded on the internet.  It had just the right touches of teal in it.  I also found a face for the art doll as part of a free collage sheet.  I used matte gel medium over the top of the art doll after it was papered to add stability.  I added some fun fussy cut images from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante papers, and the rest came easily by adding inked and/or embossed gears and other chippies and elements from my stash.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Small Male Art Doll

Steampunk Shape Set

Skeleton Clocks

Gears Boarders and Corners

Brick Wall

Butterflies and Dragonflies

Other Products:

12 x 12 Canvas

Metal Foil Sticky-backed Tape (around the frame)

Tim Holtz Gears Mask (on the inside)

Dylusions spray inks (inside canvas)

Ranger Patinas (to color the foil tape)

Stampendous embossing powders to color chipboard elements

Prima chalk inks to color chipboard elements

Tim Holtz metal gears colored with Ranger Patinas

(by using a combination of both chipboard and metal elements you get more texture and interest)

Prima Junkyard Findings (little faucets and spark plug)

Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante papers

Punchinella in black

Tim Holtz metal wings and crown

eyelets were used as "glasses" on my art doll and colored with Ranger Patinas

Doorknob on lower left by Graphic 45

Vintage 8 x 10 canvas created from bits and pieces and Gina's Designs

I created this in just a few minutes with the stuff that was on my desk (but mind you my desk is a mess and there's a lot of stuff on it). The image is one of our Gina's Designs freebie printables.  You can find them on the Gina's Designs blog, our Facebook page, or on Pinterest.  I also used some doilies and flowers and die cuts.  I had already made the canvas background a few weeks ago when I was in the mood to make several in different colors and textures, so the rest of the project was easy.  I hope you like it!

Gina's Designs products used:

Cardstock Doilies

Circle Flourish

freebie printable

To create the canvas I first adhered the crown logo patterned tissue paper from a pair of Juicy Couture shoes to the canvas with gel medium, then used a damask stencil and texture paste followed by lots of ink sprays.

Vintage Beach Canvas - More Fun with Gina's Designs

I have so much fun playing with the chipboard shapes from Gina's Designs, especially when I'm getting inky and messy with a canvas at the same time.  Every Summer I like to create a canvas with a vintage beach theme.  I grew up at the beach and I really miss it a lot.  Although I enjoy mountain and desert views these days, there is nothing like the smell of the sea, the sounds of the surf and the feel of sand in between your toes.

I covered the canvas in gesso, stenciled the ledger pattern from Crafter's Workshop, then used various ink sprays, and finally a little more gesso over parts of the canvas.

These chipboard shells from Gina's designs were fun to decorate.  First I covered them with gesso for some texture, then I used Prima chalk inks in various colors, a little diamond dust, and finally a coat of Tim Holtz distress clear rock candy crackle paint.  The fence in the background, also from Gina's Designs was painted with gesso using a dry brush technique, inked a little bit, then embossed in areas with Tim Holtz distress embossing powder.

The palm tress, one of my favorite shapes from Gina's Designs were inked with Prima Chalk Inks, then covered with Tim Holtz distress crackle paint in clear rock candy.

From Gina's Designs:

 Palm Trees

Grasses

Also from Gina's Designs (but not listed on the site at this time) are:

Sand & Surf title

Sea Shells & Seahorse

Fence

(you may request these items directly from Gina by going to her website)

Welcome to the Gina's Designs Blog Hop

Welcome to Gina's Designs Blog Hop!

Since April 15 – 21 is World Creativity & Innovation Week, Gina's Designs decided to hold a blog hop in celebration of Creativity!  We challenge everyone to try something new and craft outside their comfort zone.  In keeping with this theme, each of our Design Team members will be unveiling a project that includes a technique that is new to them.  So hop over to each blog, check out the fun new techniques, and enter to win the prizes.

The Prize on this blog is a $10.00 gift certificate to Gina's Designs!

The requirement to be eligible (by drawing) to win the gift certificate on my blog is to follow my blog, and to leave a comment on this post telling me that you would like to win.  Remember that to be eligible for the *grand* prize you will need to visit each blog on the hop.

When you have finished the hop, be sure to go back to Gina's Designs  and leave a comment so we know you completed the hop. In order to be eligible for our grand prize you need to complete the hop, follow Gina's Designs blog (if you are not already a follower) and like Gina's Design on  Facebook. You have until 1 am central time on April 22^nd to complete the hop. Have Fun and Good Luck!

For my new technique I chose to create a mixed media canvas on which I have used a new paint technique to decorate my chipboard birdbath.  How easy is this to spray paint it with a stone textured paint!  I have also outlined it with Prima chalk ink in black.  I love how it turned out and it was so easy!

 If you get lost along the way, here is a list

Gina's Designs
Marjolaine
Monica
Lisa
Angela
Marfa
Deann
Dawn
Shanna
Nancy
Rashida
Heidi
Kathi
Heather

Mixed Media Photo Canvas

This canvas is 5 x 7 and features two of my cats Timmy & Robin.  The canvas is a design team project for Gina's Designs and includes one of the lazer cut chipboard ivy corners and one of our brand new chipboard lazer cut windows which will come in different sizes and designs.  The ivy corners are currently in the shop and the windows will be available shortly.  Butterflies by Renea Bouquets on etsy.

Mixed Media Canvas - Moonlight Fairies

This is a 12 x 12 canvas with lazer cut chipboard shapes by Gina's Designs including the three fairies, the garden urn, and two sets and styles of ornamental grasses.  Resin mushroom and bird by Prima, Butterfly by Renea Bouquets on Etsy, the chipboard moon die cut is by DCWV from the Immortal Love stack.  The vine die is by Cottage Cutz, inks by Dylusions, and Twinkling H2O paints.  Purple flowers by Petaloo.

DT Project - Breaking Dawn Two - Altered Canvas

This canvas is one of my favorites I've created in a series of Twilight Saga altered canvas projects.  Although it was tough to give this one up, I gifted it to someone who appreciates it.  I know it has a good home.  This is my first Design Team project for Gina's Designs for the year 2013.

Products used from Gina's Designs:

2 shapes of lazer cut chipboard bare trees

lazer cut chipboard flourish

lazer cut chipboard fern fronds

lazer cut chipboard tall grass

Other Products include:

Prima flowers

Dylusions ink sprays

Mix'd Media Inx

Prima Crystal bling

Prima resin deer

November DT Project - Christmas House on Hinged Canvas

This is my November Design Team Project for Gina's Design's.  The project was supposed to be a 4-sided house with roof but I choose to mount my house on two hinged 8 x 10 canvas's....just for fun.  I hope you like it.

 Above photo is front of canvas

 Above photo is inside niches

Above photo is the back side of the hinged canvas's

Steam Punk Canvas

This canvas was so much fun to work on.  I used a combination of lazer cut steam punk shapes sets from Gina's Designs, and embossing powders, and spray inks.

Breaking Dawn Canvas Swap

A Breaking Dawn Canvas Swap I did at Craft Happens.  This is the canvas I made for my partner Ellen.

DT Project - Vintage Bird

This piece uses lazer cut chipboard chicken wire, butterflies, and shutters.  These pieces and many others can be found at Gina's Designs, home of ready cut and custom cut lazer chipboard elements and mini albums.

DT Project - Dress Form Canvas

A shabby chic dress form layout on a 12 x 12 canvas, and Design Team project for Gina's Designs.

Steampunked - July Design Team Project

This project features the gorgeous lazer cut chipboard pieces from Gina's Designs.  I really had a lot of fun creating this one.  For more info on the techniques and the lazer cuts I used, please see the video on my YouTube channel.

Altered Canvas - Breaking Dawn - "Haunted"

Altered canvas I inverted for a shadow box look.  Lots of technique on the frame which I cut with my cricut. It was a plain burgundy cardstock that I painted black, then embossed with clear UTEE, then I embossed a dark green in a marbled pattern that I applied with a stamp and finally some bead gel, then silver rub n buff.  The result was a metal look.  Not much color in this piece, I was going for a haunted look at Dawn.

Mixed Media Vintage Beach Canvas

Done on a 12 x 12 canvas.  I have used distress inks and sprays by Tim Holtz and Dylusions for the background and also texture paste and Japanese lace paper applied with Golden gel gloss medium.  The vintage photo is printed on sticky backed canvas.

Altered Canvas - Vintage Lingerie Shop

I had so much fun creating this. I found an image I liked and it just took off from there! Totally unplanned.

Mixed Media - Twilight Breaking Dawn

A Mixed Media art piece done on a 7 x 9 reverse canvas from the dollar bin. I used an abstract looking crackle technique on the background and added lots of dimension. The photo is printed and cut 4 times with the top layer slightly off center to the other three layers to create more shadow. I love how it came out.