Unforgettable Memories - Mixed media canvas | Starfish canvas

Hey guys
I have a fun canvas to share with you all today which I made this for my niece who is so fond of beaches and actually any waterbodies....but since I did not have her pic...I  added a pic of a cute baby girl I took for the internet (Royalty free image). This canvas was so fun to make and I am very happy with they way it has turned out to be.....I wish you all could see this canvas in real...there is so much texture and dimensions and layers to this project..the camera can capture only a fraction of its beauty.

    So, I started by drawing my own starfish on a 12" by 12" sunboard and then I cut it out. To add more strength to it, I traced this same shape on a chipboard and cut it out as well. I adhered the two surfaces together to get a sturdy canvas. This starfish is inspired by a few images of starfishes I saw on the Nat Geo channel...here are a few similar images I found on the internet. I loved the shape of this starfish.....asymmetrical but so beautiful.

I primed the surface and added a little texture to it using crackle paste. I also stenciled the entire starfish using modelling paste and a dotted stencil....to mimic the body of a starfish. I let it all air dry...the crack are much better in this way but you can always speed it up using a heat gun. Once everything was thoroughly dry, I added a little color to my starfish using Lindy's Magical shaker Gueten Tag Teal in a few areas to highlight the texture. In other places, i used Sandstone chalk paint by Little birdie craft.....to give it a sandy beachy feel. I added a couple of layers and once was happy with it, i dried it all thoroughly.

Now is my favorite part where I assembled all my embellishments. I started with shells and cheesecloth along with some fine fishnet. To add my picture, I added a lot of scraps to make my base for the picture and then added a lot of twine to frame my pictures.I added a lot of dimension so that my picture stands up against all the embellishments. The, I added chipboard background that looks like scallops and ornate frame in the background to frame my layout which are mebossed in white, gold and pink embossing powders.

I made my own vine using leaves and flowers and added that to frame my picture and then added more flowers in pinks, blues and beige from Prima Marketing and some are handmade by me. then i filled in the gaps using a mixture of art stones and 3d gel and gesso. Once everything was dry, I added a little pink and blue color to the stones as well to bind it all together. At this point, I added a few more clay corals I made a while back and melange stones in few places which I colored in gold.
I added the cute little starfish and tucked in the small clock amongst the flowers and dried everything thoroughly.

 

 

To add more texture to the canvas, I added mini art stones at few random places and then dry brushed everything with gesso. The finishing touches were a sprinkle of glass glitter an fine gold glitter in few places and the sentiment heat embossed in white. I hope you guys like this canvas as I am totally in love with this. Here is a quick clip to see it much better.

I am putting this up at the following blog challenges:

1. Lindy's August Color Challenge - Products used are Magical Shakers - Oom Pah pah , Alpine Ice Rose and Gueten Tag Teal magical shakers
2. Creative Artiste Challenge #52 - Anything Goes

Smile - Handmade Mixed Media tag

Hello again
I have a handmade tag to share with you all today...this one is quite different to the ones I make....it is vintage themed with subtle background full of texture. Here is my tag

I have used the Aqua Medley paper pack from ItsyBitsy (Little Birdie crafts) to make this tag.......I did a lot of fussy cutting to get all the floral elements and that cute bird. The pearl drop and stencil is from Little Birdie crafts along with the paper line. To add more dimension to my tag, I clear heat embossed the fussy cut element thrice....it has such an amazing shine to it now.

The mediums and stamps are from Finnabair and I have used Lindys magical shaker to add color to my tag. The primary colors used are pink, black and brown with hints of orange which mostly got hidden. I added a lot of white and black splatters and also highlighted my texture with a black pen. I am putting this up at the following challenges:

1. Lindy's August Color Challenge - Products used are Magical Shakers - Oom Pah pah , Black Forest black , Oktoberfest orange and Bratwrust Brown magical shakers
2. Splashymix challenge #8 - Moodboard
3. Creative Artiste Challenge #52 - Anything Goes

Explore New Paths - Art Journal Spread

Hey guys
I am sharing an art journal spread with you all today. I have really enjoyed making this page....Its my second art journal page ever and I was nervous to begin with....but as I went on it was so much fun and all my nerves calmed down....I guess that's what art does to you..soothes you completely. I have made this page keeping the current blog challenge at Dusty Attic and Lindy's stamp gang for the month of August....so the colors and the elements chosen are inspired by the challenge themes.

I started with priming the page with white gesso and then added some textures. dried everything thoroughly and then added color using magical shakers from Lindy's Stamp gang. Once I was happy with the colors, I added more textures to the page using stamps and embossing powders. Later I added few circles cut from an old book page to create the base for my focal element.

 For adding more interest to the page, I added a lot of splatters and also outlined the circles. I wanted to highlight the textures but then I decided to keep it more pastel and subtle....so you can feel the texture but not really see it as a distinct feature.

 Once everything was dry, I assembled my focal elements using some cheesecloth and art stones. Added gold splatters and finished with some fun colored melange stones, sequins and diamond dust.

I am adding my tag to the following challenges:

1. Lindy's August Color Challenge - Products used are Magical Shakers - Oom Pah pah , Alpine Ice Rose,  Black Forest black and Gueten Tag Teal magical shakers
2. Creative Artiste challenge #52- Anything Mixed Media Goes
3. Dusty Attic August Moodboard - I have used dusty attic chipboard on my project.

Shabby Chic Furniture Remodel

Finally....I am happy to share my furniture remodel pictures with you all today. I very recently worked with an Indian Clothing brand (Nightwear)SAND DUNE to decorate their stall for the 69th Garment Fair which took place between 15th -18th July which is India's biggest annual clothing exhibition for men, women and kids.

To decorate the stall, I have remodeled 1 big table, 2 trunks and some other small things to give the stall a shabby chic appeal which would go well with the brand's appeal. I have used subtle shades of pink, teal and yellow. I took 1 week to remodel and create everything and its been raining in Mumbai very heavily which also delayed the intermittent drying time between layers of paints and mediums. Everything used is from Itsy Bitsy right from chalk paints, laces and trims, hoops, birdcages, decoupage napkin, mediums and decoupage essentials.Here are a few pictures of the stall and the setup along with some process pictures.

I started with a dilapidated table and 2 rusted trunks. I did use some products to take care of the rust on the trunk.

SHABBY CHIC TABLE:

I sanded the table and added 2 coats of white gesso on the entire surface. The table did not ave any vernier or sunmica so I did not have to remove anything from the top.

 Once dry, I colored the entire table with baby pink, bright pink and brown chalk paints. I gave them 2 coats to give a more prominent color. Once dry, I added 1 step crackle medium varying the application thickness...some places it was thick and other places thin. Once this was dry I gave the table a inal coat o baby pink chalk paint....love the cracks.

 Once, everything was dry, I let it be or a couple of hours and came back with a watercolor roses decoupage napkin. I tore it with my fingers and then created my pattern on the table. I adhered it using Deco Magic Matt....and once it was dry I sealed the napkin using the same glue. The final touches came by adding leaves...for this I used an artificial rose leaf and dipped it in yellow and leaf green chalk paints and stamped it around the roses. that added the fresh feel to the table.

Shabby Chic Trunks:

I derusted the trunk just to be safe and then followed the same procedure I used for the table. The only difference was that the smaller trunk was given a base coat of white, bright pink and brown and after the crackle medium, the final coats was teal and baby pink. This variation in colors is very evident when you see the final product.

 The final touches to the trunks was added using tinted gold metallic paints to highlight the locks, hinges and other metal parts. I was going to stack them so I did not go over the board with adding the gold paint....I added only where I knew it was seen. This is the larger trunk....loved the handles on this one.

 This is the smaller trunk....it looks so fresh and yet so shabby. Love this one.

Apart for this I also added some random pieces like bottles, frames, birdcages, an iron and shabby hoops. Here are a few images of the same. The white bottle is my fav.....loved it.

Thank you for stopping by....I hope you all like it. I am putting this project up at the following blog challenge:

1. ItsyBitsy Blog Challenge #23 - Home Decor - I have bottles, a shabby chic table and 2 shabby chic trunks which I have altered using products from the store.

Supplies used: