Show Me Sunday - A Tutorial by Joni!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Hi...Joni here...getting messy and dirty making a canvas... one of my fave things to "play" with!!
So here is the canvas that I'm going to show you the steps of how I made it:



So first off, I wanted to give you a little hint... When I shop at some discount places (like BIG LOTS) and I see they have canvases...and some of them are damaged...  well, call over a manager and ask for a discount on the damaged ones...typically they give them to me for 50% off!!!! BINGO!!!
Here's the one I started with and you can see that I'm gonna cover that spot right up anyway!!


Ok..now before I really get started, I'm going to tell you how a canvas usually goes for me...
(it's called FLY BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS ART)---
1) build a layer - don't like it
2) build another layer - kinda like it
3) build another layer.....
ETC..... so you get the picture...some of my canvases are 8-10 layers...but each layer adds dimension, and I usually learn something along the way...

So here we go,
Since I don't really know what I'm going to use yet in the line of products, I kinda started here:
Canvas (this one is 11x14)
Gesso (texture medium)
Paints and brushes
MOD PODGE (a must)
Mists
(and I've chosen to start with the HUGE chipboard letters that spell my son's name)


and I kinda decided where the letters & a photo would probably go...

So I don't have any fancy texture tools, so I just took a piece of chipboard (actually the one from the pic above that represented the photo) and punched one side with a scallop border punch.
I used a foam brush to add a generous layer of Gesso and then I "spread it" and added texture using the scallop cut piece of chipboard.

Now, while that was drying, I painted my Chipboard letters using Tim Holtz Crackle Paints (Red & Blue) and KaiserColor for the White.  (I intentionally wanted the white to stand out due to letter placement)

Ok..so now I want some dimension/texture ... so TISSUE PAPER to the rescue.  You know regular tissue paper that you use in gift wrapping?...Yep!!
Ripped a few pieces (large pieces, like 10x10 or bigger)...and crumple them up.

Uncrumple them and adhere to canvas with Modge Podge
I just paint the top..it seeps through the back --
 I'm just sure to make sure NO SPOT of the paper is left dry.
(It's ok to have bumps, rips...etc...all adds to the texture)

Where one piece ends...add another piece... and I just kept going until all the area I wanted was covered. 
Now just a comment here...I probably could have done with the "Gesso Texture" layer since I covered it up with crumpled up tissue paper...so 1) yea probably, but I hadn't planned that far in advance and 2) I think it adds just a little touch of dimension under the tissue paper anyway..even if it's really subtle.


Now..while that was drying...(a day or two)...
I used some chalk ink and gave the "Crackle Letters" some dimension:


Ok..so now that the Modge Podge is dry... PAINTING TIME... FOAM BRUSH.... Lots of paint, but big strokes since I didn't want to fill in ALL the nooks and crannies...  (and NO I'm not left handed... but that's the only way I could take picture with my right hand and still "look like" I was painting...lol!!)

So let that dry...
Then I added the ALPHAS and Photo

It was a litle too stark for me, so I covered my photo and misted with some white.
Then I added some embellishments
(Crown - also painted to match, borders w/bling, boy grommet, and the date in the corner)

 Here is another thing, I wanted to mention:
The chipboard letters were a little challenging to adhere since I had the letters overlapped and interwoven.
So once I adhered the sections that actually were flat against the canvas, I also adhered pieces to each other where they touched and also popped as many layers as needed in different spots...


My son has already claimed this is going to be hung up in his room...cool!!
Here it is again:

Hopefully you made it this far...without falling asleep or thinking I'm nutty (or both)!!
So...I encourage you to get messy....create a layer....if you don't like it...just add another one!!

Oh...also just a comment about the tissue paper...  You can add a rubon to it (don't crumple it) and then Modge Podge it on and the rubon shows... Cool!!
I also use dress patterns (you know, like to sew clothes)...those are cool looking on a canvas.


6 Comments »

6 Responses to “Show Me Sunday - A Tutorial by Joni!”

Sonia said...

Hello Joni
Thanks for this fabby tutorial. I really like what you did. Fab creation.
-Sony
htt://sonia-studio60.blogspot.com

Becky said...

this looks like fun! Thanks for sharing your creative process with us! May have to try something like this in the near future!

LisaM said...

Great tutorial and love the outcome of it!

Scrappegal said...

Thank You! :)

tiffany said...

wow Joni this is sooo cool! definitely going to give this a try!! =)Tiffany
Breakfast at Tiffany's

Sam said...

this is so fun & messy =) love how you use modge podge and tissue paper. Sam