UKS Blog Hop

Hello there, Welcome to the UKS Spring BlogHop! You may have come to me from Niknaks blog If you lose your way, or have dropped in on me directly and want to follow the hop, you can see the full list with all the links here

For new visitors, this blog is written by a bunch of bears, yes really! We staged a coup last year and took over from the human, as we thought we could write far more interesting posts than her! Don't worry though, we stashed her safely under the bed, where she resides quite contentedly!
It's Horace here today modelling my special space suit in honour of the  blog hop.  Now a blog hop, as you all know, means travelling from one blog to another, and as such, I thought I should wear special travel clothes for the occasion!

Anyway, on with the show. Today, I'm going to show you how to decorate a mini canvas, which can be used as a lovely present for a like minded friend, or to keep yourself if you like your creation too much to give away. First, of course, you need a canvas, we bought two sizes from The Works (other shops are probably available).....

I'll be using the slightly larger canvas for today's project, although the smaller ones, at ATC size, are fabulous for posting off. What with the increase in postage charges this month, these are still small enough to leave a smidgeon of change in your pocket once posted.

For this canvas I used the following Dylusions mists, although any mists would work, and if you don't have mists, inks dabbed onto the canvas with blending foam would look good too.

I set up a pizza box spray booth, and sprayed the two colour mists onto the canvas in a cavalier and careless fashion. Anyone for a weird colour tanning session?

I let the mist drip down the canvas, rotating said canvas to change the direction of the drips.

I then dabbed some of the mist off the canvas with good old fashioned kitchen roll, what would we crafters do without it?

Dabbing the canvas while wet leaves this lovely mottled effect.

I sprayed the easel that was supplied with the canvas in coordinating inks.

I then heat dried the mists to set them on the canvas. If you just keep applying mists with no drying in between you may end up with a muddy mess, depending on what colours you are using, so I always dry in between layers. How many layers of mist you add is entirely up to you, if you don't like a particular effect, just add more mist until you're happy with it.

Now you can add other layered effects. I took a paint lid stencil, and sprayed the new Dylusions white mist through it.

The mist does not actually dry white, but lends a more pastel tone to your previously applied colours. Although when first sprayed you do tend to get over excited at the white effect that you assume you've created.

Oh, any residue left over in your pizza spray booth? Don't just leave it to dry, utilise it by mopping it up with your art journal, or a tag. Look at the fabulous criss-cross effect made by pressing the journal down into my wet pizza box.

Once you've finished misting to your furry heart's content, choose a background stamp. I chose a Kaisercraft script stamp.

I inked it up in archival ink and pressed it randomly over the canvas, without the aid of an acrylic block. As canvas has a little give in the centre, you need to have a flexible stamp, and to not be too bothered about creating a perfect image with it. Think shabby chic, and if that's too much of a stretch, well, just think shabby!!

Next, you need a main focus. I chose a Stampers Anonymous stamp, and using archival inks again, I then stamped this in the bears' inimitable way, but rather than stamping onto card or directly onto the canvas, I stamped onto tissue paper. This technique is great for textured backgrounds, and anywhere that it would be hard to create a full image, such as a canvas. Cut the tissue paper close to your image, or tear it if you're brave enough, and adhere to your project using a suitable glue

such as Mod Podgy, yes that's the correct name for it, the manufacturers' just spell it wrong on every pot, Podgy the panda told us, and he'd never lie.

As well as stamping my main image onto tissue paper. I also stamped a sentiment onto it, imagine trying to get an even print from a text stamp directly onto canvas? It's almost impossible on this substrate. Make sure to add glue to the canvas and NOT the tissue paper, as this tends to become a soggy mess when glue is added! We made the mistake of adding the glue to the stamped tissue paper the first time we tried this technique and spent a week peeling glue and gunky tissue paper from our paws. Once adhered to the substrate and dried, the tissue paper dissolves, leaving behind your image, even on slightly lumpier textures.

Once you've glued your images and any other background features, you'll need to wait for everything to dry completely before adding any finishing touches.

Now for a bit of magic... Take one unassuming, bland white flower....

Spritz it with a little pink glimmer mist....

Abracadabra, wishy washy woo. Voila, one very pink shimmery flower to add to my canvas.

Now, don't be afraid but I have a gun and I know how to use it, do you feel lucky???

Ahem, sorry, all this blogging has affected my furry brain. I punched some butterflies (poor things had done nothing to deserve such treatment) from a Martha Stewart double punch, and I die cut a leaf from a Memory box die to decorate my misted canvas with. Anything you fancy can be used on your canvas, have a rustle through your stash boxes and see what you can find, old unused flowers, die cuts, stamped images.... It's a great way to use all your old embellishments that may have been languishing for a long time amongst your stash.

As a very final finishing touch I added some chicken wire over the main image to make it seem as if she was looking out through the wire. Chicken wire can be adhered to your canvas using a heat gun, and the blobby glue residue can be covered with your die cuts or punched ephemera, or you could glue a strip of co ordinating card down the length of the chicken wire if preferred, I like the chicken wire floating in mid canvas effect, so opted for the gun, plus, it made me feel all manly and powerful to brandish the gun in such a fashion!!!

My sentiment reads ' We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing. I thought the woman would look as though she was pondering why she felt trapped, and if only she could take heed of the sentiment, she'd feel freer. Hence the butterflies.

Finally, at last I hear you sigh, a picture of me with my creation. I hope you enjoyed my little 'how to'. Now it's time to go a hopping over to the next blog hosted by Sarah, which you can find by pressing a furry paw here


love from the bears.