Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop, Week 6: Family Canvas

Week 6 of the Sizzix Blog Hop happens to overlap with Holidays Handmade week, so I've got a holiday gift tutorial for you using this week's chosen die: Sizzix Bigz XL Die - Album, Brackets.  Here's the image from the Sizzix website:

And here's what we're going to make (it's a bit of a long tutorial, I warn you):

These are the pre-cut pieces I received in the mail:

You can see that I received some fabric, some white cardstock, and even some clear vinyl pieces.  I decided to work with the large white bracket pages.  I needed four for my idea, but I only had two.  If I had the die, I would have simply cut two more, instead I traced the ones I had and cut them out to add two more.

I cut mine from watercolor paper, and if I had the die I would have cut all four from watercolor paper.  It just holds up to what we're about to do to it a bit better.

Because it's meant to be part of an album, the page has a hole in it.  I needed to cover that hole.

I used white artists tape on both sides of the hole and then covered the entire page...

...with two layers of gesso.  Better to use two thin coats than one thick coat.

Set that aside to dry while we prep our canvas.

I'm working with a 12x12 canvas and a pile of book pages.

I like to remove the page margins from my book pages.  I think it makes for a more seamless collage.

Using a ruler, push down to secure the paper and pull the edge towards you until it rips away.

You can see I used a variety of different pages, including some music!

Decoupage the pages onto the canvas using your favorite decoupage medium (mine is Multi Medium from Ranger).

Don't forget the edges of your canvas!

I left my canvas to dry overnight.  You can use a heat gun but it tends to make the paper buckle a bit more.

Once it's 100% dry, scoop up some gesso with a credit card.

Not a lot.  You'd rather use too little than too much.

Use the card to scrape it on and off until your canvas is covered.

Before the gesso has a chance to dry (and it will dry quickly because it's a very thin coat), grab a toothpick and dip it into some India Ink...

...and draw circles all over the canvas.

The toothpick will create some grooves in the gesso.

Go ahead and create some ink splatters too.

Just tap on the end of the toothpick.

Set the canvas aside to dry.

Back to the four bracket pieces!

We are going to use a stencil (from The Crafter's Workshop), one of the large bracket shapes we prepped, and a small vinyl bracket shape.  (If you don't have any vinyl, just use one cut from paper.)

Layer the three pieces together.

Using a palette knife, spread gesso over the whole surface of the stencil.

This is a technique from my DVD, Collage Fast & Furious. 

Remove the stencil and the vinyl mask to reveal your textured border.

Repeat on the other three bracket pages.  Set aside to dry or dry with a heat gun.  It is very important that the gesso be 100% dry for the next step to work.
 

Spray the bracket shape with Adirondack Color Wash in Butterscotch and spread the ink around with a wet brush.  The color will sit in the crevices more intensely.

Note that the shape I cut from watercolor paper sits flat and the cardstock one curls.  So just be aware.

Once the spray ink is 100% dry (again, we need things not to get muddy here)...

...spread brown acrylic paint on with your finger.

Before it has a chance to dry, use a damp papertowel to wipe some of it off.  Let it dry completely.

Add a very thin and watery layer of teal acrylic paint.  Let it dry completely.

Add a very watery layer of black paint over the whole surface for a cool weathered effect!  Don't you love it?  Set all four pieces aside for later.

Back to the canvas!

We want to dirty it up a little.

Dump a wet pile of brown paint onto your canvas.

Use a paper towel to rub it into the canvas.

Let the brown paint dry completely.

Repeating the credit card method from the initial prepping of the canvas, add some gesso to the canvas.

Notice that I didn't cover the entire surface.  Let dry completely.

Spray some Adirondack Color Wash in Red Pepper.  Spread it around with a brush...

...adding some thinned out black acrylic paint as you go.

Look at the depth and all the layers!  Love that!  Let it dry.

We're ready to bring the two parts together now!

Adhere the brackets to the canvas.  There are so many possibilities at this point!  I decided to add photos.

I painted a collection of hearts onto some book pages and cut them out.

I added my photos, surrounding a large red flower.

You can see that the large heart got tucked in there.

I added the small hearts and I was done!

If you'd like to hop to the next blog in the Sizzix Blog Hop, please click the "forward" button on the blog hop logo to the right --->

All blog hop posts should be up by noon EST.

And if you're new to Holidays Handmade, there are at least four posts a day through Sunday.  Tutorials go up at 12:30am, 8am, 2pm, and 7:30pm EST.  So there will be a new tutorial up at 2pm EST -- just a few hours away!

Thanks for stopping by!