Artful Canvas #1

The Artful Canvas

One of my very favorite art projects would have to be creating custom art canvases. You’ve heard the term “blank canvas” and that’s exactly what makes it so fun and allows such artistic freedom. I think anyone can do this, and not just succeed in doing it, but I think with a little guidance, anyone can create art that will make you happy and that you will proudly hang on the walls of your home. Here’s the thing: nothing could be more completely custom, and perfect for your home. From the colors, to the design, to the text, it’s all your choice and can represent you and your family. 

I’ve created two very different canvases. One is more graphic and bold, the other is almost ethereal and vintage-y. The sky’s the limit. The main thing to remember is that there are no mistakes. Anything that you might consider a mistake can typically be fixed simply by painting over, or covering with pattern paper or text. So let’s get started.

Butterfly Canvas:

1. Dry brush craft paint to thinly cover 6x12 inch canvas. Make sure you do the sides.

Set aside to dry.

2. Use Fiskars Ultrashapexpress with Butterfly Template and Heidi Grace Designs Moonlight Meadow Pattern Paper to create butterfly base and with Cloud 9 Designs Be Loved Pattern Paper to create body and antenae. Ink edges. Adhere body to base using Fiskars Adhesive Foam (small). Set butterfly aside.

3. Machine stitch around 5x7 inch photo. Freehand trim 4 strips of vintage book pages (if you’re concerned about archival quality, you can photocopy vintage book pages for the same look) to mat photo. Adhere strips to canvas, and then adhere stitched photo over.

4. Add gems to tips of butterfly base and middle of body. Tie a bow using vintage seam binding and adhere to butterfly body. Then go ahead and adhere butterfly to the right and

bottom of photo, using a Fiskars Craft Gluedot to center of butterfly only. The wings can be slightly bent forward to add more dimension.

5. Use black pen to create trail following butterfly. I even added a couple of handstitched slashes in the trail.

6. Handwrite quote right on canvas in space left. Don’t be afraid, it can easily be painted over or disguised if you make a mistake. Just be a little careful not to drag your hand across and smear the ink.

7. Adhere vintage trims to bottom of canvas.

Living Happily Canvas

This is a great project for scraps.

1. 1. Dry paint 6x12 inch canvas with mustard craft paint. Set aside to dry.
2. 2. Use Fiskars Scallop Circle Squeeze Punch to punch 16 punches, with Lil Davis Away We Go Pattern Papers, Heidi Grace Frost Blvd Pattern Papers, Blue cardstock, and vintage ledger paper.
3. 3. The key to this graphic design is layering. So you can also punch about 6 Fiskars Medium Round N Round Squeeze Punch, using the same mix of papers.
4. 4. When canvas is dry, begin laying punched scallop circles out and find a basic design you like. Then, the fun begins, take each scallop and treat it as it’s own little project, layering to your pleasing, using Lil Davis Away We Go buttons, vintage buttons, Heidi Grace Flowers, and a vintage book or typed quote or phrase and some handstitching if you like. One trick for handstitching on paper,  is to pre-poke the stitching holes.
5.  
6. 5. Take a length of Heidi Grace Brown Ribbon and tie it around the width of the canvas below the second row of scallops.

Wah-lah! Trust me, if you create even one canvas, you’ll be hooked!

By Becky Novacek