"Seaside" Canvas Wall Hanging

The June Mid Month Muse Mixed Media Kit from Flying Unicorn contains a fantastic (big!) canvas banner from Canvas Corp.  I was a bit intimidated by the size of it, so I began by cutting it into three smaller banners and hemming them into their own wall hangings (I had to make DH look away so he wouldn't discover I DO know how to stitch fabric, not just paper LOL).

Here is the first one I completed, for our room at my in-laws' summer cabin on the ocean:

I started by finishing the canvas roughly with gesso, leaving some bits of raw canvas showing through for a more weathered, natural look, then started building up my layers.  For the sandy bottom portion, I began by layering crumpled kraft-colored tissue paper with Ceramic Stucco and gesso, then finished it off with Stampendous Fran-tage Shabby Beige Fragments.  To build the illusion of rocks coming up from the sandy bottom I applied molding paste through a Crafter's Workshop Cell Theory mask and spritzed it with the grey Mister Huey's mist from the kit.  Above that I used the 12X12 Prima Static Mask and assorted Lindy's Stamp Gang mists.

The Prima Hello Pastel Fabric Flowers started out grey which did not work with the project, so I painted them with the Lumiere 3D paint from the May KOM.  Notice the glass pebbles?  They were clear to start, but I colored them with Alcohol Inks in Silver Metallic and Stonewashed to give them a beach glass look.

There is a fantastic burlap flower included in the kit that I wanted to use as the centerpiece for my cluster.  I did some additional fraying of the edges, and spread the strands throughout the cluster, then dabbed on several Distress Paints, Craf-T Rub-Ons from the kit and Gesso until I had the weathered look I was going for.  I also applied Distress Paint in Broken China, Mowed Lawn and Salty Ocean behind my cluster and misted heavily with water and let it run down across all my textured layers.

In addition to tucking seashells into the cluster, I used one for the center of my flower, finished off with a glass pebble treated with Alcohol Ink and some loose bling.

The letters also got a treatment with Distress Paints, Craf-T Rub-Ons and Gesso.

 I loved the way these blue Prima SIIC swirls imitated waves, but they were too bright for the project.  A little touch of gesso dulled them up a bit and helped them blend with the rest of the elements.

If you haven't had a chance to pick up your Mid Month Muse Mixed Media Kit, the last I heard there were less than 10 left, so don't delay!

Additional Supplies

Kaisercraft Flowers
Prima Encore Ivory
Lindy's Stamp Gang Bells of Ireland Green
Lindy's Stamp Gang Azure Sea Asters
Lindy's Stamp Gang Whale Watch Blue from Nantucket Pearls set
Petaloo Canterbury Spray Green
Prima SIIC Swirls
Prima bird resin
Doodlebug little green flowers

The End Of Google Reader - Are You Following Your Favorite Blogs on Bloglovin' yet?

Are you following me on Bloglovin' yet?  As you may have heard, Google Reader is being phased out on July 1st, which means that for those of us who use Google Reader to review the blogs we follow for new content we need to find another platform.  Enter Bloglovin'.  Not only do they provide similar features to Google Reader, they have actually improved on the format and e-mail you a daily recap of the blogs you follow including a clickable thumbnail picture.  I've made the switch and am loving it.  Bloglovin' has an easy transfer system set up which will allow you to effortlessly continue following the blogs you're currently following on Google Reader.  I hope you'll make the switch, and would love it if you would follow me over there.