Altered Canvas...

I am on a creative high! I recently finished my first altered canvas. I am so excited. It started with the idea to do a grouping above my desk... I bought my canvas and just had fun! I tried to keep the mindset that this was a collage... if I messed up, I could just layer over it! There is something so inspiring about having a blank canvas in front of you. I combined several different inking techniques. The Products that I used are as followed:

Tim Holtz's Distress Inks

Tim Holtz's Crackle Paint

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Adirondack Alcohol Ink

Adirondack Paint Dabber

Making Memories Arcylic Paint

Memento Dye Ink

Ranger Clear Embossing Powder

Versamark

I started with a swirly template from Crafter's Workshop and my Distress Ink & Blender Tool. Then, not thinking, went in with my Tattered Angels Screen and Glimmer Mist and sprayed... well this created a "Happy Accident". I washed away my stenciling work. Distress Inks react with water/liquid. If you look you can see where my swirly design dies off into the canvas. Some other fun techniques I used were:

"Blended Batik" - I read about this in Tim Holtz's new book, A Compendium of Curiousities. You stamp with clear embossing powder, ink, & then iron off. This is the general gist of the technique...

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"Pop-Up Flower" - It is hard to see from the picture, but I cut out a flower from my left over paper and pop-dotted it on top of another flower for added dimension

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"Glimmer Mist Screen & Stamp" - I have been using Glimmer Mist for a while now... but they recently came out with stamps to match the screens. You use your screen and spray first, then you go back over with the stamp that matches the screen.

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"My Red Rose" - I took a white Prima Rose and painted it with my Snow Cap Paint Dabber, (I took off the lid and just poured some paint into a tray), and Cranberry Alcohol Ink. I just played with this and I really had fun. There are so many ways to alter embellishments to make them fit your needs, Paint, Glimmer Mist, Inks, Chalks, Embossing, Glitter, Watercolors, Etc... Remember, next time, when you can't find that perfect Embellishment in your stash, you can make an imperfect one, perfect!

I am really excited about getting into altered art, (like I need one more obsession in this hobby!), I am also reading and learning quite a bit about color, so I want to start posting some color tips & tricks and some challenges to break you out of your comfort zone! Also, more to come about using design principles on your layouts, like, the Rule of Thirds that I talked about earlier...