Mother's Day Mixed Media Canvas Wrap UP

Today we're going to finish up the Mother's Day Mixed Media Canvas we've been working on.  As you might recall we started off by making two very textured panels - a 14x14 blue canvas and an 11" square green crackle corrugated piece.  Well this is how I finished it off....

What do you think of that?  

I knew when I was making this that I wanted the heart to be the focal point...not the flowers.  With so many mixed media canvas projects you see the flowers end up becoming the focal point of the  entire project. IMO that is because the intended focal points (usually a photo or other element) are usually flat or lifeless compared to the flower embellishments so they naturally take dominance over the photo.  I wanted to give this heart a wow factor so I bumped it up to the next level.  Here's what I did...

I started off by drawing out the desired shape onto foam core board

and cut it out with an exacto knife.

Next I took some waded up pattern tissue paper (yes, this is one of my favorite crafting bits) and hot glued it to the heart.  It doesn't have to be precise - we'll make it look nice in the next couple steps.

Cut a piece of lace leaving about 2-3" extra on each side.

Starting at the top of the heart, hot glue it in place.

Now tuck the tissue in and fold the lace over the edge - hot gluing it in place as you go.  Carefully work your way around the heat, tucking and gluing as you go.  You'll want to cut off the excess lace during this process or you'll end up with a big wad of excess lace in the center.   Be VERY careful during this step...I burnt myself several times because it's lace and well it's holey!  Stuck my finger right in the hot glue many times, fumbled the heart then the glue stuck to other parts burning as it did so.  Let's just say I was glad when this part was finished!

And here's what the heart looks like!  It's approximately 1.5-2" tall!  Quite an impressive piece if I do say so.  Now what to do with it?

Well, if you painted it at this point it the tissue would end up being a soggy mess so we need to seal it up.  To do so I used DecoArt Media Modeling Paste.  It retains it's flexibility while sealing up all the cracks and crevices of the lace.

I carefully applied it with my finger - gently swiping it across the lace to fill in the holes but not hard enough to smoosh the tissue down.  Worked like a charm!

Once it was dry I applied a coat of Cadmium Red Hue to the entire piece.

Next I added Primary Magenta around the edge and left side of the heart (you can see the dividing line clearly in the photo).  I then blended the two together so that line disappeared.  I mixed in a touch of black with the Magenta and created the shadow.

Blended it out and went around the bottom edge of the entire heart...

I then darkened the edge along the bottom with full strength Lamp Black.

Once the paint had dried I spritzed on a bit of Primary Magenta Mister on the left side for just a bit darker shadow.

I then applied a layer of Fab Fuchsia Metallic Luster to the lighter colored areas of the heart for an extra bit of zing.

I then tinted several flowers again using the Primary Magenta Mister...

And a few using White Shimmer Mister.  At this time, I also spritzed chipboard letters with the Primary Magenta and Carbon Black Misters.

It is now time to finish assembling the canvas...  I drew a pencil line where I wanted to place the heart on the canvas then spritzed with a bit of the Carbon Black Mister to create a splatter shadow on the canvas.

Then hot glued the heart into place.

Looks pretty on the canvas as it is but I went ahead and added the flowers, die-cut leaves and flourishes and mounted the letters....

And there you have it!

I want to take a moment to thank DecoArt Blogger Outreach Program 

for generously supplying the wonderful products I used to create this canvas.

DecoArt Supplies:

Americana Titanium White Acrylic Paint, Lamp Black

Decou-Page Matte Medium

Media White Gesso

Media Modeling Paste

Media Crackle Paint

Media Fluid Acrylics - Cobalt Teal Hue, Cobalt Turquoise Hue, Cerulean Blue, Dark Grey Value 3, Yellow Green Light, Cadmium Red Hue, Primary Magenta

Metallic Luster - Champagne Ice, Lavish Green, Fab Fuchsia

Media Shimmer Mist - Turquoise, White

Media Mister - Carbon Black, Primary Magenta

Other Supplies:

Canvas Concepts - Canvas

My Favorite Things - Leaf & Flourish Dies

Corrigated Cardboard, Foam Core Board, Lace, Pattern Tissue Paper, Paper Flowers, Chipboard Letters