The Spring weather is gorgeous. So pretty in fact that it’s that time of year again when people are holding yard sales on the weekends to prune their stuff and make some extra cash. I hit a great tag sale this weekend at a local church, which must have some very crafty members because the crafting supplies section was awesome. I picked up an older Quick Cuts Canvas scrapbooking kit for $5, a bargain considering the $40 price tag from the store was still on it.
Since I’ve not scrapbooked in a while, I thought it would be a quick and personalized Mother’s Day gift for my mother-in-law. I feel blessed that she drives 90 minutes each way every single week to watch my daughter on Thursdays and Fridays while I work. Course, she has a beautiful mountain home, so it’s a comfortable arrangement. Still, I’m so appreciative of her efforts and want to show her my gratitude.
The first thing I did when I opened the kit was toss the directions. I didn’t even want to influence my brain with someone else’s designs. I did really like the pre-cut circles — saved me a lot of work! I also liked the die cut hearts, birdie, scallop and “family” vellum sentiment as well. I made a decision to not over think the kit and keep my additions to a minimum. I pulled out some creamy vanilla paint, a little cobalt blue and worked with the brown chalk pad that came with the kit. My glue stick, some foam pop dots, my brayer and a little frayed blue ribbon was all I added to my work table. In the end, I just had to pull a blue rhinestone crystal for the bird’s eye, but seriously, that was it.
I went for a shabby chic look with a dry paint technique applied the die cuts. I also sanded the edges of the photos so they would match the distressed look. One of the techniques I used to give the canvas a more three-dimensional look was to glue my elements so they hang over the edge of the canvas. I like out-of-the-box thinking, literally. It’s one of my favorite teaching tips when working on home decor items.
Another technique used on the canvas was to light a candle and burn the edges of my vellum sentiment. Sure I could have used my brown ink stamp for a faux-burned technique, but then it wouldn’t have the same authentic crinkly paper look to it. When working with fire, always be safe. Work in a well ventilated area and be sure to blow out the edges quickly in order to control the fire rather than it controlling you. Also just another technique note. People often worry about how to adhere vellum and buy special tapes etc. for it. I work vellum just like I do the other paper elements on my page. A nice big UHU glue stick and a brayer. Used in combination, they can adhere all paper surfaces forever. See how the patterned paper shows through the vellum neatly?
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with my $5 kit and an hour of my creative time to make a gift that I’m sure my mother-in-law will love.
Here’s wishing all of you a very Artful Day!
