Butterfly Botanical Busted Canvas with Perfect Paints
As the crisp air of autumn sweeps in, nature begins its stunning transformation, draping the landscape in rich hues of amber, crimson, and gold. The vibrant greens that once dominated the scenery fade into warm, earthy tones, inspiring a bittersweet nostalgia that lingers in the heart. Among the sights that evoke cherished memories, the sight of cattails swaying along the roadways stands out, a gentle reminder of leisurely summer days spent outdoors.
In this spirit, I embark on a creative project: to bring a piece of the great outdoors inside through a unique display on a busted canvas.
Join me as we celebrate the elegant splendor of fall and transform what may seem like a discarded item into a cherished tribute to nature.
Armed with inspiration and some favorites from the Perfect Paints product line, we will explore how to encapsulate the essence of this stunning season, ensuring that its beauty continues to resonate in our homes long after the leaves have fallen. Let’s dive into this artistic journey together, honoring the splendor of autumn while giving new life to forgotten materials.
Supplies:
Polishing Plaster #1076 Frosted Pine
Perfect Clear Texture Gel #1203
Shimmering Matte Acrylic #1035 Honey Gold
Perfect Gloss Medium and Varnish #1200
2 - 12 x 12 Decorative Papers: 49 and Market Vintage Artistry Naturalist and Krafty Garden
Butterflies: 49 and Market Curators Meadow Lazer Cut Elements
Other: 8x10" framed canvas, 8x10" canvas board, brown craft paint/brush, Makers Magic, lime green tissue paper, Large butterfly: crafter'ssquare, mini stencils: Crafter's Workshop-Botanicals and swirls, hot glue gun, faux flowers, pointy scissors.
I started on the back side of the framed canvas, painting with total coverage with a brown craft paint that was left over from a previous project.
Once the paint dried, I applied Makers Magic to the flat surface only and laid in crinkled lime tissue paper. You can see around the edges of the first layer, where the paper was thicker, the color popped wonderfully. So I added another layer of Makers Magic and crinkled tissue paper.
While that was drying, I adhered the patterned paper to the 8 x 10" canvas board, being mindful when I cut it down to size, of where the design would be when I busted open the canvas frame. I ended up allowing a border of about 3/4" since the frame would cover that area anyway. I painted the edges brown, just incase. Hind sight tells me, it wasn't necessary.
Next, I adhered another patterned paper to the entire front of the framed canvas trimming it down to fit to the edges.
For the stencils, I mixed:
Polishing Plaster #1076 Frosted Pine
Perfect Clear Texture Gel #1203
Shimmering Matte Acrylic #1035 Honey Gold
and applied with a putty knife. I went back in with a small paint brush to fill in the gaps from the stencil.
Keep in mind there's a lot of drying time in between some of these steps, be patient. I'm not a fan of heat tool drying, so I move around to different projects while I wait, or put the final coat of before bedtime.
Next, it's time to "Bust the Canvas! This can be a bit intimidating the first time; cutting a perfectly good canvas. Haha. But it's also liberating, so try to embrace it.
With sharp point scissors, poke a hole anywhere near the center of the canvas. It doesn't have to be exact. In fact, it's better to be a little random in placement and sizes of your slices.
Make your first cut from the center to any edge, be mindful of any patterns that you may want to strategically work around so they remain visible. If you make your cut directly TO THAT FOCAL POINT, you'll be able to bend the canvas to each side of it and keep it revealed.
This canvas was rugged, with the two coats of Makers Magic, 2 layers of tissue paper, the canvas, another layer of adhesive and a thick patterned paper, plus the Glaze Medium. Therefore, I made narrow cuts so they'd be easier to handle and adhere in place.
I painted the edges of the wedged cuts with the same mixture that I used for the stencils, to cover the white canvas and paper center.
Using hot glue, glue the framed canvas over the canvas board.
Bend the cut wedges and roll the ends under, hot glue to the backgroud of the framed canvas.
When you use the same size canvases, you get a nice deep pocket, like a shadow box!
It's time to let the faux flowers and botanicals burst out of the canvas!
Apply the hot glue as necessary, tuck the bottoms in. There's swamp grass behind the flower stem and then the cattail on top of the flower stems.
I also added a little swamp grass to the outside of the canvas tucked under one two of the wedges, as pictured in the lower right corner.
Adhere the butterflies where ever you can!
Thanks for stopping by the blog. I hope you will give the Busted Canvas a try!
Make art everyday!
Becky
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