Scrappin' at the Beach!

Well - I tried, I tried - I really did -I know I am on vacation ( in Myrtle Beach, SC having a great time!) but the need to "create" over came me - and I broke out my little bag of scrap cr*p/stuff - and had to try a new technique!  I started with a $1.00  5"x5" canvas print that I picked up from the "M" store - and a little white acrylic paint....

Well actually more than a little - it took about 3 or 4 coats of white paint until the whale disappeared (for now!)- on to the next step....

I wanted to add some texture - so I did that with some small squares of silver duct tape, a piece of gauze, some stiff sparkly ribbon and even some of the plastic wrap that the canvas came in.  At first I wasn't sure what direction or colors I was going to use - and my supplies that came along with me ( there was "space" issues in the packing stage in preparing for our 2 week vacation a the beach.)  SO - being that I was at the beach, and I had collected lots of shell fragments and pieces for an upcoming class I am teaching at "Doodle-Doo"  - I salvaged a piece of cardboard from the case of water we bought - and then sketched and cut out the word "Beach"  ....

OK - next step - I finished cutting out the word Beach - this would have been much easier with an exacto or craft knife - but all I had with me were my trusty/favorite little Close to My Heart scissors which didn't let me down!  I peeled most of the top layer off of the cardboard and gave it a quick brush of white acrylic paint.  Then I stuck the gauze, shiny ribbon, and plastic wrap to the canvas with some Matte Medium and covered the entire canvas AND the entire cardboard word with it too!

So - I LOVE texture ( as if you didn't know that already!) so - I added some pieces of shells, and adhered them with Matte Medium and coated everything with it. I then sprinkled some clear glass beads and some little coral colored flat beads that I bought and thought were for embossing - but they are not - I just placed the word on the piece to see where I thought it fit best. I had to let it all dry over night as it was quite wet, and hitting it with the heat gun caused it to start to bubble.  Patience is not one of my strong points - but hey - it is vacation - and I've got lots of time! LOL!  ( do you see my little friend the blue whale peaking out?)

Next day  - my friend the blue whale is really putting in an appearance now that it dry - I decided to ignore him and press on.  Oh, I forgot to mention that I sprinkled a little of the glass beads on the word while the Matte Medium was wet too!  Now it is time to pull out my Ranger Alcohol Inks .....

I started with a little GINGER, LETTUCE, SAILBOAT, STREAM, RASPBERRY and PEARL, along with the blender on a felt applicator.  I first went over the top ridges of the cardboard Beach - then started going over the canvas  - I stopped halfway so you could see my progress!  The gauze really took the color but I needed to use more pressure - and it was hard to get into all of the spaces near the shells. I like the way it is coming out so far.  I decided to add a little more blue and pearl to finish the rest of the canvas  - but then thought is was a little too dark - so I took out my SILVER Alcohol Ink on a new applicator with some blending solution - and.... drumroll please..........here is the finished project......

Here are some close ups for you so you can get an idea of the textures and colors....

I like how the cardboard came out - I also hit that with some silver

This is the corner with the gauze - I like the way the shells took the color -can you see the duct tape?

The little glass beads really picked up the silver.  I really didn't know what to expect when starting this project - but I am pleased how it cam out - I am partial to purple these days, and I like the comment my son made - he said it looks like water, or under the ocean - so I guess I did achieve the Beach theme.

I have 4 small 3"x3" canvases that I want to do for a project to teach using this technique, in the future, but I think I will wait until I get home and have more "stuff" at my disposal.......

Until then -- I'll be on the real Beach - just relaxing....

I'd love to hear what you think of this project -- PLEASE feel free to leave me a comment!!

THANKS for taking the time to look!

Sherri