Helen's October Inspiration {A cute pair of Canvases & a couple of Layouts!}

Hello 2Crafty fans!  HELEN here to share with you what I have been playing

 with this month :)

In a recent parcel I received my new stash was braced on either side with mounting board, 

which was so nice & thick I decided it would work perfectly to use as "canvases" - score!!

A while ago I bought some Greeting cards with profound printed sentiments 

on the covers.  I purchased them with future art projects in mind, so I cut 

this one into 2 pieces so I could make a pair of matching canvases.

On each canvas I used 3 pieces of 2 Crafty Chipboard - 

1 Berry Branch per canvas

1 "Ingrid's Frame" per canvas

1 "Polaroid" Frame per canvas

I painted all my chipboard pieces white with white acrylic paint & a sponge then

 sprinkled the Ingrid's Frames & the Berry Branches with chunky white glass glitter.  

On the Polaroid frames I sprinkled diagonally across them 

using gold, lilac & teal glitters {one at a time of course :)}

I clustered a selection of flowers in various sizes at opposite corners of 

the sentiment, adding gauze & glass beads for additional texture.  

Before adhering my chipboard I added a few loops of waxed 

white thread as well as a Prima lace doily to each piece.  

The blue glittered frame you see above is actually a very old Making Memories

sticker.  Above it you can see a peek of the randomly glittered Polaroid frame.

These canvases measure 6 x 8 inches each & are very cute!   I can't wait to get them up onto my studio wall, side by side :)     "You Make Me Happy"

Next up is a layout I created using a photo of my younger son, Reilly. 

 I used a lot of 2Crafty Chipboard on this one, namely 'You Make Me Happy

 When Skies Are Grey' title, 2 packs of Summer Leaf Stems & a set of Dandelions :)

I began by sponging across my background with white tempura paint to mute it a bit. 

 This is a good trick to make your patterned papers a lot more usable as background sheets.

I started by sponge painting all my chipboard pieces with white acrylic paint

 then painting them randomly using Color Bloom Sprays, then sponging

 lightly with more white acrylic paint. 

I added some random stamping to my Summer Stems & adhered them 

overlapping one another for a lovely tactile look, adding in some hand-dyed 

gauze, some teeny roses & some gold glass beads. 

I use a fine nozzle glue {Tombo} to adhere my finer chipboard pieces & a glue-gun 

to adhere the more solid pieces but without a mixed media background any 

good paper glue should work well.

Chipboard works great with other embellishments too!  

I added some teeny roses, flairs & faceted gems to the leaves & dandelion flowers.

If you find your chipboard isn't standing out enough from your background 

then a touch of stamping & some white acrylic paint applied with a small

 kitchen sponge works well to 'lift' it.

Last up is a layout I did for Scrap Around The World last month.   "Celebrate Today"

I used the 'Celebrate Today' title that I gave an ombre effect too, using 

my Ingvild Bolme chalk inks.  

  I hope you enjoyed taking a look at my latest 2Crafty creations &  that I inspired you to get creating too!    

And remember, to find a 2Crafty stockist near you, drop an email to...
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