Time Flies Mixed Media Canvas - Altered Pages and Leaky Shed

I know it is hard to believe that it is already mid-year, but July is going to prove to be another fabulous month of inspiration. Altered Pages has partnered with Leaky Shed Studio and their design team, so be sure to check back every day to see what each designer on both teams is creating for you.  Our theme this month is "FLIES", to be interpreted any way we choose.

I decided to make an altered canvas with my supplies.

My interpretation of "Flies" is what I consider Time does...  yes, time does fly, and it is definitely one of those things I wish I had more of.  Hence, "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day) seemed to be an appropriate title for my piece.

WARNING:  I have a lot of pictures, but I hope it helps you move through my tutorial faster.

Supplies:

Altered Pages:  8x10 Canvas Art Board; AP-834 Watch Time Fly; AP-488 It's About Time; AP-134 Vintage Paper; Tile Texture Stencil; Time Travel Stencil; White Gesso;  Matte Medium; Gilder's Paste; Faber-Castell Gelatos; German Scrap; Art Anthology: Kona Velvet; Delicata Golden Glitz; Tacky Glue;
Leaky Shed:  Birdcage; Spring Butterfy Small (3 pc)
Sin City Stamps:  Mannequin Tags stamp plate
Luminarte Silks: Pretty Peridot, Key Lime, Snapdragon

IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko: IrResistible Bronze Colored Texture Spray; Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle; ; Radiant Neon: Electric Green; Electric Blue, Electric Purple; StazOn Midi Jet Black; Versamark;
Distress Stain:  Pumice Stone and other various colors
Crackle Texture Paste
Krylon Gold Leaf Pen

Directions:

To make my clock, I first resized the clock face collage image to fit over the beer mat (coaster), cut out and adhered to mat.  Ink edge with Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle.

Spray bronze texture spray over shiny side of CD.  Get a thick layer around the edges and let dry.

I saw this collage image of watch gears and wondered how I could integrate them onto my clock face.  Aha!!!  I resized the clock gears background to 4.5" x 6" so it would be large enough to cover the clock face and printed it out onto an acetate sheet.   

I ran the acetate through my Xyron to get full coverage of my adhesive, then adhered it to the clock face.

Trim excess acetate and Voila!

Center clock face coaster image over CD and adhere with tacky glue.  Color white metal clock hands with Krylon gold leaf pen.

Punch hole in center of clock face, add clock hands with decorative brad and gold bead to center.  (Remember, the CD has a hole in the center, so I was able to punch through just the paper covered beer mat and add these elements.)

Ink Birdcage with black pigment ink, heat emboss with silver embossing powder.  Reheat and sprinkle black embossing powder to antique it.

Glue bird cage down over collage image from AP-134 Vintage Paper, trim excess.

Stamp one of the mannequin tags onto smooth white card stock with multiple colors of distress ink.

Use blending tool to add Wild Honey and Peeled Paint over image, cut image out and glue beneath Birdcage, set aside.

Add gold Gilder's Paste to die cut wings, and a very light coat of silver Gilder's Paste over that.

Tear strips from the Vintage Paper collage sheet and adhere to canvas.

Audition your main focal pieces (clock and winged mannequin birdcage) onto your canvas. Nothing is glued down at this point.  

At this point, I also decided that I would place these die cuts of hinge hardware and bird, as shown.  I took a photo to remind me where I wanted to place these before moving on to work on my canvas background.

Remove all elements and apply crackle paste through Tile Texture Stencil.  Let dry.  Apply crackle paste through Time Travel Stencil.  Let dry.

As mentioned above, I have planned where my focal images are going to be placed.  This is important, because once you glue pieces down, you are pretty much committed to that placement.  Use matte medium to adhere die cut hinges and bird.

Add a wash of gesso to the entire canvas, use a paper towel or wet wipe to remove some of the paint from the text papers and let dry, or use a heat tool to speed it up.

Spray background with Cherub Pink, let dry.  The next series of pictures show the metamorphic changes to this canvas as it progresses.  This is what I so love about mixed media.  You just keep adding until you like it.

Spray background with Dylusions Squeezed Orange and water, let dry.

Paint a wash of Art Anthology Kona over all, spritz with more water, let dry.  You can see how this toned down that bright orange color.

Add a few random sections of Pretty Peridot Silks acrylic glaze.

Spray background with Dylusions Calypso Teal and lots of water.  This is a strong color, so use sparingly.  Let dry.

Add Snapdragon Silks acrylic glaze randomly over background.

Spray more Dylusions Squeezed Orange in spots, let dry.

Apply Faber-Castell Gelatos in metallic blue, orange, and ochre, to the bird.  Apply orange and rust to the hinges.  Use a damp (not wet) brush to spread the gelatos.  This will keep the colors more intense, but still allow them to blend.

Add shadows to the hinges and bird with black Gelato and a damp brush.  It really gives depth and dimension to your images, and makes them pop off the page.

Re-align Time Travel Stencil over stenciled images and use a sponge dauber to apply Delicata Golden Glitz through stencil.  This will highlight the images.

Now that I'm happy with my canvas background, it is time to start adding my remaining focal pieces.  Refer to the photo of the finished canvas for placement.  The following pictures are some closeups of select areas.

The clock was adhered with pop dots to raise it off of the canvas.

Upper Left

Metal studs were added to the hinges.  The wings were glued down beneath the mannequin birdcage, which I also adhered with pop dots.

Upper Right

A tiny black gem was adhered to the bird for an eye.

Lower Left

I used a wash of Pumice Stone distress stain over the paper beneath the bird cage and over the Time Flies letters to deepen the color and to get a better match with the whole canvas.

Lower Right

I stamped "Carpe Diem" onto a scrap of brown card stock with Versamark ink and gold embossing powder.  Cut out the letters and added them to the center of the canvas with this cool metal arrow.

I like to finish my edges so I applied antique gold Gilder's Paste to four strips of black German Scrap and adhered the strips around along the canvas' edge.

One more thing was missing, so I cut the wings off of one of the Leaky Shed butterflies.

I used Peanut Brittle on the body, adding a touch of black StazOn to the antennae.  To color the wings, I added Radiant Neon colors in Electric Blue, Green, and Purple.  I adhered the body and wings over the clock face, using small items on my desk to prop the wings while they dry.  This gave it that dimensional "in flight" look I was after.

If you are still with me, then I applaud you.  Of all people, I know how precious your time is, and I hope you were able to simply skim over the pictures, read what you wanted to read, and get on with your busy life.  Most importantly, I hope you enjoyed my project today.  

Please be sure to come back often, and stop by the Altered Pages blog , as well as the Leaky Shed Studio Blog, to see what both teams are creating for you this month.  And don't forget to comment each day for a chance to win this month's drawing.  Each day you comment gives you another chance to win.  

Thanks tons for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful and creative week!

Barbara