A Wintry Mixed Media Canvas with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hey there my fellow chipboard lovers.  I have a wintry mixed media canvas to share with you for your holiday decorating.  I love snowmen (or snow people) and I think this pair from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts are just the sweetest.  And look at all the other pieces you get to go along with them.  

I started out with an 8x10 canvas, and chose these pieces from the Christmas Shape Set.   I wasn't sure if I would use them all, but I did, except for the holly leaves.  Those will be used another project.  

Choose a nice background paper to go on the inside of the canvas.  I wanted the paper a bit more brown, so I used a blending tool to add Antique Linen distress ink over the paper, which was cut to fit inside the opening on the back of the canvas.  You can see the subtle difference in the top sheet, compared to the original color on the bottom piece.  

I used blue Inktense ink with a water brush to add some color to the birds printed on the paper.

Insert and glue the paper to the inside of the canvas, as shown.

I cut strips of the wood grain paper to fit the top of the frame and cover those ugly staples.  I laid each strip down and mitered the corners by aligning my ruler with the inside and outside corners and removing the excess.

Glue the strips to the top of the frame.

Cut and glue more strips to the inside and outside of the frame.  Edge the frame with a silver ink pad.

Now let's get started coloring and decorating the chipboard pieces.    I painted the two snow people with white gesso, then dabbed snow paste over the body portion.  The top hat was colored with black Inktense ink and a water brush, as shown below.  The fully colored hat will be glued to the base for added dimension.

The knit hat, bow, and scarf were colored with Inktense inks and a water brush.  I later added gold glitter to them, and some ivory Flower Soft on the pom pom.  I made tiny black pieces to use for buttons and eyes.  

Here are the chipboard pieces all colored, glittered, and decorated.  

Let it Snow was colored with Inktense colors, and the snowflakes and icicles were glittered with Crystal and Waterfall Stickles.

I heat embossed the lamppost with clear embossing ink and black embossing powder.  The light inside was colored with Inktense colors, and a coat of 3D Crystal Lacquer added.

The light bulbs were colored with Inktense colors, and a coat of 3D Crystal Lacquer added. A gold Krylon pen gave the ends the metal look needed, and a few details added with a black pen.  White alphabet rub ons were added to spell "brrrr".

The snow people were finished off by gluing the black clay pieces, as shown, and a white dot with a pen added to the eyes.  A clay "carrot" piece was colored with Inktense ink and a water brush and adhered, as shown.   A black pen was used to draw the smiles.

A few paper punched ivory leaves were added to the top hat with a couple of red glitter dots for berries.

And here is the final placement of each piece.  While decorating the bottom of the frame, I decided to use the small pieces from the Yarrow piece, colored brown with Inktense inks, and added to the bottom left corner, and a few sprigs around the words in the upper right.

Additional flowers and leaves were added, as shown, and some Crystal Stickles added for extra sparkle.

And here are a few close-ups, starting in the upper left and clockwise, to help you see it a little better.  

Here, you can see the piece of twisted wire I used to "hang" the light bulbs from, and the rub-on letters spelling "brrrr".  

In this close-up, you can see the clay "carrot" noses, the white dots in the eyes, and the decorated hats.

Here you can see the Patina gilder's paste I added to the "iron" look of the lamp post.

And finally, I added more snow paste to the inside along the bottom of the frame, to give my little snow people something to keep them cool.  

Supplies used:

GSL - Christmas Shape Set
GSL - Winter Shape Set
GSL - Yarrow

8x10 canvas
Recollections Rustic Luxe 12x12 paper pad
Derwent Inktense Ink Blocks
Water brush
Stickles glitter glue (Crystal)(Waterfall)
Patina Gilder's Paste
White gesso (Liquitex)
Clear embossing ink
Black embossing powder
3D Crystal Lacquer (Sakura)
Paper Flowers and Leaves (Recollections)
Snow Paste (Finnabair)
Black clay (Sculpey)
White Big Brush Pen (Faber-Castell)
Twisted wire (4")
Ivory Flower Soft

I am also going to enter this in the Gypsy Soul Lasercuts monthly challenge (as inspiration only).  The theme is Let it Snow.  I hope I have inspired you to perhaps make your own holiday canvas, and check out the challenge and show us your creations.  Yes, there is always a prize.  Whooooo hooooo!

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful holiday, stay safe, and keep on crafting!

Barbara

A Very Merry Holiday Steampunk Blog Hop

Hello fellow steampunk lovers, and welcome back to another fun blog hop, hosted by the wonderfully talented Leslierahye, and including some fantastically creative designers who want to share their holiday steampunk creations with you.  So grab a cuppa and a snack,  sit back and relax, and enjoy the magic of the holidays with a steampunk theme.  But first, I want to keep you on track, so you should have arrived here from Michelle Frae Cummings'  blog.  A complete list of each blog participant is also listed at the bottom of this post, in case you get lost.  You can start the hop at Leslierahye's blog here.  

I also want  to remind you that some of us are giving away some blog candy, and all you need to do to enter to win is leave a really nice comment, and please become a follower of each of our blogs.  It really makes us happy!!!

Now, for my piece, I created this cute little steampunky snowman.  Tim Holtz would be proud to see that I used practically all of his ideology parts for this piece... well, almost all.

I first painted a wooden snowflake with a silver paint dabber, producing as much texture as I could with a dabbing motion.  I used three different sized clock faces for his body, a fancy keyhole escutcheon and mini jingle bell on the bottom clock face, a plastic snowflake and mini jingle bell on his belly, and for his face, I used a small length of ball chain (mouth), a spinner painted orange (nose) and two mini jingle bells (eyes).  Keys were used for his arms.   

For his hat, I drew a simple top hat shape on a piece of chipboard, covered with a piece of black metal, and cut it out.  Covered the hat piece with another keyhole escutcheon attached with two brads.  Doesn't he have a cute face?

For the hanger, I used a piece of ball chain that I thread through each end of an enamel plaque (25) and glued the plaque to the snowflake.

I really love how this cute guy turned out.  And now, I have a little blog candy to give away to one lucky winner, chosen at random, if you leave me a comment and become a follower.  Also, be sure to leave me your e-mail address or some way to contact you.  Here is what you could win:

I will announce the winner right here next Friday, December 14th, so check back then.

I hope you are enjoying the hop so far, and please be sure to visit each blog for lots of fun and tons of steampunky holiday inspiration.  You next stop is Regena Florenti's blog, and I am positive she has something fantastic to share with you.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck to all.  Have a very happy holiday, and a very Merry Christmas!!!

Barbara