Lauren's Canvas

I've finally managed to upload the images I've taken of a project which I completed at home at Easter on my phone. The images aren't great quality and don't do the project justice. It's a canvas I created for my little niece Lauren for her bedroom. I started off with a cheap wooden frame which I bought from ikea I painted it using acrylic paints. I then used a 12x12 canvas painting it similar tones of pink to the wooden frame. I then played with scraps of papers from the DCWV Nanna's Nursery paper stack to add behind the frame and to make the bunting. I used a ball tool to round each flag and added silicone in behind. I had to have a play with my new Tim Holtz rosette die to make the flowers. The chipboard letters I covered in one of the papers and I used a scrap of torn mulberry paper to make the ruffled material in behind the letters. I then embellished the rest of the composition with some buttons, ribbons and brads from my stash.

What makes this creation so perfect is the photo which I took of Lauren, by complete chance the dress she is wearing is made up of little triangles just like the bunting! I've since made this design again with a friend for her granddaughter Tilly. I cant wait to make a baby blue version for Lauren's little brother Todd.

Keeping it in the family.

This gorgeous mirror was made by my little Niece Hannah. She was only 8 when she came to stay with me over the summer, when I was home in Ireland. She and her sister came to stay with their me for a few days crafting and this was one of the creations which we made. The girls had a ball painting the frames and then making their own embellishments, including their initials and then chose a photo of themselves to include in their design to finish it off. This original creation now hangs in her bedroom and hopefully when they look in it they remember the fun times we shared making it.

First attempt at Metal Embossing

I have fallen in love with Metal Art and have recently purchased a number of Ten Second Studio products from LB Crafts. When I was home in Ireland over half term I also managed to pick up some fantastic coloured metals at the bargain price of £1 per roll! I decided last week it was finally time to have a go and this is my first ever piece. We ran a staff/student masterclass last week in school where I shared with my colleagues and some of our most talented student more specialist art activities like metal embossing.

We created these by using an image of a butterfly which I found on the internet and used it as a template to trace the butterfly onto the metal. I then used a range of techniques and skills to em and deboss this little sample. I have shown it here prior to adding paint and destressing further as I wanted to show the different stages of my sample.