Stamped and Collaged Canvas

Hi everyone! Toni here with a little canvas to share with you today. I decided to put my computer away and re-acquaint myself with some of the lovely craft books I've acquired over the years. One of my favourites is the 'Collage Discovery Workshop Book' by Claudine Hellmuth. It's packed with ideas and techniques and although I've had it for many years, I realized that I've never actually put any of them into practice....until now that is. So here is my canvas with several improvisations but also using some of Claudine's fabulous techniques.
I started with a 5"x 7" canvas and  adhered a vintage dictionary page to the surface with Studio Matte Multi Medium. Once this was dry I followed Claudine's technique of sticking strips of masking tape to the surface and pulling them off. This removes a thin layer paper, a cool technique for creating subtle texture.

Next, it was in with the distress paints to create some patchy colour. I mixed Mustard, frayed Burlap, and Antique Linen to a give a nice ochre colour and roughly painted over the surface. Once this was dry, I stamped the Gears stamp from Tim's Industrial Blueprint set in black Archival Ink.

 After each stamping was dry, I added a little of the paint here and there to help merge everything into the canvas. I stamped the little winged girl onto a tissue, I think they're referred to as 'Kleenex' in America. My friend shared this technique after she'd attended a class. It works brilliantly, as you stamp on with Archival ink, leave it to dry and then separate the layers. I Trimmed round the image and adhered her to the canvas with more matte medium. I found a piece of stamped tissue in my stash left over from another project and added this below the girl. The 'house' was die cut from Tim's Artful Dwellings, using squared paper. I used Dylusions Basic Backgrounds set 1, to stamp the diamond pattern and the numbers. I distressed the paper with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Stains and adhered it to the canvas, I then gave it a light brush over with Antique Linen Distress Paint.

 Once everything was dry, I gave the whole surface a coat of Matte Multi Medium to seal everything before I attempted one of Claudine's more scary techniques, 'the peeled paint technique'. To do this you smear the images you want to stand out with petroleum jelly. You then coat the entire surface with acrylic paint. I used white paint. You leave this to dry and then  go in with a cloth, wiping away the paint. It sticks to the untreated parts and comes easily away from those coated with the petroleum jelly. I was a bit timid and left only the edges untreated, but I love the effect it creates.

 I finished off with a little bit of Ferro Paint in Old Gold put through Wendy Vecchi's Dots and Stripes Border Stencil. This paint has a wonderful grainy texture and drys really quickly. For the final touch, I followed another of  Claudine's tips by adding a little coloured wax to the edges. So don't let your craft books gather dust, get them out and see what little gems are hiding inside those covers! x

Here are some of the supplies I've used which are available from the lovely eclectic Paperie shop.

Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Frayed Burlap	Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Mustard Seed	Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Antique Linen	Distress Stain - Vintage Photo	Distress Stain - Antique Linen
Tim Holtz (Stampers Anonymous) - Industrial Blueprint	Stampers Anonymous - Classics #6	Stampers Anonymous - Grid Blocks	Claudine Hellmuth Studio-Multi-Medium Matte	Dylusions Cling Stamps - Basic Backgrounds
Archival Ink - Jet Black Ink Pad	Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints - Blank Canvas	Viva Decor - Ferro Metallic Effect Paint - Gold	Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 - Dots & Stripes Borders Stencils