I asked a few crafty friends to join me in creating some Christmas & Winter holiday themed projects. I know that summers are usually pretty busy for all of us, but I find that if I start thinking about Christmas in July, I'll have a better chance at finishing at least a few holiday crafts in time to enjoy by the time Christmas comes around. So let's get started :)
This project was so fun to create. I was so inspired by this adorable chair I wanted to apply the same concept but with a mixed media style using canvas. I wanted my Santa to be a little bit larger than the pattern so I just eyeballed it and sketched in pencil on the canvas, and made some tweaks and adjustments as I painted.
I used paper clay to make Santa's nose. I shaped and flattened it, allowed it to dry over night, painted it with acrylic paint, and then adhered it to the canvas. To create the background I used scraps of patterned paper, stamps, paint, & Stickles and worked around the Santa sketch. If I were more confident about my drawing I would have created the entire background first and then painted Santa on top. I think it just would be easier and would have required less "touching up" to Santa's suit that way.
I wanted to incorporate more texture and depth to my painting so I added white fun flock to the trim of the hat. a chipboard snowflake & alphas, and some wood veneer shapes. I painted the wood veneer shapes, snowflake, and alphas and then applied Stickles to the wood veneer shapes. I also added two buttons & scrappers floss to Santa's jacket. Finally I adhered all of the pieces to the canvas and added some shading using oil pastels.
I also created a mini canvas using a poinsettia flower I've had in my stash forever. I added a little ink to give it a little more depth, and then layered in on a stamped & inked cardstock square that I layered on top of a glittery corrugated paper that I die cut using a nestability die.
I'm really looking forward to creating more Christmas home decor projects and I hope my canvases have inspired you to pull out your brushes and paints to create a painting or two.
To help you get into the Christmas spirit I'm giving away a little collection of crafty goodness that you can use to create your own mini canvas. Just leave a comment below & on each of the blogs listed below before 12 noon EST. on Wednesday July 10th. for your chance to win. The winner will randomly selected.
For more crafty inspiration please check out the blogs below.
Kat http://kateblue.blogspot.com/2013/07/christmas-in-july-blop-hop.html
Melisa http://www.melisawaldorf.com/2013/07/christmas-in-july-blog-hop.html
Seleise http://www.amethystcat.blogspot.com/2013/07/christmas-in-july-blog-hop.html
Rita http://www.ritaholmes.blogspot.com/2013/07/christmas-in-july-blog-hop.html
Christy http://www.tencraftyfingers.com/15/post/2013/07/christmas-in-july.html
