3 W'S - WOOD, WORD AND SOMETHING WILD ART ADVENTURE

Welcome everyone!  This month Cheryl has given us a wonderful prompt for our art adventure!  Ah, what to create with wood, a word and something wild...

This one turned out to be surprisingly easy for me!  I have always wanted to do something with my favorite photo of my children when they were 5 and 7.  We had just moved here to Colorado and were excited about spending lots of time in Rocky Mountain National Park.  This was one of the first photos we took.  It was just waiting to be placed on a canvas:

I began by making a copy of this photo at the copy store.  I then transferred it onto Sticky Back Canvas.  You need a little patience with this technique when you use a larger photo, but it was so worth it!  It gives a bit of a "rustic" look to the photo.

 This piece was set aside while I worked on the main canvas.

The "wood" part of this piece is a Crafters Workshop woodgrain stencil that I used.  I applied gesso to the canvas via the stencil, moving the stencil around until I had the canvas covered, everywhere but where the photo canvas would be.

I used a baby wipe and DecoArt Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide Fluid Acrylic paint to color the canvas.  I then added a coat of DecoArt Burnt Umber Fluid Acrylic paint over the top.  I was pretty happy with the resulting color!

Now to add the embellishments to the canvas.  Of course we have to have trees since we live near the mountains.  I used Tim Holtz's Thinlits Woodlands die to cut out three trees.  You will notice that this tree die actually removes the inside of the tree.  I kept the inside parts and pieced them back together as I wanted a more solid tree.

I adhered the three trees to the left side of the canvas, knowing that the photo canvas would slightly cover part of the trees.  I then adhered the photo canvas to the larger canvas.

Now to add a word and some wildflowers.  The wildflowers are a lavender stamp by Impression Obsession.  I stamped it onto tissue paper using Wendy Vecchi's Fern archival ink.  I then carefully cut around the image and adhered it to the right side of the canvas using matte medium.  When dry, I cut apart some flowers from a stem I bought at a hobby store and placed the tiny purple blossoms over the lavender flower part of the stamped image.

I also added some white blossoms for variety.

To finish the piece I wrapped some gingham ribbon from Creative Impressions around the canvas, going along the base of the photo and adhering a word band from Idea-ology to the left side under the photo.  I adhered a few more blossoms over the ribbon on the right side.  The word seems to fit this scene perfectly as if says "Always be on the Lookout for Wonder".  My kids were constantly amazed by all the beautiful things they found in the park.

If you will notice, there is an elk happily grazing in the background of the photo.  She fits the "Wild" part of this adventure just as the Wildflowers do!  Now for another "wood" element, I placed a found branch along the top of the canvas photo.

I hope you like this piece and will have fun creating your own project using the 3 W's!  Happy Creating!

Susan

Vintage Photo Tinting

Whether you are incorporating vintage photos into your artwork or would like to colorize some of those treasured old photos, this technique is for you!  Turn to Page 41 of Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities III book, learn the technique and join us for this challenge!

If this is your first time joining us or you would like to review all the challenge rules, please head on over to Linda Ledbetter's site (our fabulous hostess) to familiarize yourself with the rules.  This week's challenge (Number 12, can you believe it?) is sponsored by the generous folks at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Tim and Mario also have yet another wonderful prize waiting for the winner of this challenge!

Here is my project:

I decided to use a photo of my mother when she was 2 years old.  (She is 85 now).  After following the tehnique on page 41, I then placed the photo in one of Tim's Cabinet Cards.

I didn't want to detract from the photo too much by getting carried away with embellishments, so I used a minimal number which I think accented the photo just right.  I started by placing two strips of scalloped trim from Tim's Industrious Stickers, Frames and Trims set on the top and bottom of the photo.  I then added some Tissue Tape - Elements to one side of the card (I love this one as it reminded me a bit of a growth chart). 

I spelled out M O M with Tim's Alpha Tiles Chipboard Letters tiles and adhered them directly to the photo.  The final embellishment was the lovely metal rose and leaf from the Idea-ology Adornments Nature.  I used Aged Mahogany and Peeled Paint Distress Paints to add color.  The last touch to the photo itself was to dye  thin fiber with Aged Mahogany Distress Paint, tie a small bow and adhere at the top of the letter "O".  Here is a close up:

Lastly, I used one of my all time favorite Idea-ology accents, a word band on the bottom of the card that says " Know in Your Heart that You are Loved.  Before adhering it to the card, I threaded through some Crinkle Ribbon which I had previously dyed with Aged Mahogany Distress Paint.  I was so thrilled that I could match the color I used in the bench my mother is sitting on with the rose, the fiber bow and the crinkle ribbon!  What fun!

The stamp I used as part of the tinting technique is from Stamper's Anonymous.  I think it fits perfectly and is a wonderful reminder to never stop playing!  

I hope my project will inspire all of you to pull out those vintage photos of  your family or look for "found" relatives to incorporate into your artwork.  All of us at the Curiosity Crew look forward to seeing all your beautiful and inspirational pieces!

Susan