Jayme's World: Explore Everything

Originally published under "Tuesday with the Team"

(but reprinted here so I can gather all my stuff together)

Hello! I had so much fun with the project, and can’t wait to share it with you. I even remembered to take photos along the way, so you can see the process and hopefully feel encouraged to jump in and try a photo canvas of your own.

Here is a list of things that I used: Canvas (any kind is fine), leftover chipboard letters, gesso, assortment of inks (I used Clearsnap’s Spritz and pigment inks. I like how ‘inky’ the spritz is, rather than watery and I like the smooshy-ness of the pigment ink.), a mask, stamps, a few embellishments and SUPER good adhesive (I used Be Creative tape.).

Ready? Here we go!

1) Lay out your chipboard letters, making sure to accommodate your photo(s). When you are happy, remove the photo and stick down your letters. The colors do not matter, just size, font and leftoverness, because….

2) …you are going to cover everything with gesso! Why? I did it for two reasons- or maybe even three. The gesso is like a primer; it will take the color we want everything to be happily. And it covers up the colors we don’t want. It also gives me a chance to play with texture. I wanted the letters to end up looking like they are emerging from the canvas, not sitting on the canvas.

I did use a popsicle stick to spread some of the gesso around, but also got in there with my fingers to make sure the middle of letters and edges etc were covered the way I wanted, to the depth I wanted. Don’t worry about getting messy- you are washable!!! It’s a brilliant design, really…

3) Then add a little texture. I used a bit of plastic wrap and dabbed it everywhere, creating a rough, kinda-brick-like texture. You could also create textures with stamps, stencils… whatever!

You are going to have to let this bit dry. Probably overnight.

4) Okay! All dry, and now you are ready to add your own colors. Currently, my daughter’s favorite color is purple, so of course that was what I made sure was part of my color palette. I first spritzed ‘River Mossy’ over the whole background, and then layered ‘Wine Berry’ on top using the brick stencil.

5) Now we are having fun!!! Wait for the spritz to dry. It won’t be long, I promise. Add some more interest to the background by layering different color spots on with a stylus and foam tip applicator. I chose pigment inks for this job because they take a while to dry, giving you a chance to move it around, blend colors together and generally get it arranged to your satisfaction. Stamp some other images over top too!

I inked on top of one of the chipboard words to make it stand out for the title, then added some letter stickers to finish the title. The swirly stamp is from Unity.

6) The background is done! All you have to do is add your photo and embellishments. And then hang it:0)