Some Girls....

     When I saw this quote, I knew I had to use it to make something for my "Glitter Girl." I mulled it over for a bit, then decided to use this format from a piece of wall art I made last week. I got the idea from another blog, but now I can't locate the link to give credit where it's due. Mine is similar, but not exactly the same as hers.

 

     I looked up "glitter" in the dictionary and copied the definition, then chose my fonts. I especially liked the last definition, "the quality of being spectacular." That's my girl! I took a 12" square canvas and used basic acrylic craft paints to make a variegated background of light and dark grays, beige, aqua, and white. While that was drying, I printed my images to transfer to the canvas, using this technique from the Matsutake blog. While I was waiting for the paper transfer to dry, I cut a piece of foam core board 15" square to form a frame for the canvas. I wanted some texture and I didn't want the foam layer to show around the edges, so I wrapped the edges with masking tape and layered small strips of it to form about a 2" frame around the outside edges. Once that was done, I sprayed it with metallic silver paint. Voilà, instant bling! Pictures are posted on my tutorials page for reference. 

     I used rub-on transfer sheets to make the rub-on letters to go around the outside edges of the frame and applied them. When the paper transfers were thoroughly dry, I wet them down and rubbed off the paper backing, leaving the crown and lettering. I sealed it all with a coat of Mod Podge and used glitter Stickles paint to add "jewels" to the crown and highlighted part C of the definition, so she'd know that was the one that applied to her the most! Once it was all dry, I applied plain paper to the back of the foam core frame to give it a nice finished look, and glued the canvas to the center of the front.

     Another inexpensive, unique, and personal piece of art to hang on her bedroom wall, oh yeah!

Our Family Forever

     I love this sentiment. I've seen these done on boards with vinyl lettering, but I wanted something different, so I opted for an artist's canvas, instead. The canvas is 12" x 24" and came ready to paint (it's not a board, it's a canvas stretched over a frame).  I painted the undercoat several different colors: barn red, forest green, yellow ochre, and metallic gold. Once it was dry, I applied a thick layer of crackle medium and allowed it to dry again. Then, I painted the top coat with antique white which crackled and allows the colors to show from underneath! After it was thoroughly dry, I brushed a layer of Mod Podge (Matte Finish) on top to seal it.
     The lettering I designed on my PC and printed out (on several sheets of paper) in a reversed image. Painted with a couple of layers of Mod Podge, the image can be transferred to a surface. I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the canvas, then placed the lettering, paper side up, on top, centering it the way I wanted it. After it dried, I sprayed the paper backing with water and rubbed it off. This is a bit time consuming, and works better on a lightweight paper, rather than your best quality printer paper. Once the paper backing is gone, another layer of Mod Podge seals it all. The dimensional letters and words I printed on colored scrapbook paper and wrapped around pieces of fiberboard. I sealed these with Mod Podge, too and then used E-6000 to attach them to the canvas when they were dry.
      For the "frame" I covered a piece of thin foam core about 1 1/2" bigger all around than the canvas with fabric layered over batting to give it some dimension. I think it would look great covered with patterned paper, too. A small hole punched in the center top of the back allows it to be hung on a small nail. Easy peasy...though not fast.