{Mixed Media Tutorial} A Thanksgiving Inspired Wreath by Lynne

Hello, everyone and Happy Thanksgiving Canada! Lynne Mizera here today to share with you this Thanksgiving-inspired canvas I created for my mixed media tutorial this month. (Are my Canadian roots showing? Smile)

This 10"x10" stretched canvas came together pretty easily as I used the STAMPlorations new Trendy Leaves 2 stamp set and the matching dies to create it. And this is my process in photos:

I stamped a page full of Trendy Leaves using several different colors of pigment ink which I blended right on the stamp.

See how wonderful it looks when you blend the colors right onto the stamp? This works better with a pigment ink rather than a dye ink because pigment ink stay wet longer which allows you to blend.

Next I added some bright color to another piece of 100lbs white card stock using my Ranger Distress Inks and a blending tool... 

And then stamped my leaves in Ranger black Archival Ink 

I did this again using some lighter Fall colors, Now I have three sheets of three different styles and colors of leaves... 

Next I cut out everything using the STAMPlorations matching dies, my Revolution die cutting machine with the magnetic plate and some washi tape to hold everything in place. I did ink the edges of my leaves in brown before I started to assemble the wreath. Note: I assembled my wreath onto a piece of colored card stock cut one inch smaller all around than the canvas I wanted to use. 

Now it was time to prep my canvas... I used Golden heavy body paint in Quin Gold to paint the sides and edges of my canvas and Golden Open paint in Crimson (Open means it stays wet longer) applied with a makeup sponge through my ARTplorations Dots and Dashes stencil to create some texture around the edge of my canvas. 

I built my autumnal wreath on a separate piece of card stock and I used Liquitex Gloss Medium as my glue to apply the first layer of leaves and foam pop dots to apply the second layer of leaves. I used the same Liquitex product to glue the paper to the canvas. 

Using the same makeup sponge I used to paint my canvas I gently sponged the Liquitex Medium through the Dots and Dashes stencil onto the background paper so you could see the pattern but only when the light hit it. 

This creates a very subtle texture rather than a pattern. 

I decided to live dangerously by copying this lovely poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson directly onto my finished canvas in gold ink... not something I would recommend for the faint of heart... Smile. 

And I added a few wooden leaves and butterflies lightly brushed with the same two Golden acrylic paint colors to tie everything together. 

And the final touch of a layer of Ranger Stickles in Diamond to make everything sparkle. I also used my Ranger Liquid Pearls in Copper to outline the paper and define the edges of my wall canvas. 

So there you have it, a Thanksgiving-inspired canvas you can hang on your wall anytime. I hope you enjoyed my project this month and that it inspires you to create something of your own for this beautiful season. And of course, if you do, we would love to see it over at the STAMPlorations monthly mixed media challenge where Anything Goes except a card - and you MUST use a stencil... Go HERE for our few guidelines. 

Lynne  Mizera

STAMPlorations products used for this project:

   
Trendy Leaves 2 Stamps | Trendy Leaves 2 Dies  | Stencil - Dots and Dashes