{Spotlight Project} Becca Focuses on One Little Word

Have you all seen the "One Little Word" idea that's been growing in popularity over the past couple of years? If not, the concept is that you choose one word to focus on and help guide you through the course of the year.

For my project today, I'm featuring a mixed media canvas I created for a client so that she can display her "One Little Word" all year round.

The first step to creating any good canvas piece (in my humble opinion, anyhow) begins with a layer of gesso.

When I first started trying to create mixed media canvases, I wasn't aware of the magical powers a layer of gesso could hold. For mixed media newbies, laying down a layer of gesso prevents the canvas from absorbing the paint you lay down. It smooths the surface of the canvas slightly and allows colors to blend together more easily.

The next step to any canvas is getting read of that scary white space:

There really is no WRONG way to do this step. For me, I squirted on some colors of Distress Paint (Abandoned Coral, Mermaid Lagoon, and Antique Linen) and used my paint brush to work in the colors in varying directions. Wen the paint was slightly dry, but not fully dry, I spritzed it with water and lifted some of the paint by dabbing it with a paper towel. Voila! A background!

Next, I wanted to create some variations and depth in the background with stamping. I used the brand new stamp club set, Scribbly Splattery Grunge to stamp on the background. If you're looking for perfect impressions when stamping on a canvas, this is not gonna happen!

I continued adding layers to my background by applying some vivid green Distress Paint through the Leaf Prints 2 ARTplorations stencil.

I softened the edges of the stenciling by blending it into my background with a brush. I then outlined the stencil opening using a white gel pen.

Next, I painted one of the stamps from the Scribbly Splattery Grunge set using a darker green paint color and pressing into my canvas.

*Please note* if you're gonna paint your stamps, make sure you wash them off IMMEDIATELY to avoid ruining your future stamping impressions.

Next, I took some chipboard letters and I applied two coordinating colors of InkaGold to give them a shiny shimmery finish. OOOOOO pretty!

Lastly, I applied some white texture paste through the Bloom Boldly ARTplorations stencil and pressed in a gemstone to the center. ...I also very inconveniently failed to take a picture of this... so sorry!

I put everything together and - TAAADAAAA!

So how about you? Do you have a "One Little Word" for 2017. I'd love to see your focus word projects linked up to the Spotlight Gallery!

Happy New Year! Hope your 2017 is as blessed as I know mine will be!

xoxo Becca