* Be Still My Heart *  Wall Canvas

Supplies:
- STAEDTLER Watercolor Crayons & Pigment liners
- Fredrix Canvas pad 12″ x 16″
- Hobby Lobby Mixed Media Watercolor Paper
- Winsor & Newton Water Colour Gum Arabic
- Silk Fabric Swatch from Sample Book found at local Thrift Store
- Tissue Tape: Tim Holtz
- Washi Tape: Kodomo
- Wooden Butterfly: Studio Calico
- Metal lock trinket: Prima Marketing
- Twine: Pink Paislee
- Chipboard Button: Jenni Bowlin
- Acrylic Circles: Tim Holtz
- Glitter Glue: Ranger
- Circle Punch: Fiskars
- Photo Action: Heartland from The Pioneer Woman
Other: Sewing Thread from Grandmother’s Sewing Room Stash

Here are a few close up shots!

* I know I have said it before, but I absolutely love love love the moment when I spray the canvas down with water and then sit back and watch the magic of the watercolors coming to life and brightening right in front of me! I love using my watercolor crayons because it’s literally as easy as coloring something with crayons…and then you get them wet and you have an instant masterpiece.

* I was really excited when I found a whole pad of raw canvas at Hobby Lobby the other day, (which of course I used my 40% coupon on!) I have all sorts of ideas for things I want to make using my new canvas pad.

* I was also thrilled when I realized my fiskars circle punch would easily cut through the canvas sheet. I had previously colored a large sheet of watercolor paper with some of my red and pink watercolor crayons and then coated it with some gum arabic which helped increase the brilliance and gloss of the watercolors. I took a few small pieces from it and placed them behind my watercolored canvas sheet and I loved how the red just seemed to pop off the page.

Last year, I ran into the thrift store and picked up literally a ton of fabric swatch books for $1 a piece and I have been using the swatches for all sorts of things – for instance on the project above I used a pretty light green silk swatch for my photo mat. I also plan on sharing several of them with everyone attending the ATC Retreat next week!

Happy Leap Day everyone.  Now I’m off to work on more ATC retreat stuff!!

Creatively Yours, April