Easter Blessings Camvas

Hey there chippie fans!  Barbara here, and since Easter is coming up this weekend, I wanted to share a mixed media Easter wall hanging for your home.  I used the Gothic Cross Set from Gypsy Soul as my focal point, and I did a little research about the two shapes of these crosses.  Here is what I found.

Budded Cross:  A cross with circles or discs on the end of each arm.  Budded crosses can be fashioned with anywhere from a single to five buds per cross end, each arrangement having its own symbolism.  The most common is three, which represents the Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Four buds usually symbolize the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The three-budded cross is also sometimes called the Apostles Cross, with each bud representing one of the twelve Apostles.  When designed with gemstones for each bud and a single gemstone in the center, the central stone symbolizes Christ. 

Passion Cross:  Named for the Christ’s Passion - His betrayal, the scourging, mocking, and the agony of the Crucifixion; this cross features at least one sharpened tip.  Crosses with three pointed ends represent the nails used during the Crucifixion.  With four points, the three shorter ones symbolize nails; the fourth, longer end represents the spear that pierced Christ’s side.  

I really like to learn about the historical meaning of things, especially those that I use in my art.  I found this to be very interesting. I hope you do too.  Now here is my Easter Blessings Canvas.

Adhere torn pieces of used dryer sheet to an 8x10 canvas.

Lay out chosen chipboard pieces on canvas.  (Tip:  Sometimes I will take a picture just to use as a reference later.)  I die cut the phrase onto a piece of cream card stock to use as a stencil, as shown.  

Run the top cross through an embossing folder.  Be careful not to get it stuck in your machine.  I used a manual die cut machine to ensure I had total control.  Sometimes, the chipboard could be too thick and get stuck in an electric die cut machine.

Spread sand texture paste through the die cut stencil, let dry.

Coat each piece of chipboard with DecoArt Media white gesso and set aside to dry.

Begin painting canvas with a wash of teal and purple acrylic paints.

Use a sponge to color the leaves with a several colors of green acrylic paint, and use a dark grey color to darken the green on the leaves.

Use the sponge to paint the crosses with brown and lighter brown acrylic paints. Use the sponge to paint the decorative corners with a mix of brown and gold for a vintage look.

Add the Victorian Corners on the ends of the cross, then cut a strip of chipboard and adhere to give you a level space to adhere the pointed cross.

Adhere your chipboard embellishments and use a gold leaf pen to highlight the letters, as shown.

At this point, I felt I needed more, so I pulled out these gorgeous wrought iron corners.  I first painted them white, then added green, gold, and dark grey acrylic paint to get the color I wanted, as shown on the right.

These were adhered to each bottom corner, giving the balance I felt my canvas needed.

GSL Supplies used:
Gothic Cross Set

Victorian Corners 2
Fern Fronds Shape Set
Wrought Iron Set

Other supplies used:
8x10 canvas
Texture Sand Paste
Gesso
Acrylic paints
Adhesive 
Electronic die cutting machine
Easter Blessings cut file
5x7 embossing folder
Card stock
Used dryer sheet

I hope you enjoyed my canvas today, and perhaps I have left you with some inspiration to play!  Be sure to look for Ginny's post also on the blog today and make sure to visit the GSL blog often for even more inspiration from the design team. Check out the GSL shop for more new products!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a very Blessed Easter!!

Barbara