Risen-an Easter canvas by Lynne

Hi friends! I love bunnies and chicks (and of course, chocolate!) every bit as much as the next person, but I really wanted to create a meaningful project that reflected the true significance of the Easter season. Gypsy Soul's Gothic Crosses were a perfect start to my 12x12 canvas.

I decided which cross I wanted to use, then found letters in my stash that were an appropriate size and font, and arranged these before adding anything else, just to make sure things would be proportionate.

I ran the cross through this embossing folder before adding the embellishments ( a pearl heart and a piece from the Medallion Flourish Set) to the center of it.

Mod Podge was used to adhere and hold the shape of the cheesecloth that I added to the base of the cross. I was able to play around with positioning of flowers for a bit and then the Mod Podge adhered those as well.Keep in mind that this sort of project can be a great way to use up odd-coloured and mismatched flowers ( I have used some seriously UGLY ones on previous canvases-LOL! Gesso works miracles!!)

No canvas of mine is complete without texture paste! I mixed up a batch and added stencilling in several different patterns for added texture and interest.

I also added some rays emanating from the cross to make the image coma alive even more. These were cut from a sheet of bling sent to me by an online friend a while back., but adhesive rhinestones or pearls would have worked as well, and they often come in lines, so trying to get them on straight is easier than working with individual pieces.

After everything is attached and dried, a couple coats of gesso create a unified surface before colour is added.

The rays inspired me to use sunrise (or "SONrise") colours; I began with the yellow mist and then added some gold, peach and pink shades to create the effect I wanted. I then rubbed Art Alchemy Metallique Wax in Rose Gold over the letters and the dry-embossing of the cross to make them stand out more. I did add a little of it here and there on the flowers and foliage as well, and rubbed some coral ink on the edges of the cross and letters.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my canvas, and I wish you a happy and blessed Easter!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED
Gothic Cross Set
Flourish medallion Set

OTHER ITEMS USED

Thickers Alphabet
cheesecloth

Crafter's Workshop Stencils

Tattered Angels mists
Tim Holtz, Petaloo and Recollections flowers
Mod Podge
homemade texture paste
white gesso

Altered Bible Cover by Lynne

Hello crafty friends. I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend. Although I actually didn't create this project with Easter in mind, I thought it would be especially appropriate to post around this time.

Bible art journaling is a fairly new and popular creative outlet and I recently purchased this lovely interleaved Bible for that purpose....interleaved means that there is a blank page next to every printed page for art, notes, or decorative lettering.. The cover looked like this:

I started with one of the beautiful Gothic crosses as the focal point and used flowers and a dragonfly from the spring shape set as well as some flowers, buttons, and metal bits from my stash.

I dry-embossed the cross with a damask embossing folder to add interest and texture. After attaching all the items where I wanted them, I stenciled with some texture paste, then painted over the whole surface with tan acrylic paint as close as possible to the original cover. I added colour and shimmer with a variety of spray mists.

I love my new cover and I'm enjoying the chance to illustrate my favorite verses. Keep Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts in mind for altering a variety of surfaces!

Gypsy Soul Items Used

Gothic Cross Set

Spring Shape Set

Other Items Used

Recollections Bohemian mists

Dylusions mists

Heidi Swapp mists

adhesive pearls

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