Traveling Roots: Gypsy Canvas

I am mesmerized by gypsy style.  It's not surprising that I would turn to that soulful, expressive style to tell a story about my own path.

Watch my Gypsy Canvas Wall Art YouTube video tutorial!
 

Materials:
Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue
Aleene's Original Tacky Pen
6" x 6" Canvas
Gypsy caravan photo from Wikimedia commons
Decorative Paper - I used an embossed paper as a key part of my design
Black craft foam
Die cutter and dies - Tim Holtz Mini Bird and Cage, Tiny Tabs and Tags, Mini Lock and Key Set and Branch Tree
Doo dads - I used a polymer clay face (push mold Art Doll Faces), Tulip Beads in a Bottle dots in several colors (make them ahead on waxed paper so they'll peel right off) - or you can use anything you have to personalize
Metallic paste - copper
Lumiere paint - pink gold, blue, bronze and olive
Sand paper
Brown acrylic paint
Brown distress ink pad
Drill with 1/8" bit
Needle tool
6" piece of 20 gauge copper wire
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Assorted fibers

1. Cut decorative paper to fit front and sides of the canvas.  Glue in place with a thin, even coat of Super Thick Tacky Glue.  Allow to dry.

2. Cut 1 tree of embossed paper and one from black craft foam.  Glue together with Tacky Pen.  Allow to dry.  very gently run a finger tip dipped in copper metallic paste over the top of the embossed design.

3. Cut a 1" x 6" piece of foam.  Position the foam on the Branch Tree die so that it just covers 1/2" of the bottom of the die.  This leaves some foam sticking out, fold it over the top plate to avoid tearing.  Run it through the cutter.  Use a finger to paint olive Lumiere paint.

4. Cut a small tag from the Tiny Tabs and Tags die from foam and 1 from embossed paper.  Glue together,  Allow to dry.  Treat with copper metallic paste as you did with the tree.

5.  Paint your moon face with pink gold Lumiere.  Allow to dry.

6. Cut a foam key from the Mini Lock and Key Set and a cage and bird from the Mini bird and cage set.

7. Paint the key bronze, the birdcage copper and bronze and the bird blue with bronze beak and feet.  Glue the bird to the cage.  Allow to dry.

8. Sand the edges of the paper on the canvas until they are smooth and the canvas shows through.  Paint the exposed canvas with brown acrylic paint and spread a bit onto the papers.  Allow to dry.

9. Drill a hole in the center of the bottom of the canvas.

10. Fit the bottom of the tree into the strip of green foam and glue in place on the canvas using the Tacky Glue Pen.

11. Color the edges of the photo with distress ink and glue into place with the glue pen.

12. Add the foam key and Beads in a bottle dots with the glue pen.

13. Cut 12" of assorted fibers.  Feed them through the hole in the small tag and tie.  Glue the tag in place.

14. Make a hole in the top of the bird cage with the needle tool.

15. Wrap the copper wire around the round nose pliers and crimp with the chain nose pliers to make  loop.

16. Slide the bird cage on to the loop, slide the wire ends through the hole in the canvas and bend the ends down to secure it.

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