Bombshell Stamps Muse Monday!

During February we're featuring the All My Heart stamp set over at the Bombshell Stamps blog.

Here's a look at the set:


Since I've begun the slippery slide into Mixed Media, here is a canvas I made with this set:


Here's a close-up of the focal image:


Here's a close-up to show the textures and depth of the piece:


Here begins my long-winded and often-times boring dissertation on the creation of the piece. If I were you, I'd skip blithely away from my computer, singing "la la la, talk to my hand!"

If you haven't taken my suggestion, away we go...

It's a 6x6 canvas that I got at AC Moore. I coated it with a layer of Ranger/Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso and adhered sheet music to it. The sheet music was found in my Mom's basement and dates from the days that I played violin very badly. The music had obviously gotten wet since some pages were stuck together. Another layer of gesso was brushed over the music paper and a thesaurus page, containing the word "Love", was adhered. The thesaurus had been Irene-damaged. Another layer of gesso was brushed on and I set the canvas aside to dry.

Once dry, I sprayed the canvas with a mixture of Dylusions Sprays Bubblegum Pink, Tattered Angels Rose, and a home-made spray comprised of Brick Red Distress Re-Inker, Perfect Pearls Interference Red, and water. I sprayed, wiped, dried, and repeated until I was happy with the colors and coverage.

Then I grabbed my Chevron Arrows stencil by The Crafter's Workshop and Picket Fence Distress Stain and stenciled arrows along either side, over the music paper.

When this was dry, I used a credit card (expired) to spread a layer of Dreamweaver Stencil paste over the Chevron Arrows stencil. This was set aside to dry and cure overnight.

Meanwhile, I stamped the Winged Heart from Bombshell Stamps' All My Heart set onto Neenah cardstock using Black Tuxedo Memento Ink, colored it with Copic markers, and fussy cut it. I still thought it needed something, so I added Winsor & Newton Iridescent Medium to the wings.

Then I went to sleep.

By the next morning, the stencil paste was cured, so I placed the winged heart onto it and it got lost. So I went through my stash looking for a chipboard frame. Nada. Then I discovered a batch of Maya chipboard houses on a ballchain and said "Eureeka!". The house was treated the same way as the canvas with gesso, the same papers, and sprays. It was put aside to dry while I returned my focus to the canvas which was lacking a certain "Je ne sais quoi." I said "quoi" and grabbed my Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze and painted the raised arrows so that they'd be shimmery white. Much better. I sponged some of my beloved Black Soot Distress Ink along the sides and added some Ideology Musical Notation Tissue tape around the edges.

I knew my chipboard house needed something, so I die cut black cardstock with SCACD's Garden Corner dies. They were kind of blah, so I rubbed on some Gold Metallic rub-on creme by Craf-T. Dresden Gold trim and gold foil border stickers were painted with a black paint dabber and added the house. I used QuicKutz Snow Angel (appropriate given our blizzard) dies to die cut "love" from black paper, which I also rubbed with the Gold Metallic Rub-ons.

Three wood hearts from a packet of Hearts & Arrows by Studio Calico were gessoed (now a verb) and colored with Prismacolor markers. (I didn't want to chance my beloved Copics). Retrospectively, I should have used Ranger Alcohol ink. It would have been faster...

Everything was adhered and voila -- a finished canvas!

I shall enter this piece into the following challenges:
• Simon Says "Have a Heart"
• Anything but a Card Challenge #12: Share the Love
• Imagination Emporium's Spread the Love challenge!