Carpe Diem Mixed Media Canvas

I know it is hard to believe that it is already mid-year, but July is going to prove to be another fabulous month of inspiration. Altered Pages has partnered with Leaky Shed Studio and their design team, so be sure to check back every day to see what each designer on both teams is creating for you.  Our theme this month is "FLIES", to be interpreted any way we choose.

I decided to make an altered canvas with my supplies.  My interpretation of "Flies" is what I consider Time does...  yes, time does fly, and it is definitely one of those things I wish I had more of.  Hence, "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day) seemed to be an appropriate title for my piece.

To make my clock, I first resized the clock face collage image to fit over the beer mat (coaster), cut out and adhered to mat.  Ink edge with Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle.

Spray bronze texture spray over shiny side of CD.  Get a thick layer around the edges and let dry.

I saw this collage image of clock gears and wondered how I could integrate them onto my clock face.  Aha!!!  I resized the clock gears background to 4.5" x 6" so it would be large enough to cover the clock face and printed it out onto an acetate sheet.   

I ran the acetate through my Xyron to get full coverage of my adhesive, then adhered it to the clock face.

Trim excess acetate and Voila!

Center clock face coaster image over CD and adhere with tacky glue.  Color white metal clock hands with Krylon gold leaf pen.

Punch hole in center of clock face, add clock hands with decorative brad and gold bead to center.  (Remember, the CD has a hole in the center, so I was able to punch through just the paper covered beer mat and add these elements.)

Ink Birdcage with black pigment ink, heat emboss with silver embossing powder.  Reheat and sprinkle black embossing powder to antique it.

Glue bird cage down over collage image from AP-134 Vintage Paper, trim excess.

Stamp one of the mannequin tags onto smooth white card stock with multiple colors of distress ink.

Use blending tool to add Wild Honey and Peeled Paint over image, cut image out and glue beneath Birdcage, set aside.

Add gold Gilder's Paste to die cut wings, and a very light coat of silver Gilder's Paste over that.

Tear strips from the Vintage Paper collage sheet and adhere to canvas.  Apply crackle paste through Tile Texture Stencil and Time Travel Stencil.  Let dry.

After adding a wash of gesso, I sprayed multiple colors of ink sprays, adding gelatos and water to get the colors I wanted.  When complete, I added my focal images and remaining embellishments to the canvas.

The following pictures are some closeups of select areas.

The clock was adhered with pop dots to raise it off of the canvas.  The Leaky Shed butterfly was cut apart, colored with Radiant Neon ink pads, and adhered so that the wings were raised.

Upper Left

Metal studs were added to the hinges.  The wings were glued down beneath the mannequin birdcage, which I also adhered with pop dots.

Upper Right

A tiny black gem was adhered to the bird for an eye.

Lower Left

I used a wash of Pumice Stone distress stain over the paper beneath the bird cage and over the Time Flies letters to deepen the color and to get a better match with the whole canvas.

Lower Right

I stamped "Carpe Diem" onto a scrap of brown card stock with Versamark ink and gold embossing powder.  Cut out the letters and added them to the center of the canvas with this cool metal arrow.

I like to finish my edges so I applied antique gold Gilder's Paste to four strips of black German Scrap and adhered the strips around along the canvas' edge.

Supplies:

Altered Pages:  8x10 Canvas Art Board; AP-834 Watch Time Fly; AP-488 It's About Time; AP-134 Vintage Paper; Tile Texture Stencil; Time Travel Stencil; White Gesso;  Matte Medium; Gilder's Paste; Faber-Castell Gelatos; German Scrap; Art Anthology: Kona Velvet;  Tacky Glue;
Leaky Shed Studio:  Birdcage; Spring Butterfy Small (3 pc)

Sin City Stamps:  Mannequin Tags stamp plate

IMAGINE Crafts: IrResistible Bronze Colored Texture Spray; Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle; ; Delicata Golden Glitz; Radiant Neon: Electric Green; Electric Blue, Electric Purple; StazOn Midi Jet Black; Versamark;

Other supplies:  distress stains, crackle texture paste, gold leaf pen, silk paints; metal embellishments

I hope you enjoyed my project today.  If you would like to see complete details on how I made this, please visit my blog.

Please be sure to come back often, and stop by the Altered Pages blog , as well as the Leaky Shed Studio Blog, to see what both teams are creating for you this month.  And don't forget to comment each day for a chance to win this month's drawing.  Each day you comment gives you another chance to win.  

Thanks tons for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful and creative week!

Barbara