Patriotic Painted Canvas Album

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday! Always has been. What's not to like about fireworks, parades, patriotic music, hotdogs, potato salad...oh and flags?! Flags fluttering in the breeze or emblazoned upon T-shirts. Here is my Dixie Belle version:

This highly satisfying project has a relatively short supply list:
Dixie Belle Paint in Flamingo and The Gulf  
Canvas Book  
Paint Brush  
Stazon Ink 
Rubber Stamped Message 
Stencil or Mask    
Painter's Tape
Mini Glue Dots
Chipboard 6"x9"

Here are the awesome colors I chose. I wanted a faded glory look and Flamingo and The Gulf worked great together.

Loved the idea of an album made of canvas; so many possibilities!!
Place a piece of chipboard behind where you are painting, in case it bleeds through. Highly unlikely, but better safe than sorry.

Next I used my painter's tape and covered the front flap.

Next I had to decide the size of my stripes and where to place my stars:

I drew a line where I wanted my blue and stars to live:

The X-Acto knife is your friend, just be careful about cutting only the tape. Only peel-up the areas you want painted.

Now the fun part; paint! First the Flamingo for the stripes. I chose a paint brush over a sponge, for more control. 

I love that I can add water to this amazing paint if I want a thinner consistency. Using it straight from the jar gave a faded rustic appearance to the canvas though.

  
All of the stripes, painted:

I had some leftover acrylic stars from another project, so I used mini glue dots to place them on the canvas in a grid pattern.

So pretty, right? Remember rustic, not perfect. I used a paintbrush again for coverage, being sure to keep the paint above the stars for a crisper outline. Also, I added another strip of painter's tape to the right, keeping my area clean.

Here is the entire area covered:

The suspense of the reveal is killing me! Wait. We need a sentiment. Stazon stamped perfectly onto the dried paint.

I have to see what it looks like now:

Oops, I meant ALL of it:

This was seriously so easy and I am so content with the results. Look out! I see many more Dixie Belle projects coming your way. Enjoy all that our Design Team offers to you.
Ciao for now,
-Trish Alger