About Me

I'm a freelance artist, designer and demonstrator and have been involved in arts and craft my whole life in one way or another. I design stamps for top British company Personal Impressions, under the "Lindsay Mason Designs" brand, as well as papers, templates and other crafting products. I'm a certified Ranger Educator and my first book,"Stamping", was published in 2009. I also design regular projects for Crafts Beautiful magazine and have made guest appearances from time to time on QVC. I've recently joined You Tube under the name of LindsayMason1000 where I'm posting short technique videos and you can buy my paintings and hand crafted pieces from my Etsy shop. My work takes me all around the country demonstrating stamping, papercrafts and general inkiness! When I'm not working, I love gardening, church & community activities, nature watching, journalling, music and theatre and just relaxing at home. Email me at: ljm.design1@virginmedia.com

Wednesday 20 January 2016

DecoArt Winter Wonderland Challenge..."Winter Frost" canvas

Hi folks, my turn to share the  project I designed for the DecoArt Winter Wonderland Challenge and I decided upon an abstract canvas that would convey the icy chills of the season. 

As well as various products from the DecoArt range, I also used some twigs and a dried leaf from my garden, a few beads, some mesh and and some white thread. 
Before I begin the step by step instructions, here's a list of everything I used:

DecoArt Media Line:
White Gesso
Fluid Acrylics in: Cobalt Blue Hue, Dioxazine Purple, Quinacridone Violet, Phthalo Blue, 
                          Paynes Grey, Cobalt Teal Hue
Shimmer Mister:Violet
Matte Medium
Liquid Glass

DecoArt range:
Snowtex
Glamour Dust: Crystal

Other products:
8" x 8" canvas
A few clear, or white, beads
Mesh
Strands of thin string
Needle and white thread
A few dry twigs and leaf
Brushes, spatula, heat tool

Okay, here we go then....lots of photos!

 Begin by applying gesso over the canvas with a spatula, aiming to create varying thickness and texture.

Press a few beads into the thicker areas of the gesso.

Scratch a few "icicles" into the gesso along the top and bottom edges of the canvas using a ball ended tool or a brush handle.


When the gesso is partially dry, apply heat in a few areas...this will cause the surface to bubble up and create extra texture.

Add some strips of mesh and thin string to the surface, using more gesso to keep them in place.
This was how my canvas looked at this stage.
Add some drops of Liquid Glass to create nicely rounded blobs of texture.

Use Matte Medium to adhere a dried leaf to the canvas - if you don't have any, then a purchased skeleton leaf would work. Smudge a little gesso around the leaf and stem to fill any areas where it may be sticking up. You can also add a little to the surface as I did. Allow everything to dry fully.

Paint the whole canvas with the Fluid Acrylics (except for the Cobalt Teal Hue) blending them over the surface and getting into all the nooks and crannies.You are aiming to cover the white completely - don't forget the edges!
Spritz areas of the canvas with the Violet Shimmer Mister - this will give a subtle glint to those areas.
This is how my canvas looked at this stage...the colours didn't photograph too well here, but you can see the various shades blending across the surface.
Next we need to start highlighting the canvas surface. I used the Cobalt Teal Hue to brush over some areas, blending as I went with a dry brush and light touch.
I mixed some Snowtex and gesso together to get a slightly more fluid version of the Snowtex and then brushed this over various areas. I particularly concentrated on the raised elements.
 Some Glamour Dust sprinkled onto the wet Snowtex/Gesso mix gives the ultimate frosty effect!
After playing around with the size and shape of the twigs I wanted to use, I added neat Snowtex to the top edges of them and let them dry.
I used a large, sharp needle and strong white thread to attach the twigs to the canvas - just a few stitches at various points on each twig are enough to hold them firmly in place.
I used Fly Stitch to create the look of some birds flying in the distance. You can see how to create a Fly Stitch here
Here are a few close ups of my finished piece which show the detail and texture.
....the beads and string are a great way to add instant texture, picked up by the gesso/Snowtex mixture, and the Glamour Dust really gives the extra frosty touch.

I love the detail that is picked up on the dry leaf.
It's worth playing around with the placement of the twigs before committing to the stitching. 

There you have the completed canvas. You could create a series of these for a feature wall, or why not try making a set of four - with one for each season? Don't forget to check out all the other Design Team projects for our Winter Wonderland Challenge and remember that you still have until the 29th to submit an entry yourself - there's a great DecoArt Media prize package up for grabs!


19 comments:

Hazel (Didos) said...

WOW this is amazing, It made me want to go and get messy in the craft area!!! Love the cololurs, Love Hazel xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Wow! So much inspiration here I have already scrolled through twice! This is stunning Lindsay! Having a little op soon but hope to see you after that! Hugs, Chrisx

Unknown said...

ABSOLUTELY STUNNINGLY INCREDIBLE. I used to do this type of thing on canvas a lot - even stitched on branches as you did - heheheheh!! Sooooooooooooo.... you have inspired me to get back to using the things of nature more. WHAT A WONDERFULLY BEAUTIFUL winter wonderland Lindsay. You are a SUPER artist. j.

whyducks said...

Oh how gorgeous, my very favourite piece of all the projects so far. Love it! xx

Pauline K said...

Lovely woods, freshly covered with new snow. Use of the paints and media is amazing. Adhering and altering the sticks and leaves from your yard evokes a memory of winter strolls and pulls me into the woods. Love

Julia S-W said...

Absolutely stunning Lindsay!!! I love the way you build texture into your projects - I need lessons from you please! Gorgeous colours too and the Snowtex stuff is now on my list! Julia xxx

Crafty Humphreys said...

Really lovely project hun. I'm working on a tree with a bluebird for my entry. Only similarity is blues and glamour dust, mine is so plain compared to yours! Love all your textures and inspired idea to stitch twigs. Suz (Surrey Crafts) x

Crafty Humphreys said...

Really lovely project hun. I'm working on a tree with a bluebird for my entry. Only similarity is blues and glamour dust, mine is so plain compared to yours! Love all your textures and inspired idea to stitch twigs. Suz (Surrey Crafts) x

Linda49 said...

Lovely to have you on your Blog again. This is beautiful.

sarascloset said...

Gorgeous snowy canvas! I so love snowy your tree branches! Thank you for the amazing inspiration!

Little Artbee said...

Wow! A great winter canvas with very good textures. I like it much.
Greetings
Sabine

Karen Petitt said...

Absolutely stunning Lindsay! Love, love, love! Also many thanks for sharing your process too. It makes me feel like I could attempt one of these because of your clear and concise instructions and photographs Karen x

Susanne said...

Great to see you're back on your Blog, this piece is lovely and particularly like the colours you have chosen.

craftypam60 said...

Stunning! And brilliant detailed step by step instructions too - thank you! xx

Lindsay Mason said...

Thank you for all the positive feedback and glad that the step by step instructions and photos are useful.

Redanne said...

Lindsay, your canvas is stunning, I love the cool blues and the leaf looks fabulous! Great step by steps too. Anne x

whyducks said...

Just gorgeous.

Unknown said...

This is a great tutorial will definitely be having a go! Stunning effects !!

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