Mysterious Eyes - Altered Canvas

Once or twice a year, the altered envelope group I participate in has a "Weirdy Mail" option.  By weirdy mail, we mean an artsy bit other than an envelope or postcard, preferably sent through the mail "naked" (without packaging).  It's always fun to see what people manage to send through the mail with only a label and postage adhered to it.

I'll admit, I'm a little leery about sending naked weirdy mail, especially when I've spent so much time making something special for my partner.  I was doubly concerned this time, because my mail had to go to Canada (and Canada Post has been threatening to strike in recent months).  So I settled on a basic 8x8 wrapped canvas that could potentially go naked, but decided to wait until I was done with it to make a final decision.

Based on my partner's profile, I chose a Halloween theme and got to work creating a 4x4 collage for the hole in the back of the wrapped canvas.  The base of my collage was an old bingo card cut to size, and the focal point would be this lovely bat image from Oxford Impressions.  I stamped the bat on white cardstock and colored it with Prismacolor Premier pencils, then trimmed it closely.  I tinted the bingo card with distress inks and acrylic paint and added some rub-ons (the black grungy stuff) before adhering the bat.  The text was cut from an old novel.

Once I had my collage largely done, I turned my attention to the canvas itself.  First I gave the entire thing a coat of black gesso, then I painted the canvas with a mixture of black, purple and white acrylic paint.  Next I adhered a vintage-looking scrapbook paper to the wooden frame portion.  That paper was tinted with paint and ink to match the bingo card, and also received a few spots of the grungy rub-on.  At this point it was looking pretty good, but I still felt it was lacking something; it needed texture.  Molding paste to the rescue!  I applied molding paste through a stencil to the entire frame as well as to the central collage.  This turned out way better than I could have hoped, and it pulled the entire piece together.  Once the molding paste was dry, I tinted it with distress paints.

I adhered the central collage and outlined it with antique bronze Stickles.  I spattered white acrylic paint onto the entire thing (again, to integrate the collage with the frame) and then sealed everything with an acrylic spray.

I suppose you want to know whether my canvas got to travel naked or not.  Well, it did not.  I chickened out.  I didn't want it to get damaged or, God forbid, stolen by some crazed fan of winged mammals.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

No Beauty Shines Brighter - Door Hanger

Now that my partner has received her "weirdy mail" for February, I'm able to share it with you here.

I covered a chipboard doorknob hanger with book text and patterned paper, then muted the colors by swiping on some white gesso.  I added rubber stamping and distress inks to the background.  The pictures didn't really pick up the faint blue tint on the top part of the hanger or the soft yellow behind the flowers.  We've been having a lot of cloudy days here and I could not find a doorknob anywhere in the house with good lighting on it.

The hearts and grass were painted on using a mixture of acrylic paint and molding paste for texture and dimension.  For the stems, I dipped the short end of an old debit card into the molding paste so I could get just a thin line.

The edges and the back were painted a soft yellow hue. I then sprayed the entire hanger with two or three coats of acrylic sealant.  These doorknob hangers are super fun to make and I think I still have three left in the package, so you will probably see more of these in the future.

Happy April 1 (no fooling).  Thanks for popping in!

Supplies:
Chipboard doorknob hanger; vintage book text; patterned paper; Golden white gesso; tumbled glass, scattered straw, black soot and gathered twigs distress ink; Stazon saddle brown ink; Golden modeling paste; Liquitex Basics acrylic paints; Pigma Micron pen in sepia; Tim Holtz word sticker; vintage postage stamp; cancellation stamp from Artistic Outpost; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; script stamp (unknown); Glossy Accents.

Saguaro Sunset Painted Box - Mail Art

To shake things up this month, the Envie Addicts had the option of sending "weirdy mail" rather than just a standard altered envelope or postcard.  And if the weirdy mail is mailed "naked" (without wrapping or packaging), even better!  At first I wasn't sure how weird I wanted to go, but after some thought I decided to try something completely different from my usual.

I started with a small, sturdy box that used to hold a home decor item.  It's about 6 x 3.5 x 3.25 inches.  After gluing the box shut, I gave it a coat of gesso and covered it with tissue paper, which I also coated with gesso.  I then went in search of inspiration and found it in the form of a poem in a 1940s school book (more on that below).  The poem set my subject matter: a saguaro cactus at sunset.

After finding a sunset photo on the internet to use as a color reference, I measured the three sides of the box that I planned to paint and created a template.  I loosely sketched my design on the template and used transfer paper to trace it onto the box.  Next came the moment of bravery:  actually painting the box!  I haven't used acrylics much in this way so it took me a while to get the sky the way I wanted it, but eventually I was happy with it.

I also painted and decorated the front (address side) and ends of the box.  The final step was to add the poem using a Pitt artist pen.

Based on the size and final weight of the box, I adhered sufficient postage and sent it on its way.  It actually reached its destination fairly quickly (quicker than some altered envies I've sent) and I am told it arrived mostly unscathed.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

The poem I used was found in Choice Poems for Elementary Grades, compiled by Matilda Mahaffey Elsea and published in 1943.  I bought the book at an antique store and it includes works by both well-known poets as well as relative unknowns.  This poem is allegedly a Pima Indian medicine song, translated by Natalie Curtis.

Wind Song

Far on the desert ridges

Stands the cactus;

Lo, the blossoms swaying

To and fro,

The blossoms swaying,

Swaying. 

Supplies:
Used, small heavy cardboard box; Golden gesso; Golden matte gel medium; Tim Holtz tissue paper; Saral Transfer tracing paper; Liquitex Basics acrylic paints; Golden Retarder; Faber Castell black Pitt artist pen; Sharpie black marker.