Anchors aweigh! Pushing the boat out onto Stampendoulicious waters…by Asia King

Ahoy Stampendous friends! Asia here with a new project to inspire you and to err…. push the boat out so to speak! 🙂 Today I would like to share a mixed media canvas that features lots of Fran•táge, my beloved napkin art, and a new technique for me – Faux Airbrushing (as featured in the UK’s Craft Stamper magazine March 2013). Let’s cast off and get underway!

Step 1 – supplies:

– blank 8″x8″ canvas

– set of printed napkins with nautical theme

– Decopatch glue, an old brush, fine art sponge (or a regular washing sponge as long as it has fine holes)

– distress inks: Shaded Lilac (not included on the photo), Faded Jeans, Broken China, Pumice Stone

– stencil with various sized circles. I created mine from acetate and die cut Nestabilities circles. You can later use your die cut circles as masks.

You will also need:

– Stampendous Cling Navigateur stamp

– Coffee Archival ink

– Inktense (or water colour) pencils, water brush

– ivory card and a piece of ivory fabric, scissors, paper distresser

Step 2 – covering your canvas:

– peel the top printed ply of your napkin, cut and arrange the pattern on the canvas.

– adhere to the canvas with Decopatch glue, covering all the sides as well. Don’t worry about small creases – let the glue settle for a minute and then smooth the creases gently with your fingers.

– avoid adding any glue on top of the napkins at this stage. You will want to keep the napkin unsealed with the medium.

Now you are ready to add some bubbles!

Step 3 – water bubbles:

– pinch your sponge so you get a nice round tip

– gradually add inks by gentle tapping/dabbing of the sponge through the stencil. Dabbing with the sponge instead of swiping it in a circular motion will create a gradual ‘dotted’ effect, similar to airbrushing (hence the name of the technique)

– to create the ‘bubble look’ keep the centre of the circle uninked. Then depending on your chosen light direction add more ink to opposite sides to create shading

– add layers of overlapping circles. Use your (previously) die cut circles as masks to add more shading. Depending on the location of the shade you can either bring the bubble forward or set it behind another

– work the inks from lightest to the darkest shade

Step 5 – Bling it on!

– swipe Boss Gloss (or an embossing ink pad) along the edges of the canvas> Leave some areas uninked

– cover with Aged Marine Embossing Enamel, tap off the excess, heat set then allow to cool

– swipe embossing ink over the remaining areas overlapping previously embossed parts

– sprinkle with Shabby Blue Embossing Enamel and heat set

– using the technique shown by my fellow BlogStar Tobi in this post randomly add layers of  Champagne, Steel Blue, Royal Blue Crushed Glass Glitter and Powder Blue Colour Fragments

– stamp bunting images onto fabric with a permanent ink. I used a free stamp from July 2012 issue of the Craft Stamper magazine. Alternatively draw several bunting flags with a Sharpie pen and cut out. Adhere to the canvas with hot glue gun and embellish with a string or ribbon.

Step 5: Main panel

– stamp Cling Navigateur onto ivory card with Coffee Archival

– colour the image with Inktense pencils or alcohol markers

– add water bubbles following the same steps as above

– distress the edges of the panel with paper distresser

– using the encrusted jewel technique add Shabby White highlights to the image

Step 6:

– stamp Cling Better Travel sentiment stamp with embossing ink onto acetate

– heat emboss with Black Detail embossing powder

– trim the acetate close to the sentiment

Step 7:

– glue burlap, cheese cloth, buttons and trinkets to the canvas

– crumple the stamped panel slightly and layer over the fabrics

– once in place, seal the image with a layer of Decopatch glue (it will dry clear)

Step 8:

– embellish further with Glossy Accents bubbles

– add highlights to your design with buttons and glass pebbles – can you see my cute ‘ship in a bottle’ below?

Inspiration photo credit

I would love to see your take on the Stampendoulicious ‘Faux Airbrushed’ projects so get crafting and let me know what you create!

Oh, and if you’d like to see more of the close up photos of my project, feel free to hop over to my blog :).

I hope you enjoyed today’s inspiration and I look forward to seeing you again next week :).

Big hugs

Asia