Gallery Wall: Part 5, Canvas Art I

You might want to grab a blanket and a nice cup of tea. (I prefer peppermint or raspberry, myself.) It's cold and this could take a while.

I had an idea for a piece of wall art for the gallery wall. It went something like this.

Easy, right? Just some text and a tree. No, not easy. We are on day three now and it still isn't done! There are two hurdles that it making this project take so long. (Three, if you count the children and other life stuff like sleeping. Whatever.) First, the scale of this project is on the big size. I am making it on a 16"x20" canvas that I had in the craft supplies corner of my closet. I would say that's bigger than a bread box. Second, I do not have a Silhouette CAMEO. Oh, how I want one! But that is beside the issue here. Since I do not have a nifty cutting machine, I am cutting out masking for the design and painting this project in layers. Can you say time consuming? Yes, this method takes a while, but one does what one has to with the products on hand.

This is what I got so far.

Step 1: Make a Template
(Yes, I used Excel. It is a surprisingly useful program.)

Step 2: Print and Outline

Step 3: Tape Template Pieces Together

Step 4: Cover with Wax Paper and Retrace Outline

Step 5: Mask Template
Cover everything you just traced onto the wax paper with
masking tape. Just so we are clear, you are applying masking
tape to the wax paper, not the plain paper template.

Step 6: Turn Masked Wax Paper Over, Get Comfortable,
Start Cutting
(For detailed work, I recommend using a craft knife and laying
your project on a self-healing cutting mat or some sort of
protective surface. When working on a less detailed project,
scissors work just fine.)

Step 7: Carefully Lay Cut Masking Right-Side-Up on Canvas

Step 8: Apply Cut Masking to Canvas
(Carefully pick up each cut piece, remove the wax paper
backing--your craft knife can be helpful for this--, and apply it
to the canvas using the full piece of wax paper as a guide. Be
careful not to  move the wax paper as you work so that
everything comes out straight!)

Step 9: Apply First Layer of Paint
(Here I first did a layer of black spray paint...)

(...followed by a layer of silver spray paint. I once heard a tip
about putting down a layer of black before silver to help the
silver finish look right. I thought I would try it.)

So that's where I am with this project. I was hoping to have it done for this morning's blog post, but I suppose this will just have to be a two-parter. :(

Stay tuned!

PS. You can find the rest of this tutorial here!