Hi Everyone! Kristin here, and today I’m going to be sharing with you a fun layout and a couple of tips on decorating those canvas embellishments with chalk inks.

I love the way the little canvas pieces look right out of the package — soft and very cloth-like.   When using paint on canvas there is a tendency to get a firmer finish, and I really wanted to keep that soft, pliable look. I decided on using chalk inks to achieve my desired look.  After experimenting a bit, I’m really happy with the way they turned out, and I’d love to share a couple of tips with you.

Materials Needed: Canvas Embellishments, Chalk Ink (I used Prima), a Makeup Sponge, Spray Bottle (with water or rubbing alcohol), and a Zig FX White Paint Pen

Welcome back to another day of Basically Bare and Momenta goodness!  Jamie here, and boy do I have a lot to show you today.

I have so many friends and family members with birthdays coming up that I wanted to make a fun set of items that I could use.  So hold onto your hats, I have three items that will spruce up the birthday party.

To start with, I have a super adorable gift canister and birthday card.  The canister features the Fanciful Frames Set and Basically Embellie Bird.  The card also has a piece from the Fanciful Frames Set  and also uses the Celestial Shapes.   Now, let me show you how the gift canister was created.

1. To start, I upcycled a plastic canister I was no longer using.

2. Cut your patterned paper to the size of the canister, then adhere to the  canister.

3. Add a pom-pom trim to the top of the canister.

4. Wrap a piece of contrasting paper around the middle of the canister.  Next, paint the smallest piece from the Fanciful Frames set with a Zig Painty FX pen in black and let dry.  Once dry, add a thin layer of glue around the edges of the frame and then add black glitter.  Must not forget to add a bit of glitter

5. Cover a chipboard bird with patterned paper and add a small dot of black Enamel Accents for the eye. Then adhere the bird to the frame.

6. Lastly, adhere the frame to the cylinder and then tuck in a small vine behind the frame.

Next up is bright birthday card.  How cute is this?  Lots of layers of Momenta patterned paper and Basically Bare chipboard.  I used the same technique on the chipboard frame on the card as I did on the canister, just to tie the two pieces together.  The chipboard sun was heat embossed with WOW Sierra Sunrise Embossing Glitter.

And now to the last pieces, three pinwheels.  Every birthday party needs pinwheels, right?

These pinwheels make the perfect party favor!  And tucked tight in the middle of each one is a Basically Embellies Button that has been inked with alcohol based ink.

Bring on the next birthday, I’m ready to go!

Supplies Used:

Basically Bare – Fanciful Frames, Buttons, Birds, Celestial Set

Momenta – Animal Print Paper Pack, Peace Mini Puffy Icon Sticker, Zebra Print Sticker Pack

Kuretake – Zig Painty FX in Black, Kurecolor Ink in Orange

Hi, Linda here with a quick tutorial on how to add gesso on your pages and some masking.

Add Gesso to the pages with an old credit card or similar tool.

Place the mask on dry Gesso (here the Dress Form) and add the mist of your choice.

It’s going to look something like this when done.

If you use paper or canvas as a mask, you can keep it in place like this.

Hope this inspired you in some way.

Thank you!

Do you love candles?  How about alcohol inks? How about combining both into a fun project? Jamie here with you today to do just that!

I started by taking a plain jane white candle and completely covering it with several shades of alcohol ink.

Next, apply a couple drops of Kurecolor Ink in Orange and Snow Cap Mixative to an applicator felt and apply to an acrylic star from the Bare Basics Celestial Set.

For this last step, you’ll need to raid your pantry! Yes, the pantry.  The moon shape, also from the Celestial Set, is covered completely in foil and then ran through a Cuttlebug for a bit of dry embossing.   Carefully cover the raised portions of the moon with embossing ink, sprinkle with embossing powder, and then heat set the powder.  I used WOW embossing glitter in Metallic Platinum Sparkle.  It’s a perfect match in color to the foil and also provides a fun texture to contrast to the smoothness of the foil.

For a last bit of embellishment, I added a metal sentiment and a few beads.

Jamie here with you once again with a fun Christmas idea! Can you believe there’s only 12 days to go?  How about some lights, a couple stockings, and a nice fire to get you in the holiday spirit?

Now let’s zoom in close on the ornament hanging between the two stockings. And what do I spy but the cutest little wreath made with a Bare Basics Chipboard Gear and Bare Basics Chipboard Buttons.

To make the wreath shape, I simply cut a circle from the middle of the largest gear in the set.

The button “berries” were first inked with Festive Berries Distress Ink, then heat embossed with Polysparkle Embossing Powder, and lastly covered with Glossy Accents.

The gear “wreath” was heat embossed with two layers of Ranger’s Verdigris Embossing Powder and then with a layer of Polysparkle Embossing Powder.  It is Christmas time after all, everything must have a bit of sparkle and shine!

Lastly, I added a couple of holly leaf shaped stickers that had been coated with Lime Green and Holly Stickles.

Yesterday I showed  my technique for coloring the bricks from the Basically Bare Climbing Ivy set. Today is part two of this tutorial, and I’ll show you how to build a brick wall! What do you need? Gesso and a little bit of black paint for color. They make a wonderful “cement”!

Mix a little black paint into a big glob of gesso until you have a color that resembles cement. You will need a lot for this project.

Take your project and plan where you want your wall to be. Layout the first row of bricks.

Lift one outside brick up and apply a generous amount of gesso underneath where the brick will lie. Press the brick back down onto the gesso.  Lift up the next brick and apply gesso underneath it. Press that brick back down onto the gesso. The harder you push, the more “cement” oozes out from under the bricks. I happen to like this look, but if you don’t want as much showing, then use less gesso and don’t apply so much pressure.

Now that you have the technique down, repeat it until you finish the first row of bricks. Continue to build the wall up, until it’s completed.

Allow your wall ample time to dry (I left mine alone overnight) before adding the vines and any other embellishments you like. My project looked like this when completed, and I love the finished look:

Would you like to build your very own brick wall? I’d love to see it!