Happy New Year and Happy Mixed Media Monthly Challenge!!

I have been SO excited to share with you, not only a ton of new work that I have done this month, but also the challenge design team that I am joining!! The Mixed Media Monthly blog is a SUPER fun site with an amazing challenge each month and amazing sponsors.   This is my first post as a design team member!! Whoohoo!!

This month's challenge is to use something NEW to you!!! I chose burlap canvases.  What? I know, I saw them at the store and thought that I could do something cute and crafty with them, but I wasn't sure about using burlap as an actual background texture for a mixed media canvas.  I think I like it!

This month's challenge sponsor is the online Scrapbooking/Mixed media store - Butterfly Reflections Ink.  Her store is adorable and full of paper and rub-ons and stamps that I MUST have!! 

So make sure you join us in the challenge this month!! This is a great month to start off with a new challenge and art time to start off the new year - plus you could win a $25 gift card to Butterfly Reflections Ink!!

  

For my project, instead of buying the actual burlap canvas, I actually used some loose burlap that I had laying around and glued it down to regular canvas.  It worked pretty well, but there were a few lessons that I learned along the way!! 

I started off with a basic canvas, but a fun size .... 4x12! And then I painted the canvas since I didn't want the white canvas showing through the open burlap.

Then I tried two different mediums to 'glue' the burlap down .... clear tar gel and regular gel medium.  Well, after drying they both worked but differently.The tar gel is shiny and made the burlap a little shiny too.  The Gel medium, on the other hand, kept the burlap much more matte.  In the future, for making burlap canvases, I would stick with the gel medium.

I pulled out my sketch book and found these two funny birds that had long legs.  I knew they would be really fun on the long 12 inch canvas!  

 Finally, I cut into the paper stash that I have had sitting out waiting for the right project!! Burlap and Bouquets by Fancy Pants ... love!!!

And after cutting, gluing and doodling, my birds were finished!!  

Make sure to come back and visit ... I may have been a big blog-slacker lately, but I have some painted furniture, more canvas and journal projects to show you!! I have been super artsy busy lately!!