Altered Art Hanging by Chris W

I’ve had his hanging art in mind for some months now but not got around to buying the screw eyelets to join the canvasses until last week. Each letter is cut from an old Sizzix alphabet die set which I’ve then gilded using variegated gilding flakes.

Each canvas has been prepped with an acrylic/water wash then stained with Tim Holtz distress ink stains.

Each canvas is framed using spellbinders square scalloped dies to cut the frame from thin craft metal. A metal embossing tool was used to create the texture on the frames.

I just used the word ART but it could spell ‘MUM’, ‘FRIEND’ or anything you wanted to. Why not have a go at making your own version, it really is simple to make. Personalise it and give it as a very special gift to someone dear to you.

Level of difficulty:     Intermediate
Materials:
3 mini canvasses (7cm x 7cm)
10 screw eyelets
5 equal lengths of plug chain with joiners
Shadow letters ART
Variegated gilding flakes (or metallic leaf sheets)
Ranger green acrylic paint, ‘Pesto’ or equivalent
Tim Holtz distress ink stain, ‘Old paper’
Tim Holtz distress ink stain, ‘Dried marigold’
Viva Inka-gold metallic paint or equivalent
Assorted embellishments and charms
Craftmetal (whatever colour coordinates with your gilding flakes/leaves)
Gilding glue (eg Flitter glu or equivalent)
Claudine Hellmuth Studio matte glue
Double sided sticky tape
Tools:
Spellbinder’s Lacey squares Nestabilities set (or similar)
Spellbinder’s die cutting machine (or equivalent)
Cutting mat
Inking sheet
Decorative metal embossing wheel or a thin embossing tool
Scissors
Scalpel or craft knife
Tweezers
Woodworking awl (to start screw holes)
Clean dish washing sponge (hard one side, soft the other)
Thick watercolour brush
A dry rag
Method
Prep the letters:
The letters and shadows can be cut from a die set, a digital cutter such as the Cricut Expression or just bought as a pack either way the shadows need to be black. Place the shadows to one side and carefully apply gilding glue to the letter tops (using tweezers helps). Follow the instructions on the glue regarding when to apply the gilding flakes or metal leaf. Cover the letters and leave to cure. When the appropriate time has passed take the dish washing sponge and gently rub the hard side of the sponge across the flakes/leaf to remove the excess. Brush away the debris from the letters and your work area using the soft side. (You may need a damp tissue to remove the finer particles.) Buff the letters gently with a soft tissue before gluing the letter tops to their shadow bases.
Prep your canvasses:
Before you start, compare the canvasses against each other, it’s not uncommon for them to vary a few millimetres. Choose the sides that vary the least to be the top and bottoms so that they will line up best when hung.
Measure 2cm in each side of two canvasses and just the top of the third. Using the awl start the hold for the eyelets and then screw them all in so you make sure they are all done before decorating them. Lay them out under each other to be sure.
Remove the eyelets and set aside. Make a wash for the canvasses of about 50:50 paint to water. (Make a small amount to try on a piece of scrap paper first because different paints have differing consistencies and levels of opacity.) Paint the fronts and all sides of the canvasses and leave to dry. The paint will be patchy and probably have ‘paint lines’ and that is exactly what you want. When dry, dab the ‘old paper’ distress stain in places, make it blotchy and then do the same with the ‘Dried marigold’ stain so that the original wash is now just part of the colour base. Leave to  dry. The last application is that of metallic paint around bits of the side edges of the canvasses. I used a mixture of copper and gold but you can use what you have/want.
Take your spellbinders dies and craft metal and cut out three frames, one for each of the canvasses. Using your embossing wheel/tool add some texture to the inner part of the frame leaving the ‘frill’ untouched.
Bringing it all together:
Glue your frames onto the canvasses and then glue the letters into the centres. Take your treasures (charms and embellishments) and position them around the canvasses. Play with the layouts until you’re happy with them all then glue them all into place. (If you have used any heavy embellishment(s) then I would leave the canvasses overnight to ensure the items are fully secure before finishing.)
Carefully screw all the eyelets back into the holes you’ve already made. Thread the plug chains through the loops and fasten them. Your hanging art should now be complete.