Hello Maja Design fans!! Nancy Hanttula here once again to share week #2 of  my creations using the gorgeous Maja Design papers. This week I am spotlighting the projects I created using the Vintage Winter collection. My first project is a multi-canvas mixed media project.  I was so inspired by the blues and reds in this collection (one of my very favorite color combinations), and being that we are so close to Valentine’s Day, I decided to create a Valentine’s inspired project. Here is a photo of all of the mini-canvases together (each canvas is 5 x 5): and now here they are individually (in no specific order): I used a lot of acrylic paint and stamping on the backgrounds….as well as a few rub-ons here and there from my stash. I also used some felt hearts and some dimensional fabric paint to add extra texture. On the above canvas, I added some jute twine to emphasis the word LOVE in the series.

The little chipboard bird piece is from Michael’s craft store.

After I show the individual panels, I will show you the basics on how I created this project.

I think this project has a real grunge-art, as well as a folk art, quality….my 5 year old daughter calls it “messy art.”  Personally, I think that’s the best kind.

and for the final panel (although I am thinking about making another panel for this project…mainly because I think it would be more aesthetically pleasing to have 3 rows of 3 across in more of a square shape hanging on the wall)

So here are some “before” photos:

The first thing I always do when working with canvas is to paint the sides…I think this is super important to have a “finished” looking piece.

After the paint has dried, I then go in with stamps to add extra interest and texture.

Fast-forwarding a few steps…I  have decoupaged the background paper (all from Vintage Winter collection) onto the canvases.  Then I applied paint with a palette knife, instead of a brush or my often-used fingers, along the edges of the canvas

After applying the paint…I did some masking and stenciling.  The next step is cutting out and applying the hearts.  I also outlined/framed each panel with white paint.

Next comes the fun part, adding dimensional paint, rub-ons, small embellishments, and my words.  The words are simply stamped using tiny individual wood alphabet stamps onto another piece of patterned paper…..then cut out, edges inked, and adhered.  I will note that I applied the hearts and words using hot glue…I like to do this because it gives it just the right amount of dimension off of the canvas.

And there you have it.  My style of mixed media is very “freeing” – there is not a right or wrong way of doing it, and I encourage everyone to give it a try!

The “Vintage Winter” papers I used in this project are as follows:  Winter Wonderland, Fun in the Snow, Lovely Winter day, Enjoy the Cool, Winter Joy, It’s Chilly Outside, It’s Snowing, Crispy Air, Season’s Greetings, Christmas is Coming, & Christmas Cards.

Other ingredients included: (8) 5x 5 canvas panels, acrylic paint, jute twine, Hampton art small alphabet stamps, black pilot pen, misc stamps from CTMH/Tim Holtz; Polymark Dimensional paint, Misc stencils including The Crafter’s Workshop; Felt hearts from Hobby Lobby, metal key and chipboard bird from Michaels, misc. rub-ons from my stash, and ink from Staz-On, CTMH, and Colorbox; Cricut cartridge “Lovestruck”

And for my next and last project using this collection, I did what I consider to be a traditional layout.

This is my son when he was almost 2 years old.  I loved this costume.

I hand-stitched the flourishes using white embroidery floss.  I LOVE sewing on my pages.  There is something very therapeutic about hand-sewing, much like creating in the first place.

I also cut these snowflakes out with my Cricut – using my Cindy Loo cartridge.

I added some faux-stitching to the snowflakes using a pen….and accented the tips of the snowflakes with some frosty-colored bling from Martha Stewart.

The “Vingate Winter” papers used in this layout include:  Snowmen, Winter Joy, Enjoy the Cool, Season’s Greetings, I’m Staying Inside, Winter Wonderland, & Winternight

other supplies used here include: Martha Stewart bling, Hampton Art small alphabet stamps, Colorbox/CTMH/Staz-On inks, embroidery floss, and Cricut Cartridge Cindy Loo.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest endeavors.  I hope you join me next Saturday when I get to share my next round of creations.  But before then, be sure and stop by the Maja Design blog daily…the talent here is absolutely AMAZING!!! or better yet, be sure and sign up to receive their latest blog posts right into your inbox!

Until next time, I hope you create something amazing today!