Nail Art Plaque - CHA Project

 

Hi everyone, I'm really excited today to share with you a project that I created for the Canvas Corp, Marion Smith, 7Gypsies and Tattered Angels booth at the Summer Create -n- Connect 2013 Show (also known as summer CHA). 

 

 

I wanted to create a vibrant mixed media piece with the luscious Tattered Angel's Blue Green mediums but wanted it to be a bit unusual. I was inspired by some string art projects that I found on Pinterest.   Since I live in Florida I decided to theme my project around the beach.

I pulled out all of my Tattered Angels sprays in blues, turquoise, and mint greens.   (colors used are  listed under the photo)

Glimmer Mists: True Turquoise (not pictured),  Lake Shore, Caribbean Blue, Bubbles, Mantis,  Maya Blue, Chalkboard Glimmer Mist:  Sandy Beach, Mantis,  Plain Jane: Sky, and Glimmer Glam: Palm Leaf

 

 

I started by painting my unfinished wooden plaque with white full bodied gesso.  Once it was dry, I began building layers of the Tattered Angels Glimmer, Plain Jane and Chalkboard sprays all over the surface. I started with the blues and added small amounts of the greens to give the colors of the Florida coast line.  I then mixed in some of the Palm Leaf Glam and hit is with my heat gun causing the glaze to crackle and provide texture.  This texture gives the illusion of looking through the water to ground below. I love how all the glimmer swirled to give the piece movement and depth.  I made sure this surface was very  dry before starting the next step.  

 

I made a paste of clear Elmer's Glue & Sea Shells - I spread this paste across the plaque diagonally.  I encouraged the dripping along the sides of the plaque for interest.  The Glue is so thick that it took a long time to be completely dry.  I let it sit for at least 24 hours.    

 

I combined modeling paste and full bodied gesso into a paste and spackled some irregular lines  to give the illusion of waves crashing the shore.  I also spread a little of this into the shells to give the look of sea mist. 

 

Once EVERYTHING was completely dry I sprayed the entire plaque with a clear Acrylic Spray paint to seal the Glimmer mists.  I didn't want them to get wet and run.

 

For the star,  I started with a silhouette starfish image that I found on the Internet.   I printed it the size of my plaque. I went out to the garage and found used rusty nails (they need the flat head on top to make sure the twine doesn't slip). The nails were about 2 inches long. I nailed around the perimeter of the star pattern, and removed the pattern from the plaque before wrapping my twine. The Canvas Corp twine was the perfect "rustic" style to give my start fish life.

 

This was a super simple project that resulted in a cute home decor item.  I think I might hang this  in my guest bathroom.  

 

Thanks for stopping in today,

 

Tonya Gibbs

http://www.psychomomscrapbooks.blogspot.com