Family Thankful Tree

For today’s project, I wanted to create something a little bit different for me.  When I am seeking inspiration, I look for a project with a minimum number of “strange” products.  In other words, I love to use something I currently own or something fairly inexpensive and easy to use.  That being said, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I got the whole family involved and created this tree on canvas using mostly just Gelatos® and water.  Here’s a look at the completed project.

I started by sketching the tree onto a 16”x20” canvas using the gray Gelato® from the Neutrals pack.

I colored each branch of the tree with all four Gelatos® in the Neutrals pack.  I applied a stripe of each color, overlapping just a bit.  I made sure I started and ended with the darkest brown on both sides to give the tree some dimension.  I dipped a paintbrush in water and used it to blend the colors together.  I worked my way through the tree one branch at a time.

To add a few extra highlights, I used the new Stamper’s Big Brush Pen in white.

I used the same technique on the background using multiple shades of blue and green Gelatos®.

When blending the blue with water, I added some texture by stamping immediately after wetting and blending the canvas.  By doing so, it removed some of the Gelatos® color.

I created a wavy template out of copy paper to make sure my title lined up correctly.  I hand-drew these letters, but I copied them from the Stampin’ Up! Notable Alphabet stamp set.

Here’s a look at the final canvas, before applying the “thankful” leaves.

I used scissors to quickly cut out random sizes of leaves from white cardstock.  I used a variety of distress ink colors to give them a rough look.  

Finally, I had each member of my family take about 9-10 leaves and write what they are thankful for.  We all used the same black pen for consistency.   And of course, “candy” and “donuts” were submitted by my girls!  My 8-year-old spelled “our” as “are”.  I love it.

I adhered them to the canvas using foam adhesive.

I added “2012” in the lower right corner.  I plan to hang in our house so we can enjoy it for years to come! 

I hope you enjoyed my post today – thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Thanksgiving season! To see more of my cards and videos, visit my blog.  

 

Supplies:

• 16”x20” canvas
• Color Gelatos™ 4 ct – Neutrals (#770160)
• Stamper’s Big Brush Pen, White (#770013)
• Various blue Gelatos™
• Various green Gelatos™
• Art GRIP® Aquarelle Watercolor Pencil, yellow (I didn’t have a yellow Gelato™!)
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks:  Worn Lipstick, Scattered Straw, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade
• Neenah Solar White Cardstock (leaves)
• Stampin’ Up! Foam Dimensionals

 

Darlene DeVries is an avid video blogger and papercrafter.  She shares a new how-to video every Wednesday on her blog.  Over the last 2 1/2  years she has posted over 160 videos!  She introduces new techniques, tips, and products in a fast-paced fashion.  She can also be found on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Margaret]

Holidaying in Hawaii and was so excited when I checked my emails to see you had another great project. Love your work and this is such a great idea. Just love it!

[Diane Jaquay]

This is such a wonderful project! I do have a question though. Is it necessary to seal something like this so it doesn't smear when touched? And if so, what product would work?

[Patti J.]

What a wonderful idea, Darlene! I would not have thought that the foam adhesive would adhere to canvas - good to know! Thanks for sharing...you are so creative!

[Lynda]

Awesome idea...would be fun to set out and have guests complete a leaf at Thanksgiving dinner!