Breast Cancer Awareness Mixed Media Canvas

I think I mentioned in my last post that I had a project that I was working on and that is what I want to show you today.

First, let me say that nobody asked me to create anything to donate for this benefit. I took it upon myself to create this canvas in the hopes that it might catch the eye of someone at the auction and bring in an added donation. I was not under the misconception that it would sell for a lot of money. If I'm being completely honest, then I was hoping that it would sell somewhere in the range of $15-$30.
And again, I realized going in that the people who would be attending this auction/benefit were not generally the type of people who would recognize the amount of time and effort spent on a project like this.

Let me share my canvas with you and then I'll tell you how much it brought at auction ;) Now how's that for keeping you reading? Haha...I'm just a regular Ryan Seacrest wannabe lol.

***I encourage you to click on the photos and open them to see a better
photo.
This is an 11x14 size Canvas Panel

Every single flower is handmade from cardstock. The bead
spray was also made by me. All awareness ribbons, the birdcage
and butterflies are all cut from paper and embossed.

I'm going to go through an explanation of my creative process and I'm sorry if it drags...I'll try to be as quick and concise as possible.

I began with a blank 11x14 canvas panel. I covered the panel with Gesso and when it was dry I proceeded to add my layers of paint.

Once the paint was dry the first thing I did was add some texture using Liquitex Basics Modeling Paste and the Tim Holtz "dot fade" template.

I then added a coat of Mod Podge and my quote which was cut with SCAL2 and Cricut Expression2.
 I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Viva Pink to give a gradient look to the canvas. I sprayed from the bottom toward the top and overlapping some of the wording.

I then covered with a second layer of Mod Podge.

After the Mod Podge was dry I used Goosebumps Shimmer spray on a good portion of the canvas but not all.
I used Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink to lightly highlight the edges of the canvas.

At this point it was time to begin the process of adding all the yumminess :) I made quite a few cardstock roses for this project. I also cut some breast cancer awareness ribbons in a few different sizes, a birdcage and some butterflies. I also created the bead spray from beads I have in my stash.

I'm not going to go into every tiny detail but I'll just say that I spent approximately 10 hours on this canvas. There is a lot of heat embossing on the flowers, ribbons, butterfly and the birdcage.
The chipboard swirl and tiara are also heat embossed.
The fiber you can see is actually a piece of cheesecloth that I sprayed randomly with Glimmer Mist...making sure to spray some areas more than others to give a variation in color. Once it was completely dry I adhered it to the canvas with hot glue. I layered all the flowers and goodies across the cheesecloth.
The final touch of the completed canvas was adding random smidges (hey, it's a word lol) of Stampendous Shaved Ice glitter across the canvas

I'll actually add a complete list of supplies at the end of this post.

I am never one to "toot my own horn" and I'm rarely completely satisfied with anything I create. I put a lot of effort into this particular project because I knew it would be on display and I have never been comfortable with that. But with that said, this canvas really turned out beautiful and the pictures really don't do it justice.

I wasn't able to stay for the actual auction due to the fact that we had family in town unexpectedly and I also had my 2 year old grandson with me. On the one hand I'm thankful that I wasn't there and on the other I'm not.
I received a text message later that day from a friend telling me she had actually purchased my canvas.  She paid $5. She said she loves it and that makes me happy.
But to say I felt like I'd been slapped in the face would be an understatement. The stand that I included with the canvas was $5.99. The absolute ONLY consolation I have is knowing that this friend is also a scrapbooker/crafter and can appreciate the time and effort that went into this project. I'm very thankful that at least she is the one who bought it. But, if I'm being honest (and I am because it's my blog lol) then I'd rather have brought it back home with me.
I'm glad I left a cash donation as well as the canvas or I'd feel as if I contributed nothing.
I guess this kind of comes across as bitter and I don't want to leave it that way. Life is filled with lessons and I learned one. I will never put myself in that particular position again but I'm not going to lament over my perceived injustice either.

And that's all I have to say about that. I have a layout to share later but I don't have to time at the moment. Just be sure you check back soon :)

I'm going to add my supply list for the canvas and please, if you have any questions at all just let me know!
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and have a great day!!


*SUPPLY LIST

The paints I used are:
Apple Barrel Valentine Pink
Folk Art Metallic Garnet Red
Folk Art Metallic White Pearl.

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Viva Pink
Liquitex Basics Modeling Paste
Tim Holtz Dot Fade template
Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink
Goosebumps Shimmer texture spray
EK Success flower punch
Fiskars flower punch
Stampendous Fran-tage aged ivory embossing powder
Stampendous Fran-tage aged rose embossing powder
Ranger embossing powder Pink
StampCraft embossing powder gold
Chipboard...swirl and tiara
string pearls His & Hers (Hobby Lobby)
Leaves Wild Orchid Crafts
Gems Paper Studio
Tim Holtz stories "hope" ticket
Stampendous Fran-tage Shaved Ice glitter