timeless couture

{mixed media canvas}

***Warning, Photo Heavy Post***

Hello and Welcome Back!!

I created this 'timeless couture' mixed media canvas for my daughter because she loves fashion and is an admirer of the late Coco Chanel. It's also my DT offering for Top Tip Tuesday's new challenge - Paper Piecing - which we hope you'll play along with. My paper pieced element is the Alterations Sewing Room dress form die by Tim Holtz which I first die cut with chipboard then made a second die cut with a text dp by Fancy Pants. I paper pieced the dp over the chipboard, inked the edges with Distress Ink-Black Soot and added Kaisercraft pearls to create a faux pearl necklace. 

Our sponsor for this challenge is Stamp and Create and they are offering the winner a $20.00 gift certificate.

Thank you for your support of TTT!

My canvas was also influenced by a new challenge that I'm enjoying playing along with - A Vintage Journey - and the hostess, Astrid, asked us to create something that's "A Little Bit French." This was right up my alley and being able to combine my DD's love of fashion with the iconic French couturier, Coco Chanel, to create a piece of art she'll enjoy is perfection for me. :)

On a personal note, I used some sentimental scraps of trim {from my mom's sewing stash} and a Vogue sewing pattern {from my MIL's sewing stash} which are vintage in themselves. These items are precious to both of us since my MIL passed in February of this year {after a long battle with Alzheimer's} and my mother is still fighting her own personal battle with this dreaded disease. Both were excellent seamstresses in their day and my daughter has an affinity for sewing which she must have gotten from them because sewing is like a foreign language to me. Both of her grandmothers would be very proud of her textile projects for her TXMD college courses!

Here are a few close ups and I'll explain my French influences on this canvas as I go.

I covered the 11x14 canvas with my MIL's Vogue sewing pattern

and applied white gesso randomly over it. To begin 

building my background I used various stamps to the pattern

and here's a tip when stamping directly onto canvas. 

TIP: Place a book/object under the open part of the canvas so you

will have a firm foundation to stamp on. 

At this point I started gathering my items and when I was sure 

of the placement I started adhering them to my canvas.  

I used Tim's Weathered Clock die to create a frame for Coco's

picture {courtesy of Google}. A piece of  recycled cereal board

was used for my die cut, then I gave it a coat of black gesso, let it dry and 

applied Ranger's Perfect Medium to a text stamp and stamped over the clock

die cut. Ranger's Perfect Pearls-Heirloom Gold, Pewter, Perfect Pearl and 

Bronze was then applied over the medium with a brush. I set the colors with 

a light coat of hair spray and this technique is an easy way to achieve a metallic

look. To add texture to my clock frame I dabbed it with Adirondack Acrylic 

Paints in -Silver, Gold and Snow Cap. 

The sewing machine image is from Tim's Blueprint Assortment stamp set

and it was stamped onto a piece of parchment paper, I cut around the image and 

distressed the edges with Black Soot ink. 

The NOTED wood embellishment is from Prima's 

Stationer's Desk wood embellishment collection and it's 

altered with a light coat of black gesso and a dab of Snow 

Cap acrylic paint. You can see another stamp I used of the 

Eiffel Tower to the left of the frame and one of Tim's fractured dolls

to the right. The doll reminds me of the statues on display in the various 

French museums and also of a mannequin. 

I love that you can see the Vogue name on the sewing pattern. :) 

Did you know that Coco made her debut in Vogue on February 1,

1916. Her brand is still going strong today {43 years after her passing}

and she once said "I freed the body" which clothing wise, 

she did. Her use of jersey fabric allowed women the freedom 

to move about while working or traveling without constraint. 

Now that's a good thing!

This laser cut chandelier is from Michael's

and I altered it with acrylic paints, layer by layer.

After it dried I added silver and gold acrylic paints. 

Then I gave it some texture with this stamp. 

Love the detail the stamp adds.

The large Eiffel Tower was stamped onto parchment paper 

and fussy cut. The flower nearest the fractured doll is 

faux leather and it adds another textile layer to my canvas.

The fancy trim at the top was in my mom's stash and 

I love it, it reminds me of chainmail for some reason.

That's Tim's composer tissue tape under it and a Prima

pebble to the left which reflects all of the musicals/plays

that were made of Coco's life. Tim's ball chain was 

altered with silver acrylic paint and finishes off my

chandelier. 

Timeless and Couture chipboard pieces are also from Dusty 

Attic and each was given a light coat of black gesso. The ivory

flower is linen and fits in well with my theme besides

being pretty. The black lace bling is by Prima as well 

as the scissors which are a wood embellishment from the 

Stationer's Desk collection that I altered 

with gesso and silver acrylic paint. I used Tim's Latticework

layering stencil {you can see it above the dress form} in

several places to add depth and visual interest. I love this

stencil and find myself using it a lot.

This little vignette is a peek into Coco's private world. ;)

I love the vintage telephone {Dusty Attic} setting on the 

laser cut wood table {Soiree-Pink Paislee} on the black 

and white checkered floor {a dp} with the French antique

wood laser cut chair {Michael's}. The gold braid trim is from

my stash and the pen nibs {Tim for Idea-ology} represent the 

articles, books, etc. written about Coco's life.

{the red dp they are on is Glitz's Distressed Couture dp}

Before the frame and doll were added I used my fave stencil,

Latticework by Tim to add color and depth. Ranger's Tree Branch

ink is dabbed over the stencil and then I lifted it to reveal the 

stenciled image. 

French influences are Coco-a Parisian, the Eiffel Tower, french 

fashion and antiques (wood furniture/chandelier)

See the Paris stamp above the nibs, it's from Tim's French Connection

stamp set and the pen nibs are from his Idea-ology line. So many

books/plays have been written about Coco Chanel and I wanted to

reflect that. The pretty dp is from Glitz's Distressed Couture collection 

and I love it. I shaded it with a black Faber-Castell Pitt Pen and you can 

also see a flourish stamp by Tim in the background. I stamped it on

my background randomly when I was building my layers and it adds

a special touch. 

I spelled out Chanel with a Recollections alpha set and the No. 5 is 

from a 7 Gypsies set. The flower center is from Prima's Say It With

Studs and the layered paper flowers are also Prima.

A G45 {postcard stamp} records correspondence 

and the edges were distressed with Black Soot. 

A Prima Princess paper clip adds a vintage touch, the

gold flower is also by Prima and I added a touch of Vintage

Photo Distress ink to it. You can see Tim's Fabulous Flourish 

stamp in the background. :)

I distressed {at the top} the vintage trim with Vintage 

Photo Distress Stain because it was stained in places 

and now it blends in. The trim on the left is a fancy 

trim that was in her sewing box as well. The Prima tile was

framed with a wood embellishment from the same collection

I've used throughout by Prima and the dp underneath it is 

by Glitz and another one in their Distressed Couture collection.

The large spool was given a coat of black gesso and I wrapped 

some ivory twine around it then threaded a needle from my 

mom's sewing stash through. The small wood spool was wrapped

with gold cord and I added a large black pearl to the center of the 

black button by Pink Paislee. 

Playing along with these challenges too:

Love to Create Challenge #111-Vintage Romance

The Cheerful Stamp Pad #84-Use Three Different Papers

{I used a dp on the dress form, the red dp under pen nibs is by Glitz and the third is under the Prima tile-upper left corner-and it's also by Glitz}

Through The Purple Haze Challenge #37-Anything Goes

Whew!!! If you've come this far thanks for hanging in there. Hope you enjoyed my mixed media canvas and I'll be back tomorrow with my third Guest Designer project for eclectic Paperie.

Also, a big thank you to A Vintage Journey for the Pinworthy Mention for this project HERE. 

Hugs,

Lisa