Tuesday, April 15, 2014

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:
{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}

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





17 comments:

Anonymous said...

OM!! Flipping! G! this is super awesomely amazing!! brilliant lisa I have spent ages looking and looking at your creation its something stunning! hugs me x

Elaine Stark said...

A fab collage, so much to take in and see. I could look at it for hours. Elaine

Michelle said...

Wow Lisa, this is absolutely amazing! What a stunning project. You can really see that a lot of time, effort and love went in to making this.

Michelle :o)

butterfly dream cards said...

Oucha, wow i just LOVE it......its amazingly thought out and just super project......

fiona DT
TTPH

Vicki Romaine said...

This canvass is gorgeous. There are so many elements to see! A wonderful creations. Thanks for sharing with the Design Team at The Cheerful Stamp Pad.

Terry said...

Lisa, this is a timeless beauty and there are so many wonderful details in your mixed media canvas! I love all the sewing bits and how you used some of your mom's sewing stash. Thank you for sharing with us at A Vintage Journey.

Hazel said...

Thanks for sharing your fantastic canvas for Cheerful Stamp Pad challenge 84: use 3 different papers, Hazel, DT - hope to see you again soon x

Words and Pictures said...

Another magnificent contribution to A Vintage Journey, Lisa - thank you so much for playing along. There are so many amazing details to love - the chandelier, the gorgeous grungy stamping, the texty dressform - and the whole thing is full of Parisian chic!
Alison xx

Desire Fourie said...

Oh wow this is just chic vintage mixed media at its best.
Hugs
Desíre
{Doing Life – my personal blog}

Unknown said...

What an extensive amount of work you put into the project - and it is well worth it - such a gorgeous piece. Every piece is beautiful. Thank you for included all of the close up shots. The overall photos doesn't do the project justice. My favorite piece is the chandelier. Thank you for joining TTPH this week.

maureenjscott said...

What a fabulous project! Thanks for sharing at Love to Create! Hope to see you joining our latest challenge too! mo dt xxx

Sylvia Anderson said...

This is beautiful & so sentimental to you..... I love it x
Thank you for joining our challenge TTPH.Good luck x

Unknown said...

What a fabulous vintage creation! Absolutely love all of the elements you used to create this beauty!
Thank you for joining our Vintage Romance Challenge at Love to Create this week.
Ruza, LTC Admin/Designer
Ruza's Craft Corner

Pia S said...

Wow!!! I'm blown away by the level of detailing on this piece of art, you've been so creative with the French influence and I love how every detail fits together perfectly! Well done, Lisa!!

Mrs A. said...

Your canvas is a true work of art. Love all the different embellishments you have pulled together to create. Thank you for showing us at Craft My Life Challenge. Hugs Mrs A. (DT.)

Sue Lelli said...

So many BEAUTIFUL details! I especially LOVE the stamping on the chandelier!

Margaret said...

Oh my goodness! I am not sure I have the words to express how much I LOVE this piece!! The chandelier is gorgeous and I love all of the pretties and bling on this!

Almost forgot to mention how much I love the blog background update! So very you!!

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