Hello everyone! Welcome to Spring and my mixed media canvas featuring this whimsical bunny who is very confused by the state of things at the moment. Nevertheless, we'll carry on with a sunny attitude and a spring in our step as we navigate through this pictorial tutorial showing you exactly how to use DecoArt's amazing products to create something like this for yourself!

Items Needed:

• Americana Acrylics 2oz - Cobblestone (DA390-3)
• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Modeling Paste - White (DMM21-71)
• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Clear Matte Medium (DMM20-71)
• Americana Acrylics 2oz - Cactus Flower (DA384-3)
• Americana Acrylics 2oz - Jadeite Glass (DA388-3)
• Americana Acrylics 2oz - Moody Blue (DA389-3)
• Americana Stencils 6x8 - Daisy Chain (ASMM45-K)
• Americana Enchanted 2oz - Blue (DE04-30)
• Americana Enchanted 2oz - Magenta (DE06-30)
• Americana Enchanted 2oz - Ultra Black Basecoat (DE07-30)
• 5x7 Canvas
• Patterned Cardstock Scraps
• Assorted Brushes
• Palette Knife
• Wrendale Napkin Featuring Bunnie
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Heat Tool
• Permanent Black Ink Pen
• Doubled-sided Adhesive Tape
• Random Background Stamps (with Small Images)
• Permanent Black Ink Pad (for Stamping)
• Various Stamp Sets

Instructions:

Step 1:  Begin by cutting out several random scraps of patterned cardstock in various sizes and coordinating colors that you will use as a layered background on the canvas.  Lay them out to get your basic idea of your background and then glue in place using a fairly large brush and DecoArt Media Matte Medium.  Work in sections by applying a generous amount of glue onto a section of the canvas.  Then apply the Matte Medium to the back of each piece of cardstock piece and press in place onto the canvas.  Again, work in sections so that the Matte Medium will stay wet.  Once you have your section all glued in place and pressed down, move on to the next section and repeat until the canvas is completely cover.  Brush over the entire canvas with another coat of Matte Medium to seal it.  Use a heat tool to gently dry.

Remove the 2 ply backing from the Wrendale bunny napkin.  I purchased mine online from napkins2go.com.  Then gently tear around the bunny.  Tearing around the image is better than cutting around the image because the torn ends will blend into the background much easier when applied with Matte Medium than a straight, cut edge.  Lay the bunny on the canvas to place where you will want to put it.  Then as you are working on the background, be aware of where the bunny will sit.  Set the bunny aside.

Step 2:  To soften the colors of the background cardstock pieces and begin the process of making multiple mixed media layers, begin by using a brush and some DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Translucent White mixed with a little water and brush over the entire surface of the canvas so that there is a hint of a white wash over it but the colors and patterns still show through.  Next mix the Translucent White with a little DecoArt's NEW Americana Cactus Flower Acrylic Paint and a bit of water to create almost a wash but not quite.  Brush this combination randomly over the surface adding a pink tint.  Then mix just the Cactus Flower paint with the Translucent White and lightly brush randomly across the top area of the canvas.  Hold the canvas upright and spritz the paint with a water bottle so that the paint will water down and run down the canvas.  Lay the canvas flat the heat set to dry.  Repeat this process with DecoArt's NEW Americana Jadeite Glass and Moody Blue; drying in between each color.  Repeat as needed to get the color combinations and patterns you like.

Step 3:  Place DecoArt's Daisy Chain Stencil on top of the canvas randomly in four different locations in the center and top area of the canvas. Remember where your bunny will be placed and try not to put a daisy in the middle of that area!  Using a palette knife and DecoArt Media Molding Paste, scrape a small amount of the paste through the stencil using the palette knife.  Emove the stencil and heat set to be sure that the daisy is dry before moving on to the next area.  Repeat this process for all daisies.  Also do this for the sentiment at the top of the canvas using DecoArt's Spirited Stencil  You will have to dry the top line with the heat tool before you can apply “Anything” underneath it.  Heat set to dry.  

** NOTE  - You will add one more daisy on the lower right area of the canvas after you have stamped the tall grass/stems done is Step 13.  So, you will repeat all of the daisy steps one more time later on.

Step 4:  Once again, add more color over the canvas by the same method used in Step 2 to cover the stenciled images on the canvas.  Using DecoArt's NEW Americana Moody Blue Acrylic Paint and DecoArt Media Translucent White, mix the two and using a small brush, brush over the daisies and also randomly dry brush onto the canvas background to add more of the blue color.

Step 5:  To add beautiful depth and shading, DRY BRUSH DecoArt's NEW Americana Cobblestone Acrylic Paint randomly on the canvas paying special attention to areas you want to highlight and emphasize. 

Step 6:  On the bluer areas of the canvas, randomly add touches of DecoArt's NEW Americana Enchanted Blue Iridescent Topcoat Acrylic Paint.  It adds a subtle shimmer and light that is very striking.

Step 7:  Lay the bunny napkin back in place on the canvas.  Lightly use a pencil to draw around the outline of the bunny underneath the napkin.  Try to keep your pencil line around the bunny only and not the added torn napkin edge.

Step 8:  Paint inside of the pencil lines using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titanium White.  This is so that when you glue the bunny in place, you will see the bunny and all of his detail not the cardstock underneath showing through. The white blocks the other colors and patterns from coming through.

Step 9:  Add little flicks of black paint onto the canvas by mixing DecoArt NEW Americana Ultra-Black Basecoat Paint with water to make a fairly thin wash.  It doesn't take very much paint to do this!  This using an old toothbrush or stippling brush, dip it into the black wash and gently run your finger over the bristles of the brush to allow the paint to freely flick onto the surface of the canvas. Heat set and dab the dots to help dry them if they are taking a while.

Step 10: To finish the daisies, paint over them using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Translucent White.  Then add a small amount of DecoArt's NEW Cactus Flower to the Translucent paint and lightly brush over the inside of the flower stroking from the center up towards the outside edge of the petal.  Leave it mostly white but with a hint of the pink.  Then add a touch of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Red to the mix and very lightly add a small stroke of the brighter pink from the center upwards just a little ways onto the petal.  If you get too much pink, simply brush over it with the Translucent White to soften the color.  Repeat this for every daisy.  Heat set to dry. 

Step 11:  Use a Black Permanent Fine Line Marker, draw around each petal to give them definition and a bit of a whimsical look. Repeat this for each daisy.  Paint the center of each daisy with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Raw Umber.  Paint over the sentiment letters using a small brush and DecoArt's NEW Ultra-Black Enchanted Basecoat Paint.

Step 12:  Using DecoArt Media Matte Medium, apply a fairly generous layer of it to the canvas over the white area where the bunny is to be placed.  Then gently press the bunny in place and smooth out any wrinkles.  There will be a few areas where the layered cardstock underneath will leave a line.  That is fine!  Just smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles in the napkin on the bunny.  After doing that, gently brush over the entire bunny with Matte Medium making sure that the torn edges are blending into the background of the canvas as much as possible.

Step 13:  Randomly use the small image background stamps on the canvas background.  I used Wendy Vecchi's Normandy Lace text stamp from her Believe In Art Set, the flower stamps from her Art Comforts Set and Seth Apter's connected circles stamp from his Faded Fragments Set. These are all stamped with Black Permanent Ink.  Then I stamped the tall grass/stems using DecoArt's NEW Americana Eucalyptus Leaf Paint that I rolled over the surface of the stamp and then stamped along the bottom area of the canvas to “ground” the bunny.  I repeated this stamping again only I used DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Phthalo Green-Blue this time and randomly added partial stamping of the grass using the stamp and this color. 

**NOTE – After heat setting this stamping, you will add the last daisy to the canvas as done earlier.  Repeat all of the processes on the daisy as done earlier.

Step 14:  Add a piece of ½” washi tape around the outside edge of the canvas.  I did this using a 1/2” piece of Double Sided Adhesive Tape first and then laying the washi tape over it.  The tape is predominately black to accent the black on the canvas.    Using the DecoArt NEW Ultra-Black Basecoat Paint, I dipped my finger into a little of the paint that was added to my craft mat.  Then I ran my finger along the edge of the canvas to “frame” the design with the subtle black edge.

Step 15:  Finally, add the smaller strips of basically black background with some lettering on it to the bottom of the canvas.  I added a small strip of a dark brown background with circle numbers on the upper right and lower/central left.  I cut out a few of the numbers and glued them randomly on the center areas of the canvas for extra texture and interest. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope this whimsical little canvas brought a smile to your face and enticed you to get into your craft room and create something FUN!

 Have a wonderful day and take time to PLAY!  It's great SOUL FOOD!