Build a Banner Tutorial

Build a Banner  with  The Flying Unicorn Mid Month Muse

Super long post on how I made the banner for the Mid Month Muse Guest Designer project. Grab a beverage of your choice and enjoy!  :)

Gesso Canvas

I pressed this banner before I began creating. I gessoed the banner with the initial thought of having an border masked all the around in black medium. I later abandoned this idea.
Background Process
Distress Paint – Vintage Photo, Stephanie Barnard Artichoke and Mister Huey’s Clay (Later covered the clay with Lindy’s Gossamer Gold)

I began with the Vintage Photo paint and dabbed it on around the edge of my gesso.

I misted with water and lifted the canvas to allow the color to run up towards the top of the banner.

I sprayed the Stephanie Barnard Artichoke Spray – It is super concentrated so I sprayed a lot of water to dilute to a level of green I desired.

This is once the paint and spray were dry. Tip: The Artichoke spray is not permanent once dry. I later masked over the green and when the concrete stucco was dry the green had soaked up through to the top. It was awesome on the brick stencil!

Masking Turkish Grunge 12” – top of banner

Masked Mini Bricks – Bottom of banner. The gray halo is the clay mist I later covered. It didn't show well off the gesso.

Lindy’s Flat Fabio’s Beauty School Drop Out – Summer Lovin’ Sunshine, T-Bird Turquoise, Kissin Kenickies’s Coral and Pink Ladies Pink
Lindy’s Drink Me Silly - Blue Hawaiian Blue, Cosmopolitan Pink, Fuzzy Naval Peach, My Mojito Green, Bit o’Bubbly
I sprayed on the above colors in horizontal bands across the gesso. To avoid purple when the sprays mixed I used the coral colors as a buffer between blue and pink. I used the corals again between the yellow/gold colors and pinks. Once I sprayed the inks I lifted the canvas to mix the colors, my fingers as well.  The Mojito Green was a good way to transition my Vintage photo and Artichoke.

Remember that wonderful 12” French Lace we received a couple kits back. I unstitched it from the paper and cut it up into strips and pieces. I then used soft gel medium to adhere it to the canvas. It added wonderful texture to the background.
 

Close up of the lace.

Vines - I created dimensional Ivy vines over my brickwork. The Artichoke coming up through the Ceramic Stucco masking really reminded me of old mossy garden walls. I free hand drew in dimensional glue the vines and then with tweezers applied jewelry twine to the glue. I cleaned up the excess glue with tweezers. Since the twine is a light brown hemp color I applied Prima chalk ink Moss Lawn and Garden Green to the top of the twine when dry.

At this point I decided I couldn't live with the clay mist. I gave the area below and on the sides of the gesso  a spray of Lindy’s Gossamer Gold Moon Shadow Mist. Then I used the Kaisercraft grunge stamp with Sepia Archival Ink and without a block just stamped away.

   

Prima Chalk inks are awesome!!! Here is how I painted my resin pieces.
I dabbed the chalk inks I needed on the counter top (you can use your nonstick craft mat if you don’t scrap at your breakfast bar LOL) for the bird I brushed on Turquoise Stone. To have the color run into the crevices I dipped my finger into water and rubbed a bit here and there. Then I pulled Blue Jay and Farmers Jeans into the Turquoise in varying degrees to shade and accent the resin. I used Colt’s Foot for the beak, mixed in Knotted Wood for the feet with the Colt’s Foot. Black Coal for the eye. For the wishing well I used Rusty Bucket, Dark Bark and Knotted Wood for the brick base, Tin Can and Worn Jeans for the roof with Teal Damask for the water. I used Hot Glue to add the resin to the canvas.

First I sponged on gesso leaving peaks of gesso on the chipboard for texture. When the gesso dried I applied a variety of the Metallic Run-ons from the kit to each letter. Some Rosewood and pink, Some blue and Silver…the peaks were nice and highlighted but it wasn't right. So I used Raspberry, Lady Bug and Old Rose chalk inks on the edges. That made them nice and bright, too much. I came back in and sponged on some more gesso lightly. That helped however laid on the banner was washed out. Final step I used the Mr. Huey’s Clay and Tattered Angels Black Magic with a paint brush to shadow the edges on the canvas and the alphas. I used E6000 to adhere the chipboard to the canvas.

Tim Holtz Bird Cage – I gessoed the inside and outside of the cage. Once dry I dabbed on Rusty Bucket chalk ink. To bring back the “metal” I mixed the Pearl EX Old silver from our the May KOM with some soft gel medium and applied to the bars and the weld joints of the cages. I thought the cage needed something in it. I added and unaltered Flying Unicorn Adornment from the June KOM. It’s the Love Heart with wings. I found caging the word Love with wings quite funny. I added some tarnished looking jump rings and used E6000 to adhere to the canvas.

The bottoms corners of the canvas I used the heart motif in the Prima Flourish mask with Shimmerz Dazzlers Licorice Stick. I used a pallet knife to apply the Dazzlers. I definitely need more of these colors. It applied really nicely to canvas so it must be a dream on smoother surfaces. 

Embossed Butterflies – The kit came with one Flying Unicorn Adornment Butterfly; I took the second one from my June KOM. I love this butterfly and could use about a dozen more for future projects. I tried two techniques to alter them. First I heated the adornment with a heat gun and applied blue and black glitter embossing powder. Second I used an embossing ink dauber (from the store) then embossed. I prefer the second method as I received more coverage. I love that the Adornment is thin and you can shape it for movement and dimension.
Also pictured is where I tried to use the pastel pencils on the canvas with the TCW Cherry Blossom Mask. Then I overlaid the pencil with textured fibers medium mixed with Maidenhair Fern Green Lindy’s. The next morning it was dry and the medium had soaked into the canvas so no dimension. The pastel pencil came though so we will just view as a very distant tree branch. LOL

This is a random assembly photo trying to build my dogwood branch. You can see that poor canvas flower that I gessoed and had plans for that didn't make it to the canvas along with bird cage chipboard. The branch was green paper covered heavy gauge floral wire that I painted with the Distress Paint and Distress Stain in Vintage Photo. I twisted the pieces together to add weight and interest. (I do know that Dogwood branches don’t resemble bonsai. LOL)
The flowers and leaves are all die cut from white cardstock and colored in copic markers. The purple violets I used the pastels to accent. The centers are Viva Pearl Pen Sunny Yellow. I love yellow centers to flowers.
Finishing up I randomly dropped so mixed pearl beads on the canvas. Pearls make me happy.
My neighbor gave me a piece of bamboo from his stash (don’t ask) and cut it for the banner. I used left over painted floral wire and the Petaloo flowers to hang the banner.
I am really honored that The Flying Unicorn allowed me the opportunity to be the Guest Designer from the Forums for the New Mixed Media Kit. It was so much fun playing with this large of a piece. I wouldn't have attempted this without the kit. With that said –

Go get your kit before they sell out!!! This is an epic opportunity to create on a large playground! 

Create Your Happiness

SUPPLIES:

JUNE MIXED MEDIA KIT

 

Maya Road Chipboard Letters

TCW Mini Quatrefoil 6”

18” x 27” canvas banner 

Metallic Rub-ons

Stephanie Barnard Spray – Artichoke

Mister Huey Spray – Clay

Distress Acrylic Paint – Vintage Photo

Flying Unicorn Butterfly Adornment

Petaloo Velvet Flowers – Dark Blue

Royal Langford Pastel

Kaisercraft – Grunge Stamp 

FROM THE FLYING UNICORN:

 

Lindy’s Drink Me Silly - Starburst Sprays

Lindy’s Beauty School Drop Out

Prima Turkish Grunge 6” and 12”, Flourish 12”

TCW 12” Cherry Blossoms, 6” Mini Bricks

Viva Pearl Pens- Sunny Yellow

Emboss It Dabber 1 Fluid Ounce Bottle

Shimmerz Dazzlers- Licorice Stick

Golden Soft Gel Medium

Brushed Corduroy- Distress Stains

Black Magic – Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

 

PRIMA CHALK INK:

 

Rusty Bucket

Raspberry

Lady Bug

Old Rose

Moss Lawn

Cold Ice

Blue Jay 

Turquoise Stone

Knotted Wood

Dark Rust

Dark Bark

Tin Can

Worn Jeans

Teal Damask

Colt’s Foot

Garden Grass     

 

OTHER SUPPLIES:

 

Gesso

Ceramic Stucco

Textured Fibers Medium

Pearl Beads

Tim Holtz Bird Cage

Lace

Sparkle N Sprinkle Embossing Glitter:

Mediterranean Star Embossing Powder [EP429]

Black Ice [G1020]

Copic Markers

Archival Ink - Sepia

White Cardstock

Jewelry Twine 

Lindy’s Gossamer Gold Moon Shadow Mist

Floral Vine Wire

Susan’s Garden Flower Dies

Liquid Pearls - Avocado 

Prima - Shabby Chic Collection - Resin Treasure Embellishments - Garden Well

Making Memories 12” French Lace Cream Millinery (It came in one of the Flying Unicorn KOM)

The Flying Unicorn - Guest Designer from the Forum

Great News!!! Last month I was picked to be the first Guest Designer for The Flying Unicorn Mid Month Muse. I was able to play with thier Mid Month Muse Mixed Media kit. I had so much FUN.

Now the Flying Unicorn Kits tend to sell out very quickly. The debut kit sold out in like six to eight hours. Click the picture of the kit to link right to the shop.

The kit contained a large Banner Canvas (18" x 27") from Canvas Corp along with many other yummy goodies. I chose to approach the banner like a large garden and filled it with images of things that make me happy!




Mid Month Muse  this month is Mixed media Inspired  which includes pastel Pencil Set, Kaiser Craft Grunge Acrylic Stamp, Set of 7 Metallic Rub-ons, Burlap Flower by Canvas Corp, TCW 6x6 Mask Mini Quaterfoil, Flying Unicorn Adornments,Canvas Corp 18x 27" Canvas, 3 6x6 Black Chipboard, White Sharpie Marker, Distress Paint, Vintage Photo , Mister Huey's Mist Clay, Stephanie barnard Mist, Artichoke, Maya Road Alphas, 2 sets of  vines by Petaloo, Fan Brush

I will leave you with this as I also put together a Build a Project on how this was created for tommorow in the forums.