Beauty Mixed Media Canvas and Video Tutorial

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Posted by Gabrielle Pollacco

18 November, 2015 - , , , , , ,

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Hello Maja fans, Gabrielle here with you today to share a canvas I made recently.  I had this cute soft green rose ribbon in my stash which made me think of those pretty couture gowns I sometimes see on Pinterest.  So I gathered some of my favorite Maja Design papers some Dusty Attic chipboard pieces and some Shimmerz Paints and got started.

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The majority of papers I used on this  project came from the Vintage Spring Basics collection with a couple of papers from Crea Diem, Vintage Summer Basics and Sofiero collection.  I used the following papers for this project:  Vintage Spring Basics (1st of April, 6th of May), Crea Diem (Den oersättliga tiden), Vintage Summer Basics (1903), Sofiero (Princess Margareta’s Garden).

I thought it would be fun to create a video tutorial to share with you all to show step by step how this little canvas was created….so grab your favorite beverage, take a little break and enjoy!….

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RlzgpnfLUY?rel=0]
I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial! I thought I would share some of the close-ups below so you can view them at you leisure…

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I like to save all my title strips from my Maja Design papers for my projects and one of my favorite uses for them is to use as borders on my canvas’s.  They are a perfect fit width-wise and for a 4×6″ canvas, they fit perfectly  all around as well. Here I used the paper strips from the Sofiero ‘Princess Margareta’s Garden’ paper for this (although you can use any border that suits your fancy for this.

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I found the perfect little frame for this in the Dusty Attic Baroque (Square) Frames ….using the smaller of the two frames in the set I just gave it a little snip here and there to make it fit my 6″x 4″ canvas.  Prima’s Shabby Chic treasures had just the right size corset in it to suit my project.  And then I found a lovely little heart frame in the Dusty Attic Lacey Heart Frames.

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I chose my mixed media paint colors from the Kaisercraft rose ribbon a friend had sent me a little while back. I picked Shimmerz Paint’s ‘Ride the Tide’ and ‘Sage It Isn’t So’ Creameez to add a soft hint of color to the background of my design.  I added a little texture with some texture paste and TCW’s ”Mini Brocade” 6 inch stencil.  And finally I added a scripty title by using the chipboard word ‘Beauty’ from Dusty Attic’s Wordpack #20.

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I hope you enjoyed today’s project and hope you feel inspired to create your own shabby-chic wall art using Maja Design papers! xo

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Welcome To My Classroom

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Posted by Cathy Mc Grath

4 September, 2015 - ,

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Today I have a very special post to share with you all. I am a Primary School Teacher and I currently teach a year three class. Earlier this year, I was emailing
Jenny Grotherus about some Maja Design related things and I shared some stories
of how I make cards with the children at school. She was really impressed about
this asked if I would like some papers to do some craft with my class. She
asked Marie for the ok and then suggested the Sommartider Collection. I had a
look at the papers and agreed that they would be perfect. After meeting with my
Head of Primary to discuss this idea, she said I could go ahead if the project
I chose related to the curriculum. I didn’t share any of this with the children
as I didn’t want to get their hopes up in case I received a ‘no.’
I was interested in what the children would want to create. I projected the
papers onto the Smartboard and asked them what they would create if they had
these papers. They said cards and simple paper crafts. They really liked all of
the papers. As I had received a ‘yes’ by all parties at this stage I could
reveal to them what was in store and they were very excited! Next I had to come
up with a project that met curriculum outcomes and made authentic links to our
learning.
We had just started a new Unit of Inquiry (UOI) as part of our PYP investigations.
Our central idea was
Different factors affect personal well-being. This unit was the way I would be able to make the authentic links to meet syllabus outcomes. I decided we would make a mixed media canvas and use the She Art style. The children would be able to personalise their She Art girl/boy and also learn new techniques. The learning intent for this project was to create a She Art girl/boy which reflected themselves. Their inspirational quote had to show positive personal well-being.
Where to begin….when I walked into the classroom with the Maja Design box the children were jumping for joy! I had already made a sample canvas (as shown above) to demonstrate what we would be creating. We had a lot of planning to do. 
I created an Art page on our class page on Haiku Learning (College intranet) with YouTube links to She Art tutorials. We watched and discussed them in great detail.  I
had a Pinterest board where we viewed samples of art so that the children could
see examples, discuss techniques and considered different interpretations of
She Art girls/boys. Next I added a discussion onto our Haiku page:

What design are you thinking of using for your canvas? Share them in this discussion. What inspirational word will you add? Here are some suggestions…

Dance Hope Inspire Dream

Here are some student responses:

Soccer inspires me to follow my dreams because when I’m older I want to be a famous soccer player – Anthony

She art really inspires me – Hilary

The children had a chance to plan their designs on some scrap paper using
the She Art style. Some found it difficult but it gave me a chance to see who
needed templates to assist later on. In Australia, children in year 3
participate in national testing (NAPLAN) which was due to occur very soon. I
decided that we would create the actual canvas at the end of the testing as
NAPLAN spans over four days and to make a day of it. It’s much easier having
all of the art supplies out, having the drying time and to keep the creativity
flowing!

Here are some photos of the children creating their She Art in various
stages…..

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Here are some of the completed canvases……

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Sit back and enjoy a video of the all of the completed artworks and the creative process.
After the children completed their canvases, they then completed a reflection. I have two to share which captures the process and their learning.
When my class and I did She Art we learnt so many new tips and used so many tools. It was so much fun, we tuned the classroom upside down! We used mod podge, paint, bubble wrap, rub ons,stamps, gelatos, book paper, stencils, modelling paste and of course we got to use a canvas. We also chose our words.
I learnt that mixed media is not neat. I thought my She Art was going to turn out messy but instead it tuned out great. I loved using the Sommartider papers. It was so much fun. I enjoyed making the girl and using the rub ons to make lots of texture. The mod podge was very, very sticky. But what I really enjoyed was designing it. It looks amazing! I love the ice-cream paper. It took us a whole day to get it done. – Zahara
We first created our background using Maja Design paper and then sketched our
girl/boy onto some scrap paper. We also painted the sides. Miss McGrath and Mrs
Harris helped us to create the suns. Then we traced our girl/boy onto Maja
Design papers. Next we cut the traced lines and mod podged them on. We put
bubble wrap paints onto our canvas. Our girl’s/boy’s faces, arms and legs are
made from book paper. Finally we added some finishing touches like stamps,
rubons, and some texture and much more.
I learnt that when we add texture our canvas becomes more attractive. I also
learnt that in She Art we don’t use eyes, nose or mouth on the face but only
cheeks. I enjoyed adding the extra texture. It had one attitude – creativity
and maybe confidence
. – Elena
The canvases are proudly on display in our learning space (classroom) and we stop to admire them regularly. The parents have had a chance to look at their children’s work and were amazed at what their children have created. I am always amazed at how children are fearless when they approach art. They enjoy using mediums and love exploring new techniques.
A big thank you to Jenny and Marie who offered the opportunity to my class and to Camilla for finalising the delivery of the papers. We still have a lot of papers to use…not sure what will come next but will share when we do!
Maja Design Papers:
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Hugs,
Cathy-sign

 


 


 

 

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Cathy Mc Grath

Hi! I'm Cathy. I live in Sydney and am a Primary School teacher. I am passionate about teaching and love what I do. At present paper crafts are my creative outlet, which is my other passion. I am drawn to vintage, shabby chic styled crafts which I love to create. I do enjoy other crafts such as sewing, quilting, knitting and crotchet…not enough time! I am always inspired to learn and to try new techniques in both teaching and my crafts. I love Maja Design papers and enjoy creating with them.

Pink – not only for the Girls

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Posted by Elena Olinevich

5 July, 2015 - ,

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Hello Maja Friends,

today I want to share with you a canvas, that I have made for my class sample that I taught last 12 months. I am working right now on some new samples, so I thought that I can post something made for the classes also.

CanvasBoyWell, I always tell to my students, that pink is not only for the girls. So I took a picture of my baby boy and worked with grey, coral and pink colors to create this canvas.

My choice was a very stylish Crea Diem collection, really a perfect match for any project. especially when you are adding some paints.

IMG_2834I used dome scraps from the Vintage Summer collection as they have some good expressions too.  But the dots and script patterned papers are amazing for creating the layers.

IMG_2835I added some flowers and metal embellishments, great mix for the boy, I guess

IMG_2837I want to thank all the ladies who visited  my classes and I hope that you have enjoyed working with absolutely beautiful papers from Maja Design.

Products used:

Crea Diem Collection – Kärleken övervinner allt , Ord flyger bort , Den oersättliga tiden , Sann vänskap ; Prima Marketing sprays, stencil, stamps, flowers and trinkets, Canvas Stickers.

Elena-sign

Tattered Frame

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Posted by Gabrielle Pollacco

25 March, 2015 - , , , , ,

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Hi there! It’s Gabrielle here with you today to share a frame I made using the Maja Design Walking in the Forest collection papers.  I have to say this collections is an old favorite of mine, I love the tattered, worn look of the papers.

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I began by picking up an inexpensive unfinished wood frame at a local craft shop.  It cost me only $1.50 (I love me a good bargain!)  I then had the daunting task of choosing which papers I wanted to use to create my frame.  I say daunting because there are so many gorgeous papers in this collection that I had a hard time choosing which I wanted to put together.

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While I was shopping for my frame I came across these pretty tattered looking blooms (Recollections brand). When I saw the colors I immediately thought of the papers and colors in the Walking in the Forest collection.  I just love those faded denim colors and the worn craft colors.  I added a little hemp twine and some bits of burlap to finish the rustic look.

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Included in the floral package was this cute triple layer butterfly!  I also did a patchwork design on this frame so that I could use a variety of the patterned papers in this lovely collection.   I used some Bronze metalic dimensional paint to add ‘rivets’ to the cut edges. I also used a little water on the edge of the paper so that I could gently pull back the edge to reveal the Flannel Shirt paper.

I hope you enjoyed my project today using this versatile and beautiful collection.  Be sure to pop by daily for new inspiration from our talented design team! xo

Gabrielle-sign

A little flower fairy

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Posted by Zaneta Glowa

13 March, 2015 - , ,

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Hello!
I’m happy to have you here again 🙂 Today I’m sharing a simple 20×20 canvas, with my daughter (here at the age of 2) looking like a sweet flower fairy.
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I have used Vintage Spring basics pieces, with the flower branches as the main decorative element. There are hardly any mixed media used here, except for the drops of liquid accents- it’s all about the papers really 🙂
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Supplies: Maja Design Vintage Spring Basics : 1st of May, 4th of May.
From my stash: chipboard window, flowers, brads, dies.

Thanks for visiting us today at Maja Design blog!

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