Off to Collage at Stamps and Stencils!

Hi everyone, Cec is our lovely host for this months challenge... here's what she wants us to do.

'No I am not sending you to school but thought it might be fun this month to make a collage.  You can use any substrate such as canvas, corrugated cardboard, wood, or canvas boards for instance and add any items to it as long as you include some stamping and/or stenciling.'

So I've created a little wall hanging in vintage tones, with lots of layers.

'Collage  - a piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric on to a backing'.

I've gone for a slightly different take on this and  decided to go down the using up scraps route and make a collaged background. Taking a cue from Cec, I had a piece of cardboard lying on my desk and that's where I started. Tweezers to rip a few holes in the base and then I've glued down some book text.

Layering all sorts of scraps as a backdrop and then I decided the focal point would be a small photo frame with something in it...at this stage I wasn't sure what though!

As all the items I was using were neutral tones, I decided to keep to that colour theme and just use a little gesso to tie them together. Lots of dry brushing on the outer edges and a little more centrally. I masked off the framed area so that when I added the image it would stand out.

Love how dry brushing highlights all the texture. Add in some micro beads (art stones), grunge paste through a stencil and the main image (Crafty Individuals) stamped on tissue before gluing down.

Love this effect, it gives such depth to the piece and because it is straight over the collaged elements it fits in perfectly. Some stamping in potting soil archival and paint splats.

More dry brushing in shades of brown (toffee, chocolate pudding and stone) to highlight the texture.

The frame was altered by covering with book text, adding 2 layers of clear UTEE and a tickle of treasure gold.

I enjoyed doing this so much I want to do another one!

Hope you'll join in with our challenge and if you need more inspiration hop across and see the wonderful samples from our very talented creative team! Happy creating! Ruth x