Building Wings

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!  Today I'm sharing a mixed-media canvas I made for the Hop to Stop. I'm honored to say that Verve (along with several other fabulous companies) is a sponsor for the hop. Link up your purple creations over on the official Hop to Stop post by October 14 for a chance to win!

Why purple? Purple is the color of National Domestic Violence Awareness month. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will experience domestic violence over the course of their lifetimes. Domestic violence is something that exists regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, religion, education level, etc. For more information about domestic violence, its impacts, and available resources, visit the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

The hop started on October 1, but I wanted to make a mixed-media piece so had to find a day to set aside a little more time than a card.  That day was yesterday.  The inspiration for the canvas came from the Kobi Yamada quote, "She took the leap and built her wings on the way down."  It really spoke to me about the times in life when we just have to leap first and figure out how to fly as we go.

So I designed a little sentiment with the quote and printed it out, then did an image transfer with some soft gloss gel to transfer it to my canvas. It was my first attempt at image transfer, so made a few boo boos.  To somewhat correct, I went over some of the words with pen and cut out parts of the sentiment to glue over the top.  Not perfect, but the imperfections are what make this life truly beautiful, don't ya think? The canvas is 6"x 6" and I created the background with adirondack and distress paints in purple and aqua tones.  The butterfly is Tim Holtz tissue paper that I added.  I stenciled on some chevrons with whipped spackle to go with the on the way down part of the sentiment.  Then I stamped the believe, hope, soar and fly sentiments from Wings of Love around the canvas and some wings partially off the side.  I really wanted to emphasize the hope, (as I wanted to play along with the Mix140 Mix-Ability challenge on SCS), so added a couple chipboard chevrons, colored with distress inks.  I scattered a bit of stars and dots from the Hocus Pocus Shaker Mix randomly, then glued down with matte medium and added a bit of paint and stickles.  Most of my detailing is done with a signo white gel pen and a black Scarlet Lime pen.  I added some dots around with some puncinella and distress ink, then rubbed some microglaze over all the places I used distress inks to seal it in.

If any of you would like to use this sentiment, I've provided it as a free digi below.

To download simply click on the image (anywhere but on the little Pinterest circle) and the image will pop up in a new window.  Right click and choose save image as to save to your computer.  I would love to see what you create, hashtag #vervestamps on Instagram or Facebook.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Wings of Love (Verve Stamps)
Mediums: adirondack and distress acrylic paints, distress inks, gesso, charcoal pencil, gelatos, white gel pen, black pen, Pitt Pens, stickles, matte medium, soft gloss gel, whipped spackle
Accessories:  Hocus Pocus Shaker Mix (Verve),  chevron resist chipboard, Tim Holtz tissue paper, puncinella, chevron layering stencil, 6 x 6" canvas, MicroGlaze