Summer Memory Canvas

Hello!  Tracey here this week with a little summer something that I hope will inspire you.  Summer is my favorite season and going to the beach or "down the shore" as we like to say in New Jersey, is my absolute favorite thing to do.  My family and I are also big sea glass collectors.  It becomes a contest to see who can find the most pieces and it can get a bit competitive.  My younger daughter and I are known for (gently) pushing each other aside to grab a piece.  : )

The memory canvas project I am sharing today is relatively simple.  It's something I've had in my head for a while and I was happy to finally sit down and do it.  It allowed me to use Tim Holtz distress paints, Heidi Swapp spray ink, and my favorite product du jour, twine.  I also used some older items in my stash which is always a good thing!  I am a texture girl so I had to add something to rough it up a bit... enter burlap and sanded photo edges!

 

To get started all you need is a canvas (I used 8x8), distress paints and rub ons, spray ink, twine, foam dots, phrases (I used Lil' Snippets:  Hello Summer by Elle's Studio), burlap, metal rimmed tag, letter stickers (I used K&Co.), sandpaper and a glue gun.

Paint your canvas using the distress paints and let it dry.  Spritz on a little spray ink and let that dry.

 

 

Trim down a piece of burlap (leave enough to wrap around) and adhere to the canvas.  I wrapped the burlap around the bottom and sides of the canvas and adhered to the back using hot glue.  Trim away excess with scissors.

Sand the edges of your photos and adhere the larger photo to the canvas using foam dots.  Tuck the smaller photo in next to it and adhere a phrase above it using foam dots. 

Assemble and adhere the rest of the elements as shown.  In keeping with the theme of my memory canvas, I included an actual piece of blue sea glass on my tag.  Tip:  Be frugal with your twine and don't wrap it all the way around the canvas.  I used hot glue to adhere the ends on each side.

You can adapt this project to any season or occasion with different colors, textures, ephemera and fun scrapbook goodies you have in your stash to make your own custom memory canvas.  Make a few and hang them in a group!  Have fun and...