COWGIRL ART CANVAS

Greetings cowgirls!

Here's a few free vintage images for our first project. These are actually family photos from a book I've recently published "A Sharecropper's Daughter" Feel free to use them in your projects tonight or whenever!:

You will need a vintage image like these for the main part of your cowgirl canvas. None of these photos are "cowgirl" specifically, but the vintage-y look of them can easily be translated as cowgirl glam!

You will also need waxed paper and an 8.5x 11 piece of muslin, canvas or (light) solid color fabric. Cut a piece of fabric and waxed paper to about 8.5 x 11 (or smaller depending on your canvas size) Also a blank canvas or sturdy piece of chipboard the size of your project (9x12 for this one)

Then, with the shiny side of the waxed paper face down, iron onto the fabric. (The reason for this is to make the fabric stiff enough to run through your ink jet printer, where you can print out the vintage image)

Right click and save any of the above images, then print to size. Make sure your printer is set to QUALITY or PHOTO print settings (extra ink is needed because the fabric tends to absorb).

Feed the fabric "page" through your printer, and when it's done printing, cut to size. Leave the edges ragged and stringy...it adds to the charm! Set aside.

Now to make the background of your canvas. (This was my favorite part!) Using snippets of fabric, trim and old buttons, lace or whatever else you can find, glue, stitch, or even pin a collage of fabric pieces to your canvas as background for the image. As you can see, I used bits of cardboard, mattress ticking, old ric rac, paper, lace and old milinery flowers on mine.

Here are a few photos (not very good ones mind you) of the details of my piece:

One of my favorite details (besides the quote by Annie herself) is the silk strips tied on at the bottom of the canvas. I just used my handy dandy crop-o-dile (if you do not have one, I cannot believe you have lived in the altAred art world this long without...beg, borrow, steal or BUY one...STAT! Handiest tool I own!) Anyway, just punch a line of holes in the bottom of your canvas (mine was one of the cheapy flat canvases, no sides or depth to it) and tie the strips to the bottom. OR if you don't have a crop-o-dile or something that will cut holes easily, just tie the pieces of fabric and hot glue them to the bottom! It's a great trick that adds a unique elegance to the piece...don't you think?

Add vintage buttons, stitch lines (or the real thing if you're ambitious) and voila! Done! A FABulous art canvas made out of leftover supplies. DO share a link and post your creations won't you?

ON TO THE NEXT PROJECT: COWGIRL GLAM JUNK JEWELERY!