Moms Rule Canvas

Moms Rule Canvas by Iris Rodriguez

Hello Makers!

May brings flowers (the result of those April showers), warmer weather and Mother’s Day.  In my humble opinion, moms are the best and that is why they rule. Fittingly, I decided to make a mixed media canvas expressing such a sentiment. The rulers are made of stamped clay. Yes, you could use real rulers, but then you would be breaking the rule(r) and you don’t want to do that...sorry had to throw that corny pun in there, could not resist.  Now, on to the canvas!

Materials:

Small Substrate; Canvas, Wood or Medium Density Fiber (MDF) Board
Makin's Clay® Natural, Red
Makin's® Roller and Cutter Set

Makin's Professional® Cutting Mat

Chipboard letters or Makin's® Clay Alphabet Cutter Set

White Gesso

Acrylic Paint (desired color for background; black and yellow and/or gold)
Clear drying adhesive 

Paint brush

Ruler Stamp

Paper Towels

Baby Wipes

Instructions:

Preparing the Substrate

1.   Start out by painting the substrate, I used a 6” x 6 “ MDF Clayboard. I chose purple, light purple and antique gold (matte). I brayered some of the colors, to give that random, distressed look.

Making the Rulers

1.   Roll Natural clay to a little less than 1/4" thick.  Stamp the ruler stamp onto the clay and trim the excess clay. I knew I wanted to put something in the center, a heart, or the lettering. For now, I blocked it off with a piece of clay. As I kept making my rulers, I laid them out on the canvas around the blocked area, to determine what pattern I wanted to make. I ended up making 14 individual rulers.

Because the nature of Makin’s Clay® make it’s so easy to stamp and mold, it's easy to create several pieces quickly and without mess.  If the clay begins to dry, it’s very easy to trim the excess clay with a cutting tool or scissors. After completing the rulers, let the rulers cure for 24 hours.

1.   Gesso the rulers. Then apply desired colors. I used a bright yellow and antique gold (matte). Tip: I used masking tape, sticky side out to hold down the rulers and keep from slip and sliding while painting them.

1.   Apply black paint into the crevices; with a paper towel or baby wipes, lightly rub off the paint on relief areas only.

1.   Using this technique will naturally stain the entire ruler a little, giving it that antiqued look. You could stop here and go with that look, or you can give it a cleaner look by taking a very flat thin brush or your fingers and touching the relief areas.  

Making the Hearts and Words

 

1.   To make the hearts, make teardrop shapes, then cut a triangle in the center of the wide area of teardrops. Then round out the cut area and shape a pointy tip at the bottom. Make your hearts fun and whimsical by giving them a wonky pointy curve and if it’s uneven, even better.

2.   To make letters, simply lay them out on the canvas to determine a good fit, then paint the letters.

1.   Assemble the pieces and glue them onto the substrate. If it is necessary to cut the rulers; you can do so with scissors or a cutting tool; make sure to touch up the edges with paint, as you will see the natural white color of the clay, when you cut the ruler.

2.     Give to mom, see her smile and make her day.