Windham Family Canvas

I have very few family photos from generations past on my side of the family. They were lost in moves, water damage and once, a looting of my grandmother's house. I'll never be able to replace the lost photos, but my husband's family has a lot of photos. Obviously someone was in love with their Brownie, because there are tons of those little square photos with the squiggly white borders.

I love creating memory art, although most of it is not in a scrapbook (Check out my book, Scrapbooking for Home Decor, available on Amazon, Hobby Lobby and Barnes & Noble.). I want those memories out there they can be seen daily. I actually used this photo in one of my book projects, the inside of a sewing box that held some of my mother-in-law's sewing notions, but this time I wanted to feature it because I love this photo. This was made near Morrilton, Arkansas in the late '30s. The people are my sister-in-law Betty, mother -in-law Ruth, father-in-law Olin and sweet sister-in-law Janel. I never knew Betty or Olin, and this photo was made before my husband was even a thought.

I have this thing about straight lines being straight and perpendicular, which probably stems from my early career years as an engineering draftsman and later as a graphic designer, working on a drawing table rather than a computer.  Crooked pictures hanging on a wall don't bother me so much. They can be straightened. But when you create a project that will be seen often, you want all the elements straight. That's why I am so in love with my KellyCraft Get-it-Straight- Laser Square. It makes lining things up a breeze, and I never have to worry about going to the trouble of framing something, only to see one piece totally out of kilter with the rest of the art.

Here's how I made this piece on canvas:

Supplies
KellyCraft Get-it-Straight- Laser Square
Rectangular canvas (this one is 7" x 12", about 1/2" thick)
Assorted printed cardstock scraps
Adirondack Color Wash
Gesso, white
Distress Inks
Metallic Paint: Precious Metal Gold
Metal Book Plate
Lace Trim, 24"
Folded paper flower: Sizzix
Gold Cord, 40"
Paint brush
Sponge
Dominoes or uniform squares
Heavy Duty Double Side Tape. 1/8"
Large monogram stamp
Glue Dots, large
Assorted embellishments
Foam Alphabet Stamps

Instructions
1. Prepare canvas with two coats of white gesso. Apply spray stains randomly and allow to dry. Sponge gesso onto large monogram stamp and press on canvas.

2. Tear a paper scrap one one long side and place it on the left side of the canvas.
 TIP: When you're working on something that is taller than the beam on your Laser Square, just add height to the square by placing dominoes, checkers or uniform-height wood pieces to the back until you have the height you need.

3. Sponge gesso onto foam stamps. Using the Get-it-Straight Laser Square, line up the bottom of the stamp with the light and stamp the images.
TIP: To get your word centered, locate the center of the canvas edge. Line your stamps up and determine where the center will be and stamp those letters first, working out on either side.

4. Apply lace using the double side tape and lining it up with the laser square. Apply three strips.

5.Sponge the edges of all paper with Distress Inks. Line up the layers of the photo and attach to the canvas.

6. Add embellishments as desired.
TIP: The bookplate metal embellishment is placed on a folded piece of cardstock. You can see the family name and year on the piece, but it swings open to reveal the names of the photo subjects.

7. Using a square brush, go over the gesso letters in family with gold Precious Metal Color to make them pop.

8. Apply cording to edges with good quality white glue.

That's it. You now have a nice family memory  to hang or display on an easel.

I could never have made this so quickly and so easily without my Get-it-Straight Laser Square. I don't know how I ever lived without it!