12 x 12 ‘The Squares Have It’

Hello and thanks for joining me.

It is Cec here and I am your hostess for the current challenge. I am calling it Elegant Jewels and here is how I describe it: Let’s make a vintage or shabby chic project in jewel tone colours such as deep purple, emerald green, jade green, burgundy, bright turquoise to name a few AND to make your project extra special, add some sort of jewel or gem, which can be anything from a dollar store find to a piece of broken jewelry.

I found this reference palette on Pinterest to help keep me stay focused when created the gel plate prints to make this 12 x 12 canvas.

Here are a few of the steps ….

After having fun creating a bunch of gel plate prints off of a 5 x 7 plate I then cut them into numerous sized squares going from 3″ to 1 1/2″. Due to so much gluing, I decided to water down some Golden gel medium and applied with the Tim Holtz collage brush. My is very well loved and looks this way because I keep it in a ziploc bag with a wipe and have never cleaned it. This saves me so much time that I don’t care that the area by the metal is a little rusty, brush still works perfectly 😉

I tried to alternate the more solid colors randomly to help move the eye.

I then took the 2′ squares and angled them in the cross sections of the 3″ squares.

I had this 12×12 chipboard piece by Blue Fern Studios laying around for about a year now and so happy that I finally had a project to use it on. To me it looks like a gem shape, so that is my little bonus add. After a layer of gesso, I used Ranger dauber embossing fluid and Lindy’s Byzantine Bronze embossing powder.

Glued the chipboard down and painted inside with Golden Nickle Azo Gold (I absolutely LOVE this color).

Layers applied ~

3″ background (horizontal)

2″ over comers (angled)

1 1/2″ over corners (horizontal)

3/4″ circles in corners.

Some stamping and doodling were added to the layer of 1 1/2″ squares only, I did not want the extra marks to take over, so they stand out a bit more with only being a part of that layer. I added some shading along with whiting out (lightly) the background outside the chipboard.

Really the hardest part about this project was having patience for the glue to dry. Oh and waiting for a sunny day here in Mi to take some pictures that showcased the gorgeous colors on this canvas.

I hope this piece inspires you to use some of your gel plate prints.

Have a blessed day, xo

4 comments

Ker plunk! Somebody pinch me! Wow, Wendy! this canvas has left me speechless! I am in awe of your vision, and the outcome! This is a fabulous design with amazing, AMAZING color! This needs to be in a fine art gallery (or on my wall!) I am thrilled you made this for our Elegant Jewels challenge at Frilly and Funkie! My goodness, that’s a huge chippie! Hugs!

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PS That IS some really cool embossing powder!

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Wow! I love this quilt/mosaic effect. The colors are just gorgeous! Thanks so much for joining the fun in the Frilly and Funkie Elegant Jewels Challenge!

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Oh WOW! Having just got my first gel plate I’m totally inspired by the myriad of gorgeous bespoke papers you created with yours! The stunning mosaic pattern reminds me so much of ancient Arabic buildings and has been framed perfectly. Thank you for joining us at Frilly and Funkie xx

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