My First Mixed Media Canvas

the summer days are in full swing here in sunny Florida  and i'm feeling the full brunt being super preggo. our swimming pool is a god-send the floating takes off the added weight i'm now carrying, helps with the swelling and the anxiety of the next thing.... birth.
one thing that i can't seem to get enough of is fruit salad any kind really whatever fruits are available & fresh - just up the road from us is the most amazing street market and that's my favorite place to buy our fruits & veggies - they even carry organic. this is my favorite salad so far

the perfect fruit salad for pregnant or not pregnant individuals
1/2 of a ripe cantaloupe
bunch: strawberries
1 nectarine
1 peach
handful: blueberries
handful: blackberries
1/2 pint: raspberries
as many as you like: red & white grapes
1/2 of a pineapple
couple tablespoons of flaked coconut
mix all-together lightly sprinkle with raspberries & flaked coconut
CAN'T. GET. ENOUGH!

with the baby shower just around the corner my focus has been registering & finishing touches on the nursery there is much to do yet - but 1/2 of it isn't really 'necessary' as my husband calls it.. its just cosmetic.. ya know pretty things so when i'm up all wee hours of the night & morning i can have something pretty to look at & enjoy.. besides my gorgeous new son of course! 

anyhow part of that decor was a mixed media canvas - my 1st to be exact and i'm very happy with the way it turned out - if i do say so myself!

living next to a nature preserve we always see owls & wild life - last night is was a family of deer (the dog was going nuts!) so i like to think of this canvas as our back yard when we're out celebrating... and i look out the window as the party is dying down and see one of those perfect messy moments when everything is just where it should even though its not

the fence is made of chipboard which i painted & crackled, added rub-ons & of course that little die-cut owl which i built up with foam dots & molding paste  

the background is a many layer of gesso, molding paste, about 8 different  paints & 2 or 3 mists, but all that alpha texture was create with a template & molding paste

the banner is paper which i mod-podged on

pearl mist in turquoise - the tree is a cricut die-cut + a pet a loo branch

the dozens of leaves where all cricut and layered then mod-podged around the tree to create a more ethereal or abstract tree

on a super foggy day

right after it rains

first thing in the morning

well, that's it! thankx for checking it out!

A Star Is Born

with only 60 days left till my due date everything is going from push to shove, there's doc appointments every other week, childbirth classes, a breastfeeding class & what i'm really looking forward to is our maternity shoot! the good thing is the nursery walls have now been painted & the crib is finally set up! so its actually starting to look like a nursery.. the rest of the furniture is running late & i hope the glider & rug make it in time! pictures to come of all the progress later on when its a little more photo ready - meanwhile, i've been working on all kinds of nursery projects inculding my first mixed media canvas which i'm really excited to show off! but today i'm showing another completed  book waiting for Jr's arrival 

 

this collection (this & that) has been one of my favorites to work with i think to date! totally my colors & the textures are just out of this world fun! for the base of the album i use this star shape chip book which i bought at a garage sale for $1

personally, i think this button pretty much makes the cover - been holding onto it forever waiting for the right project. also you'll notice on the edges of the book all the texture which i used coarse texture gel by liquitex basics then using adirondack dabber in lettuce went over the dried texture. love the overall look for a 1st try

a canvas boarder, mo green pom poms + natural twine, lots of paper boarders & wood buttons - all make the details on the cover

here's all the pages - pretty simple really but i wanted to leave enough room for the pictures, journaling + embellishments which i plan on adding later on

the back cover with the repeated coarse texture treatment 

the end. simple but great to throw some cute photos i know i'm going to be capturing of Jr's firsts