O-H....

Now that I have lot's of free time I decided to go out of my comfort zone and try some new techniques...or even make some up. I was feeding my Pinterest obsession when I came across and awesome idea to cut out your home state and put it on canvas and mount. Being that I am buckeye I started looking at all the different variations of Ohio ones. After pinning away I truly forgot about. The other night I was looking at my old boards and came across these again. I decided I was going to try it out on one of the blank canvases I had collecting dust in my craft room. This project turned into many trial and errors but I really like how it all turned out!

I started with a canvas that was so white and plain. I was going to paint it but with the sub zero temperatures lately all of our paint in the garage is currently sludge. I then attempted to use an old stamp pad. I have inked canvases before but for some reason the gray I was using ended up looking weird. I then used red ink. It swirled well with the gray. I was finally making progress! However it all fell apart when I tried to seal it with Modge Podge. My lovely red turned pink! I love pink as much as the next girl but not when it comes to my Buckeyes! So I sat there watching my little spot dry hoping it would dry red again but alas, it stayed pinky pink. I started to think this was turning into a lost cause I pushed myself back in my chair and started to think. I looked over and saw an old tub that had my leftover wedding things. That's when it hit me! Our leftover sand from our unity sand!

I quickly slapped another layer of Modge Podge on the and sprinkled the red and white sand all over it! It was perfect!! It made this great distressed look on the canvas. You can see the parts where I inked it showing throwing through and it has a great rustic feel.

Then while it was drying I headed over to CCR to start making my state and laying everything out. I decided to fill it with our Alma Mater.  

I cut out the vinyl using the kiss cut method. All setting on three. I used transfer paper and layed it out on the canvas. Then crisis occurred again.....apparently vinyl doesn't stick to sand. Even after it had been modge podged. I just had to peel and pull and lay it out. After some choice words and tears I finally got everything stuck together. It wasn't perfect by any means but it added to my distressed look. I put modge podge over everything and hoped that when it dried it would stick. Thankfully it did!

I added some buckeyes in the corners and I was finished. This project was way more than I bargained for but the end results was exactly what I wanted. It is now hanging proudly in our foyer!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Gina