Winter Delight - an Altered Chocolate Box Canvas - by Claudia

Hi, servus and thank you for stopping by today to take a look at my latest Calico project!

Claudia here and once more I have selflessly made a sacrifice for art and emptied a chocolate box so I could use it as an altered canvas to create a lovely winter deer scene on...

It measures about 6'' x 6'' and I have covered the box with yellowed pages from old magazines that I found at the flea market. 

Calico Craft Parts used:

- Let it Snow - Wood Words in Christmas Card Font

- Winter Deer Scene  Style 3 - MDF Wood Shape

- Sheet of Mini MDF Christmas Woodshapes - Snowflakes 1

I used DecoArt "Paper" Decou-Page to cover the chocolate box with the old dictionary pages. This is more fluid than the matte Decou-Page and perfect if you work with paper that is easily torn because it is already old and has become brittle. 

I used the matte Decou-Page though to seal the deer scene and two snowflakes to create a sealant for the crackle media I wanted to use.

Once the glued on paper had dried I toned the yellowed pages down with a wash of DecoArt media Translucent White fluid acrylic. 

After that had dried, I scraped on some DecoArt Americana Chalky Finish "vintage" using a palette knife. 

While that was set aside to dry, I also scraped some onto the deer shape and used the heat tool to dry the paint. 

That was followed by scraped on DecoArt media white Crackle Paste...

...and DecoArt media clear Crackle Glaze, always covering different areas with each new medium

(though overlaps here and there were welcome as they add to the randomly layered look beautifully).   

Once the crackle process was finished (I had put the pieces on the heating to speed up drying time), I applied Titanium and Raw Umber DecoArt media Antiquing Creams to both - canvas and deer scene - to make the cracks more visible. 

I used a soft, damp cloth to wipe back the Antiquing Creams until I was content with the look.


DecoArt media fluid acrylics Quinacridone Gold and Viridian were used to add touches of green to the tree and brown to the deer. I applied thin washes and dabbed off where I had added too much until I liked the look. I also painted a Quinacridone Gold border around the edge of the canvas.

Then I glued the pieces to the canvas using matte Decou-Page and sprinkled on some white media Shimmer Mister and "vintage" Chalky Finish paint using the nozzle's tube and a splatter brush. 

Some close ups to show how the different layers of paint and crackle media work together to form a highly textural mixed media piece:

I hope you like it! There are loads of lovely deer scene wood shapes to find at the Calico Craft Parts store - so you will surely find "yours" to create your own winter scene canvas. I can't wait to see the finished projects and would also love to know which chocolate boxes you usually empty in the name of art...lol. 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx