Getting off the page - canvas purse (Helmar)

I am a scrapbooker by nature but once in a while I get a desire to create OTP projects. Here is a step-by-step on how I altered this canvas tote using my favorite Helmar adhesives and some fantastic preferred partner products. For Breast Cancer awareness month I went with PINK - my favorite color anyways :)

My mom gave me this 10x10 inch canvas purse she bought for $2 at a dollar store and said "Can you make something with this?".

So, I started to mist it (outside) and realized I was going through A LOT of mist without the result I wanted. It looked so "blah". Then, I remembered the awesome cross promotion products my Helmar DT received from Faber-Castell this summer. 

I started to play with a pink gelato and a green stamper's big brush pen. I made a pink paste in a plate with a gelato (scrape off a chunk of gelato and add a bit of water) and a green puddle with a big brush pen (scribble and mist some water) and painted them on with paintbrushes (pink paste and green puddle) for nice vibrant colors.

I then stamped with the green and used the brush pen directly on the stamped image to darken it. Next, I created a handmade flower (tutorial to follow soon) and glued it to the canvas using my all-time favorite Helmar product - the 450 quick dry. This stuff is better than any hot glue and won't yellow (or burn you). It's great for heavier items like this canvas flower or metal.

I also used thin gesso and a stencil for smeared writing and then added some water to my left-over gelato paste to create a mist. I misted the script stencil  for crisper pink letters. I next added some gorgeous lace from Green Tara using Helmar's Premium Craft glue. Works great on delicate fabrics - you can't see the glue and it won't yellow the lace.

Lastly, I gave this finished purse a spray of Helmar's Krystal Kote Matt to seal the colors in. It won't be washable so I wanted it a bit resistant to dirt. Because it is canvas I may even give it a water resistant spray too (like you would for canvas or suede shoes).