Mermaid Altered Mirror: Recollections and Canvas Corp Brands Mash Up

Hello, Friends!  Today I have a really cool Mermaid Altered Mirror and some nautical greeting cards to share with you.  It feels sooooo good to be back in the studio after taking time off to move.  Things are not quite perfect yet, but they are definitely functional.  And I’m happy to report that I have some empty shelves in the new and improved Closet of Shame!  Woo-hoo!

So, what do you do after purging your studio?  If you are like me, you go shopping for new crafty goodies!  (Actually, Dale had to buy a new Ping Pong paddle at the sporting goods store, and since Michael’s was right next door….well, you know how that story ends, don’t you?)  While shopping, I found these cool new Recollections Mixed Media Collage pads, one in a kitchen theme and one with a wonderful beachy theme that made me weak in the knees.  And yes…they both came home with me…cuz we can’t have empty shelves in the Closet of Shame, can we?

Here’s a photo of the collection, so you know what you are looking for.  It goes by the name Recollections Nautical Bay Mixed Media Pack.  It’s in cool sewn-together packaging and contains a printed canvas sheet, printed papers, vintage images,corrugate sheet,  burlap sheet, plain canvas sheet and a sheet of plain white cardstock.  It’s pretty amazing!

I am happy to say, I did not hoard these yummy papers. I promptly put them to use to make this Mermaid Altered Mirror for the entryway in our new home.  This started out as a plain white MALMA mirror from IKEA.  These are actually very easy to alter.  I just lay my mirror face down on the back side of my 12×12 paper and trace around it. You’ll want to center the mirror so that all sides are even.   Score and crease on the lines, bevel the corners and place right side up on the mirror front.  Use your bone folder to score around the mirrored portion, then use a craft knife to cut out the square.  Then you’re ready to glue your paper down with matte medium or Modge Podge or whatever collage medium you like to work with.

I fussy cut my mermaid from one of the 12×12 papers, then inked the edges with Vintage Photo.  I wanted her to have a little more color on her fins, so spritzed on a little Patina Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.  And for sparkle, I added Dazzling Diamonds.  She’s mounted on the corrugate sheet that comes with the mixed media pad.

Adding shells, seed beads, and found objects from my stash was almost as good as a walk along the shore.  I made a burlap string “frame” to highlight the sentiment card, too.

This paper is great for altered projects like this Mermaid altered mirror.  It’s heavy, but not too heavy, and takes to fussy cutting and folding and tearing very well.  You can see here how I fussy cut waves from the paper collection, then added mica chips and ink spatters just for fun.

I found this striped canvas ribbon in my stash, and it was the perfect complement for the paper.  Topping it with a Petaloo Textured Blossom was the perfect finishing touch.

I can’t wait to hang this above my hall entry table.  It’s going to look amazing with all the beachy goodness in our living room/dining room area.

Then, I was having so much fun, and the papers were so pretty, I just had to make a couple of cards.

This sentiment panel from Canvas Corp Brands Nautical Cardstock in my stash went so well with the sentiment on the Mermaid Altered Mirror that I decided to use it with the printed canvas and burlap from the Recollections Mixed Media Collage pad.

The seahorse was fussy cut, painted with Maple Sugar Glimmer Mist and spattered with Blue Ribbon Chalkboard mist.  I also altered some 7 Gypsies metal corners and invited them to the party along with a little metal anchor embellishment.  The more, the merrier, right?

These background papers are from the Recollections pad, but the sailboat is fussy cut from CCB Sand & Sea papers.  I super love the way the inside of this card turned out!

This second card is built on a CCB denim card base.  The focal image, post card and burlap are from the Recollections pad, and the sentiment panels are cut from Sails& Shells paper from CCB.  I told you it was a product mash up!  Sometimes you just want to pull out all kinds of goodies and create to your heart’s content!

I used a Spellbinder’s embossing folder on the card base, then inked it up with Vintage Photo DI.  The paper is from the Recollections pad, and I love it paired up with the sentiments from the CCB paper.  Tucking a postcard into the pocket gives you lots of room to write a note, and you could add any other little gift here as well.

I spent a lovely afternoon playing with paper, and it felt soooo good!  Next time you are in Michael’s, keep an eye out for these mixed media pads!  They are truly loaded with crafty goodness, and make wonderful playmates for your Canvas Corp Brand goodies, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy