Other people in the office can attest to the fact that I am obsessed with getting a tiny house. I’ve been watching the TV shows about tiny houses, doing research on different types and builders, and generally obsessing over tiny houses in my free time. My Tiny House Pinterest board has officially taken on a life of its own and I know more about the plumbing in a tiny house than I do about anything in my own house now. This dream may be a long ways off, but I continue to picture my little house amidst the trees on a plot of land. When creating this project, I modeled it from the picture in my mind of the perfect tiny house (yes, my tiny house will be pink) and the picturesque quality that this dream will always possess.

Where the Heart Is Canvas Directions:

Lay out strips of ephemera on top of a journaling card or ledger paper. There should be two vertical strips of book text where the houses will be and one long strip of book text along the horizon.

Once you are satisfied with the layout, take a picture so that you have a reference of where everything was, then prime each piece with a very thin coat of gesso. The text and patterns should still be easily visible.

Adhere each piece of ephemera, book text, music paper, and journaling card to a black canvas board with gel medium. Do NOT seal over the top of the ephemera with gel medium.

Sketch houses with pencil onto ephemera pieces. For trees, draw in a stem, and a tall oval shape.

For each paint color, mix the colors using the Color Mixing list below, then add plenty of water until the paint is thoroughly transparent. If it is still not transparent enough, then dab brush in paint and dip back into water before touching it to the page.

Dina Wakley has a wonderful tutorial for using her paints to create watercolor effects on Somerset Place.

To achieve a wonderful mixed-media look, don’t worry about being in the lines perfectly and on the houses, make the color darker where there are shadows and leave some blank space where light would be brightest.

After each color, drip some splatters onto the page with the remaining paint. When you are satisfied with a paint color, use a heat tool to dry it so that it doesn’t mix, bleed, or move later on.

For the grass, paint a line across the horizon in green, then add additional water with your brush, tilt the canvas, and tap it against your work table to get a few drips and smears.

For sky, paint a stripe across the top of the canvas, add more water with your brush, then gently shake the canvas to create a more organic shape. The goal is to create a puddle shape, so drips mean that the shake was too hard. When the blue has dried, add a splash of the house’s color to the side of the canvas, dilute with additional water from your brush, shake, and tilt to form drips. Repeat on other spots of the canvas to frame your houses.

For the trees, color far outside the lines to create a more organic tree shape. Use plenty of water and use a greener color, then add a very small amount of black and add some shading to the trees.

To finish, outline your houses and trees with a Stabilo All Marking Pencil. Draw your lines quickly and messily to achieve the look pictured. Wet with your brush to blend slightly, and dab away any excess color with a paper towel. Repeat as many times as necessary to create defined lines.

Outline each piece of ephemera with the Stabilo pencil, wet with water, and dab away most of the color to create a shadowy effect.

Color Mixing

Roof = Fuchsia + a little Blushing + Penny (removes some of the brightness, and adds a little shine)

House = Roof + a lot more Blushing

Windows = House + Ocean + touch of Black

Sky= Ocean

Grass = Ocean + Lemon + a touch of Penny

Trees= paint first with Grass, then Grass + a touch of Black (for highlights)

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