Let's PLAY !

~

(Click on photo to see the collage canvas up close and personal!)

There's nothing more fun than a collage, except maybe an Encaustic Collage! Today was fun, I had a PLAY day! I made an Encaustic GAMES Collage Canvas. The photo I used for my project was my school snapshot taken in 1947! I printed a copy on photo paper, cut it to size, and used a black mat.

I LOVE TO PLAY!

As a child I loved to play.....I still love to play.....and as I always like to say, "I hope I never grow up"!

Remember Monopoly, Old Maid, Go Fish, Kick the Can, Checkers, Bingo, Chinese Checkers, Dominos, Marbles, Button-Button-Who's Got the Button, Hide and Seek, Hangman, Clue, Tiddly Winks, Puzzles, Jump Rope, Rummy, Simon Says, Pick Up Sticks, Scrabble, to name a few? We didn't watch TV very often, but actually played games to amuse ourselves!

My initials are B.A.D. for Betty Ann Decoteau, the name I was called growing up and all of my old schoolmates still call me that today!

To start the project, I colored my canvas with Tim Holtz Distress Inks, and heat set the ink. Then I created a layout that was appealing, using the photo, old game pieces, napkin, ribbon, ephemera, and set it aside.

To begin layering the pieces of the collage, bees wax was heated in a Melting Pot. Using a small paint brush dipped into the wax, adhere pieces to the canvas board, applying thin layers of encaustic wax. Embed objects in the hot wax and then paint another layer over the top. While applying the wax and layering pieces, the buildup may become too thick and can be melted again with a heat gun (Ranger's Heat It Craft Tool is preferred) by gently blowing some of the wax off the board or away from the thick areas.

This was a fun project and brought back a lot of fond memories. Playing with my 5 brothers and friends, from the days of Howdy Doody and The Lone Ranger......a simpler time, when no one worried about setting their Tivo.

We were too busy PLAYING!