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Piece of Craft: Canvas Remix and Beads

The cover of Canvas Remix. Photo courtesy of AlisaBurke.com.
The cover of Canvas Remix. Photo courtesy of AlisaBurke.com.

Alisa Burke, one of my favorite crafters and bloggers, has a book entitled Canvas Remix. This book has always been at the top of my list in terms of craft books because it gives so many ideas and methods for creating mixed-media accessories. In the first section of the book, Alisa offers a seemingly infinite list of tips when using many of the materials that she uses in her work. She also supplies a list of tools and other items that she works with in many of her projects.

The following chapters in Alisa’s book are some of her favorite craft tutorials. These tutorials range from innovative accessories like a Canvas-Jewels Necklace to home décor items, such as Stencil Art Coasters. As seen in this book and on her blog as well, Alisa has no boundaries in terms of what she creates—every craft borders on genius.

One of my favorite tutorials that she explains thoroughly in her book is making canvas beads. Canvas beads are essentially made by having a piece of canvas and painting any design that you wish on it.  Usually these designs are full of color and are fairly abstract. Once dry you are going to want to make sure that the canvas has been sealed with a polyurethane to create a glossy finish. Once your canvas is dry, you’re going to want to cut it into strips. From your strips, you are going to want to cut thin triangles. For the next step, a toothpick is used to roll the canvas. Apply a few thin drops of glue to the end of your triangle piece and continue rolling. You can create beads of different sizes by experimenting with the sizes and shapes of the triangles that you cut out from your strips. Make enough beads so you have enough to make a necklace or a bracelet.

I’ve also experimented using canvas paper instead of just a piece of canvas and the same technique can work to make canvas paper beads.  Canvas itself is a tougher material though, so it holds up better as a bead.

For more tutorials, techniques, and crafts like this, check out Alisa Burke’s book!  It’s currently available on Amazon.com.


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