It's a quiz...

What can you do on a cold day when your art muse is on vacation? You know that button box that you have with all those fabulous buttons? You think you still have some texture medium on the shelf and you know that you have a small canvas panel...



You want to do art but, all you can think about is cake. So you take the canvas cake and frost it with the texture icing, and decorate it with the tasty buttons...

No, seriously though, that's pretty much how you do this project. After deciding on which buttons to use (I used all flat buttons with holes) and making sure they are free from wire or any other googlies, set them to the side along with a pair of tweezers.

Protect your work surface with an old towel, and spread the texture medium directly onto the canvas panel with a pallet knife, spoon or something of that nature. Spread it on fairly thick, this gives you more working time and the creamy texture medium will come up through the holes in the buttons and up around the sides. I say creamy, but this product is actually pretty stiff, very much like stiff icing. You then carefully place the buttons, face up, on to the canvas. I hold the button flat using my thumb and index finger. I hovered the button about 1/2 inch above the canvas and lightly dropped it into place, thus not getting the texture medium on my fingers. I, then, lightly pressed the button down, holding the tweezers vertically over the button so the medium would ooze up between the holes, as you apply light pressure downward with the tweezers. You can place the buttons in what ever pattern you desire. This medium, that I like so well and used on another previous project, starts to set up after about one hour, so you have to be ready to roll when you start this project. Then when you're done, you get something like this...

Click on pictures for larger view

After letting it dry overnight, it looks really good just leaned up against the wall on a shelf or mantle, or you could frame it or hang it. It would even be a fun project for kids, nothing hard about this. But it does look like icing, so don't taste it. There you have it. The next time your inspiration is failing you and your muse is on vacation, grab the button box and make art.

Take care and get ready for the weekend, it's almost here.