Rudolph Stencilled Christmas Canvas

I've always loved those silhouette / cameo style pictures. I find them elegant in their simplicity. But I like a bit of fun in my art projects too, so I thought Rudolph would be a great subject for my first attempt at a cameo style canvas!

It came out great! It looks quite stylish (in my humble opinion) and the sparkly pom pom nose adds that element of Christmas fun! Here is how I did it:

First I made a stencil. I did a Google Image Search for "deer sillhouette", and luckily deer have been extremely popular amongst us creative types recently (although I hear it will be raccoons for 2013) so there are a lot of images to choose from. I found an image I wanted, saved it and inserted it into a Word document, then resized it to fit an A4 page (my canvas was A4 size). I printed it onto some thin card.

Using a paper cutting blade, I cut the deer shape out and voila! Deer stencil!

I used masking tape and some cardboard offcuts to make sure the whole canvas was covered.

Now to channel my inner Banksy and create my stencilling masterpiece! Spray painting time!

Before I spray painted my canvas I set up an area to paint in. I grabbed an old plastic box, lined it with some recycled cardboard and placed my canvas down on the base. Here is my very amateur set up, it looks ugly but it worked well to keep the spray particles of the paint contained.

To paint my Rudolph stencil, I used Rust-Oleum Glitter Paints. I've never used spray paint before, but there were no tricks, just simply shake the can, take the lid off and spray. Simple! (Although I do recommend you read the instructions on the can carefully before using any paint products.) Rust-Oleum is a hugely popular brand overseas and they have recently started being sold here in Australia. They have a huge range of glitters, matte colours, and specialty products like magnetic primer, chalkboard and whiteboard paints.

Once sprayed, I left my canvas out in the sun to dry. After leaving it for a couple of hours, I removed my stencil and used some fabric glue to stick on Rudolph's red pom pom nose. Finished!

Anna thinks he is wonderful and has instructed me to place him right in the centre of our mantlepiece.

Here are my top tips for spray painting:

- Spray paint outside or in a well ventilated area, like a garage with the door open.
- Wear old clothes.
- Only use spray paints on a still day. Wind will create havoc with the evenness of your paint, not to mention send paint t places you don't want it to go.
- Do not use spray paint when your children are around. It is not worth the risk to have them pick it up and spray it into their eyes or mouth accidentally. Keep your paints out of reach of children.
- Do not use your spray paint around animals. Apart from the danger of them getting paint in their eyes or airways, it is also really difficult to get off their fur.
- Placing items in a box is a way to contain residual spray, and to protect your shoes. ( yep I learned the hard way - I am now the proud owner of glittery gold running shoes)

Be careful though - I'm a bit addicted! I'm thinking about what I can spray or glitter bomb next...

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT and other great parties you can see here.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. The lovely people from Rust-Oleum Australia provided me with some of their products to have some fun with.