Doesn’t he look marvelous?  As though he could just Dash Away!?

I love the Clement Clark Moore story…we own multiple versions of the book, and it was a favorite read for our family at Christmas time when the children were small.   It’s been a long time since bedtime stories were read in my house, but I still get out the children’s Christmas books and put them in a basket near the tree every year just in case someone wants to read one.

This handsome fellow is the Level II Decor Elements Hostess award.  I’ve had him for quite a while and originally thought I’d put him directly on the wall.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to find a way to enjoy his elegant profile for a few years.  My brilliant friend Crystal came up with the idea to apply the Decor Elements to canvas.

This is a 16 x 20 inch thin canvas board, not  stretched canvas on a frame.  Cost is under $7, and that’s a Hawaii price, so you mainland crafters will probably find a better deal.  I painted it very lightly with a bristle brush using a linen color of craft paint – you know the stuff,  a 2 ounce bottle for about $2.  I kept the strokes horizontal and the coverage light to allow the texture of the canvas to show a bit.

Once the canvas was thoroughly dry, I applied Dasher.  You gotta put on your patient hat when you apply a Decor Element with this much detail!  I carefully burnished all the dots and swirls before peeling off the backing, but still had to go very slowly and give a little extra attention to a couple of stubborn areas.  This image was easy to fit to the 16 x 20 canvas, and the application was much easier than the burnishing.  There’s a very small amount of texture from the canvas visible under the larger areas of the vinyl, but you have to be looking for it to notice it.

Crystal added a bow and some bling to her Dasher, but I decided mine was going to be a Manly Sort of Reindeer.  I used the Crop-A-Dile (seriously!!  it worked great!) to add a pair of Jumbo Eyelets to the top corners, and broke out my precious stash of retired Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon to thread through the eyelets and tie in a bow.

Here’s a closer look at the canvas…

I really love the effect of the texture.

On a personal note, I’m really happy to be back to blogging.  Life throws a curve ball once in a while, and it was just my turn up to bat.  I didn’t hit it out of the park, but I took a good swing at it and I’m working my way towards home plate.

See you tomorrow!