Inspiration Rendition: Thumbtack Ampersand Art

I completed my thumbtack ampersand art piece and I think it turned out better than I had expected. Granted the canvas was supposed to be a darker color unfortunately there was a minor hiccup with that. Sometimes our plans for things never go according to plan but the mistakes tend to make it better. I really love the rustic feel of the piece and I know that eventually the gold will begin to fade only adding more character to the piece with time. So here is the rendition of the ampersand art from my previous inspiration post. If you would like to know how to make one for yourself just continue reading.

Materials needed: (pictured) 6x6 3D stretch blank canvas, 300pc container of gold thumbtacks, paint brush, printout of ampersand (I used Microsoft Word font Footlight MT Light, size 600, bold), pencil and embossing/ tracing tool - (not pictured) acrylic paint of your choosing and paper towels

STEPS

1) Paint the top of the canvas the color of your choice and before the paint dries gently wipe it off with a dry paper towel. Let dry and repeat this same process for the sides of the canvas.
2) While the paint dries on the canvas, taking your pencil and ampersand printout - flip the printout over and using the pencil trace or sketch over the outline of the ampersand.
3) Once paint is dry, flip the printout over right side up and place ampersand on the canvas in a position you like. Now grab your embossing/tracing tool and begin tracing the outline of the symbol. You should end up with something similar to what is pictured in image 3.
4) On to the fun part, started filling in the outline with thumbtacks. I chose to outline the symbol first in a straight line. A little force was needed in some areas were the outline overlapped the wooden frame of the stretched canvas.
5) Once the outline is complete, simply fill in the remaining blank space in rows.
6) Now you have a finished ampersand piece ready for display!

Until next time, allow inspiration to find you!