Charity Bloghop & a Narwhal canvas

If you’re visiting from Libby Hickson’s blog – welcome! If this is your first stop on the hop or you’re one of my regular readers I of course welcome you as well. Let me explain a bit about what today’s special hop is about.

Have you ever thought of giving a donation to a charity in someone else’s name, and gifting that person with the knowledge (and perhaps a physical gift) that you did good in their name? Sandy Allnock approached me with this idea, and with tying it into crafting a card or other project to go along with it, and as it is a fantastic idea – not only to give and share but also share creative ideas – I jumped right in. Visit her blog (link) for the start of the hop and more info, and at the end of my post I will share the next blogger’s addy for you to continue on this journey of inspiration.

The idea immediately got my attention because I’d never given someone else a gift in this way, but I remember as a kid getting some stationary or some such as a part of such a gift so I decided to focus on a magical girl, and a special gift. After pursuing several websites I decided on the World Wildlife Fund, and that I would do a virtual adoption. That means all the donation money would go toward the animals, though I did get a printable certificate via email to include. I like this as a personal challenge because now I would need to craft up a gift for my recipient myself.

I decided to go with a magical creature via WWF (Narwhal – here’s a link), and to create a 4×4 canvas piece that she can hang in her room to remember this gift and special occasion. As this is one of the most magical girls I know, I figured (correctly) she’d love every aspect of this from knowing she’s helping animals to having her own custom artwork.

To create a canvas piece like mine it really is quite simple! Mine is 4″ square and you’ll want to use a canvas, wood block, or other similar piece.

  1. Coat the front in gesso and let it fully dry. This will give you a great base to work on.
  2. Stamp (archival ink) your image(s). I used the Lawn Fawn Narwhal stamp.
  3. Color with ink, watercolor, sprays, or whatever you like! I used clean color pens and a water brush and then flicked with Heidi Swapp gold mist.
  4. Add any embellishments desired. I went with some sticker word strips and sequins. It didn’t need much!

Scared of messing it up? Don’t be!! If you’re working with any kind of watercolor or water reactive medium you can spritz heavily with water and wash it away to begin again. If you truly mess it up rinse with water as best as you can to remove any color that will come off, then follow up with a fresh coat of gesso or two.

This is a project any of us can do, in any format or theme. If you want you could stamp in layers (on paper) and build a more dimensional project. I love the metallic sparkle and dreaminess of this peaceful narwhal stamped just so to be the center of attention. Once done I added a note about how magical she is, and what had been done in her name along with the certificate.

Let’s just say, it’s already on the wall and a big hit. Thank you so much Sandy, for reminding us this is a wonderful option to gift + do good, as well as bringing the crafty element into this. She’s also arranged for some fantastic prizes (see below), so check her original blog post for even more info as well. The next stop on the blog hop is: Cindy Lawrence 

PRIZES: Awesome companies are helping inspire you to hop along and leave comments on all the blogs – Altenew ($30), Lawn Fawn ($50), My Favorite Things ($25), and Ellen Hutson ($25)! Be sure to go say thanks to them on their social media for helping get the word out about giving…and leave comments by Wednesday March 22. Winners will be announced on Sandy’s blog on Thursday March 23, along with a total amount we’ve raised together!

101 thoughts on “Charity Bloghop & a Narwhal canvas”

  1. Adorable! Thanks for the tip to use gesso to prep any surface for crafty creativity

  3. Thank you for sharing and being part of the bloghop! I remember getting the stationary sets and stickers too, always putting the sticker on my notebook. Lovely whale and very cool background you created! Thank you!

  4. Love your card. The background is awesome.Thank you for being part of the blog hop and sharing about World Vision.

  5. I love that you made a canvas and the. background detail is just exquisite!

  8. This is such an awesome idea…!!❤❤
    I have and love that narwhal stamp set…

  11. Love, love, love your canvas! I AM INSPIRED. WONDERFUL CHARITY AND WONDERFUL ART! WHO COULD ASK FOR MORE? 🙂

  18. I love doing small projects for my grand’s who are rapidly surpassing their Mimi in skill! Thanks so much.

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  22. Love hat narwhal! Thanks for sharing a cool card I plan to get that stamp set and donate to the same charity I gave to last year (donating farm stock to villages in Africa). Thank you for the chance to win as well.

  24. What a fun canvas that you created!! I love all the texture and the design!! What a great gift!

  27. Thank you for participating in the charity blog hop! Fun project! I’ve done canvasses but will have to try the others!

  28. Hi May, that is a great little canvas! I found this charity blog hop because of you. Thank you!

  30. THis is really cute! Ive donated jewelry for a local charity auction and it was fun to know if helped.

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  37. THANK YOU FOR THIS PROJECT! I can assure you that this is one my daughter will LOVE recreating with me! She’s also a die hard animal lover. Thank you so much for sharing your work!

  38. What a beautiful canvas!! It will be a wonderful reminder for years to come of the special gift you purchased. Looking forward to see you again this summer at Stamp Fever! 🙂

  43. This is such a sweet project – and a great charity. WWF was the first charity I ever donated to.

  46. Your card is fabulous! Thanks for sharing the adorable narwhal and your charity! I can see why it was a big hit!!!

  58. The narwhale is such a magical creature. Not many folks know about them. great choice for you charity and for the narwhales…..and i love that your niece loved the gift. I love the sayings on the it. so true

  60. So, for some reason I didn’t think of putting my card, or my work, on canvass. I guess I’m just stuck in my ways. What a fun piece you made!! I can see why it was well received and put on display.

  64. Love it. I am currently having a go at mixed media and struggle with lighter things. Thank you for sharing, great piece.

  68. What a wonderful idea for a blog. I have been inspired by all of you to donate to our local food bank. Thank you for the inspiration

  78. I love this sweet and pretty mixed media canvas!! Thanks so much for sharing your project and charity!

  80. Great project! I also donated to WWF – narwhal for my youngest (and WWF – German Shepard Sniffer dog for my oldest). My youngest and I have created several narwhal projects these last few months, and this gift will accompany them! Thank you for participating in Sandy’s charity blog hop!

  81. Wow, I am liking finding out about all these charities and seeing the nice cards. I look forward to checking out all the blogs!

  83. Happy Day! I never heard of a narwhale. But they sure are cute. Great gift, great thought. Thank you for sharing and educating me!

  87. You were a great help to me today. I had forgotten a fellow fiskateers birthday. She loves sea turtles so I went to WWF and adopted one in her name. Love you card-it’s so cute! Thank you!

  89. this is an Awesome background, so nice to hear your beautiful artwork was appreciated

  95. What a treat! I’m sure she was amazed that you would think so much of her to donate in her honor. That narwhal stamp is precious! Thanks to all you ladies for coming together for a meaningful blog.

  97. Such a thoughtful gift
    and beautiful art work
    on your canvas.
    Carla from Utah

  98. The WWF is a great charity to give to! We are so lucky God gave us so many variety of animals in our world!

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