Western Collage for Joy

Last Thursday and then again yesterday, I went over to my friend Joy's house to help her with a western collage that she wanted to do for a long time. She has been collecting and rounding up things to incorporate in this collage for months. On Thursday, we just positioned the major pieces on the canvas and tossed around ideas for the whole collage. Joy knew the look she wanted and knew that I knew what she wanted (does that make sense??). She had homework to do over the weekend -- dye vintage fabric for the background for the entire collage, ink the edges of the canvas, and hunt for more items that were good candidates for the whole collage. Here is the end result:

The large photo is actually one of Joy's entire family when they were together in Colorado. I love these old western-style pictures that are popular. However, I could never get my husband to do one with me when we lived in Colorado. The "frame" around the picture is actually rustic-looking sequins. Joy shops while she travels with her husband and finds the best things!! You should see the "barbed wire" she found at a Ben Franklin store a while back! Great stuff!!Here you can see the edge of the coffee dyed fabric and the great upholstery tacks that Joy had to put around the edge of the canvas.What a darling little cap gun to add to the collage. It is wired in place.Had to add the highest royal flush you can get in a poker game. Check out the great graphics on those cards! And the bullet hole in the 10. Joy had collected a lot of driftwood pieces and other objects this summer while she was in Connecticut helping her daughter with the new baby. We incorporated those into the collage and wired or glued them down. The letter you see is a copy of an actual letter her grandmother had written (do I have that right, Joy??).This rusty star in a circle was perfect for this corner. It, too, is wired down and there are beads strung on the ends of the wire pieces to add touches of color.

Now, I have to put together a collage for myself! This was a fun project to do with Joy! We had a ball picking and choosing what to put on this and when it was all done Joy was thrilled with the final piece. She has a stash to envy! Thanks, Joy! It was great fun!!