"Do You Believe in Fairies?" by Rhonda

 Fairies are nature spirits that love all forest plant life.

I've heard lots of people say they believe in Fairies. Whether you do or not, you have to admit they are adorable. So I decided that for my second project as a guest designer for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, I would do something in honor of Fairies. 

Using the Memo Board, I placed a tape boarder around my board on the very edge. Then, I placed another piece of tape directly next to the first and removed the first. Do this for all four sides. 

This is one of my favorite techniques and is gloppy good fun. Use your favorite colors of metallic paints. I seem to always go for the, as I call them, Peacock colors which are blue, purple and rich green. They are just pleasing to my eye for some reason. Maybe I was a Peacock in a past life, lol. 

Don't be afraid to make a mess and use puddles of paint. Next, take a stiff brush and dab the colors all around, mixing them on the edges but not completely blending them because then you would have mud.

Once all the dabbing is done is when my favorite part begins. 

Use an embossing gun to really heat that paint up until it bubbles and pops. I love watching the bubbles rise and fall.

It's mesmerizing for some reason and I love the way it looks so oddly natural. 

Once you have it all dried you must carefully remove the tape. I used an exacto blade to gently run along the line of my tape. The paint has caused an extra layer so this area must be cut through so you can peel off the tape and not the paint.

Don't worry if you have torn up a bit of your Memo Board here and there. This is easily fixed with a little sand paper and barely any elbow grease. 

To make my Memo Board into a chalk board I added a couple of thick layers of Chalkboard Paint. It was so easy.

Put a good thick layer on and after it dries add another. Don't worry too much about the edge that meets the paint color. You will be adding a trim to this area so any small imperfections will be covered.

Now that my Memo "Chalk" Board is complete, I can play around with the placement of the Garden Fairies. I used both the Large Garden Fairies and the Medium Garden Fairies.  But don't feel you have to use Fairies. There are so many topics to choose from including Birds & Cages, Steampunk, Vintage, Travel & Intercontinental and so much more. Click here to find more GSLC Topics. 

After figuring out the placement of my Garden Fairies, I could then pick a color for the wings and know which side to attach my mulberry paper to.

Simply add some glue to the back side of the wings, smear it all around, and then place onto the chosen mulberry paper.

Let the glue completely dry and then trim off the excess paper. I used an X-acto blade again, and if the paper isn't all the way dried it will smear and tear. 

I used the same gloppy paint technique to my Garden Fairies to keep them mysterious. Because that's what Fairies are, mysterious little creatures that only certain people can see. 

Now it's time for my trim. Have I ever told you how dependent I am on clothes pins? OMG I can't survive without them to hold my goodies in place while glue dries. 

Clothes pins are great for trapping Garden Fairies, I mean, HOLDING Garden Fairies in place while they dry. I would never trap any Fairies for goodness sake. That would be bad luck, wouldn't it?

With everything in place, I can add beautiful trinkets, beads and baubles. Fortunately I get loads from Alpha Stamps! 

Perfect Chalk Board for my daughter's wall, to remind her to do her chores and whatever else I ask her to do. No, it will just become a place for her to announce her love for her boyfriend, lol. 

Folklore states that fairies must know that you believe in fairies and their magic before they are willing to show themselves. 

Fairies usually come out to play at sunrise and or sunset or later at night. You might see a magic fairy circle, which is ringed by mushrooms in rainbow colors. 

If you are motionless and whisper to them in a sing-song voice, they might appear to you as they are very shy. 

They like playing fairy games, singing and dancing.

For more info on Fairies visit All About Fairies which is where all of my info was gathered.

Thanks for visiting!

Rhonda...

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Supplies Used:

Memo Board

Garden Fairies Large

Garden Fairies Medium

Alpha Stamps Supplies Used:

Metal Flowers (Roses)** 

Metal Flowers (Roses) - 6mm Gold 

5-Petal Lucite Flowers 

Vitrail Bell Flowers

Medium Glass Trumpet Flowers

Small Bent-Wing Dragonflies