GSL Cuts: Fall wagon decor with Alicia Barry

Friday, October 13, 2017

Fall wagon decor with Alicia Barry

One of the things I love most about moving to live in the States is decorating for the holidays. Back in Australia, it's really only Christmas, but here, I get to decorate for three months straight across three different themes...it's awesome! My front porch is already covered in all things fall, and since I was in a fall mood, I decided to decorate this cute Gypsy Wagon to match. I've had this one for a while now waiting for the perfect plan. It was one of the first things I chose from the Gyspy Soul Laser Cuts shop, and I am super pleased with the way it turned out.

Your kit will come flat and has a lot of pieces. Don't be overwhelmed by this. It's not as hard to piece together as it looks. In fact, it's quite simple. Unfortunately I was too excited to put it together and forgot to take step by step pics. I'll try to explain as best I can. Here's what you are aiming for:

A few things to note. If you plan to paint the wagon, or cover it in paper, I find it much easier to do it before assembling. Just be careful not to paint the tabs or fill the slots with paint. I chose not to add the door to the front of mine. If you decide to add it, do it before you decorate.

Here's what the base will look like. There are little cogs to attach the wheels to the axel. They are small, be careful not to lose them. If you want the wheels to move, I definitely suggest painting each piece separately before assembly, so they don't dry together.

Here's the underside. I also decided to paint the decorative siding in gold after priming with gesso. (see the next picture also).

The sides all slot together. It should be pretty obvious. I again painted the decorative corners in gold.

I have chosen to keep my roof piece separate. It can slot in, but I wanted to be able to remove it. At the moment, I have some battery operated tea lights in there, but I also plan to put some pumpkin spice scented pot pourrie inside, so I want to be able to change it out each year. For the roof, you will see a number of long slats, plus 4 end pieces. Two have the tabs for the assembly, and two are plain to cover over the slats once completed. Use liquid adhesive to glue the slats at one end, then flip and attach at the other end once dry.

I took strips of patterned paper and used a border punch to create the decorative slat effect for the roof. You could also paint it, or cover it in textured material. I rolled a strip of paper and adhered to the centre of the roof.

Notice how my cascading flowers continue from the roof down the side of the wagon, then draws the eye to the smaller cluster in the front of the wagon.