New Guest Designer

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts is excited to welcome a new artist to our team.  Jon David Lowe will be joining us as a guest designer for the next several months.  We hope you enjoy his work as much as we do.

Welcome to my maiden voyage as a guest designer for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. My name is Jon David Lowe and I am mixed media artist whose canvas of choice are hand-bound art journals I call "treasure book" or Houdini-Hideaway boxes that contain a hidden book as a surprise. From a poem by J.R.R Tolkien, "All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost..."I hope that I can offer a different perspective to this already amazing team of artists. I am new to the journey of blogging and tutorials but love how my art soothes my soul and gives me courage to live without fear. By day I am a Middle School Math/Science teacherso my blog style will reflect that in the minutia of details and steps included.

Supplies:  .Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts-Arch Top Triptych 8 Inch , Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts-Steampunk Shape Set, Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts-Steampunk Gentleman, Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts-Narrow Windows, Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts- Leafy Swirl, decorative paper-I used Ella& Liv Steampunk Style, sand sponge, distress stains of your choosing-I used Tim Holtz tea dye. vintage photo, weathered wood, distress sprays-I used Tim Holtz Peeled Paint and Aged Mahogany, versa mark, iced enamel medium, embossing enamel or powder-I used Stampendous-Aged Hunter, Ice Enamels-German Silver, Tarnished Bronze, and Torched Copper, Embossing Antiquities-Rust, heat tool, Weldbond glue, clamps, small stiff bristle brush, Wendy Vecchi Embossing paste and Crackle Paste, thin plastic palate knife, alcohol ink, I used pebble, sandal, and rust, blending tool, screwdriver, assortment of tiny screws, two  decorative wooden dowels and wooden knobs to fit on end, Ziploc baggie of kitty litter, heavy gel medium,  assortment of metal and plastic embellishments, microbeads, Ranger Glossy Accents

1.  Take the Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Reliquary Arch Top apart.

2.  Use back panel to trace a stencil on a piece of decorative paper you will use for back panel. I made two stencils as I wanted to cover both parts of back panel.

3.  Cut out decorative paper panel and adhere to both sides of back panel using Weldbond.

4.  Allow to dry fully.

5.  Use a sandpaper sponge to lightly distress the edges and take away some of the gloss of the paper.

6.  Apply Tim Holtz  Distress Stains Tea Dye and Weathered Wood.

7.  On top portion of Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Reliquary Arch add Versa Mark.

8.  Sprinkle with embossing enamel or powder. I used Stampendous Aged Hunter and cure with your heating tool.

9.                I added more age by apply some Susan Lenhart Kazmer Iced Enamels Torched Coppers in random areas and cured with a heating tool.

10.                Glue the two pieces of the Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Reliquary Arch together using Weldbond glue and clamps. I used a small stiff bristle brush to remove any Weldbond that squeezed through the frames.

11.                Gather gears from Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Steampunk Shape Set.

12.                Use Ice Resin Enamels of German Silver and Tarnished Bronze  and Iced Enamel Medium and Embossing Antiquities Rust with Versa Mark to give them a metallic look curing with heating tool.

13.                Apply a thin layer of Wendy Vecchi Embossing paste to both sides of Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Steampunk Gentleman.

14.                Allow to dry fully.

15.                Add a thin layer of Wendy Vecchi Crackle Paste to both side of Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Steampunk Gentleman.

16.                Allow to air dry overnight preferably for best results.

17.                Use Tim Holtz Distress Stain of Vintage Photo to dye Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Narrow window.

18.                Use Versa Mark and Stampendous Aged Hunter and Iced Enamel medium and Torched Copper to age Gypsy Souls Laser Cuts Leafy Swirl.

19.                Use Weldbond to glue Narrow Window background.

20.                Use Tim Holtz Distress Stain of Vintage Photo and Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains of Peeled Paint and Aged Mahogany to color wooden dowels and end knobs.

21.                Glue ends to wooden dowels using Weldbond.

22.                Make note of where they will be attached to base of project.

23.                Use alcohol inks of pebble, sandal, and rust on a blending tool highlight crackle on dried Steampunk Gentleman.

24.                Use screwdriver and assortment of small screws to attach Steampunk Gentleman and Metallic Gears to project.

25.                Add areas of interest in random places of your project by building layers securing embellishments with heavy gel medium and a small stiff bristle brush.

26.                Before everything dries sprinkle with microbeads, I used copper and black.

27.                Add Ranger Glossy Accents to Narrow Window panes.

28.                Allow to dry for 24 hours so Glossy Accents and Heavy Gel Medium will cure clear.
29.                Add finishing touches using acrylic paints and alcohol inks.

30.                Attach wooden dowel using screws and a bit of Weldbond.

This makes a great stand alone piece or 3-D Father's Day gift.  These are some of the techniques that I would use to make smaller panels for my treasure books or on my Houdini-Hideaway boxes. Hope this will encourage you on in your artistic adventure and journey. "Little by little, one travels far." J. R. R. Tolkien

Gypsy  Soul items used:

Reliquary Arch
Arch Top Triptych 8 Inch
Steampunk Shape Set
steampunk Gentleman
Narrow Windows
 Leafy Swirl,