Crazy Quilts and Woven Friends

I've always loved Crazy Quilts. I'm lucky enough to have one of my paternal grandmother's rescued from the dusty attic of our homestead. She worked in a pajama factory that also did custom upholstery, frugal like my mother she collected the scraps and made the amazing tapestry I now own. When my mother passed in November of last year a dear artist friend gave me a care package that contained one of her felted hearts, and other small paper ephemera, these are the inspirations for this project. Our lives may appear as crazy quilts to some, tattered and torn, weathered and worn best to be replaced with luxurious, expensive duvet cover, but as for me and my menagerie of friends we find comfort in oldfangled, rescued, family treasures.  

 1.  Take apart GSLC Large Tags,  GSLC Mini Tudor Rose Singles and Heart Shapes from GSLC Henna Doodles 1 Set.

2.  Paint GSLC Large Tags with black acrylic paint, allow to dry fully.

3.   Choose collected embellishments from your stash. I am using a felted heart and two paper ephemera.

4.  Choose some magazine pictures within your color palette. 

5.   Cut random shapes from magazine pictures using pinking shears or Fiskars Paper Edgers.

6.   Glue pieces onto painted tags, you are attempting to create a quilt-like pattern.

7.  Use a small paint brush  or a toothpick and white gesso to stitch your paper quilt pieces together.

8.   Use versa mark and red embossing powders or enamels to color the GSLC heart pieces. Cure with a heating tool.

9.  Use versa mark and green and blue  embossing powders or enamels to color the GSLC Mini Tudor Rose Singles. Cure with a heating tool. Some final thoughts.
11.                Choose sari ribbons to add texture behind the GSLC embossed pieces and to further the illusion of a quilted piece.
12.                Assemble securing with Weldbond and weighting down with plastic bag filled with kitty litter.

Some final thoughts: "In the Quilt of Life, friends are the stitches that hold us together" is a befitting quote for this project. Others could be: "A good friend, like an old quilt is both a treasure and a comfort.", "A friend is like a quilt designed by heart, pierced in time, sewn by hand and bound to keep you covered." and "When things are in pieces, quilt them together." There is a category of photography titled urban decay you can look up on Pinterest, I find it organically intoxicating. It is what I seek to exude in my living and in many of my art pieces.

 

 

  

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Large Tags, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Mini Tudor Rose Singles, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Henna Doodles 1, Collected Embellishments, Scrapes of  Magazine Pictures, Black Acrylic Paint, Paint Brush, Fiskars Paper Edger Scissors, White Gesso, Small Paint Brush or Toothpick, Versa Mark, Embossing Powders or Enamels in Reds, Greens, and Blues, Heating Tool, Sari Ribbon, Weldbond

I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!

Do You Believe in Fairies?

Hello gypsy soulmates!  I've been playing with the fairies and captured a few on this cool 3D "film" from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  Let me show you!

The Filmstrip Shadow Box is 14" x 4" x 2".  For scale, you can see a wee bit of my keyboard in the top of the photo.  See the excess chipboard bits in the top right corner?  Save those!  They're great to use for added dimension.

This has three interior panels but I'm only going to use the center one.  I measured strips of paper for the inside walls and both sides of the center panel, and attached with Mod Podge.

Here's the ceiling panel, cut in two pieces to allow the center interior panel to fit the notches.  White glue to stick it all together.

The Leafy Tree - Small comes with two trees - this is the smaller one.  I painted it and all 6 of the Garden Fairies - Small with white gesso.

I wrapped the outside with fun stripey paper.  I only have it in 8x8 format, so I used 2 sheets that line up perfectly; Mod Podge to adhere.

I used Lumiere metallic acrylic paints for the fairy silhouettes - Pearl White for the bodies and assorted colors for the wings.  I used a light green metallic paint on the tree and small excess chipboard bits on the back to raise it off the finished surface.

My first thought was to paint the filmstrip front with a very light salmon color, but ended up with an amethyst-brown mashup.

I cut the tree in half with a guillotine cutter and used white glue to adhere to the back of the box.

Thanks for your visit today!

Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used

Filmstrip Shadow Box #HD111513001
Garden Fairies Small #RB1
Leafy Tree Small #D14E

Other Supplies Used
White glue
White gesso
Graphic 45 Fairie Dust
Lumiere metallic paints
Golden acrylic paint in purple and brown
Paper flowers
Sheet moss
Crochet lace

Journal Insert

Hello this is Yolie with today's project.
Time to rewatch the Oscar nominated movies! I have watched Roma several times and so happy it won Best Foreign Film, but let's get to my project. Fitting for the Oscar buzz that follows last night's ceremony, I created a traveler's notebook to jot down my thoughts, favorite movie quotes and photos of my favorite gowns.

I used Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Stars & Flourishes Border and Corners with Graphic 45 Vintage Hollywood Collection.

I used a metallic yellow gold reinker to paint the stars "Oscar Gold". I applied three coats for complete coverage.

My Oscar traveler's notebook insert is B6, enough space to create a collage cover. I fussy cut a few of the images, words and inked the edges. I then layered them to create a collage. I added the corner flourish on and scattered the single stars throughout the cover.

"The award goes to..." Love the Oscar Gold Stars! The shiny metallic finish looks amazing!

I trimmed a bit of the mini film and added it to the "Hollywood" sign.

Looking forward in filling up the notebook! Thank you for visiting today and happy crafting.

Supply List: 
Stars & Flourishes Border and Corner Set Item No. D134B
Graphic 45 Vintage Hollywood
Gold Metallic Reinker
Paint brush
Tim Holtz mini film strip
Tape runner
Tombow Glue
Brown Ink
Black Cardstock
Dauber
Scissors
Paper Trimmer

Happy Easter Layout

Hi everyone!  Leigh Ann here today with a two page 12x12 layout featuring Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts chipboard and Doodlebug Designs Bunny Trails. 

To begin, I prepared the tall bird house and three eggs from the For the Birds chipboard set by coating them with white gesso.  I also pulled out the front and back nest pieces, but left them raw.

While the gesso was drying I used 3 brown Copic markers to color the nest.  I used the darkest color on the entire base piece, then the mid and lightest colors on the straw looking piece to give it some dimension. I also used the dark marker on the post for the birdhouse.

Once my eggs were dry I colored them with Tombow markers, then decorated them with a Gelly Roll glitter pen.

I put together a quick two page layout using a few layers of paper and a few stickers from the collection, then assembled my birdhouse and nest and mounted it to my layout. I accented it with a bunny sticker from the 12x12 combo sticker sheet. 

I hope you have enjoyed this layout tutorial.  I know I'm excited to be two pages ahead when Easter rolls around!  Especially since most of us as scrappers are never caught up!  

I used the following Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Set on this layout: For the Birds

She's Got a Ticket to Ride by Betsy Skagen

What does your creative process look like? For me, some vintage Silver Star tickets sitting on my desk reminded me of the old Beatles song. That inspired me to search through my stash to find the perfect saucy woman.

A lingerie model from a 1940s magazine and several elements from Gypsy Soul, including a silver star,  set me on the path to create this mixed media / altered art wagon.

Tutorial: How to Create a Retro Mixed Media Wagon.

Begin by covering a shallow box with black gesso.

On cold press watercolor paper prepare a multi-layered mixed media background using acrylic paints, dry brushes, stencils, inks and other mixed media tools. 

Use an embossing ink pen and a stencil to create the rocket cone. Add Deep Sea Baked Texture and activate with heat gun.

Cut your newly created mixed media paper to fit the inside of your box. Score where it will fold and make corner slices so you can create the box shape. Below I am showing the messy back side ( I am never a tidy crafter!) of the mixed media water color paper so you can see how I scored the paper and cut the corners.

After making sure your paper fits inside the box, Fold the paper into a rectangle, add glue and let dry.

Use paint or a marker to color the edge of your paper so that you won't have a glaring white edge.

Depending on the size of your box, you may want to trim the wheel axels so that they don't overwhelm your project.

Then cover all of the chipboard pieces--Ticket Strips, Stars String Alongs, Wheels, stars from the Celestial Shape Sets and a rectangle from the Four Panel Door with black gesso. When dry, paint the stars with metallic silver paint.

Select a paper straw that will fit through the axel and wheel holes and four washers that also fit. Paint the straw with black gesso. When dry cut the straw to fit the axel base.

Attach black Tyvek to the axels so you can strengthen the bond between the alexs and the box. I just love black Tyvek. You can use it for so many purposes such as creating incredibly strong folding hinges on books and journals. I used to color white Tyvek envelopes with a black marker until I found that I could purchase a black version of it.

Ink the Star String Along with embossing ink, cover with silver embossing powder and use a heat gun to activate it.

Punch a hole in the top of your mixed media paper box and thread the star through it. Cement the star in place with strong adhesive tape.

Adhere your mixed media paper box inside the cardboard box.

Using a strong glue like Beacon Fabrfi-Tac, adhere the axels to the bottom of the box. Slide the straw pieces through the axel, add the wheels and glue the stars from the Celestial Shape sets onto the straws. Add the chipboard rectangle to the front of the box to create a handle or carriage coupling.

Fussy cut a vintage lingerie model, adhere to black cardstock and cut around the image. Use a metallic silver paint pen to paint her shoes silver.

Tear one end of the tickets and the chipboard ticket strip. Distress the edges of vintage tickets with black ink. Adhere the tickets to the chipboard strip, then adhere the woman to the ticket strip.

Next add foam adhesive squares to the back of the woman and tickets to add depth to the project. Because I didn't have any thicker adhesive foam on hand ( and was too lazy to go to the store), I stacked three adhesive squares together to give extra dimension. Line up the tickets with the embossed arrows to create a rocket. Adhere the woman and tickets to the inside back of your box.

Use a printer or typewriter to create your title piece. Cut into a rectangle, ink the edges with black ink and adhere to a black cardstock background.

Cut a rectangle of clear acetate, score in half and adhere to the back of your title piece to make an invisible stand. Adhere inside the carriage box.

Apply metallic silver paint to a foam blending tool and stencil assorted graphics to the side and back of your carriage.

Add black Dresden trim.

Your Ticket to Ride Carriage is now complete! I hope you were able to find a little inspiration or knowledge from this tutorial. Have a great weekend! -Betsy 

Great Stuff

Chipboard Ticket Strips
Moon & Stars String Alongs
Wheels
Stars from 2 Celestial Shape Sets
Rectangle from Four Panel Door
Cardboard box
Vintage tickets
Vintage ad
Black Tyvek
Deep Sea Baked Texture Embossing Powder
Silver embossing powder
Embossing ink pen
Black ink pad
Assorted stencils
Foam blending tool
Foam adhesive squares
Black Dresden trim
Clear acetate
Printer or typewriter
Paper straw
4 washers
Cold press watercolor paper
Black cardstock
White cardstock
Black gesso
Acrylic paints
Metallic silver paint pen
Beacon Fabri-Tac
Beacon Zip Dry