The Little Mystic's Hutch

Although I've always been interested in the magical, I've never been one for crystals. Lately however I've been admiring a number of Instagram accounts that share these gorgeous pictures of crystal grids. Shiny stones laid out in pretty patterns. They're enchantingly beautiful.

Those patterns, colours, and crystals got me thinking about glitter and stardust and dreams and the Universe. Yes, all those things at once!

So I put together the 3 Panel Hutch, added some spindly legs and stars...

... and filled it with tiny gem stones.

Perhaps I'll make a life sized mystic hutch for myself in the future, but for now my fairies will not be wanting. They have drawers filled with stars, and loads of stones and gems, to weave some magic.

If you'd like to see the process of making this hutch, you can pop over to my YouTube channel to watch the video HERE.

Here are all the bits and bobs I used to create The Little Mystic's Hutch:

3 Panel Hutch
(UK shoppers visit HERE)
Wooden Table Legs
3D Star Spacer Beads
Flat-Back Gold Star Studs - 12mm
Flat-Back Gold Star Studs - 8mm

Blue/Turquoise scrapbook paper
Gold Star Sequins
Brass Moon
Miniature Tarot Cards
Various Stones/Gems/Crystals
Tiny Wood Bowls and various miniature bowls/vials
Paint
Glitter

Love Finds a Way

As I have stated before one of my favorite bands is Over the Rhine, their latest album titled “Love & Revelation” in one of their more sorrowful, soulful ones in my opinion. It feels full of lamenting to me and I’m drowning in their luscious lyrics.

But for this blog I return to an older song titled “All My Favorite People Are Broken”

Believe me

My heart should know

Some prayers are better left unspoken

I just wanna hold you

And let the rest go

All my friends are part saint and part sinner

We lean on each other

Try to rise above

We're not afraid to admit we're all still beginners

We're all late bloomers

When it comes to love

All my favorite people are broken

Believe me

My heart should know

Orphaned believers, skeptical dreamers

Step forward

You can stay right here

You don't have to go

Is each wound you've received

Just a burdensome gift?

It gets so hard to lift

Yourself up off the ground

But the poet says, We must praise the mutilated world

We're all workin' the graveyard shift

You might as well sing along

All my favorite people are broken

Believe me

My heart…

This is the inspiration for this art piece.

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Barbed Wire Shape Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Barbed Wire Deco Frame Rectangle, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Flying Heart Wall Hanging, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Steampunk Hearts, Magazine Images, Pencil or Pen, Sanding Block, Coarse Sandpaper Sheet, Tim Holtz Distress Stains Antique Linen and Bundled Sage, Range Alcohol Inks in Honeycomb and Ginger, Weldbond, Matte Varnish Medium, Vallejo Red Oxide Paste, Spices-Chili Powder, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon, Weathering Powders in Pink and Orange, Suave Hair Spray, Rubbing Alcohol in Spray Bottle, Wow Embossing Pad, Ice Resin Enamels in Copper Glitz, Raspberry, Garnet, and Tarnished Brass, Allure Embossing Powders in Charred Gold and Hammered Metal, Wendy Vecchi  Red Germanium Embossing Powder, Heating Tool, Weldbond, Alligator Tool, Grommets, Deerskin Lace, Scissors, 24 Gauge Vintage Bronze Wire, Tweezers

1.  Gather Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Chipboard Pieces: Barbed Wire Shape Set,  Barbed Wire Deco Frame Rectangle,  Flying Heart Wall Hanging, and Steampunk Hearts. Take out piece you would like to use for your composition

2.  Find Magazine images you would like to use on the two large frame portions from the GSLC Flying Heart Wall Hanging Kit.

3.  Trace using a pencil or pen, so they will fit securely onto these pieces.

4.  A fun technique to age glossy new magazine images is to place them on top of a course grit sandpaper sheet and gently rub is a smoother sanding block until you get your desired patina.

 

 

5.  Use Range Alcohol Inks in Honeycomb and Ginger on back of newly distressed images, some will bleed through onto the front this is part of the technique.

6. Now edge and patina the front of your image with Tim Holtz Distress Stains Antique Linen and Bundled Sage.

7.  Glue onto your backboards using Weldbond.

8.  Give a quick coat of Matte Varnish Medium to seal the pictures in.

9.  While this is drying quickly add Vallejo Red Oxide Paste with a paintbrush to the corrugated cardboard pieces from GSLC Flying Heart Wall Hanging.

10.                To add a rustier appearance, use Spices of Chili Powder, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon, and Weathering Powders in Pink and Orange sprinkled randomly over the pieces.

 

11.                Seal and secure with Suave Hair Spray and Rubbing Alcohol from a Spray Bottle.

12.                Attach these corrugated cardboard pieces to the backboards using Weldbond.

13.                 While these are drying and pressed flat, begin embossing your other pieces.

14.                 I used Ice Resin Enamels Copper Glitz and Allure Hammered Metal Embossing Powders on the GSLC Barbed Wire Pieces and cured with a heating tool.

15.                I used Ice Resin Enamels of Raspberry and Garnet and Wendy Vecchi Red Geranium Embossing Powders and Chili Powders on the Hearts and cured with a Heating Tool.

16.                The wings and key were treated with Allure Charred Gold and Ice Resin Enamels Tarnished Bronze and cured with a heating tool.

17.                Assemble composition and Glue into place using Weldbond.

18.                Press flat to dry thoroughly.

19.                Once dry use the alligator toll to add grommets to the appropriate locations.

20.                Use brown Deerskin Lace to attach the two backboards together and to give it a loop for hanging from the topmost portion.

21.                I used 24 Gauge Vintage Bronze Wire and Tweezers to secure the key to the bottom of the wall hanging.

22.                Your Project is now ready to hang in the location of your choosing.

 Some final thoughts.

Another of my favorite Over the Rhine songs is titled, “I’d Choose You” It reminds me of my love for my partner and how we are a bit of an odd couple, different in many ways but a perfect pairing. I celebrate him on this my birthday month. I’d not be the man or artist I am without his amazing love.

If the moon fell from the sky

Rendering everything black and blue

I’d want you

I’d want you 

If the swallows fell like snow

Tumbling tiny angels with wounds

I will lay my body down

When the storm is finally through

If my faith should ever fail

Faltering look what I dragged it through

If the music all went still

Enabling all my fears to come true

I'd want you, I'd want you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

Maisy the Cow

Hello crafty friends!  It's Susan on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog, inviting you to join me down on the farm!

I've had this little rubber cow magnet for at least 25 years.  At some point it went from refrigerator to supply box, and now she's made her way back to the farm... or the cow pen.

I used the 3 x 3 Bagatelle Box.  I love these boxes since they are small but deep enough (for a milk bottle!).

I cut my farm-themed papers to size, then glued the box together.  Once it was dry I added the papers with Mod Podge.  Quick and easy!

And here she is, happy to be out of the supply box and back on the farm.

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Bagatelle Box 3x3 #ED6E

Queen of the Dead

Hi crafty friends!  Leigh Ann here for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts today!  I absolutely love creating papercrafts for Halloween so I convinced myself that August is close enough!  For this project I have Ms. Skeleton coming out of her grungy Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts coffin to celebrate.

The coffin ships flat and comes pre-scored for easy assembly.  I used 450 Quick Dry glue to assemble mine. I also grabbed these Tim Holtz mini clips from my embellishment stash to help hold everything together while the glue dried.  They worked wonderfully!

I got a little excited during the assembly process and forgot to take pictures.  First I gave the entire coffin a coat of black gesso.  I then used a green distress crayon and water on the outside to give it a grungy mossy look.  I also used thickers to put RIP on the front of the coffin.  I put it on a cardboard base and glued moss all around the coffin.

I filled the inside of the coffin with moss as well.  I heat embossed two bats from the spooky shape set and attached them to wires coming out of the coffin to look as if they were being released with Ms. Skeleton raised the lid.  I put a Prima crown on her head and added some paper flowers and pumpkins as decorations.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and have a great weekend!  I used the following Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts products on this project:
6 Inch Coffin Box
Spooky Shape Set

Hanging around by Betsy Skagen

So many elements go into this mixed media piece--layered background paper, mica stained glass windows, National Geographic background paper, an old dictionary page and even a tiny little noose.

To begin making this piece, give your Gypsy Soul chipboard elements a basic coating of acrylic paint--white for the skeleton and ivory for one of the arched window frames. Apply black ink to the edges of the skeleton.

Once the paint has dried, use a black pen to make crackle marks on your painted window. The picture below shows the start of t his process.

Rub black ink all over the second window frame and the tree.

Take a sheet of mica and peel it so you have a thin layer. Coat it with embossing ink and then sprinkle translucent embossing powders on it and activate with heat gun. This will create your stained glass. Cut out the mica to fit the window slots and glue to the back of your painted window frame.

Make a tiny noose from twine and place it around the skeleton's head. Draw spooky eyes onto another background paper. I used a CitraSolv treated National Geographic page.

Glue the free end of the noose to the black window frame, then glue the painted window frame with mica windows onto the black window frame. Adhere the entire set to your spooky eye background page.

Next begin layering the pieces: glue the window set to the tree and glue onto decorative paper. Adhere all of that to the vintage dictionary page.

Create a background page by dry brushing layer upon layer of acrylic paint onto it.

Trim down the dictionary page, distress the edges with brown ink and use matte medium to adhere the whole thing to your painted background paper. 

Ink the edges of the background paper with black ink. Then apply embossing ink to the edges and cover with Black Magic embossing powder. Activate with heat gun.

The black embossing powder adds a nice frame to your piece and it is now ready for "hanging" in your home.

Happy Saturday! -Betsy


Great Stuff
Skeleton Shape Set
Arched Window Frames
Tree 1
Mica sheet
Embossing ink
Seth Apter Translucent Baked Powders
Eileen Hull Black Magic Baking Powder
Cold press watercolor paper
Stamperia Paper
Vintage dictionary page
National Geographic CitraSolve page
Black ink
Black pen
Acrylic paints