Falltime Faeries-A Peek-a-Boo-Project

Toadstool and Mushrooms have a litany of symbolic meaning, they are thought to be signs of faeries, gnomes, and other wee folk. They are associated with the moon and in the language of flowers mean suspicion. In literature, they are a symbol of immortality and eccentricity. In China they symbolize life, happiness and rebirth. These are the inspiration for this instillation.

1.  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts have four of these Art Nouveau Frames, I chose 1, 2, and 4 for this artwork.

2.  I spent hours on Pinterest looking for Images of Magical Mushrooms, I settled on these three and place the extra into my “Assundries” Folder on my Pinterest Page.

3.  Adjust them to size so that the three of them can be the backdrop for the GSLC Art Nouveau Frames.

4.  Prepare Elongated Wooden Frame spraying with Seth Apter Izink Dye Sprays in Tea, Spring Green, and Honey, TH Distress Spray Stain Carved Pumpkin.

5.  While still wet sprinkle with Nutmeg and Chili Powder. Allow to dry fully.

6.  Once dry, seal entire frame with Matte Medium.

7.  Add patina and interest by dry brushing on Golden Green Gold Acrylic Paint.

8.  Once dry, cut and glue down three magical mushroom images.

9.  Press Images down using a piece of Deli Paper.

10.                Press into place with a weighted Ziploc bag, I fill mine with unused kitty litter.

11.                Prepare GSLC Art Nouveau Frames using Embossing Ink with a roller applicator.

12.                Sprinkle with Allure Ammo Camo and then Allure Weather Wood Embossing Powders, Curing Each time with a Heating Tool.

13.                To fill in any gaps I added TH Distress Stain of Bundled Sage.

14.                Then I did a quick dry brush technique using Golden Van Dye Brown Hue Acrylic Paint.

15.                Prepare GSLC Fairies using Embossing Ink with a roller applicator.

16.                Then sprinkle with Allure Mercury Rising Embossing Powders and Curing with a Heating Tool.

17.                Assemble your piece using Weldbond to adhere the GSLC Nouveau Frames and Fairies to the Magical Mushroom Prints.

18.                Hold into place with a weighted Ziploc bag as described above.

19.                Once fully dry, seal everything using a paintbrush and Matte Medium.

Some Final Thoughts.

 

 

Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies have fascinated me since I first found them on Pinterest many years ago. They were first published in 1923. The drawings portray Botanically Accurate Flora and Fauna along with enchanting fairy images based on real children from Cicely’s sister’s nursery school. Visit This Site to view The Fairies of The Autumn Archives. If you click on each image it shows you the accompanied poem or verse dedicated to the individual Flower Fairy.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies:  GSLC-Art Nouveau Frame 1, GSLC-Art Nouveau-Frame 2,GSLC-Art Nouveau Frame 4,GSLC-Garden Fairies Small, Images of Magical Mushrooms, Elongated Wooden Frame, Deli Wrap, Seth Apter Izink Dye Sprays in Tea, Spring Green, and Honey, TH Distress Spray Stain Carved Pumpkin, Hairspray, Nutmeg, Chili Powder, Matte Medium, Paintbrush, Golden Green Gold Acrylic Paint, Weldbond, Weighted Ziploc Bag, Embossing Ink with Roller Applicator, Allure Ammo Camo, Weather Wood, and Mercury Rising Embossing Powders, Heating Tool, TH Distress Stain Bundled Sage, Golden Van Dyke Brown Hue,

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!

Documenting December

 Hello everyone, I can hardly believe that we are nearing the end of November. When the pandemic hit, it seemed as though all of the months started blurring together, and before I knew it, six months had passed, then seven, etc... I've heard a lot about how people like to do daily journal entires for the month of December, helping them to stay focused on the joys of the season and allowing them to highlight and appreciate some of the important moments. I think this year, more than ever, this will be a valuable exercise. For this reason, I have created a December journal.Today, I am sharing the journal I made for "documenting December." I start with a die cut journal base made from the Eileen Hull Sizzix Journal die. I cover the die cut pieces with some of my favorite Tim Holtz holiday papers and use a bunch of Gypsy Soul Laser Cut chipboard pieces as embellishments inside. There are so many different Christmas and holiday chipboard pieces in the GSLC shop to choose from. This post will highlight some that I use in this journal.

On the cover, I add an altoids tin topper 1 piece in each corner. I love how the design of these pieces plays off the paper pattern. For these pieces, I coat one side with Versamark embossing ink and then randomly sprinkle Distress embossing glaze in rustic wilderness onto the ink. The embossing powder melts when heated. To give it a grungy look, I sand off areas of the glaze, allowing the chipboard to show through. If you happen to add to much powder and are not happy with the shine, you can use a piece of steel wool to dull the finish. Its best to only add the embossing to one side of the piece, this will allow you to easily secure it to the cover with craft glue.

Inside the journal, the "signatures" are made from mixed media heavyweight paper and cut to size. Using a heavy weight paper will give me freedom to add different mediums to the pages. I stamp numbers into the corner of each page to correlate to the days of the month. I do not sew the signatures together, leaving them free to be removed. This will allow me the flexibility to journal, paint, stamp or draw onto the page without worrying about dirtying up any other pages. When I complete that day and it is completely dry, I can simply slip it back into place. I add some additional vellum sheets to the signatures for interest.

I use one of these vellum pages to showcase the GSLC believe Santa. After carefully removing the piece from the surround, I paint the chipboard with black soot Distress paint. Once the paint is completely dry, I use a silver leaf metallic paint pen along the outermost edge to highlight the figure and deer in the night sky. I attach the upper portions of some house die cuts along the bottom edge so that Santa can soar above the rooftops.

The Christmas shape set contains so many fun pieces that are perfect for embellishing the journal pages. I use various colors of Distress paint to add details to the pieces. Festive holiday lights stretch across the top of one of the pages. Each painted bulb is glued to the page and then I add the "wire" by drawing a curvy line between the bulbs so that they appear as if they are a string of lights, all connected to each other.

The stockings from the Christmas shape set can be decorated to look any way you chose. I opt for a simple approach by only painting the bottom portions with candied apple Distress paint. A very fine burlap string allows the three stockings to be "hung" across the page. You can also add stamped images or a monogram to really personalize the look.

I prepare a number of extra pieces that will be incorporated as I fill the journal. The smallest trees from the pine tree shape set are some of these pieces. I think it will be fun to add one when documenting the day we select our Christmas tree, as well as when we decorate our tree. These pieces are prepared by painting them with a coat of rustic wilderness Distress ink. If the weather is snowy on the day we pick out the tree, I may add a bit of grit paste to the branches or maybe even sprinkle some blizzard embossing powder onto the tips of the pines. The best part of having prepared pieces is the ease with which they can be added when the time is right. With December being such a busy month, being prepared will allow more time for other things as well as make it easier to create fantastic pages in minutes.

I intentionally leave many of the journal pages unadorned. This allows me the freedom to add notes, artwork, stamps, or even tags where I want. The GSLC small tag set is the perfect size to add into the journal. The set comes with ten (10) small tags. I make up a handful to coordinate with my journal. On one side of the tags, I attach a piece of holiday paper with collage medium. The edges of the paper are trimmed to fit the tag. I punch a hole in the decorative paper at the location of the existing hole in the tag, and insert a 3/16" colored eyelet. The reverse side of each tag is simply inked to allow for the addition of  notes or a picture. These will definitely come in handy when I begin documenting December.

Another piece that I have painted and am keeping handy is the layered frame carlon. This can frame up a nice saying or image, or maybe even a mini Santa pic! 

Maybe you are inspired to create your own December journal; Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts has a wide variety of pieces that would work perfectly for adding special touches to your pages. I know that I am looking forward to documenting December and being able to appreciate the little things each and every day.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today, I truly appreciate it. If you live in the United States, or celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you and yours a day filled with gratitude and love. I will be back in December with my last Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts project of the year.

Be safe and take care,

Ann

xxx  

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:

Altoids tin topper 1

Believe Santa 

Christmas shape set

Layered frame Carlon

Pine tree shape set

 Small tag set

Three Easy Pieces

That's all it takes to construct one of 

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Wallet Style Folio.

Once you receive your chipboard kit

you'll see that each piece is pre-scored.

Fold the score lines as shown in the photos below.

The long piece is the center piece with a side pocket on the far left. Both sides fold in towards the center.

The top piece folds down and the bottom piece folds up & has a side pocket. But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit.

First, please notice that both the top and bottom pieces have 1/2" seam. Take the top piece and apply glue to the 1/2" seam and glue that seam to the outside center portion of the book (the middle piece shown in the first photo above). BIG TIP: Do not glue over score marks.

Repeat this step with the bottom piece, applying glue to the 1/2" seam and then gluing the seam to the bottom outside center section.

Your book should look like this:

Notice that you can still see all the score marks on the two pieces just attached. If you can't see the score marks the folio won't close. Note: Those wings on the left center and bottom will be pockets after we wallpaper the main pages.

I've decided to decorate this folio with Tim Holtz Christmas paper. IDEA: It would be great as a gift with kids' photos in it to give to a Grandma or an Aunt. Or maybe my daughter-in-law with her fur babies! (shhhh )

Here's a walk through of the entire folio:

or visit my You Tube Channel:  

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Wallet Style Folio

Here's a list of what I used on this project:

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Wallet Style Folio

(coming soon)

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Writing Stencil

(coming soon)

Thanks for visiting!

See you in a couple of weeks.

Nancy Wethington

Farmer's Market Honey Display

Happy Saturday, everyone! This is a project that takes me down memory lane. My husband and I have kept bees off and on over the years and I spent many seasons at our local farmer's market selling our honey (and lamb, eggs, produce, beeswax candles, soap & pottery). The GSL Mini House Room Box 4 Cubbies gave me the idea to make a miniature farm stand display that would make a beekeeper proud. Let me take you through how it came together.

Here are the chipboard pieces laid out. The interior of the house has interlocking pieces that make up the cubby sections. 

After assembling the interior, side walls and bottom of the piece using tacky glue, I painted the cubby walls and front edges with off white acrylic paint. I also painted the interior surface of the roof pieces the same color.

The attic section of the house was papered in Graphic 45's Olde Curiosity Shop Parlor Wall, which has a lovely bee pattern. The cubby walls were papered in one of Authentique's Latest and Greatest papers. The floors got a woodgrain paper from Honey Bee Stamps Home Essentials.

The roof got a shingles paper also from the Home Essentials collection. I used a black and gray check paper from Kaisercraft's Looking Glass Collection for the house's exterior walls. 

I made some fun things to go inside the display, starting with miniature candles made by dipping white florist wire in melted beeswax from our hives. Once cooled, they went on a small brass hook. I added a few descriptive signs.

I got some UV resin supplies for my birthday and these little yellow bears were my first resin project. I turned them into honey bears by adding lids made from small beads and painted toothpicks.

We never had an observation hive to take to the farmer's market but a lot of honey vendors do. I started with a printed image and cut craft sticks to size. They were glued together and painted brown.

For a hive cover I glued on a small piece of transparency on top.

Once the glue was dried I simply cut away the excess.

Finishing touches include a spray of embellishment flowers in the attic space, along with a bee I made from pom poms and transparency wings.

The honey bears look so cute together! Any self respecting honey vendor has entered a jar or two in the county fair and come home with a ribbon or two (we have!). I felt this display deserved a few ribbons made from brads and blue (or course) ribbon. When I was making the dipped candles I poured the leftover melted wax in a rosebud mold and added a piece of florist wire for a candle wick. The honeycomb candles are made with small strips of hive foundation wax sheets wrapped around florist wire.

These floral candles on the left are simply molded polymer clay fitted with a florist wick. The observation hive cubby also contains resin honey jars.

I wish we had a real life size one of these! Thanks for stopping by!

GSL Products Used

GSL Mini House Room Box 4 Cubbies

Other Supplies Used

Tacky glue

Acrylic paint

Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shop Parlor Wall

Authenitque Latest & Greatest

Honey Bee Stamps Home Essentials

Kaisercraft Looking Glass Collection

Printed images

Polymer clay

White florist wire

Beeswax

Resin bears & jars

Metal beads

Toothpicks

Embellishment flowers