There's A Cure For What Ails You

Hello crafty friends!  It's Susan here on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog.  I'm on an altered Altoids tin kick and I have a tongue-in-cheek one to share with you today.

As a frame for the tin, I used the Altoids Fairy Tale Inserts.  This is a set of three, each with a two-part decorative label holder.  Here are the other two in the set:

For a textured surface, I tapped an embossing ink pad on the frame then sprinkled embossing powder all over it (over a separate piece of paper so I could pour the excess back into the jar).

The heat gun worked it's magic and the embossing powder melted into a wonderful black and white textured surface.

I dabbed black paint onto the label frame surface, then used a brown brush pen to even out the color on the label's edges.

Attach the insert with a line of glue around the tin.

I used both parts of the label, and helped the glue set up with clothes pins.  Since the embossed surface is textured, I glued the label to the tin using strong E-6000.

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Altoids Fairy Tale Inserts #YB23A

Thanks for your visit today!

Sending All My Love

Hello and happy Friday!! It's Jennalee here today with an altered Altoid Tin and Frame. As you all know I love creating faux rust. While at Creativation earlier this month I was reminded of Rusting Powder from Paper Artsy. I knew this would provide the perfect finish for the blank canvas provided by the Altoid Tin from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.

The Altoid Tin comes ready for altering. I started by sanding mine to give it some tooth. 

Add some color to your tin with Mushroom and Gun Metal Alcohol Inks. 

Cover the tin with ephemera. I used a mix of Tim Holtz ephemera and vintage postage. 

Apply Rusting Powder with chosen adhesive and spray with a mix of vinegar and water. Spray every 15 minutes until level of desired rust is achieved. 

Look at that rusty goodness!! 

Cut a background for the inside of your Altoid Tin lid from Tim Holtz Journaling Cards. Smoosh into a puddle of Vintage Photo Distress Oxide. And add a length of Ruler Ribbon attached using a Tiny Attacher. 

Select a variety of postal themed ephemera to slip into the ribbon of the lid background. 

Cover the Altoid Tin Frame with patterned paper and add distressing with the run off of Rusting Powder from the tin. Add a Classic Label Sticker and hand-stitch an Arrow Adornment to the bottom of the frame. 

Using foam dots build up the frame insert to desired height. I chose to make mine level with the top of the tin. Cut a piece of patterned paper to apply to the inside of frame to cover the foam dots. 

Heat emboss a Photobooth photo using Vintage Beeswax. Once cool messy stitch photo onto a scrap of shorthand text. 

Stack foam squares to desired height and adhere to inside of tin. Color a small bunch of flowers with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and slip inside the frame. 

I really enjoyed putting together this little tin and think there will be more in the future. And you I can definitely see more faux rust using this method!! 

Happy creating ~ Jennalee

Madame Rose- Fortune Teller

Hi Everyone, 

Jess here today.

                                            

I was playing around with my stuff and when I popped this Altoid Inserts Fairy Tale Frame on the tin I thought it looked like an old fortune teller machine.  I can't tell you why, my mind just went there and I ran with it.
Here's what I started with when I was pulling bits and pieces together.

 I prepped the outside of the tin with a quick coat of gesso. I wanted my tin to be purple, 

but I didn't have a shimmery purple paint.  I just mixed these two together.  

 This will be the only time you see this color.  The tin is inside the vignette box and you have no clue it's purple.  Trust me.  It's purple.

The frame was painted with the Royal red and the bits of leftover purple were rubbed on there.  I went back and added more paint and ink later to age it.  

The Vine Corners(coming soon to the store) got a quick coat of Emerald Creek embossing powder. 

 As did the Art Deco Border.  I embossed both sides of these pieces.  When you get this from the store it is one large piece.  I wanted to use it to top my vignette box so I cut it to size.

Here is the tin with the Insert popped in there and the embossed medallion on the front. The crystal ball is made out of a bauble I covered with alcohol ink and glued to a vintage bingo marker.   

 Vines were added to the large vignette box. I glued on some flowers I inked up to look dried and old.

 The Art Deco Border was glued to the top.  I accidentally ripped the cigar label when I was inking it.  I rolled with it and think it adds to the overall look.

Here's a shot from the top.  I didn't want the pieces to match up at all.  I want the box to look a little broken down. 

The rest is detail work.  I rolled up vintage fortunes and placed them in the bottom so people can get their fortune. I used a different type of vintage fortune to make a border around the box.  

I hope you like her as much as I do!

Jess

'Be Very Afraid' with Susan Killam

Hi folks!  I'm here with another of my 'Skelly Tin' series.  I think the Altoids Inserts Fairy Tale Frames is just about the best invention ever!  Let me show you what the next frame inspired me to create.

Isn't this guy fun?  Eh, a little unnerving also.  *wink*

I made the tin with most of the same steps as this 'Creepy' one.  You might remember I struggled a little using a new-to-me medium on the frame itself, so I tried something different with today's project.

Instead of painting the Ranger crazing medium, I cut off the used tip of a foam brush (that had dried too much to wash and reuse).  I dipped it in the medium and used it as a stipple brush on the gesso-painted frame.

It worked perfectly, creating texture and a slight sheen.  No additional steps needed!  You can see the direction of the sponge (I held it perpendicular to the frame) so I will vary how I stipple next time.  The frame handled the thick wet medium like a champ.

Here is the Skelly Tin series so far.

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Altoids Inserts - Fairy Tale Frames #YB23A

Other Supplies Used
Altoids tin
My Mind's Eye halloween paper
Cheese cloth 
Dollar store skeleton
Black twine
Black gesso
Ranger Collage Medium/Crazing
Mod Podge (to affix paper to tin)
Glossy Accents as glue and dimensional effect
Fabri-Tac glue
Ranger Ground Espresso ink for edges
Burlap
Orange Peel Stickles

Creepy Tin By Susan Killam

Hello GSL fans!  Today I dip into the dark side and I'm dragging you with me.  That's OK, right?  Let's go!

For the project I used the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts' Altoids Fairy Tale Inserts.  There are 3 in the package.  I set the other two aside for my next tins.  Yay!

The first step for me is to rough up the metal to give the paint and adhesive something to grab.  Next I  gesso'd the edges since there is always a chance bits will show after the paper is applied.

 I knew the "creepy" would take a long time to dry, so that was cut out and glued to the laser cut.  I then filled the space with Glossy Accents and set it aside.

I decided which papers I wanted, cut them out, and inked the edges.  Mod Podge does great to adhere paper to the tin, although this jar is getting thick.  Can water be added to thin it out?  I'll try!

Ugh.  I put the inside sheet in upside down.  Keen powers of observation, Susan!  Since it's text, I couldn't fake it.  Luckily I had more paper and cut out a new one.  I think Mr. Skelly is laughing at me!

Once that was fixed I added the cheese cloth and random wood shaving curlicues with white glue.  I wanted to raise the bat up so I made a platform with bits of the extra laser cut chipboard.  Fiddly work but worth it.  Not pictured is the front bat painted with micaceous oxide -- this is actually going to be the bat's shadow layer.

I painted the Fairy Tale Insert with black gesso, then tried out the Ranger Collage Medium/Crazing for the first time.  I'll admit I wasn't crazy about it due to brush strokes and lack of actual crazing... then I tried to sand the brush strokes off with very fine sand paper.  Voilà!  Brush strokes gone and crazing visible.

 I used a little bit of watered-down black acrylic paint to cover the sanding marks.

Once that dried I put a fine line of glue around the inside of the insert and clamped it to the tin.

As that dried I gesso'd the base and top.  I used the large round disc to give the project more stability. On top of the gesso is black acrylic with a very subtle sheen and a few random swipes of quinacridone gold (orange-gold) and interference gold (bright gold) paints.

Glue those last pieces on and this is the finished project:

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts
Altoids Fairy Tale Inserts #YB23A

Other Supplies
Altoids tin
Wood candlestick
Wood base
Wood dowel rod end
My Mind's Eye halloween paper
Wood bats
Swarovski SS5 tanzanite crystals
Cheese cloth 
Random wood shaving curlicues (it's been around so long I can't remember the source)
Dollar store skeleton painted with white and off-white
Black lace scrap (spider web)
Black Stickles (spider)
Black twine
Black gesso
Black acrylic paint
Quinacridone gold paint
Golden Interference Gold paint (love this!) 
Ranger Collage Medium/Crazing
Golden Micaeous Oxide (on front bat)
Mod Podge (to affix paper to tin)
Glossy Accents as glue and dimensional effect
White glue
Brown ink for edges