Frame up your Gift Bags and Boxes

Hi and happy Sunday to all of you.  I hope that the cool fall weather is giving you lots of time to craft.  Just knowing the holidays will soon be on us makes me want to get a head start on gifty things.

Today I have a few projects that I did really quickly with some of my favorite frames in the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts store.  I love these for cards but I thought how fun to use them to decorate cute ready made boxes that you can buy and fill them with fun things to give for gifts.    

This box is in the cake decorating section and I just added this detailed round frame to the front and just added ribbon and flowers.  It's meant to be a cookie box so it would be ideal to bake up a batch of your favorite cookies to give inside or just for a gift card.

I made this bag with a frame called "Flourished Frame Elizabeth".  This bag I found at my local Hobby Lobby.  I just inked it with brown chalk ink and added pretty peach flowers on the side.

I really love the pretty details in this one.  It would make an amazing card too.

And finally my last card is made with this pretty circle laser chippie called Flourished Frame Marie.  This one I inked a couple of times and embossed between the applications so that  I would get a more glossy look for the frame.  And of course I added lots of rhinestones and flowers to go with the lace.

All of my projects were super easy to make and just done with layers so all you have to do is pick your colors and have fun.  Hope I inspired you to hop on over to the store and pick up a bunch of these neat frames for all your holiday projects coming in the months ahead.

Happy Sunday...Teresa

Supplies:

GSLC Flourished Frame Elizabeth

GSLC Flourished Frame Marie

GSLC Circle Frame

Other: Ready made boxes and bags, scissors, flowers, ribbons, rhinestones

`Friends`mixed media canvas by Lynne

Hello crafty folks! We all have special people in our lives, but here are some friends who are so much more than just special-they are extraordinary treasures, and this canvas I created with some beautiful GSL products celebrates them and the amazing bond we have with them.

After I chose the quote, I found a frame that looked beautiful with it (Flourished Frame Valerie Rectangle) then arranged other items on the canvas until I liked the placement.

I then primed the canvas and items with gesso; for flowers it is often best to prime them separately and then attach them to the canvas, as it can be difficult to get full coverage if you can't hold them at different angles while painting.I stenciled with texture paste before priming the canvas as well; even though the homemade texture paste is white, it is more porous than the primed surfaces so would absorb more mist and be darker than the rest. Items with deeper colours might need an extra coat of gesso (like that yellow metal flower!); you want the surface to be pretty much all the same colour before you add mists.

Often a quote, photo or other image/focal item is added after misting, but if the framing makes it necessary to add it before hand, be sure to mask the item before you mist! Believe me, no matter how careful a person is, there will be overspray if you don't!! (YES, I learned that the hard way!!) I just cut a piece of scrap cardstock to fit the opening.

Misting is fun! I used a couple different shades each of pink and peach, then added some opaque white to tone the colours down a tad. You can dab with a paper towel if the mist pools look darker than you'd like also.

I added a few glass bubbles and some pink microbeads. The microbeads don't show up a lot but they do add a little bit of different texture.

I enjoyed putting this project together and hope it gives you some ideas. I love using the lasercut doilies on my mixed media projects to add subtle texture, and there are so many great pieces available  that I'm sure you could create a canvas like this with any theme you wanted. Have a wonderfully creative week!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Flourished Frame Valerie Rectangle
Butterflies and Dragonflies
Border Sticks-hearts
Cardstock Doilies (contact store)

OTHER ITEMS USED

Prima stencils
homemade texture paste
glass bubbles
Mister Huey's, Tattered angels and Recollections mists
Misc flowers, buttons, etc
cheesecloth
gesso

Simple Gift Idea by Barb

Practically nothing throws me into a panic during the holiday season like an informal, last minute invitation of, "Hey, come on over tonight!" Because what follows isn't "Oh dear, what shall I wear?!" It is, "Oh dear, what shall I bring?!" In my circles, I'm known for handmade, which is great. But when I have half an hour or so to whip up the magic? Yikes!

So, here's a bit of inspiration that came out of one such moment. I began with a wide-mouth, 8-oz mason jar. I always have those around because I also like to make jellies and jams.

I began by sponging StazOn Studio Glaze all over the jar. It dries fast, so by the time I picked out the doilies I wanted to use from the Cardstock Doily Set - Intricates, I was ready to continue. I cut the doilies so that the curves would come up over the top of the jar. Then I simply glued them in place. I glued smaller doilies on top of those to cover some of the bare spots.

I set it aside for a minute to let the glue dry while I searched for the ribbon I wanted to use. Then I tied the ribbon with a simple knot. But, I felt like it needed a little something more. A little festive holiday sparkle, perhaps? Yes. So, I dabbed all over it with my Goosebumps Dauber and then sprinkled on fine glitter. 

Done! I had a cute little project to bring my hostess that night. It should be noted that I included battery-operated tea lights so as not to have open flame near the paper doilies.

Supply List

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Cardstock Doily Set - Intricates

Other

StazOn Studio Glaze

Goosebumps Texture Dauber

Glitter

Ribbon

Mason jar

Glue

Old Bird ATC Pocket Letter

It's the first Friday of September (already!) which means it's my turn to share a tutorial using magnifique products from Gina's. Woo hoo! This month I thought we'd do some nitty gritty paper crafting and create a sort of pocket letter.

I've been seeing these pop up all over my timeline and wanted to give it a try.

What is a pocket letter, you ask? Janette Lane, the creator of Pocket Letters™, explains on her site:


"Basically, you fill all the pockets of a 9 Pocket Trading Card Protector and send the whole page to someone who wants to swap with you... You fill the pockets with anything you like (stickers, tea bags, a note, washi tape samples, pictures, etc.) A short note or letter is included and tucked into one of the pockets. Then the Pocket Letter is folded up and sent in a standard 10 size envelope."**

I am a huge fan of ATC's (Artist Trading Card: miniature works of art measuring 2.5" x 3.5") so I've created a cohesive set of birdy themed cards to fill those little pockets with. You can source your own public domain images, or purchase a collage sheet with all of those vintage birds and sentiments available HERE.

When creating your own piece, consider other little bits and pieces to tuck into those sleeves. Stamps, ephemera, feathers... little bits that match the theme or look of your cards.

Also consider the sleeves themselves. I've added clear stickers to the exterior.

Of course you could just create these pretty ATC's and trade/give them separately. There's nothing wrong with spreading the crafty love around.

If you're not keen on making these little bits of art, you may want to check out the tutorial anyway as it includes creating the textured background seen below.

But enough blabble! HERE is the video tutorial. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give me a shout. I'm happy to lend a hand or answer any questions you have. Seriously. Don't be shy ;)

THE SUPPLY LIST

From Gina's:

Cardstock Doily Set 1

Cardstock Doily Set Intricates

Steampunk Fan

Ornamental Birdcages Shape Set

Pen & Ink Shape Set

Faux Metal Number Plates

Herringbone Small

Other things you'll need:

For the Birds Collage Sheet or your own vintage bird images

Cardstock

Paper (I used pages from an old book)

Decorative scrapbook paper

glue

White acrylic paint

Watercolour paint

Stamp pad

Clear stickers

Foam spacers

Ultra fine glitter

Tim Holtz Long Mini Brads 
Jute twine

Washi tape

Buttons, stamps and other small embellishments and trinkets

ATC Pocket Pages

**For more information on Pocket Letters you can visit Janette Lane's YouTube Channel or join the Pocket Letter Pals Network

Christmas House by Guest Designer Marla Rizzo

Hi Everyone, Marla here sharing my 3 Story House from Gina's store. I made it into a Christmas theme and I just love how it came out!

I used paper to cover it and some trims and of course lots of Snow Tex to add that just snowed look.

 I altered some items from the "Christmas Shape Set" that Gina has to make a snowman, penguin & Gingerbread man. With the addition of them it turns this little house into a special Christmas Dollhouse.

 Thank you for stopping by today!

Check out my video for all the details! 

Marla Rizzo

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrvZcfHMVB8idZx_BYynoSw

~Gina's Designs Products~

3 Story House

Christmas Shape Set

Cardstock Doilies

Other products:

Craftsupplies1 flowers & Lace

Graphic45 12 days of Christmas paper

Snow Tex

Red and Blue Christmas Cards by Melissa & A Wintery Layout by Nancy

Today we have double the fun on our blog, with two designers up to share their projects. First up is Melissa with some fun Christmas Cards.

Hi everyone! Melissa here with two cards for Gina's Chipboard Laser Designs. I thought the chipboard here added so much to the design; that makes it fun to work with. To decorate the chipboard I first prepped them with gesso.  The leaves are Utee sprinkled on wet chalk ink that I then melted with a heat tool. The scroll at the top is is just gold leaf paint brushed on. The snowflake on the right is silver leaf paint. I added a couple pieces of bling.

Chipboard used:

Snowflake Shape Set

Flourished Frame Bella

Papers from Reminisce and Kay & Company
Prima and Petaloo flowers
Prima bling

Vintaj metal
Jaquard Pearlex Powder
Plaid Liquid Gold Leaf paint, also silver
Distress Crackle Paint-Clear Rock Candy
Tsuineko chalk ink
Viva Modeling Cream
A few pointed back Swarovski crystals
Silver Stickles

Now over to Nancy with her gorgeous layout!

It is with great regret that we announce that today is our last project from Nancy.  Nancy has been with Gina's Designs from the beginning and had shared freely of her talent and time.  Nancy, we appreciate you so much and look forward to having you return as a guest with us in the future.

Hi Everyone, it's Nancy here!  Today I'm sharing a Vintage styled layout with a Winter theme.  I decided to frame my layout in a 12 x 12 wooden shadow box from Michael's, giving me more space to play with my chipboard shapes, embellishments, and mixed media techniques.  

I began by painting the unfinished wood frame with gesso.  When it was dry I used Mod Podge to adhere some of the design papers that I had printed onto tissue paper.  I then used some of my stencils to add texture.  I added even more texture with pieces of the Diamond Texture Sheet from Gina's Designs and some of our Intricate Doilies.  I embossed the pieces of chipboard texture sheet with Stampendous shabby blue and then I rubbed on gold Gilder's Paste.  The doily pieces were adhered to the frame with Mod Podge and when dry, I applied gold Gilder's Paste.  A closeup of the frame's textures is shown below:

I added texture to the chipboard tree from our Winter Shape Set with my goal being to give it the look of being glazed over with ice.  I first painted the tree with gesso.  I followed that with a coat of white pearlescent paint by Folk Art.  When dry I added Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Clear Rock Candy.  I then added Vintage Photo Distress Ink and wiped it off so it stayed mainly in the cracks.  I followed that by applying a white puffy dimensional paint and drew it on in a tree pattern.  While wet I sprinkled on clear glass beads and Tim Holtz Distress Glitter.  On the snowflakes I simply applied Stampendous shabby embossing powders in white and in ivory.

For the sled, also from our Winter Shape set, my goal was to try to make it look old and worn.  I began with a light coat of gesso applied using a fan brush so some of the natural chipboard showed through.  I added just a touch of light blue Prima Chalk Ink to the slats.  I then drew wood pattern on the slats with a Tim Holtz Distress Pen in Vintage Photo which I then blurred and blended with a water pen.  For the sleds framework, I first painted it with a brass paint dabber, then "rusted" it with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Embossing Powder.

Thanks for looking!

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Winter Shape Set

Snowflake Shape Set

Cardstock Doilies - Intricates

Texture Sheet - Diamonds

Other:

Printable Digital Paper by Crafty Secrets (Vintage Christmas Kit)

Flowers by Tresors DeLuxe and Prima

Dragonflies by Renea Bouquets

Elegant Masks by Lynne & Altered Tin by Shanna

Today we have two fabulous designers up to share their fun and exciting projects. First up is Lynne to share her altered masks.

Hi! Lynne here with  my latest project; I've been having fun decorating my new scrap room and decided to make these to hang on one of the doors using the Masks Shape Set.

I used pieces from the Mini Flourishes-Bella Set and the Feather Shape Set and used papers and embellishments from the November Scraps of Elegance kit  to finish them.

I painted the pieces with acrylic paint then brushed them lightly with white glitter paint.

The fussy-cut dangles were finished with Glossy accents to add strength and a metallic look. I had so much fun with these that I just might finish the other masks in the set for my door too-there's no end to the creative ways you could decorate these great pieces!

Gina's Products used
Mask Shapes Set
Feather Shapes Set
Mini Flourishes-Bella


Other Items Used
Marion Smith & Blue Fern Studio papers
Glossy Accents

Next up we have Shanna with a vintage style project.

Hi everyone. Shanna here today to share a fun altered tin. I don't know about you, but I love to re-purpose things. I really enjoy the things that are sturdy like cookie tins.

First I covered the tin with paper. Then I used a doily that I painted with some Distress Paint. I also painted the chipboard pieces from the Vintage Seamstress Shape Set. 

The sewing machine got an awesome coat of crackle paint to really make it vintage.

I finished off the tin with some flowers from our Craftsupplies1 cross promotion. 

Gina's Items Used:

Vintage Seamstress Shape Set

Cardstock Doily Set 1


Thanks for stopping by today!