Happy Birthday Howard Pyle-A Peek-a-Boo Project

Howard Pyle was born on March 5, 1853 in Wilmington, Delaware. He is famous for writing and illustrating children’s books, most significantly “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.” He was dubbed the Father of American Illustration. His work is credited with inspiring modern pirate costumes, including Johnny Depp’s look in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. A less famous work of his, and in his opinion a complete failure are the illustrations for Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shallot”. These are the inspirations of this artwork.

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Print Copies of Illustrations from The Lady Of Shallot.
3. Use Turquoise Stencil Butter and a Small Plastic Palette Knife to Paint Edges of GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks.
   
4. Use Fancy Cut Trimming Scissors Trim Edges of Illustrations.
   
5. Use a Green Brush Marker to Smudge Edges of Illustration. 
   
6. Glue Illustrations to Prepared GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks.
   
7. Paint GSLC Keys & Plates Shape Set with Metallic and Brown Acrylic Paints.
   
8. Use WeldBond Glue to Attach GSLC Keys & Plates Shape Set to Prepared GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks.
   
9. Use a Hole Punch to put Holes in the Four Corners of the GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks.
   
10. Use Two Needle Nose Pliers to Connect GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks Together with Steel Jump Rings.
    
    
    

Final Thoughts:

Quotes from “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood”

“I live in a Land where the forests are big, and the rivers are wide and blue. The sky is as big asa forest and the birds are as merry as my friends, the men of Sherwood.”

“Here, in Sherwood, where the trees are so green and the flowers are so bright, we live outlives in the company of friends”

“When a man is in trouble, there is no greater joy than to see friend coming to help.”

“Every man deserves a second chance. Every man deserves chance to be merry and free.”

“To be a merry man, one must learnt dance with the shadows.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shalott” is a rather sad tale, without a happy ending. It seems like the sadder side of a magical kingdom. It tells the story of a young medieval woman mysteriously imprisoned on an island near Camelot. She must weave a colorful web and only watch the outside world through a mirror. If she looks at Camelot directly, she will be cursed.

It tells of unfulfilled dreams, entrapped in our own ivory towers.  If we only observe the world through our windows or reflected in our mirrors we will never know the fullness of the land of the living with all its passions and pains, its wins and losses, the calm and chaos, its  beauty and decay.

Where Howard Pyle saw these illustrations as failures I like their art nouveau appeal reminiscent of Mocha but more organic. We each have love hate with our creations. 

March is a month of changes, as children we would draw pictures of lions and lambs.  It is said that “March Come in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.”

It is indeed like a lion with its fierce winds roaring, the cold like long white teeth, icicles piercing through our skin: then the gentle softness of a billowing white cloud, as white and fluffy as fleece on an ewe, the sunny fresh aired days as innocent as a new born lamb.

Supplies:  GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks , GSLC Keys & Plates Shape Set , Printed Copies of Illustrations from The Lady Of Shallot, Turquoise Stencil Butter, Small Plastic Palette Knife, Fancy Cut Trimming Scissors, Green Brush Marker,  UHU GlueStick, Metallic and Brown Acrylic Paints, Paintbrush, WeldBond Glue

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!

Trips Not Taken-A Peek-a-Boo Project

When I was younger and more adventurous, I thought I might like to travel the US and see some the National Parks that boast of natural wonders, breathtaking vistas, gasp worth scenery. 

They are written about in enticing almost pornographic phrases, “will certainly captivate you with its sights, sounds, and smells. Sparking blue lakes and lush meadows will mesmerize you. Flowing waterfall and colorful rocks will have you completely immersed in nature. Please enjoy this extraordinary experience and allure..” 

I think I would still enjoy seeing them but this is my dark side to the national parks…make them a popular  destination for every type of traveler— sightseers, adventure junkies, families, oversea visitors, and everyone in between. Summed up in this one word— “CROWDS”. You never are there in your romantic imaginings as those who first discovered and explored this amazing landscapes, you are there with thousands of others, pushing to be first, taking selfies so they are a center of attention and not the magnificent mountains, majestic meanderings, or calm rivers. They are there polluting beauty with their trivia and rudeness. I don’t mean to be an introverted isolationist but know as I have grown older, I seek solitude and drama free zones with almost every fiber of my being. 

I’ve reimagined these national parks  as how I’d like them to be, these are the inspirations for this artwork. A bit of Old West with a sprinkling of Retro Regal.

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Use a Sanding Block to Roughen Up Reminisce National Parks Poster Stickers. This is an Easy Way to Add Vintage Appeal to Shiny StoreBought Stickers.
   
   
3. Fill in Scratches with TH Distress Stains of Your Choosing.
   
4. Glue Prepared Stickers To Center of GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks. 
   
5. Use an Exacto Blade to Trim Edges of Stickers That Do Not Fit On To GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks.
   
6. As the Distressed Stickers are Slightly Smaller Than the GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks Add a Bit Of Vintage Map Scraps to the Top and Bottom Using a UHU GlueStick.
   

   
7. Sand Edges of GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks with A Sanding Block.
   
8. Use Bits of Carta Bella Paper-Outdoor Adventures Collection Kit, Carta Bella Paper-The Great Outdoors Collection Kit, Carta Bella Paper-Gone Camping Collection Kit, as Ephemera for Your GSLC Chunky ATC  Blank.
   
9. Use DecoArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze as an Adhesive.
   
10. To Add Depth and Interest add Other Layers of Vintage Map Scraps.
    
11. To Unify and Give the ATC “Posters” a More Vintage Look use DecoArt Matte Gel Medium a Plastic Palette Knife and Golden Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold Acrylic Paint as a “Wash”.
    
12. Paint Edges of ATC “Posters” with Golden Iridescent Copper (Fine) Acrylic Paint.
    
13. To Give it a More Oxidized or Burnished Copper Look Gently Add Golden Van Dyke Brown Acrylic Paint to the Edges.

Final Thoughts:

I have chosen for my virtual tour of the National Parks mostly mountainous locations as mountain man blood flows through my veins. I grew up in Pennsylvania near the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains the north eastern part of the Appalachian Mountains. The closest national park to where I live currently would be Shenandoah, a place my husband has fond memories of, but where we have never traveled as a couple.  

Geographically our virtual trip would start in The Great Smoky Mountains, I feel I’d be at home here among the landscapes of my ancestors, they go there for the fishing. 

Next up Rocky Mountain National Park, I used to think I knew what mountains were until I saw the Alps in Switzerland and later when I was driving to visit friends in Colorado Springs and I saw the Rocky Mountains on the distant horizon. Hour later I arrive at their home but I am not yet in the Rocky Mountain. Colorado definitely can boast world-renowned scenery. Their peaks are perhaps a too grand for my humble beginnings.

Yellowstone is our next stop and here will see the great bison herds-noted it is the only place in the U.S. where they have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Other mammals you may see here are grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, fox, moose and elk. We will behold its many geysers, none more famous than Old Faithful. There is a “Mini-Me” Grand Canyon here but we will move on the big kahuna, the full monty, the real deal, the boss of deep ditches.

 Upon viewing the Grand Canyon it is said that people are overcome with awe. Its expanse is mind-boggling. It’s colors defy the most colorful palette you have ever seen. There are layers upon layers of history and geology to discover. It makes you feel small, sobering to some to know they are not the only being in the universe. It reminds us that we are bart of something bigger than us.  It is said to still you, to calm you, a spirituality flows freely here, your energy may be restored and your spirit may soar.  The landscape is semi-arid, way too hot for my liking so we’ll move on.

Zion Nation Park is a red-rock desert and still too desolate for my liking I would imagine.iT does have Navajo Sandstone Cliffs, pine and juniper clad slopes, springs and waterfalls surrounded by lush and colorful almost hanging gardens. To these I would be drawn as I reminisce a favorite album by at Pueblo Musician and Native American Flute Player, Robert Mirabal - Music From Painted Cave. While is Zion we will be sure to do some hiking and if I were more agile the park boast world famous big wall rock climbs.

Our virtual tour will end here in Yosemite. It is best known for its waterfalls, towering granite monoliths, deep valleys and ancient giant sequoias. An ancient civilization called this place their home-the Anasazi people thrived here around 1,500 BC-traces of their villages, network of road and rock art can be found throughout the park today. Maybe we will catch a glimpse of the largest flying bird in North America-The California Condor. It’s been on the endangered species list since 1967. 

Looking back through the years , thinking of  trips I have taken to places I could only dream of growing up poor in Pennsylvania. I am grateful for eyes left wide open as I glimpsed amazing sights and sounds. Scenes once only black and white photographs in  our well worn World Book Encyclopedias. I still remember the green and off white textured covers with golden lettering on the spines. For me they were the eyes to the world.

Supplies: GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks, Reminisce National Parks Kit Paper Pad and Stickers, Carta Bella Paper-Outdoor Adventures Collection Kit, Carta Bella Paper-The Great Outdoors Collection Kit, Carta Bella Paper-Gone Camping Collection Kit,  Sanding Block, TH Distress Stains of your Choosing, Vintage Map Scraps, Exacto Blade, UHU GlueStick, Deco Art Triple Thick Gloss Glaze, DecoArt Matte Gel Medium, Plastic Palette Knife,  Golden, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, Iridescent Copper(Fine), Van Dyke Brown Acrylic Paints, Paintbrush

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!

Mysterious Moths-A Peek-a-Boo Project

I fell in love with vintage postcards as a child when I found my grandmother’s immense collection in our farmhouse attic. It was tattered and torn and many of the postcards had escaped their tiny photo corners and were mashed together.  They were scented with mothball and mildew. They are the inspiration for this artwork.

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Create Digital Design of your Downloaded Images- Mine are Moth Clipart Images from Etsy and Emerald Isle Vintage Postcards
3. I Removed Backgrounds, Changed Sizes, and Added Vintage Postcard Backgrounds.
4. Print You Digital Designs.
5. Edge Prepared Digital Pictures and GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks with a Maroon Watercolor Marker.
   

   
6. Glue Prepare Images to GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks using a UHU GlueStick.
   
7. Cover with Ranger Glossy Accent Dimensional Medium using a Small Plastic Spatula.
   
8. Allow to Dry Fully.
9. Use a GSLC Chunky ATC Blank to Trace Tartan Material. Cutting with Scissors.
   
10. Use WeldBond to Glue Tartan Material to Back of GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks. 
    
11. Next Time I May Cut My Fabric a Bit Bigger so More of it Shows Along the Edges.

Final Thoughts:

I wish I had seen all of the castles featured in these amazing vintage postcards when I traveled to Ireland so many years ago. I did visit Dunce Castle, it was a magical experience. I added the moths to the postcard to give them a more whimsical appeal. I find moths mysterious harbingers of nocturnal delights.

Dunce Castle is now a ruined Medieval Castle in Northern Ireland, it is the seat of the Clan MacDonnell. Its more recent claim to fame is that it was used in the filming of Game of Thrones. When we went there years ago Game of Thrones was not even on the radar.

Castles and Fairy Tales go hand in hand, “ I love fairy tales because of their haunting beauty and magical strangeness. They are set in worlds where anything can happen. Frogs can be kings, a thicket of brambles can hide a castle where a royal court has lain asleep for a hundred years, a boy can outwit a giant, and a girl can break a curse with nothing but her courage and steadfastness.” ~Kate Forsyth~

People are drawn to castles because of their  grander and poise, much like butterflies get first glance while the moths go unnoticed.  I loved combining the two in this artwork. I am a fan of juxtaposition, the noticing of the unfamiliar, the combining of the unexpected. Moths lifespans are fleeting but they have existed longer than butterflies. Some believe that butterflies evolved from moths. 

Moths can symbolize immediacy  and urge us to seize the moment, “at every moment something sacred is at stake.” As a moth is intensely dawn to the flame, it can symbolize a desire or an unfulfilled longing. It can also reflect or show a sense of unconditional love. Renewal and transformation are close to a moths memories. Moths can also camouflage and conceal so in this form we may think  of them as protectors.

Some of my all time favorite moths include the Luna Moth, Hummingbird Moths, Any of the Sphinx Moths, and the Cecropia Silk Moth.

Supplies:  GSLC Chunky ATC Blanks, Digital Downloads, Digital Manipulated Images, Ink Jet Printer, Maroon Watercolor Marker, UHU GlueStick, Ranger Glossy Accent Dimensional Medium, Small Plastic Spatula, Scissors, Tartan Fabrics, WeldBond Glue

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!