In the Eye of the Beholder-A Peek-a-Boo Project

It is an old axiom, and well said, That “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.  Small paintings of eyes first became popular during the late eighteenth century. They reminded wearers of a loved one, whose identity remained a secret. The single eye also symbolized the watchful gaze of a jealous partner, who feared that his or her lover might stray. These are the inspirations for this artwork.

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Go Through Magazines Adverts Looking for Expressive Eyes.
   
3. Use a Pencil to Trace Smaller Portion of GSLC Mini Frames.
4. Cut Out Traced Eyes Using Scissors.
   
5. Now Look Through Magazine for Texture Images.
   
6. Use a Pencil to Trace Larger Portion of GSLC Mini Frames.
7. Cut Out Traced Textures Using Scissors.
8. Paint Inner Smaller GSLC Mini frames with Metallic Paints-I Used Copper and Golden Tones.
   
9. Paint Outer Larger GSLC Mini Frames with Metallic Paints-I Used Blue  and Toned it Down with Golden Transparent Iron Oxide Paint.
   
10. Use a Pencil to Trace Larger Portion of GSLC Mini Frames on to Scraps of Thin Cardboard.
    
11. Cut Out Traced Templates Using Scissors.
12.  Glue Larger Portion of GSLC Mini Frames on to Scraps of Thin CardboardUsing a UHU GlueStick.
    
13. Glue Eyes to Back side of Inner Smaller GSLC Mini Frames.
14. Glue Inner Smaller GSLC Mini Frames Onto Inside Center Of Larger Outer GSLC Mini Frames.
15. Press and Dry Completely.
16. Add Micro Gems to Frames Randomly Securing with Ranger Gloss Accent.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Final Thoughts:

As a child when we would take the road trip to visit our cousins in New Jersey  we’d play a version of the “I spy with my little eye” game. Mostly it would turn into the alphabet  game where we would teach for letters on signs or license plates.  The end of this game proved to be more challenging than the first part.

Eye Quotes

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

~Marcel Proust

Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.

~Jim Carrey

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

~Albert Einstein

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

~Mark Twain

Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.

~Paramahansa Yogananda

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.

~Benjamin Franklin

What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.

~Harry Houdini

Supplies:  GSLC Connie's Mini Frames , Magazine adverts, Pencil, Scissors, Metallic Paints, Scraps of Thin Cardboard, UHU GlueStick, Ranger Glossy Accent, Micro Gems

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!

Julia's Kitchen

I have always hugely admired Julia Child for so many reasons.  She was such an accomplished woman who is known and loved worldwide. She earned 3 Emmys, 4 James Beard Awards, a Peabody, a National Book award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

She donated her Cambridge, MA kitchen to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in 2001. It's where her TV show was frequently filmed.  The kitchen was her favorite room.  She described it as “the beating heart and social center of her household”.

I wanted to make a miniature version which was a big challenge as it's quite well known.  That meant I was going to have to hand build the cabinetry, but I didn't have to build the structure as it lives inside a GSL Deep Open Front Room Box which is available over at Alpha Stamps.

The room box is 10 inches wide by 10 inches tall by 5.5 inches deep which is a lot of space to work with.  The interior walls were painted with acrylic paint.  The floor is a sheet of DCWV Photoreal linen paper that reminded me of 1950s linoleum.  It took me a while to decide if I wanted the front facade and ceiling of the room box included.  I eventually decided to leave them off to allow natural light inside the room to show off all the tiny treasures. 

The kitchen window has blinds that I made by cutting a section of a manila folder the same width of a GSL 4 Panel Window then scoring it into pleats. You can't really see the sunny blue sky outside with the blinds on top but that's OK... I know it's always sunny outside Julia's kitchen window. 

Leaving off the ceiling and front facade left me with some tabs that needed to be covered. My solution was to paper the exterior all the way to the top of the tabs then glue 0.2 inch square bamboo craft sticks to the top of the tabs. Below those I glued lengths of 3/8 inch width x 0.078 inch craft sticks.

The finished effect looks like crown molding at the top of the room.

 The cat and artichoke artwork she displayed on her cabinets were reproduced and set into two of the GSL Connie's Mini Frames.

Here are some close ups showing the details and all the tiny kitchen ware, which were sourced both from my stash and Alpha Stamps.

This project was great fun and required me to plan ahead and learn a lot of new skills.  It will remind me of her every time I walk by it.  Thanks for stopping by!

GSL Products Used

Deep Open Front Room Box

Windows 4 Panel

Connie's Mini Frames