Love Finds a Way

As I have stated before one of my favorite bands is Over the Rhine, their latest album titled “Love & Revelation” in one of their more sorrowful, soulful ones in my opinion. It feels full of lamenting to me and I’m drowning in their luscious lyrics.

But for this blog I return to an older song titled “All My Favorite People Are Broken”

Believe me

My heart should know

Some prayers are better left unspoken

I just wanna hold you

And let the rest go

All my friends are part saint and part sinner

We lean on each other

Try to rise above

We're not afraid to admit we're all still beginners

We're all late bloomers

When it comes to love

All my favorite people are broken

Believe me

My heart should know

Orphaned believers, skeptical dreamers

Step forward

You can stay right here

You don't have to go

Is each wound you've received

Just a burdensome gift?

It gets so hard to lift

Yourself up off the ground

But the poet says, We must praise the mutilated world

We're all workin' the graveyard shift

You might as well sing along

All my favorite people are broken

Believe me

My heart…

This is the inspiration for this art piece.

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Barbed Wire Shape Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Barbed Wire Deco Frame Rectangle, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Flying Heart Wall Hanging, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Steampunk Hearts, Magazine Images, Pencil or Pen, Sanding Block, Coarse Sandpaper Sheet, Tim Holtz Distress Stains Antique Linen and Bundled Sage, Range Alcohol Inks in Honeycomb and Ginger, Weldbond, Matte Varnish Medium, Vallejo Red Oxide Paste, Spices-Chili Powder, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon, Weathering Powders in Pink and Orange, Suave Hair Spray, Rubbing Alcohol in Spray Bottle, Wow Embossing Pad, Ice Resin Enamels in Copper Glitz, Raspberry, Garnet, and Tarnished Brass, Allure Embossing Powders in Charred Gold and Hammered Metal, Wendy Vecchi  Red Germanium Embossing Powder, Heating Tool, Weldbond, Alligator Tool, Grommets, Deerskin Lace, Scissors, 24 Gauge Vintage Bronze Wire, Tweezers

1.  Gather Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Chipboard Pieces: Barbed Wire Shape Set,  Barbed Wire Deco Frame Rectangle,  Flying Heart Wall Hanging, and Steampunk Hearts. Take out piece you would like to use for your composition

2.  Find Magazine images you would like to use on the two large frame portions from the GSLC Flying Heart Wall Hanging Kit.

3.  Trace using a pencil or pen, so they will fit securely onto these pieces.

4.  A fun technique to age glossy new magazine images is to place them on top of a course grit sandpaper sheet and gently rub is a smoother sanding block until you get your desired patina.

 

 

5.  Use Range Alcohol Inks in Honeycomb and Ginger on back of newly distressed images, some will bleed through onto the front this is part of the technique.

6. Now edge and patina the front of your image with Tim Holtz Distress Stains Antique Linen and Bundled Sage.

7.  Glue onto your backboards using Weldbond.

8.  Give a quick coat of Matte Varnish Medium to seal the pictures in.

9.  While this is drying quickly add Vallejo Red Oxide Paste with a paintbrush to the corrugated cardboard pieces from GSLC Flying Heart Wall Hanging.

10.                To add a rustier appearance, use Spices of Chili Powder, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon, and Weathering Powders in Pink and Orange sprinkled randomly over the pieces.

 

11.                Seal and secure with Suave Hair Spray and Rubbing Alcohol from a Spray Bottle.

12.                Attach these corrugated cardboard pieces to the backboards using Weldbond.

13.                 While these are drying and pressed flat, begin embossing your other pieces.

14.                 I used Ice Resin Enamels Copper Glitz and Allure Hammered Metal Embossing Powders on the GSLC Barbed Wire Pieces and cured with a heating tool.

15.                I used Ice Resin Enamels of Raspberry and Garnet and Wendy Vecchi Red Geranium Embossing Powders and Chili Powders on the Hearts and cured with a Heating Tool.

16.                The wings and key were treated with Allure Charred Gold and Ice Resin Enamels Tarnished Bronze and cured with a heating tool.

17.                Assemble composition and Glue into place using Weldbond.

18.                Press flat to dry thoroughly.

19.                Once dry use the alligator toll to add grommets to the appropriate locations.

20.                Use brown Deerskin Lace to attach the two backboards together and to give it a loop for hanging from the topmost portion.

21.                I used 24 Gauge Vintage Bronze Wire and Tweezers to secure the key to the bottom of the wall hanging.

22.                Your Project is now ready to hang in the location of your choosing.

 Some final thoughts.

Another of my favorite Over the Rhine songs is titled, “I’d Choose You” It reminds me of my love for my partner and how we are a bit of an odd couple, different in many ways but a perfect pairing. I celebrate him on this my birthday month. I’d not be the man or artist I am without his amazing love.

If the moon fell from the sky

Rendering everything black and blue

I’d want you

I’d want you 

If the swallows fell like snow

Tumbling tiny angels with wounds

I will lay my body down

When the storm is finally through

If my faith should ever fail

Faltering look what I dragged it through

If the music all went still

Enabling all my fears to come true

I'd want you, I'd want you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

Be Mine Valentine's Day Wallhanging

Hi it's Teresa here on this gorgeous Sunday and I have a fun and simple Valentines make with you today.  I used the "Hearts Wallhanging Chipboard set" but I used it a different way instead of hanging all the hearts seperate I just overlapped each of the pieces on top of each other.  Now you can hang it up anywhere in your house to decorate and then you have a second one to make to give to a friend.

So to make it I started with some cute Valentine papers that I had and traced around all the edges of the chipboard pieces and then hand cut them to fit. You can use a nail file to soften the edges and then chalk around them to add more dimension.  For the striped paper I traced around the larger pink heart and then added an extra inch or so and then cut that out so that it added colors to shadow the pink heart.  The doily was just one I had from my stash.  

After all the pieces are dry you can glue them all together and put a book on them to keep it flat.

Then I added some liquid pearls around the edges and pretty flowers and ribbons to hang from the center.  For the wire that hangs I just punched 2 holes with a crop-a-dile and twisted white wire from the floral section of your local craft store.  This is a great project to use for left overs and you could easily use it to hang on your door this year!!  Hope you like it.  Have  an amazing day!!

Supplies:

GSLC Hearts Wallhanging Chipboard Set

Valentines paper

Flowers

Bias Ribbons

Liquid Pearls

Scissors

Adhesive

Flying Heart Wall Hanging

Hi everyone!  I hope that wherever you live, you all are keeping warm!  We've certainly been having some crazy weather lately.  But, when it is freezing cold outside, I can't think of a better thing to do than hunker down in my craft room and get busy with some craftin'!

I love this  Flying Heart Wall Hanging, along with the Gears Texture Sheet 6x6, from Gypsy Soul, and I've been holding off using it until I had a good idea for decorating it.  Scroll to bottom to see close-ups.

I always lay my pieces out to see how they look, and move them around if I need to.  This is the arrangement I think I will be sticking with but, of course, that could change.  I never really know.

Faux Galvanized Metal Technique:

Step 1:  Paint both sides of the chipboard backing pieces with black acrylic paint.  Let paint dry.

Step 2:  Dry brush a coat of silver metallic paint over the surface, leaving some of the black paint showing. Let paint dry.

Step 3:  Brush a wash of silver metallic paint plus water over the surface again, leaving a smaller amount of the black paint showing.  Let dry.

Step 4:  Run chipboard pieces through die cutting/embossing machine with embossing folder.

Step 5:  Lightly sand the embossed areas to enhance the design.  Use a damp baby wipe to pick up a small amount of black paint and edge the pieces, as shown.

Gears Texture Sheet

Brush crackle paste over the Gears Texture Sheet 6x6 on one side and let air dry.

Turn  over and brush crackle paste on each corner, again let paste air dry.  These corners will hang off of the background piece when attached diagonally.

Brush coat of Yellow Oxide over gears sheet, then a coat of Quinacridone Gold.  Use baby wipe to wipe away some of the excess gold, leaving a bit more of the yellow to show through.  You will need to do this same process for the corners on the back of the sheet.  Glue gears sheet to square background chipboard piece, as shown.

Large Heart and Wings

Add a thick layer of crackle paste to the heart and allow it to air dry.  

Paint heart with Transparent Red Iron Oxide and let dry.  Add a light coat of Interference Gold over heart and let dry.

Use a baby wipe to pick up a small amount of carbon black acrylic paint and wipe over surface of heart, letting the color go into the cracks.  Wipe away excess before it dries.  Add a tiny amount of Primary Magenta over the surface and let dry.  Then add one more light coat of Interference Gold to bring back the shine.

Paint wings with silver metallic paint, then with 1-2 coats of Titan Buff.  Sand some of the buff color off of the wings to reveal some of the silver.  

Add a wash of Cobalt Teal Hue with water to add the blue tint. Next, dry brush Worn Penny paint over the wings with a stiff brush.

Apply a coat of clear crackle glaze over the wings and let air dry. 

Use damp baby wipe to pick up Carbon Black antiquing cream and cover wings, let dry.  Wipe away excess  antiquing cream, which will bring out the cracks made from the crackle glaze. 

Repeat the wings process for the words, as shown below.

Corrugated Chipboard Pieces

Paint corrugated chipboard pieces with a coat of white gesso first.  Spread patches of crackle paste over both pieces randomly, as shown, and let air dry.

Paint both pieces with Bright Brass metallic paint, let dry. 

Then add a coat of Rich Espresso metallic paint.

With a damp baby wipe, pick up a tiny amount of Carbon Black acrylic paint and hit the tops of the corrugations, as well as the edges.

Glue both pieces to backgrounds, as shown. Remember to leave some space for the large key at the top of the square piece, and be sure not to cover up the single hole that is centered on one edge of the rectangular piece.  This hole will be at the bottom of the wall hanging.

Small Heart

Cover heart shape with clear glue and pour texture pebbles and texture sand over it.  Set aside to dry.

Paint with a wash of Transparent Red Iron Oxide and let dry.  Then add a coat of Quinacridone Burnt Orange to give it a really deep color.  Let dry.

Pick up a small amount of the Champagne Ice metallic lustre and hit the high spots.

Keys

Paint both keys with white gesso, let dry.  Then paint both with Worn Penny acrylic paint and let dry.  Emboss keys with Stripes embossing folder.    Pick up Burnished Brass Metallic Lustre with your finger and rub over high spots, then seal with Gloss varnish. 

For added depth and dimension, I added the carbon black antiquing cream over the keys to age it.  (See photo of finished project).

Crown

Paint crown with white gesso, then silver metallic paint, let dry.  Use stiff brush to dry brush Rich Espresso over bottom section of crown, let dry.  Glue diamond gems to the top of each point on crown.

Finish gluing all the pieces to the base, as shown.  Add metal embellishments to the bottom half, as shown.  Hang more metal pieces from the center hole at the bottom.  After I put it all together, I realized that the red in the hearts was the only red on the piece, so I just added little splotches of Transparent Red Iron Oxide to the corrugated piece on the bottom section to bring it all together.  

Here are a few closeups of the two sections.  

Supplies Used:

GSL Flying Heart Wall Hanging

GSL Gears Texture Sheet 6x6

Teresa Collins Circle Décor 8.5x11 embossing folder

Teresa Collins Cut n Boss machine

Sizzix Stripes embossing folder (for keys)

Texture Pebbles (Brea Reese)

Texture Sand (Brea Reese)

DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics

  Quinacridone Gold

  Carbon Black

  Carbon Black Antiquing Cream

  Titan Buff

  Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide

  Quinacridone Burnt Orange

  Cobalt Teal Hue

  Primary Magenta

  Interference Gold

  Transparent Red Iron Oxide

DecoArt Dazzling Metallics

  Bright Brass

  Worn Penny

  Rich Espresso

  Shimmering Silver

DecoArt Metallic Lustre

  Champagne Ice

  Burnished Brass

DecoArt Media 

  White Crackle Paste

  Clear Crackle Glaze

  Gloss Varnish

Metal pieces (Tim Holtz Idea-ology)

I hope you enjoyed today's project, and I encourage you to stop by the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts shop to see all of the fabulous laser cut chipboard available.  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a super creative day!

Barbara