enchanted

Maybe it's the wonderful explosion of colorful flowers brought forth with the arrival of spring,
or perhaps it's simply the warmer weather which allows for extended time outdoors; but it has me dreaming of the whimsical world of fairies.

Today I am on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog sharing "enchanted", a mixed media panel/book cover. I envision this piece being hung in a young child's room and then later being converted for use as a cover for a memory book.

I begin with a 9x12 canvas art panel, and layout the chipboard pieces to create a scene. The fairy door Mary is the largest of the pieces, so I begin by situating the door along the bottom to the left side. This door will be set into a tree. Beside the tree, some mushrooms from the mushrooms shape set, will sit among grass and create the perfect perch for the fairies.

Once all of pieces are selected, I sketch an outline for what will become the tree trunk. Texture paste through a stencil creates the wood grain/bark effect. Be sure to trace the door outline before adding the texture paste so that the texture does not impede placement of the chipboard door frame. Allow the texture paste to dry.

Next, I paint the sky using layers of blue acrylic paint in different shades. Blades of grass will be painted along the bottom of the panel. Once I am satisfied with the sky, I paint the grassy bottom edge, as well as the brown tree bark. The painted panel is set aside to dry while I work on painting the door and mushroom pieces.

The door itself is treated the same as the tree. Stenciled texture paste creates the wood pattern, and once dry, a layer of brown paint is added. The door frame consists of two pieces, for this project I am only using the base piece, Since my door is set into a tree trunk, I decided not to use the "stone" patterned piece. Instead, I use texture paste to create a rough texture on the flat around and paint it to create the look of a knot where the bark has grown dark with age and the elements. Before the door and surround are secured into place, I add a glow to the canvas where the window opening is located using gold and coffee ICE.

The mushrooms are painted with acrylic paints to give a realistic look and the grassy base is painted to match the grassy base of the panel. A piece of gessoed and painted book page adhered to the reverse side of the mushrooms creates a solid backing for the cutouts. Once the pieces are complete, they are added to the base of the panel with collage medium. I set a weight on top to keep them flat while they dry.

Three fairies from the garden fairies medium set are coated with embossing ink, sprinkled with charred gold embossing powder and heat set. They are adhered to the panel with collage medium. Using a stencil, I emboss swirling stars around the fairies.

Die cut letters, painted in the deepest shade of the sky blues, form the word "enchanted" in the sky.  

The back side of the panel is covered with patterned scrapbook paper, to give a finished appearance.  

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I truly appreciate it.
I hope that wherever you find yourself these days, you are able to enjoy the beauty that nature is providing us during these unsettling times.
I wish you all the best, stay healthy and take care.
~Ann
 

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:

fairy door mary

garden fairies medium

mushrooms shape set

Be A Dreamer layout by Lynne

Hello all! I've fallen madly in love with the photos of these wire sculptures that I've found on Facebook here and decided to use a couple of the images for a layout. I scrap whatever catches my eye, in addition to family/pet photos and the other "normal" subjects people choose for their pages!

First, I primed all the chipboard pieces with white acrylic paint-easy peasy:

I used Faber Castell Texture Gems to draw random lines and squiggles on the flourishes for added texture, then added another layer of white paint when that was dry.

I like the irregularity they add; I then brushed them with ColourArte Twinkling H2Os in Iridescent Blue and Meridian.I dabbed a little Lemondrop Silks here and there on these as well when I was using it on the fairy.

For the aforementioned fairy, I first covered her with white glue and then sprinkled clear glass glitter onto the glue.

 She looked quite pretty and sparkly just like that, but I felt like she got a little lost among the vibrant colours on the page, so I lightly brushed on ColourArte Silks in Lemondrop;the sparkle of the glass glitter still showed through, but the yellow brought the fairy to life where she sat upon the blue flower.

I used white flocking on the last piece; it is Queen Anne's lace, but I thought the shape was close enough to the head of a seeded dandelion to fit in here....now make a wish and blow!

I added some cheesecloth here and there to continue the feeling of dandelion fluff-I love the added bit of texture it adds to a project:

I did some stencilling with blue and yellow texture paste and added a few spritzes of glimmer mist in both colours as well, and added some random border punching and inked edges.

I love adding a variety of textures to all of my layouts, and my Gypsy Soul Lasercuts give me perfect surfaces to do just that-I always enjoy seeing different ways to finish these great pieces, and look forward to seeing your creations! Have a terrific and creative week! xoxo

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED
 Flourishes 2
Queen Anne's Lace
Garden Fairies medium

OTHER ITEMS USED

Authentique Felicity papers
ColourArte Silks-lemondrop
ColourArte Twinkling H2Os
Ayeeda mists
Prima stencils and flowers
Faber Castell Texture Gems
!

"Do You Believe in Fairies?" by Rhonda

 Fairies are nature spirits that love all forest plant life.

I've heard lots of people say they believe in Fairies. Whether you do or not, you have to admit they are adorable. So I decided that for my second project as a guest designer for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, I would do something in honor of Fairies. 

Using the Memo Board, I placed a tape boarder around my board on the very edge. Then, I placed another piece of tape directly next to the first and removed the first. Do this for all four sides. 

This is one of my favorite techniques and is gloppy good fun. Use your favorite colors of metallic paints. I seem to always go for the, as I call them, Peacock colors which are blue, purple and rich green. They are just pleasing to my eye for some reason. Maybe I was a Peacock in a past life, lol. 

Don't be afraid to make a mess and use puddles of paint. Next, take a stiff brush and dab the colors all around, mixing them on the edges but not completely blending them because then you would have mud.

Once all the dabbing is done is when my favorite part begins. 

Use an embossing gun to really heat that paint up until it bubbles and pops. I love watching the bubbles rise and fall.

It's mesmerizing for some reason and I love the way it looks so oddly natural. 

Once you have it all dried you must carefully remove the tape. I used an exacto blade to gently run along the line of my tape. The paint has caused an extra layer so this area must be cut through so you can peel off the tape and not the paint.

Don't worry if you have torn up a bit of your Memo Board here and there. This is easily fixed with a little sand paper and barely any elbow grease. 

To make my Memo Board into a chalk board I added a couple of thick layers of Chalkboard Paint. It was so easy.

Put a good thick layer on and after it dries add another. Don't worry too much about the edge that meets the paint color. You will be adding a trim to this area so any small imperfections will be covered.

Now that my Memo "Chalk" Board is complete, I can play around with the placement of the Garden Fairies. I used both the Large Garden Fairies and the Medium Garden Fairies.  But don't feel you have to use Fairies. There are so many topics to choose from including Birds & Cages, Steampunk, Vintage, Travel & Intercontinental and so much more. Click here to find more GSLC Topics. 

After figuring out the placement of my Garden Fairies, I could then pick a color for the wings and know which side to attach my mulberry paper to.

Simply add some glue to the back side of the wings, smear it all around, and then place onto the chosen mulberry paper.

Let the glue completely dry and then trim off the excess paper. I used an X-acto blade again, and if the paper isn't all the way dried it will smear and tear. 

I used the same gloppy paint technique to my Garden Fairies to keep them mysterious. Because that's what Fairies are, mysterious little creatures that only certain people can see. 

Now it's time for my trim. Have I ever told you how dependent I am on clothes pins? OMG I can't survive without them to hold my goodies in place while glue dries. 

Clothes pins are great for trapping Garden Fairies, I mean, HOLDING Garden Fairies in place while they dry. I would never trap any Fairies for goodness sake. That would be bad luck, wouldn't it?

With everything in place, I can add beautiful trinkets, beads and baubles. Fortunately I get loads from Alpha Stamps! 

Perfect Chalk Board for my daughter's wall, to remind her to do her chores and whatever else I ask her to do. No, it will just become a place for her to announce her love for her boyfriend, lol. 

Folklore states that fairies must know that you believe in fairies and their magic before they are willing to show themselves. 

Fairies usually come out to play at sunrise and or sunset or later at night. You might see a magic fairy circle, which is ringed by mushrooms in rainbow colors. 

If you are motionless and whisper to them in a sing-song voice, they might appear to you as they are very shy. 

They like playing fairy games, singing and dancing.

For more info on Fairies visit All About Fairies which is where all of my info was gathered.

Thanks for visiting!

Rhonda...

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Supplies Used:

Memo Board

Garden Fairies Large

Garden Fairies Medium

Alpha Stamps Supplies Used:

Metal Flowers (Roses)** 

Metal Flowers (Roses) - 6mm Gold 

5-Petal Lucite Flowers 

Vitrail Bell Flowers

Medium Glass Trumpet Flowers

Small Bent-Wing Dragonflies