Pastel Christmas Doll and a farewell...

Hello dear crafty friends! Lynne here with my festive version of the Santos Doll I used the Kaisercraft Silver Bells collection and lots of sparkle and bling to put this project together.

I painted the edges of the pieces, then covered  them with patterned paper, all but the arms and face. After putting everything the main form together, I arranged the silver poinsettias and glittery white deer in the lower "cage", then added the felt snowflake and the gathered portions of pale blue tulle, which were lightly decorated with gems and fussy-cut ornaments from the paper.

The hair was created by cutting the petals from another silver poinsettia apart and layering them randomly around the head-I added some fussy-cut bits and gems there as well.

The wings were simply brushed with white glue then liberally coated with silver glitter; I used a pin run through the open lines to clear them of glitter and maintain the detailed effect of the wings. They were then glued to the back of the doll with a hot glue gun.

The upper part of the skirt (waistband, I suppose) needed a little embellishment as well, and these also covered the spots where the gathered tulle was glued on.



I love the soft colours of this paper line and using them  on such a unique GSL was fun and interesting, and I hope it may inspire you to try one of these dolls using your favourite theme, papers, and embellishments.  It could be finished in sooo many ways!! I hope to see your versions in the Craft Group.

That being said, I wanted to let you know that I'm stepping down from the Gypsy Soul Education team for now; after four years with this great group, I feel like I should spend some time discovering and playing with  new techniques and supplies in the hope of returning here at some point full of new and interesting ideas. In the meantime, you are welcome to stop by my blog, Scrappy Squirrel's Nest, any time, of course!  I'm sure you will enjoy the fabulous works of the 2019  GSL Team....love, hugs, and best wishes to you all, and  prayers for a healthy, happy, creative New Year!

xx Lynne

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Santos Doll
Wings Assortment

OTHER ITEMS USED

Kaisercraft Silver Bells collection, 12" and 6"
assorted gems
silver poinsettias and glittery reindeer from Michael's
white glue, hot glue gun
dollar store silver glitter

Merry Little Christmas layout

Hi crafty friends! I love the Christmas season and enjoy preserving Christmas memories in scrapbook layouts. The photo here was in a Christmas card from my cousin a few years back, of her twin sons and their younger sister. Don't they look festive in their Santa hats?

The colours in the photo coordinated beautifully with this Bazzill Basics paper collection that I won in an online challenge last year, so I used several of the patterned and solid papers on this page.

The adorable snowman was fun to finish-after priming him with white acrylic paint, I used my Marvy snow pen, which is activated with a heat tool after applying to the chipboard. It really is cool to watch it bubble up! His hat was finished with Ranger black sparkle embossing powder.

The snowflake border is so delicate and pretty; I kept the finish simple-after priming it with white acrylic paint, I painted a coat of pearlized paint over it. Compared to the shade of white of the snowman, I found the paint a little TOO white, so I rubbed it lightly with  translucent stain and liked the final effect much better. I added some clear gems to the centers of the larger snowflakes. Be sure to use a soft brush when painting this piece, as it is quite delicate.

I had pulled a Christmas tree shape from my chipboard stash, but then decided I didn't want to add any green to the mix, and I'm glad I didn't-I love the gold embossed reindeer with the other colours.

I hope you get some wonderful photos of your Christmas celebrations this year an are able to preserve them in layouts, mini-albums, altered frames, etc to make the memories even more special! Enjoy your festive preparations! xoxo

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED
Christmas Shape Set
Snowflake Border
Flourished Deer, miniature-contact store re miniatures

OTHER ITEMS USED

Marvy snow pen
Ranger embossing powder-black sparkle
Versamark Ink
white chalk ink
Fiskars border punch
Plaid transparent stain. sepia
Bazzill Basics Nordic Pines

Altered Metal Ornaments

Hey people! Lynne here with a couple ornaments that I rescued from the thrift store-they were actually a promo from some business and had their logo and name stuck on to them, and thus rather ugly. Fortunately it was done with a type of sticker and I was able to scrape it all off. Yay!

I started by attaching my chipboard pieces with Aleene's Tacky Glue-I held them down for a few seconds to be sure the pieces adhered properly to the curved surface. I added embroidery floss to the row of stockings and some letter stickers for my festive phrases.

I brushed on a coat of clear gesso-I love this stuff! It goes on white but dries clear, so you retain the look of the surface, but can apply different mediums to it. I wanted to use mist and it doesn't adhere well to metal.

The mist came next, then a little ink around the edges and across the letters to create contrast. 

I precoated the stockings with red acrylic paint, then brushed them with white glue when they were dry and applied flocking. The snowflakes were brushed with white glue then sprinkled with glitter. I added a second layer when it was dry to make them stand out a little more. I used a white glitter gel pen on the letters. Simple ribbon hangers and bows finished the ornaments off.

I'm putting my Christmas tree up over the weekend, so I took these photos of the ornaments hanging on my little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, so please imagine lush green boughs...

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you're enjoying your Christmas preparations, or at least anticipating them!! Have a wonderful week! xoxo

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Winter Shape Set-contact store
Snowflake Shape Set
Tiny Christmas-coming soon

OTHER ITEMS USED

Aleene's Tacky Glue
Tattered Angels mists
Doodlebug designs flocking
diamond glitter
ribbon
Embroidery floss
Blue, green, and white inks
white glitter gel pen

Rustic Christmas Crates

Hey folks! It's Lynne here with a Christmas project inspired by a home decor piece I picked up recently; I love Christmas and am really embracing the rustic, homey themes I have been seeing so far this year. The deer in the center of my photo is the piece I purchased, and I finished the Little Crates to coordinate with it.

I started off by tracing around each section of the crates onto the back of my woodgrain papers; I did each side separately and then inked the edges with a charcoal grey ink.

When I cut the dark grey strips I rubbed them lightly with the Moonlight White ink to lighten them a bit, and the brown ones were rubbed with the Old Road ink, as I wanted to tone down the orangy golden hue.

I added diecut words and snowflakes to the fronts of the crates to mimic those on the deer, then filled the crates with some artificial greenery, berries and flowers to create a festive look. This was not a difficult project to create, but I'm happy with the way the crates look with my pretty wooden deer. I have a large wall unit in my living room that I fill with Christmas decor, and can't wait to put these up!

Thank you for stopping by, and I wish you peace and joy and a wonderfully merry and creative week!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Little Crates

OTHER ITEMS USED

Ingvild Bolme chalk ink-Old Road
Dew Drop ink-Moonlight White
ms. sparkle & co. woodgrain papers
unknown dies and greenery
white cardstock

Graham's first Jack-o-Lanterns...layout by Lynne

Hey there crafty friends! I have a shocking confession to make....unlike what seems like pretty much all of my fellow crafters, I am NOT a huge fan of Halloween! GASP! I do however love the trappings of fall: pumpkins, acorns, squirrels and pretty leaves! That's why I decided to create a fall layout this week using a photo I just love of my son when he was about 2-1/2 with his very first Halloween pumpkins (ten guesses what he loved to watch on TV!) I love how the frame allowed me to add the fussy-cut image of my son-in the original photo he had been standing near the pumpkins but there was a lot of background clutter!

Th chipboard pieces were all painted with gold acrylic paint then rubbed with Hero Arts shadow ink in Orange. 

The pumpkins were run through my Cuttlebug in a Darice embossing folder. The orange ink emphasized the lovely embossed leaf pattern.

I randomly punched around the border of the paper with vine edge punches, then tore the paper in between even with the punchwork. I then inked all the edges with the same orange ink that was used on the chipboard. I stencilled with homemade texture paste and misted with Tattered Angels glimmer mist. The flowers and pumpkins were fussy cut from some pretty Prima paper.

I love layering different elements to create interest with a variety of materials and textures.

That little boy in the photo is now 26 years old, so this page brings back a lot of happy memories-thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share them with you, and have a wonderful week! xoxo

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Layered Frame Victoria Round
Fall Shape Set
Halloween Word Set-coming soon

OTHER ITEMS USED

Prima flowers and paper
Inkido paper
Tattered Angels glimmer mist
Prima and Tim Holt stencils
Hero Arts Shadow Ink

"Best Fishes" step card

Hello there friends! It's Lynne here today with a birthday card I made for my uncle, who turned 86 this past week. He has always been into fishing, hunting, and all that "guy" stuff, so I knew he'd get a kick out of a card made with these fun chipboard pieces!

I made the side step card by altering a template I found online to suit the size of the chippies; I started with a 7"x 10" piece of cardstock, and the dimensions are marked for you in the photo. Should you prefer to make a different sized card, there are lots of templates online; I just Googled side step card directions.

I painted the silhouette pieces black, then misted them with Tattered Angels glimmer mist in "It's Black" to add a bit of a subtle sparkle. I attached a piece of grey paper behind the boat so the details would still stand out.

The water was punched with a Fiskars border punch, then inked in a deeper blue along the edges. I layered them on the front for dimension, not gluing the upper edges down. I added a strip to each of the other steps as well, and tucked the fisherman behind the one on the second step

A piece of light orange paper was misted with yellows and oranges, then cut into a rounded sunset background. I mounted this onto black cardstock so it would stand out more.
I drew and cut out a couple black fish like the one on the line, and added them here and there on the card.

I added a couple dots of hot glue to hold the fishing line in place, but didn't glue it down flat. The title piece was painted light blue, then inked with the same ink I used on the punched water strips.

This photo shows the dimensional aspect of the card a little better.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my card and directions; I'd love to see how you might use this fun shape set By the way, my uncle LOVED his card-he said it was a "piece of art" and that he would keep it displayed for a long time...that made my day! Wishing you a lovely week; it's Canadian Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for all you great craft-lovers who I've had the opportunity to share my creations with-hugs! xxoo

Little Dreamer mixed media canvas

Hello crafty peeps! Lynne here with a 12x12 canvas I created using chipboard from the Baby Girl Clothesline Set, Tattered Angels mists and lots of little goodies from my stash

.

The first thing I did was figure out more or less where I wanted everything, then I took  picture, since I would be moving things to add the stencilling, and would no doubt forget where I wanted everything...

I made the texture paste with baby powder, white glue and white acrylic paint and stencilled in the open areas , then covered the whole canvas with white gesso. Since I was going to be using soft colours, I made sure most of the embellishments were light in colour, as they're easier to cover.

After misting with four glimmer mists, I allowed it to dry then misted again for a little more depth of colour, then I rubbed a little metallic wax on the chipboard pieces to make them stand out a little more.

I have been creating canvases for a local art shoppe, so I'm challenging myself to come up with different themes for my projects. Thankfully Gypsy Soul Lasercuts provided such a great variety of pieces and titles that I don't expect to run out of ideas for a long time!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you a dreamy, colourful, creative week!

xx

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Baby Girl Clothesline Set
Little  Dreamer

OTHER ITEMS USED

Prima and Studio75 stencils

Tattered Angels glimmer mists: Festival, Rose Gold, Summer Glow, Coral Reef

Art Alchemy Metallique Wax-Rose Gold

white gesso

various flowers, ribbon, etc.

"walls"-an art journal page by Lynne

Hello there, crafters!  Ever since I first received the new stamps in the mail, I have had an art journal page idea in mind, and it has taken me this long to finally bring it to life!! I think most people build walls in their lives at some point, and I found a sentiment that put a positive spin on that concept:

 I started out with brick-background patterned paper, and then added tears with yet another brick paper peeking through them (sometimes we have multiple walls!) I then stamped with the brick stamp using leather brown ink. (Misting I added afterward also shows in this photo) I added the ink to the stamp unevenly to give a varied depth of colour.

I decided I wanted the stamped stones to have a little more texture, so I did the stamping with Versamark ink, then heat, embossed the stones with Distress Embossing Powder, aptly named Pumice Stone. I love the texture it created, and the stamps worked beautifully with the Versamark.

The Brick Wall texture sheet is a huge favourite of mine, and I managed to use not only pieces from the sheet but also the brick-shaped pieces punched out from it. Those pieces were painted grey, then I hand-printed the words of the sentiment onto them, and added a little in in Leather and Honey here and there for interest. The mist adds a little more colour and interest as well.

The texture sheet pieces were cut to go around the window in the center and painted brick-red, then heat embossed with Pebbled Copper embossing powder. I love the variegation in the embossed colour!

As for the window in the center, I don't have a closeup (oops!) but I ran it through my Cuttlebug in a woodgrain embossing folder, then painted it Antique White before rubbing a little Honey ink  over the raised surface. I decided to stick a photo of myself inside the window to make the page more personal. A few spritzes of Tattered Angels mist in Old Penny finished the page.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoyed seeing my page; I don't often use stamps but I really do like these! Have a terrific week xx
Lynne

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Brick Wall
Windows 4-panel, square
Foam Stamps-coming soon

OTHER ITEMS USED

Colorbox inks-Leather, Honey
Tattered Angels mist-Old Penny
Ranger Distress embossing powder-Pumice Stone
Pebbled Copper embossing powder (brand unknown)
Versamark Ink

beachy bath storage-altered containers

Hey there! Lynne here with a simple project showing how easy it is to spruce up small containers to coordinate with your decor. My bathroom has beach-themed items and shades of beige and soft blue, so I came up with this duo :

As you can see, the glass jar just received a layered bow and dangling shells and chipboard pieces, but the other piece underwent a bit more of a transformation; the container coordinated with the room's former colours but hasn't suited it in a long time...

I decided to add texture by podging some tissue paper to the surface, then coating it with tan acrylic paint when dry.

I dry-brushed the surface with small amounts of grey and white, then rubbed Rose Gold Metallique Wax over the creases for added definition.

The chipboard border and small pieces were painted with cream-coloured acrylic paint, then misted with Tattered Angels mists, blending a couple shades of blue and a light silver colour. When that was dry, I brushed on a layer of semi-gloss clear finish to make these items stand out a little more from the background.

I used twine to attach the dangling chipboard elements and added some small shells. I layered decorative jute ribbon below the small twine bow on both containers

A few slightly larger shells were added to the border strip along the bottom edge.

I love that Gypsy Soul chipboard can be used in so many ways; a few small pieces like these can totally change the look of plain household items, and they can be finished to suit any theme. I love making elaborate and eyecatching projects  a lot of the time, but I appreciate the chance to do something simple like this to make use of something I already have as well. I hope you're inspired to give some of the items around your home new life and added interest....have a wonderfully creative week, and thanks so much for stopping by!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Under the Sea Border

Beach Shape Set, small

OTHER ITEMS USED

Tissue paper
Mod Podge
Art Alchemy Metallique Wax, Rose Gold
Decoart acrylic paints
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists
Wired jute ribbon by Recollections
Natural twine
hot glue gun