Memo Board for Mum

Hi folks, its Angela here with a memo board that I made for my Mum.

I took the GSL Cuts Memo board and covered it with gesso and I took a cheap dry wipe board from somewhere like the dollar store (ensure it is metal so magnets will stick) and stuck it on using Beacon 3 in 1.

 

I used the Chicken Wire 6 inch panel to spread some texture paste through.

 I also used Tim Holtz stencil on the other corners and then applied gesso to the metal sheet to ensure the paint had a surface to stick to.

 I painted with various shades of blue and I used other stencils to apply some yellow and orange colours through. I painted the Leafy Corners before adhearing to the board.

I used the Birds on a Wire 2 in order to hide the line of the metal dry wipe board

 then I added various embelishments. My dry wipe board came with a couple of magnets so I decorated these with some flowers so they matched the rest of the project.

Supplies:
GSL Cuts
Memo Board
Birds on a Wire 2
Leafy Corners
Chicken Wire 6 inch panel

Others
Tim Holtz stencils and embelishments
Distress paints
Prima flowers and pegs
Sweet Lilac Flowers
White paper clay bird
Dutch Doobadoo stencil
Luminarte Paints

Memo board decor with Alicia Barry

Hi all, and welcome to my very first post with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. It's been a little while since I have had a chance to really play around with chipboard so I was excited to see what I could come up with. I love the delicate scroll work in this memo board piece. With such a big open area to play with, I really wanted to experiment with some different textures. In addition to the memo board base, I also used some really pretty Swirl Medallion pieces in two different sizes to become my focal point in my background.

So here is what the memo board project will look like when it comes to you. It's a pretty simple one to put together, and in fact the tabs are all one way, so it is literally impossible to get them in the wrong way :) The next pic is the board once assembled. Since I was painting my project I assembled it before I started to decorate. Sometimes if I am covering with paper, I might do that before assembling.

 Since I know I was going to be adding lots of paint to this piece, I started with couple of coats of white gesso. This serves a few different purposes. It primes my surface so that it will accept the paint layers without compromising the chipboard and making it soggy. It also allows the paint colors to really pop. I was sure to get into all the edges of the scroll work too, so that even the parts where the colored paint didn't hit, the project still looks complete.

Next, I added my chipboard pieces to the background. You can see that I cut the larger Swirl Medallion into two pieces and aligned them along the edge of the project. This is a great way to extend your design across a larger project creating a cohesive look. I also added a Meadow Flowers piece which I also cut into two to add to the different layers of the project. I also added a few decorative metal pieces. I again covered these all in gesso. 

I then added some texture paste through stencils, some mesh tape and some crackle paint, all to add some more interest to my background. While it looks a little busy at first, then co-ordinating paints over the top help to blend it all together. 

Once dry (I used a heat tool to speed up the process, plus it also allows my texture paste to bubble up even higher). I started with the paler green paint sprays first, dabbing with paper towel if it got too splotchy, and heating between layers. I then added the lighter blues, then the darker colors using the same process until I was happy with the effect.

Next I added some extra highlights using acrylic glaze paints and a small brush, allowing it to fill into some of the spaces in the Swirl Medallions. Finally, when dry, I dry brushed some gold paint over the relief areas of the project. 

When I was happy with the way the colors looked and everything was dry, I embellished the project with gauze, flowers and leaves, creating clusters with the vines and large flowers first, then tucked in the smaller flowers. These wont really be seen once I pop a little notebook into the tray, but when empty, it should make a nice decorative piece on my wall.

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts supplies:

Memo board

Swirl medallions - Coming soon

Meadow Flowers - Coming soon

Other supplies:

Gesso

Handmade texture paste

Ranger stencil

Memory box stencil

Ranger crackle paint

Lindy's Stamp Gang paint sprays: T-Bird turquoise, C'est la vie cerise, Merry-go-round green, Delphinium turquoise, Tilt-a-wheel teal

Silks acrylic glaze: Ocean wave, Olive green, Sunflower

Metal charms

Gauze

Mesh tape

Prima flowers

Paper roses

Cheers

Alicia Barry

Checking the Lists......

I don't know about you, but I always feel a little overwhelmed during the holidays without a list. My problem is I'm always losing the dang things! Hello everyone! Lora here to show you an awesome way to keep track of the lists you make for the holidays. It's called a Memo Board and you can get the easy-to-put-together kit at the wonderland called Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts!

Here's what I did...........

First off, I gave everything a good coat of gesso. Sigh......I love gesso. In this case, I love gesso because it's a great surface coat on chip board for decoupage. It makes things stick a lot better to just about any surface. So a good coat of gesso first. It doesn't have to be heavy or thick, just thorough.

After the gesso dried, I started sticking the papers down. I chose a couple of older papers mainly because they play well together and I was wanting a very cheerful green. So Bo Bunny Vintage Dot in Wasabi is the background paper and the other two are from Graphic 45's 8x8 pad 'The Night Before Christmas'. I also painted all the trim pieces and the shelf white.

After the Vintage Dot dried, I applied the second paper, which will become a second background layer and a frame for what goes on top. By the way, the Vintage Dot was cut to 9x91/4 inches and after it dried, I cut the fitting holes out with an xacto. The G45 paper (called Happy Holly-Day) I cut to 8x7. When the Happy Holly-Day paper dried, I started applying Dresden Trim.

I cut a piece of chipboard and the third piece of paper to 7x2 1/2 inches and glued the paper to the chipboard.

After it dried, I applied gold Dresden trim to the underside of the chipboard
.

On Illustrator, I wrote and printed the 'Making a list, checking it twice.....' text, cut it out and glued it to the chipboard strip. After drying, I added the last of the Dresden trim and then glued the strip to the Memo Board, being mindful of spacing and position. I apologize for not taking a picture of this stage.....I was all in my creative groove and chugging along like a little Christmas choo-choo and plain forgot.

Next I gessoed and painted white snowflakes.

This is messy and can be finicky as you want to get the whole snowflake covered, even the thin, thin sides or they show up dark. I use a cheap, firm brush, fill it with gesso and sort of scrabble it around until the whole thing is completely covered, then brush the excess paint off making sure all the little holes and details are clear and open and there is no paint plugging up the delicate details. I do this on plastic and let the snowflakes dry on it because they don't stick when they dry. Set them aside.

 I cut out three little clocks from another bit of G45 paper, put holes in the center and placed them where I wanted them on top of the chipboard strip. With a pencil, I marked the center of each one onto the board and using an awl, gently pierced the chipboard just enough to get a hole started. Don't poke the awl (or whatever you're using) all the way through....just enough to get a hole started.
Glue the clocks (you can use whatever you choose here, I just got a giggle out of using the clocks since I'm always running out of time!) down making sure the holes in the clock are directly over the center mark and your starter hole.

You can see in the picture above that the clock hole is place over the starter hole. Putting a little bit of glue on the shaft of an eye screw, screw that puppy into the pre-made hole until it's secure. I tried hard not to pierce the Memo Board out the back. The two layers of thick chipboard will be just about as thick as the eye screw if you use the tiny ones.

Screw in all three eye screws and add little clips. (you can get the little clips at just about any craft store) Start gluing on snowflakes where you think they look pretty, glue in the shelf and trim and let it dry and then it's glitter time!

I added glitter to all of the snowflakes. Then I decided that the white painted trim wasn't glam enough, so I painted a coat of pearlescent white on all the white bits, let it dry and added more glitter.

I also added some Swarovski flat back crystals because if some is good, more is better!

SUPPLY LIST
Memo Board
Snowflake Shape Set

Additional Supplies
Eye Screws
Clips
Dresden Trims
Bo Bunny Vintage Dot-Wasabi
G45  8x8 paper pad 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'
Gesso
White acrylic paint
Lumiere Pearlescent White Paint
Swarovski flat back crystals

Thank you for stopping in!

"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