Arbor Day-Guardian of the Woodland-A Peek-A-Boo-Project

 Arbor Day is celebrated the last Friday in April. I have always loved the woodlands and spending time is forests. Some of my fondest memories are from these "thin places"  "Thin places are places of energy. A place where the veil between this world and the eternal world is thin/ A thin place is where one can walk in two world-the worlds are fused together, knitted loosely where the differences can be discerned or tightly where the two worlds become one. Thin places aren't Perceived with the five senses."-thingplacestour.com

Once while visiting a college roommate on Vancouver Island in the Town of Chemainus I took a walk in these ancient trees-Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Grand Fir, Bigleaf Maple, and Garry Oak- and was transported to a time my grandfathers spoke of in Pennsylvanian when Lumber was King, and Williamsport was known as the "The Lumber Capital of the World" I have "green men blood" in my veins.

"Walks in Woods" is a name given to me to honor my love for nature and the hollers I frequented in my childhood from another longtime friend. It is with him that I have another thin place memory. The season is winter and we are in the woods near a relatives farm, where Oktoberfest is held in Autumn. The path is snow covered and we find our way to the campgrounds and gather fallen branches dragging them back to the fire-pit. We find some dry kindling left behind and begin to build a tepee of twigs and larger branches, till we have a totem ready to set ablaze. Once burning bright we stand under the pine boughs as snow gently falls upon our heated faces and melts as teardrop flowing down onto the frozen soil. We are still and quiet knowing we have come upon a sacred space. This memory has carried us through many darken days. My interpretation of the Green Man is the inspiration for this artwork as I honor the blessing of thin places.

1. Gather Supplies

2. Connect Two GSLC Tree 2 Together Forming a Mirror Image, Cutting off Most of the Trunks.

3. Stable these Two pieces Together Using a Stapler.

4. Begin by Randomly Painting Both Sides of Trees First with Americana Decor Deep Brown Creme Wax, Vallejo Russian Thick Mud-Brown Using a Thin Plastic Spatula.

5. Next Randomly Sprinkle with Nutmeg and Chili Powder.

6. On a Paper Plate Use a Dollop of Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste. Adding Peat Moss Reinker, Vallejo Model Color-Green Brown and Flat Earth Paints to Tint the White Paste.

7. Use Small Plastic Spatula to Randomly Splatter the Lava Paste Mixture onto Tree Branches.

8. It Will Go On Wet but Grows When Cured With a Heat Tool.

9.Spray Everything With Cheap Hairspray Sealing It.

10. Paint GSLC Pine Shapes with Lumiere Green Metallic Paints, I used Olive Green, Pearlescent Emerald, and  Citrine.

11. Sprinkle With Green Embossing Powder I Used Leaf Green and Forest Foliage. Cure With a Heating Tool.

12. Use Green Acrylic Paint, I Used Green Gold, Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Florescent, Chromium Oxide Green and Titan Pale Green to Paint and Layer GSLC Fern Fronds Without First Separating Them.

13. Sprinkle with Nutmeg and Chili Powder, Sealing with Cheap Hair Spray.

14. Once Fully Dry Take Apart Each Fern Frond.

15. Collect and Print Face Images with Green Eyes.

16. Use Portion of Face Images for Eyes, Nose and Mouth.

17. I Left GSLC Fanciful Elements in Their Original Form to Counterbalance the Greens and the Browns Featured in This Piece.

18. Assemble Green Man Image Layering and Adhering with Heavy Matte Gel Medium.

19. Press and Dry Completely Under Heavy Books.

20. Once Fully Dry Assemble Your 3-D Mixed Media Canvas- Ready for Any Wall Display.

                              

 

Some Final Thoughts.

Two Books that are often used on Arbor Day in the Classroom Are The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and  The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

“And after a long time the boy came back again.
"I am sorry, Boy," said the tree, "but I have nothing left to give you-
My apples are gone."
"My teeth are too weak for apples," said the boy.
"My branches are gone," said the tree.
"You cannot swing on them-"
"I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy.
"My trunk is gone," said the tree.
"You cannot climb-"
"I am too tired to climb," said the boy.
"I am sorry," sighed the tree.
"I wish that I could give you something... but I have nothing left. I am an old stump. I am sorry..."
"I don't need very much now," said the boy, "just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired."
"Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could,
"well, an old stump is a good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy.” -Shel Silverstein

"I am the Lorax.

 I speak for the trees.

I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.

 And I'm asking you sir, at the top of my lungs - that thing!

That horrible thing that I see! What's that thing you've made out of my truffula tree?"

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's Not!"

“It's not about what it is, it's about what it can become.”

-Dr. Seuss

I would add to the list the musical "Into the Woods"

Little red riding hood
Into the woods,
It's time to go,
I hate to leave,
I have to, though.
Into the woods-
It's time, and so
I must begin my journey.

Into the woods
And down the dell,
The path is straight,
I know it well.
Into the woods,
And who can tell
What's waiting on the journey?

So into the woods
The time is now.
We have to live,
I don't care how.
Into the woods
To sell the cow,
You must begin the journey.
Straight to the woods
And don't delay-
We have to face
The marketplace.
Into the woods to journey's end-

Into the woods,
It's time to go,
It may be all
In vain, I know.
Into the woods-
But even so,
I h Into the woods
Without regret,
The choice is made,
The task is set.
Into the woods,
But not forget-
Ting why I'm on the journey.
Into the woods
To get my wish,
I don't care how,
The time is now.ave to take the journey.

Into the woods,
Without delay,
But careful no
To lose the way.
Into the woods,
Who knows what may
Be lurking on the journey?
Into the woods
To get the thing
That makes it worth
The journeying.
Into the woods-

Into the woods!
Into the woods!
Into the woods,
Then out of the woods,
And home before dark!

Supplies:  (2) Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Tree 2,Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Pine Tree Shape Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Fern Fronds, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Fanciful Elements, Scissors, Stapler, Americana Decor Deep Brown Creme Wax, Vallejo Russian Thick Mud-Brown, Thin Plastic Spatula,  Nutmeg, Chili Powder, Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste, Paper Plate,  Peat Moss Reinker, Vallejo Model Color-Green Brown and Flat Earth, Lumiere Green Metallic Paints-Olive Green, Pearlescent Emerald, Citrine, Green Embossing Powder-Leaf Green, Forest Foliage, Green Acrylic Paint-Green Gold, Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Florescent, Chromium Oxide Green, Titan Pale Green, Face Images with Green Eyes, Heavy Gel Matte Medium, Paintbrush, Heavy Books 

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!

 

 

Documenting December

 Hello everyone, I can hardly believe that we are nearing the end of November. When the pandemic hit, it seemed as though all of the months started blurring together, and before I knew it, six months had passed, then seven, etc... I've heard a lot about how people like to do daily journal entires for the month of December, helping them to stay focused on the joys of the season and allowing them to highlight and appreciate some of the important moments. I think this year, more than ever, this will be a valuable exercise. For this reason, I have created a December journal.Today, I am sharing the journal I made for "documenting December." I start with a die cut journal base made from the Eileen Hull Sizzix Journal die. I cover the die cut pieces with some of my favorite Tim Holtz holiday papers and use a bunch of Gypsy Soul Laser Cut chipboard pieces as embellishments inside. There are so many different Christmas and holiday chipboard pieces in the GSLC shop to choose from. This post will highlight some that I use in this journal.

On the cover, I add an altoids tin topper 1 piece in each corner. I love how the design of these pieces plays off the paper pattern. For these pieces, I coat one side with Versamark embossing ink and then randomly sprinkle Distress embossing glaze in rustic wilderness onto the ink. The embossing powder melts when heated. To give it a grungy look, I sand off areas of the glaze, allowing the chipboard to show through. If you happen to add to much powder and are not happy with the shine, you can use a piece of steel wool to dull the finish. Its best to only add the embossing to one side of the piece, this will allow you to easily secure it to the cover with craft glue.

Inside the journal, the "signatures" are made from mixed media heavyweight paper and cut to size. Using a heavy weight paper will give me freedom to add different mediums to the pages. I stamp numbers into the corner of each page to correlate to the days of the month. I do not sew the signatures together, leaving them free to be removed. This will allow me the flexibility to journal, paint, stamp or draw onto the page without worrying about dirtying up any other pages. When I complete that day and it is completely dry, I can simply slip it back into place. I add some additional vellum sheets to the signatures for interest.

I use one of these vellum pages to showcase the GSLC believe Santa. After carefully removing the piece from the surround, I paint the chipboard with black soot Distress paint. Once the paint is completely dry, I use a silver leaf metallic paint pen along the outermost edge to highlight the figure and deer in the night sky. I attach the upper portions of some house die cuts along the bottom edge so that Santa can soar above the rooftops.

The Christmas shape set contains so many fun pieces that are perfect for embellishing the journal pages. I use various colors of Distress paint to add details to the pieces. Festive holiday lights stretch across the top of one of the pages. Each painted bulb is glued to the page and then I add the "wire" by drawing a curvy line between the bulbs so that they appear as if they are a string of lights, all connected to each other.

The stockings from the Christmas shape set can be decorated to look any way you chose. I opt for a simple approach by only painting the bottom portions with candied apple Distress paint. A very fine burlap string allows the three stockings to be "hung" across the page. You can also add stamped images or a monogram to really personalize the look.

I prepare a number of extra pieces that will be incorporated as I fill the journal. The smallest trees from the pine tree shape set are some of these pieces. I think it will be fun to add one when documenting the day we select our Christmas tree, as well as when we decorate our tree. These pieces are prepared by painting them with a coat of rustic wilderness Distress ink. If the weather is snowy on the day we pick out the tree, I may add a bit of grit paste to the branches or maybe even sprinkle some blizzard embossing powder onto the tips of the pines. The best part of having prepared pieces is the ease with which they can be added when the time is right. With December being such a busy month, being prepared will allow more time for other things as well as make it easier to create fantastic pages in minutes.

I intentionally leave many of the journal pages unadorned. This allows me the freedom to add notes, artwork, stamps, or even tags where I want. The GSLC small tag set is the perfect size to add into the journal. The set comes with ten (10) small tags. I make up a handful to coordinate with my journal. On one side of the tags, I attach a piece of holiday paper with collage medium. The edges of the paper are trimmed to fit the tag. I punch a hole in the decorative paper at the location of the existing hole in the tag, and insert a 3/16" colored eyelet. The reverse side of each tag is simply inked to allow for the addition of  notes or a picture. These will definitely come in handy when I begin documenting December.

Another piece that I have painted and am keeping handy is the layered frame carlon. This can frame up a nice saying or image, or maybe even a mini Santa pic! 

Maybe you are inspired to create your own December journal; Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts has a wide variety of pieces that would work perfectly for adding special touches to your pages. I know that I am looking forward to documenting December and being able to appreciate the little things each and every day.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today, I truly appreciate it. If you live in the United States, or celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you and yours a day filled with gratitude and love. I will be back in December with my last Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts project of the year.

Be safe and take care,

Ann

xxx  

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:

Altoids tin topper 1

Believe Santa 

Christmas shape set

Layered frame Carlon

Pine tree shape set

 Small tag set