Meet Minty the Snowman by Betsy Skagen

Meet Minty the Snowman. Some say his attitude is a little fresh, but I maintain that is just the splenderifious combination of peppermint and newly fallen snow.

To make Minty, begin by covering a Styrofoam ball with Paper Clay. Poke a small hole with a tooth pick. Let dry overnight. If not completely dry, you can help it along by heating it in the oven for a few minutes at a very low temperature.

Paint the clay ball with white acrylic paint and dab on some light pink cheeks. Let dry. Paint the entire ball with matte medium and then cover with fine clear glitter. Paint a toothpick orange and secure the tip of it tip of it in the hole with some glue.

Fill the interior of the jar with red and white straws that you cut to size.

 

Cut apart the chipboard snowflakes, paint white and dry.

Cover both sides with matte medium and glitter.

Use permanent glue to adhere the snowman head to a glass bottle. While it cures, thread small white beads through the top of a salt shaker and secure it place with a permanent glue. Add the snowflakes to the back of the saltshaker hat.

Use more permanent glue to adhere the salt shaker top to the top of the snowman head.

Wrap a pipe cleaner around the neck to create arms and cover the rest of the neck with some festive ribbon.

Add a tiny jar filled with tiny Perler Bead miniature candies (there are many tutorials you can find online). Add labels, such as the adorable labels made by team member Nichola Battilana and your snowman is complete.

Have a wonderful, frosty fresh weekend! -Betsy

Great Stuff

Let it Snow chipboard
Merry Little Christmas Labels
Glass Jars
Paper Clay
Styrofoam ball
Craft glue
Lock-Tite
Matte medium
Toothpick
Fine clear glitter
Saltshaker top
Pipecleaners
Acrylic paint
Glitter
Ribbon
Paper straws
White beads
Miniature peppermint candy made from Perler Beads

Ornament Making Event

Hello everyone! Lora here to share a couple very special days we had here in my neck of the woods!
We had two wonderful ornament making events for children (and grown-ups!) here in Patrick County, Virginia sponsored by The Reynolds Homestead and our own wonderful Gina, owner of Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. Through Gina's generosity and kindness, we were able to make over 150 ornament kits for kids to put together at two separate events...one was at the Apple Dumpling Festival and the second was held this past week end, A Victorian Open House at the old Reynolds Homestead.
We all had a blast.
Here are some pictures of what went on.
A shot of two of the kits we made and had out at the Festival, ready and waiting for the kids...

A snowman enthusiast having a good time!

Working on the details...

This little boy was so happy to be here. He worked very patiently through one kit after another, making presents for his family.

 The Victorian Open House was challenged by weather, but we still had a steady stream of kids and adults who enjoyed making the ornaments. Here is a great picture of the Victorian ladies decked in their finest, ready to do tours of the old house. Standing in front of the twelve foot Christmas tree at the learning center.

Lots of folks making ornaments.

One of the Victorian ladies taking a break from house tours and the rain, making an ornament.

 A little girl and her grandma making ornaments together.

The two most popular kits from both events were the Snowman and the Christmas tree.

Thank you, Gina for helping to make these events so special!

We made kits from versions of these laser cuts:
Winter Snowman Banner
Gingerbread Family Shape Set
Christmas Shape Set
ATC Shrine Box

Thank you for stopping by!

Snowy Ornament with Susan

Hello crafty friends!  Today I have a sparkly snowy ornament to share with you here on the GSL Cuts blog using a Reliquary Arch Top and a few pieces from the Winter Shape Set!

I used the Reliquary - Arch Top as the base, painted white.

Using fabric glue I attached a bit of ribbon for a hanger.  I used the same glue around the top laser cut layer and attached.

I used clips to keep an even pressure all around while the glue set up.

I painted the snowman and snowflakes with the same white paint.  The built-in hat and layering hat (not shown) were painted black.  Here I glued Flower Soft snow to the snowman.

I filled the inside of the reliquary with glue and then Diamond Dust.  Using a paper towel between my fingers and the glass glitter, I pressed down to adhere as much together as possible.

Filed under I Make The Mistakes So You Don't Have To:  This glue is actually too thick and started to set up too fast.  Once dry, the glue lines were still visible.  I suggest using a thinner white glue, or thinning yours with a bit of water.

I painted the snow flakes with the pearl white Lumiere.  The layering hat was covered in black glass glitter and glued to the snowman's built-in hat (as seen in the photo above).

I covered the scarf in red Stickles glitter and let dry overnight, then added to the snowman.

Thanks for visiting today.

Cheers,
Susan


Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Reliquary Arch Top #D8A
Winter Shape Set #D38C

Other Supplies Used
White acrylic paint
Lumiere paint - Pearl Turquoise
Lumiere paint - Pearl White
Twinklets Diamond Dust
Flower Soft - Polar White
Meyer Imports Glass Glitter - Black
Stickles - Christmas Red
White Glue

Winter at the Gazebo by Barb

Yes, I'm one of those. Halloween is done, so bring on the twinkly lights and snow and sparkly stuff! And no skimping on the hot cocoa and cookies! I'm ready. So ready that, with the help of Gina's Designs, I conjured up a magical little snowy park I can go to.

I wanted to give my piece the feeling of a chilly evening after a good snowfall. So I began by using ModPodge to adhere mulberry paper to my canvas board. I slathered on some iridized purple paint to give it that late evening shimmer. To mimic snow that had been trampled while building Mr. Snowman, I spread gesso over the lower portion of the mulberry paper and added clear glitter while it was wet.

I set all that aside to work on the gazebo. To this, I sponged on plenty of gesso. I didn't worry about making it smooth and pretty because I wanted it to have that "just snowed" look. While the gesso was wet, I sprinkled clear glitter on it as well.

I wanted the lights to really shine against all that glittery, shimmery snowy stuff. I coated the strand and sockets first with green irRESISTibles. I let it dry for a few minutes and then coated the bulbs with various colors of irRESISTibles.

Finally, it was time to turn my attention to Mr. Snowman. I coated everything but the hat with gesso and this time, instead of sprinkling on glitter, I smashed glitter into the wet paint. I painted his hat with black acrylic paint - I accidentally got some of the wet white gesso on it, but I kind of like the mottled effect.

Once the paint had dried, I tied a red ribbon around the hat. I also dabbed on Liquid Pearls for the eyes and mouth and added rhinestones for buttons. As for the carrot? Here's why you never ever ever throw away scraps from Gina's. You guessed it - that nose is a punch out scrap from a different project. I don't even remember what set it might have been from - I have a baggie full of little scrap bits that I've saved and find all kinds of uses for.

I made the arms from branches that I snipped off of the tree that came in the Winter Shape Set. I gave them a light coat of brown craft ink.

All I had to do was glue everything where I wanted it. Now I have a sweet little Winter Wonderland all my own!

Gina's Designs Products Used

Winter Shape Set

Gazebo

Light String Border

Other Products Used

Gesso

Mulberry paper

Clear glitter

Acrylic Paint

ModPodge

ColourArte Silk Acrylics

Liquid Pearl

Craft Ink

Imagine Crafts irRESISTibles

Imagine Crafts Creative Medium (Silver)