Time to Discover Adventure

Hello fellow gypsy crafters!  It's Susan here, and I want to open the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts door to adventure with you.  Don your best steampunk-ish outfit and get ready to travel the future-past.  Our door is found behind the red "gates" of the Square Shrine Gate Fold.

The first thing was to choose the papers that help tell the story.  The door paper here started the theme, and all others fell into place.  I outlined each GSLC piece and cut out with a paper trimmer.

The hinges are made from self-adhesive linen hinging tape (Lineco brand, on Amazon).  I cut lengths for the front and back, and carefully positioned my shrine pieces to 1/4" (6.35mm) apart.  This was fiddly and the parts moved easily, so be careful when laying the tape down.

The linen tape is super thin.  Separate it from the backing and carefully position.  Here I have already done one side and am matching up the tape.

Press a bone folder or other pokey thing into the hinge to help front and back tape stick to each other. Do this on both sides and feel free to move the gates open and closed to get a solid stick.

I painted my hinges with black gesso.  I'm a huge fan of the super-flat paint effect and use the gesso as paint often.

Here I've inked the edges of my papers and am using Mod Podge to adhere to each shrine piece.  A brayer, that bone folder, or other flat object is useful to rub across the paper to spread the glue and flatten any high spots.

Since not all my papers were perfectly cut I had to sand them down and re-ink.  I always realize that inking before adhering is not the best use of time, but there was that one project years ago where I couldn't re-ink without messing it up.  So I always take that precautionary step.

Time to cut out the laser cut components!  I usually just press down on the connectors with a blade to release them.

Here are the components I think I'll use: discover, adventure, one of the "butterfly of gears", parts of "fantasy frame and flourishes".  The flourishes one is great - I don't tend to use frames but this one cut up nicely and gave me a lot of smaller flourishes.

Time to paint all black with gesso.  I'm not sure what the end colors will be at this point, but I'd rather paint over a black base on this project than a white gesso base.

Here the gears have been painted with metallic paints and the butterfly has it's copper base coat.  I cut the "discover" word to fit the two panels.  I removed the chevrons from "adventure" a couple of projects ago but never used it; it's perfect here!  It got a metallic coat of paint also.

In my never-ending quest for texture, I played around with gels to soften the laser cut edges and make them more of an organic part of the project.  I started to dry with a heat gun, but I'm not really sure if that's appropriate with gels, so I decided to be patient and let it air dry.

Patience didn't last.  As the DIS dried I saw it wasn't going to be organic enough.  I decided on an all-over texture with a rough brush and a transparent gel that isn't self leveling (as the one above).

Here it is dried -- you can see some of the brush texture.  It was too glossy for me so I coated with matte varnish and went to bed.

In the morning I had to touch up missed varnish spots and added Glossy Accents to the magnifying glass above the I.  Since the reverse side of the clock face and butterfly might be visible, I painted them black.

Here is the full project.

I love how the two-panel "discover" worked out.

And the reverse!

I hope today's post inspires your next Gypsy adventure!

Cheers,
Susan


Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Square Shrine Gate Fold #BD1A
Discover #C33N
Chevron Words Small (Adventure) #C7I
Steampunk Shape Set (Gears, Clock & Hands) #D33A
Butterfly of Gears #D20F
Fantasy Frame & Flourishes #D52D

Other Supplies Used
Bo Bunny Timepiece
Liquitex black gesso
Mod Podge
Ranger espresso ink
Golden Regular Gel (matte)
Golden Self Leveling Clear Gel
Liquitex matte varnish
Tim Holtz knob
Ranger Glossy Accents
Ranger Stickles in Diamond, Antique Bronze
Zig 2-Way Glue pen for discover, adventure
White glue for gears
Dresden trim
Metallic brads

The World is My Inspiration Gatefold Shrine

Hello everyone, Lora here with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and this month we are cross promoting with Canvas Corp with a fun 'Small Worlds' theme.
Here is my offering, inspired by the fun Architectures Parchment Rub-Ons, Live and

the images from the bits and pieces of the Mixed Media Junque Pack-Wanderlust Collection. Looking at the image of the camels and the caravan in the background of this picture, I thought of 'Out of Africa' and off I went.

I used the tags from the collection as pockets and filled them with the kind of memorabilia one gathers on a long journey. Tags and ticket stubs, bits of postcards and a picture or two.
Travel by camel or plane, however you do it, just go out and see the world! It will surprise you by how large it feels and how small it becomes when you see how much we all have in common.
I began with the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Square Shrine Gatefold.

I painted what will be the front of two smaller pieces brown and what will be the back of the center piece brown.

Then the center piece (edges only) the same brown on the other side.
I used the 7Gypsies American Vintage Collection Paper 'Across USA' as my background for the inside of all three pieces of the Gatefold.
When I cut the paper for the large center piece, I made sure to leave about a 1/8 inch of brown reveal around the edges.
I cut out the postcards from the Wish You Were Here scrapbook paper from the American Vintage Paper Collection and used one of these as the opening on the front of the Gatefold, by cutting it in half and trimming it a bit to show some of the brown paint as a reveal on the top and bottom of the front flaps.

I also used one of the postcards as a base for the rub-on of the cute boy in the biplane.

I used Copic markers to brighten up the image, trimmed the post card so it would fit inside the center at an angle, inked it up and glued it down.
So cute!
I also used the bicycle and suitcases rub-on for the front cover. I think they add a bit of whimsy and dimension.

I found the quote 'The World Is My Inspiration' on the back of the packaging for the Architectures Parchment Rub-Ons, Live! It's nice that Canvas Corp has packaging that's nice enough to craft with!

SUPPLIES:
From
Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts
Square Shrine Gatefold.

From
Canvas Corp Brands
Architectures Parchment Rub-Ons, Live
American Vintage Collection Paper 'Across USA'
American Vintage Paper Collection 'Wish You Were Here
Mixed Media Junque Pack-Wanderlust Collection

Thank you for flying by!

What would Jane do?

Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors. A great story teller and very pithy as well. I see her as the very proper, mannerly Dorothy Parker of her time. She wore velvet gloves and pretty dresses, but I'm not fooled...she was witty and sharp as a tack. It's a good thing she was a proper lady, because I get the impression that Miss Jane did not suffer fools.
There is a book out called "What Would Jane Do?: Quips and Wisdom from Jane Austen" that inspired this piece. And Jane herself, of course!

What would Jane do in a difficult situation? Would she put the kettle on? Be politely sympathetic to a gossipy old busybody?

Or would she give the hornets nest a ladylike shove?

I think the answer to that is that Jane would do both!

I started off this project with the Square Shrine Gatefold and taped the pieces together using Linen Book Binding tape.

I made sure there was at least a generous quarter inch space between the pieces in order to accommodate both the fold and the thickness of the die-cut pieces I used inside. I tested it out before I made anything permanent.

I wanted the inside to be reminiscent of a wallpapered room with wainscot, so I chose two complimentary papers.

Though the center piece is higher than the side pieces, I made sure that the bottom striped paper was level all the way across all three pieces. I glued all my papers down front and back.

I cut two images from my collage sheet of Jane that fit into the Flourished Frame-Elizabeth (coming soon) And glued them to a piece of cardboard I cut to fit the inside of the frame.

I used components from the Tea Time Shape and Border Set on both sides of the Gatefold, painting them white and giving them a little shadow and detail to add a bit of dimension.

I couldn't resist covering the teapot with pink polka dots...so cute!

 I also used the Victorian Corners 2 as details under the spoons. I cut the ends off of both to accommodate the What Would Jane Do plaque as I had a spot of trouble getting it to stay flat!
I also used a poster paint marker in white to add little dots and details to the piece. So fun to think of Jane and all the wonderful hours of reading I have had with her. Now I'm off to have a cuppa!

Supplies:
Square Shrine Gatefold
 Tea Time Shape and Border Set
 Victorian Corners 2
Flourished frame - Elizabeth (coming soon)

Other Supplies:
Graphic 45 6x6 Patterns and Solids from Botanical Tea
White Poster Paint Marker
Collage sheets from Sandy Gordon (Art Tea Life)
White and Pink Acrylic Paint