My Dad Was a Romantic-A Peek-a-Boo Project

 

I’ve written about my complicate relationship with my father in previous post- Father's Day Journeyman-but as I have also stated before our parents lived lives before we knew them. In the same envelope of treasure troughs I wrote about in last month's Mother's Days post there were pictures of my dad in his WWII Army Uniform. When we were going through the contents of our family homestead we found a box of letters written to my mom from my dad when he was stationed in Germany. They give us insight to their young love and a side of my dad I never knew. These letters are the inspiration for this artwork.

1.  Gather supplies.

2.  The substrate for this duel artwork is   GSLC Display Dome back section.

3.  Make copies of collected treasure trough-photographs, maps, letter.

4.   Do a quick dry brush technique using yellow, green, and brown acrylic paints.

5.  Fill in any empty spaces with TH Bundled Sage Distress Stain.

6.  Use Weldbond to apply strips of maps and letters to your altered dome substrate.  Adding a few focal point photographs.

7.  Use sanding blocks to perfect and distress edges.

8.  Coat entire surface with Matte Gel Medium sealing it all in.

9.  Use embossing ink to add embossing powders to GSLC Typewriter Set-I used black metallic tones.

10.                Once again fill in any empty spaces with TH Bundled Sage Distress Stain.

11.                Cut a piece of copper foil paper to place behind the cut out typewriter keys.

12.                Sandwich and glue the GSLC Typewriter Sets together. Allow to dry fully being pressed down with a heavy book.

13.                Use embossing ink to add embossing powders to GSLC Vintage Bulb Set-I used yellow, red, German silver. Cure with heat tool.

14.                Use Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold acrylic paint to fill in empty spaces.

15.                Cut a piece of copper foil paper to place behind GSLC Vintage Bulbs

16.                Sandwich and glue the GSLC Vintage Bulbs together. Allow to dry fully being pressed down with a heavy

17.                Use embossing ink to add embossing powders to GSLC Eiffel Tower-I used yellow, brick, and bronze. Cure with heat tool.

18.                Use Raw Sienna and Yellow Oxide acrylic paint to fill in empty spaces.

19.                Decide on placement of these larger pieces on your prepared substrate.

20.                Next Choose items from GSLC Parisian Shape Set and GSLC-Heart of Gears to add additional layers and interest to artwork.

21.                Use embossing ink to add embossing powders to GSLC heart of Gears, Chairs, and Corset-I pinks and reds. For Fleur-De-Lis I used gold and coppers, For scroll work I used silvers and platinum, and on birds I used shades of blue. Cure with heat tool.

22.                Use acrylic paints to fill in empty spaces and to add interest, details and layers.

23.                Decide on placement for assemblage and add to artwork using Heavy Gel Matte Medium and a thin plastic spatula.

24.                Select postage stamps and paper ephemera from your collection and add to empty spaces in your assemblage using Heavy Gel Matte Medium and a thin plastic spatula.

25.                Always allow everything to dry completely as you keep it flat and weighted down.

26.                Wanted to add a vintage appeal and unify the piece I added blue and green texture pastes to the edges using a thin plastic spatula.

27.                Add green acrylic paint to a small portion of Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste and dab it onto edges using a thin plastic spatula. Cure with heat tool.

28.                To further unify the artwork I added metallic gears using miniature screws, screwdriver and awl. 

 

Some Final Thoughts.

My parents were married for 59 years, still together to my dad's passing. They had a relationship that showed their love and adoration for each other. It wasn't free from bickering-dad mowing mom's flowerbeds, dad driving too fast, or him picking at a bandage-but I never saw them fight in front of us kids. They taught me how to be dedicated to another in quiet times, to share the chores-Mom washed dishes dad dried them, mom canned the Bread and Butter Pickles  dad ate them, dad went to work and mom picked up side jobs-picking tomatoes, trimming Christmas trees, selling her produce at farmers' markets, babysitting, selling Amway, vanilla extract, paring knives, wooden spatulas that doubled as a paddle, helping the neighbors butcher in exchange for meat for the table...and maybe more I did not know about. They were not "I love you!" type of people and I wondered why they rarely said to each other or me while growing up. I knew they loved me but I wanted to hear it spoken.

Now having the letters and the history of my parents courtship I know my dad was a romantic and I am inspired to live my life  sharing my love and kindness with others. 

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Typewriter Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Eiffel Tower-6 inch, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Parisian Shape Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Heart of Gears, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Vintage Bulb Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Display Tray Dome, Copies of Collected Treasure Trough-Photographs, Maps, Letters, Weldbond, Acrylic Paint-Green, Yellow, Brown, Neon Pink, Blue, Red, Gold, Silver, Paintbrush, TH Distress Stain Bundled Sage, Sanding Blocks, Matte Gel Medium, Embossing Powders-Black, Silver, Red, Yellow, Pink, Embossing Ink, Heat Tool, Copper Foil Cardstock, Weldbond, Heavy Gel Matte Medium, Thin Plastic Spatula, Paper Ephemera, Vintage Postage Stamps, Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste, Texture Pastes, Metallic Gears, Miniature Screws, Screwdriver, Awl

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!

 

 

Dear Santa Typewriter

Hello!! Can you believe Christmas is a little over 2 weeks away?!? I have so many Christmas decor ideas but not enough time to make them all. So I really enjoyed taking some time to sit and make this piece. My decor theme this year is Dear Santa so when I was digging thru my Gypsy Soul stash and found this Typewriter Set I knew I had to make some sort of decor piece.  Paired with a tag from the Tag Super Set X made the perfect base.

Prepare Typewriter by heat embossing the body Black and the return bar Burnt Copper Leaves. Cut a piece of cardstock to place behind the typewriter. Heat emboss this piece Champagne. Adhere to back of chipboard typewriter. 

Borrowing the idea from Jess at Two Mad Dahlia's  I bent my tag about 3 inches up from the bottom to create a little shelf/base to the tag. These tags are pretty thick but if you place your tag on a counter top and use the edge for leverage you can easily get it to fold. 

Once folded cover tag with patterned paper from Tim Holtz's Paper Stash Christmas. 

Assemble and paint a box from the Mini Shadow Box  Set Black. Hot glue to your tag. The typewriter will be adhered on top of this box in a few steps. 

Distress your Christmas Ephemera, figure out placement and adhere to tag. 

Type out a letter to Santa. 

Add your typed letter to your chipboard typewriter and adhere to tag. 

Finish off your tag by adding die cut greens and poinsettias. 

A close up of my letter. My hubby wasn't amused. Hehe!! 

I really enjoyed this project and I hope you enjoyed seeing how it came together. What is on your Christmas craft list? I have been sneaking in some knitting while watching Christmas movies. I am currently working on a pair of socks for the hubby.
Leave me a note and let me know you stopped by. 

Happy Creating~ Jennalee 

Interactive Typewriter Tags

Hello!! Jennalee here today with some interactive tags featuring the Typewriter Set. When I first saw the Typewriter Set I knew I wanted to make it into an interactive card. I needed a card for my hubby's birthday so decided it was the perfect opportunity to have a little fun.

The larger tag is an oversized #12 tag and the smaller is a standard #8 tag.

The Typewriter Set come with 4 pieces. I used one of the larger with the paper holder and one smaller. 

Using an embossing dauber I heat embossed the portions that would be metal with Hammered Metal powder. The rest of the typewriter was embossed in black with bits of Hammered Metal sprinkled in. For the keyboard, I heat embossed a scrap of paper with gold embossing powder and attached to the back of the typewriter so that the gold peeked thru the keys.

For the decorative detail I stamped a star detail and embossed with Charred Gold. I added additional detail with an Idea-ology Adornment Star also heat embossed with Charred Gold and attached with Distress Collage Medium. 

For the letter that is sticking out of the typewriter, I coffee stained a piece of graph paper and stamped with various mail themed stamps.

To hold the interactive tag I made a simple pocket to attach to the back of the typewriter.

Using a calendar from an Idea-ology ephemera pack I used a Miniature Bookplate to highlight the month of March. I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink to color the bookplate and attached to the calendar using Hex Fastners. 

I used Walnut Stain and Iced Spruce Distress Oxides to color the tag. I layered a piece of scrapbook paper and some rub ons for the base layer and then added messy stitching around the edge of the tag. 

I then stitched on my next layer and added an Idea-ology Ruler Piece with Distress Collage Medium. From there I finished building my layers and added the calendar and typewriter. To attach the typewriter I used foam dots. 

For the interactive tag I started by inking it with Distress Oxides and stitched down a folded piece of coffee stained graph paper. 

I added a Hex Fastener to hold down the flap the hides a redacted secret message. 

For the airmail tag I prepared the typewriter the same way as the first only with red keys. 

I prepared my layers and stitched around the edge of the tag. 

After deciding on the placement of the typewriter I used a craft knife to cut a slit for the interactive tag to slip into. 

I cut a second tag out of matching paper and added double sided adhesive around the edges. This creates a sort of pocket so the interactive tag portion has a place to sit. If I had been thinking ahead I could have stitched the two tags together. 

To finish off the airmail tag I used a strong double sided adhesive to attach the typewriter making sure to take into account where the slit was. 

I love the vintage vibe the Typewriter Set adds to these tags. Thanks for stopping by!! 

Happy Creating ~ Jennalee