Sweet winged dressform

I've started this blog post a million times. Trying to come up with a good explanation, a reason for this project. The truth is, there is none. It's just a fun silly thing that happens to be pretty.

And you know, that's ok. Why does there need to be a reason to create something other than the urge to do so?!

 So I've made this pretty frock using a Dressform Hang Up as a base.

To it I've added a pair of wings from the Wings Assortment

And nestled a piece of the Victorian Corners 2 set onto the bodice (it fits just right!)

I've layered silk rose petals and tulle for the dress portion, simply hot gluing them in place. A bit of glitter, paper flowers and a heart embellishment and voila! you've got a sweet little something. 

If you need some guidance to create this piece, I have a video walkthrough HERE, but rest assured it's easy as can be.

Here are all the bits you'll need:

Dressform Hang Up
Wings Assortment
Faux Metal Number Plates 1 to 25
Victorian Corners 2

acrylic paint

paper flowers

silk flower petals

tulle

glitter

glue

A Mother's Nest by Cherry Nelson

Hi there GSLC peeps...Cherry here today on the blog.

I have a soft sweet Mother's day card for you.

I started with the Hanging Sign Number two laser cut.  I painted it gold and than traced my rose image by using the main part of sign and adhered the image to it.

 I then covered my card stock in my chosen papers.

I added my ribbons and adhered the hanging sign piece to card.

From there I added a rose and stamped sentiment and added a nest from the For the Birds set.

Some fun accents were added like eggs, banners, more flowers, and two more chipboard accents including a Victorian corner two piece and Banner Border strip tucked under my bows.

Here it is complete.  I love the bright colors and natural elements.

This will make a lovely greeting for a Mama this Mother's Day.  Thanks so much for visiting the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog. Cherry

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Supplies used:

Hanging Sign Two

For the Birds 

Victorian Corners 2

Banner Border Strips 

Grizelda's Cabinet of Memories

Hey guys, welcome back - Jess here again after being sick most of last month. Seems I spent most of the winter sick this year, so hopefully with spring finally here I'll be able to get out of the house and down to the lake with my daughter for some play time. Now, on to the crafting! This week, I worked on the Arch Top Cabinet  and hid a bunch of things inside, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I started by putting together the first part of the cabinet, but didn't glue on the outer portion - instead, I cut some strips of basswood to act as shelving within the cabinet. I didn't have scraps that were all the same thickness, so the top shelf ended up being thicker, but I think in the end it looks like I meant to do it all along.

Once all the glue is dry, I painted the inside black (though any dark colour would have worked for the effect I'm trying to accomplish) - and then I glued on the outer fancy pants layer, and painted the entire cabinet black. 

Then I covered the cabinet in a layer of white PVA glue (yes, the whole thing - even the doors, inside, outside - everywhere). I worked in parts, so that it wouldn't dry before I could continue - and I painted my chosen colour (white) over the top immediately. Shhh - this is top secret. You'll never have to buy a crackle medium or special crackle paint again. You just made your own. Boom! As it dries, you'll watch it crackle before your eyes.

Once that's all dry, I hot glued the doors onto the main cabinet.

But I'm always a stickler for those small details and something was bugging me...

So I grabbed some copper wire, that I totally didn't steal from my husband.

And I snipped off four pieces, which became faux hinges in my doors.

I made a little stand out of pink insulation foam and balsa wood.

Added a Victorian embellishment and it was time to start stuffing it with fun things! If you make one, you can stuff yours with anything you like - I made mine a little witchy-themed, as I often do. Check out the completed photos below:

GSLC Materials

Arch Top Cabinet

Victorian Corners 2

Crafty Goblin Materials

Miniature Vintage Photographs

Miniature Vintage Maps

Miniature Old Books

Miniature Spell Pages

Miniature Mythology Dictionary Pages

The Girl in the Garden

Hello all! Lora here continuing my obsession with old masters paintings in combination with mixed medium.
What I've got for you today is a beautiful painting done by Antonio del Pollaiuolo called 'Portrait of a Young Woman' that I have surrounded with very modern watercolor flowers. Love the juxtaposition!
I am calling her, 'The Girl in the Garden'.

A detail shot of her pretty face.....

I began with the ATC Shrine Box and the Layered Frame-Aria. I primed both pieces (well, three pieces as the Frame is two pieces) and then painted both background pieces black and the front filigree of the frame gold. After the filigree piece dried, I added a little Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold over the top. It makes the gold pop and it looks oh so much richer.

After things were completely dry, I papered the outside of the box (which I forgot to take a picture of) and I began to play around with the composition of the interior of the box.

I thought I could work around the fact that the frame was a bit shorter than the box was, but I decided in the end to cut the bottom bar off of the frame.
I am always trying to find the perfect solution to getting different levels of depth inside  a shrine/box and this time I chose to cut up lengths of a semi translucent green straw.
Easy to cut and easy to glue....

I also used foam tape when I needed just a little lift.

After the interior was glued in and everything dried, I attached the frame around the shrine box with glue. (I love Aleene's Tacky Glue)
And was nearly there. However, I didn't like how unfinished the bottom of the piece was since I cut off the bottom of the frame.
Then I remembered I had those awesome Victorian Corners-2. I prepped one just as I did for the frame and attached that to the bottom.  Much better! My junk store find of a cute little brass candlestick finished the piece off.

As a finishing touch, I added some dot detail to the filigree to tie it in to the detail I added to the image of the girl.

 SUPPLIES
 ATC Shrine Box
 Layered Frame-Aria
 Victorian Corners-2

Additonal Supplies
Liquid Pearls in White Opal and Garnet
Black Acrylic Paint
Gold Acrylic Paint
Quinacrodone Nickel Azo Gold Acrylic paint
Antonio del Pollaiuolo's Portrait of a Young Woman
Floral collage images

Thank you very much for taking a look!

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