Childhood in the Country-A Peek-A-Boo Project

  

As I have stated many times before I am a country boy at heart. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania  in a simpler time that has instilled in me a love of quiet and solitude. I try to steer clear of drama and those who thrive on it. "People who have no life will always try to start drama in yours" is a quote I fully believe. Uphill from my childhood home there was a dairy farm I spent many  hours at. They had cows, horses, chickens, pigs. dogs, and barn kitties to love and adore. I would help them with their chores and bailing hay and straw from time to time. This is a story from my childhood Waiting for Robins it tells of my childhood spent in the country. When I saw Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Milk Can I was taken back to milking time and my childhood. These are the inspiration for this artwork.

1.  Gather Materials.

2.  Use a Plastic Oval Template to Trace Part of Vintage Cards you will use as focal point on GSLC Milk Can.

3.  Cut out with Scissors.

4.  Use  a Rubber Baser Brush to randomly apply  clear embossing ink to GSLC Milk Cans.

Sprinkle with Hammered Metal, Weathered Wood, Mercury Rising, Etched Platinum Embossing Powders and cure with Heating Tool.

Apply

7.  Next add Patina with a small paintbrush and Titan Green Pale, Iridescent Stainless Steel, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold Acrylic Paint.

8.  Use Weldbond to Glue cutout vintage cards to center of GSLC Milk Cans. Dry flat pressing down with a heavy book.

9.  Color Fern Fronds with layers of Green Stains and Sprays, Green Infusion Stains, Green Acrylic Paints, Green Embossing Powders. Curing with a Heat Tool between  layers.

10.                Next Use Acrylic Paints of your choosing to paint GSLC Wildflowers and Hypercium Berries.

11.                Add interest and details using Ruby and Purple Nail Polish.

12.                Decide on a design for you flowers, fern fronds, and milk cans.

13.                Add the design to the vintage cigar box lid and bottom substrate using Golden Heavy Matte Medium and a Plastic Spatula.

14.                Some Flowers needed extra layers to better blend into one of my designs.

15.Dry Completely and Flat weighing down with a heavy book.

16.Add patina and texture using Random Embellishments- Pastes, Spices and Materials using Cheap hairspray to seal them in.

17.Once fully dry add a quick coat of matte medium to further seal in all tiny pieces.

Some Final Thoughts.

My childhood is best understood from afar. As I was living it I did not appreciate it's bounty. I had a wandering heart, not easily satisfied by simple pleasures. I longed for the city to be free of all the entrapment I perceived of my childhood home. I've lived longer away from my childhood home now than the time I spent there. Our  family homestead was sold last fall and because of Covid restrictions I was unable to attend the auction and have not returned for over a year now. I miss it, I want to say my goodbyes to lay it to rest. I am more of my childhood country boy than I'd like to admit. I no longer desire the delights of my youth, I've traveled to many  wonderful places and have been to some of the bigger cities around the world. I now want to stay home to be still, to take in the small pleasures each day offers. Seek beauty while it may be found, soothe your soul with contentment, stay true to yourself and live a life worthy of others desiring. Wendell Berry  is one of my favorite authors and best describes my understanding:

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Milk Can, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Hypercium Berries, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts- Wildflowers, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Fern Fronds, Vintage Cards of Your Choosing, Plastic Oval Template, Pencil, Scissors, Embossing Powders-Hammered Metal, Weathered Wood, Mercury Rising, Etched Platinum, Clear Embossing Ink Roller, Rubber Baster Brush, Heating Tool,  Bundled Sage Distress Stain, Titan Green Pale, Iridescent Stainless Steel, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold Acrylic Paint, Paintbrush, Weldbond, Green Stains and Sprays, Green Infusion Stains, Green Acrylic Paints, Green Embossing Powders, Random Acrylic Paints, Ruby and Purple Fingernail Polish, Golden Heavy Matte Medium, Plastic Spatula, Random Embellishments- Pastes, Spices, Materials, Cheap Hairspray, Matte Medium, Vintage Cigar Lid and Bottom

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!

Fall Note Book by Sandy Trefger

Hello! Sandy here today with a quick and fun Fall project. It's early September and it's time to think of Fall projects as the season will actually change on the calendar in just a few weeks.  What I've created for you today is a Fall note book.  I purchased this blank book with Kraft ruled pages and a Kraft paper cover. I believe I bought it last year from Michael's but any blank book will do.  I then colored the cover and added some Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts chippies that I altered. The whole thing was done in under 30 minutes.  Really. I timed myself. Perhaps you'd like to make something similar for yourself. 

Supply List:

• Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Wildflowers C7J
• Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Lace Frame Sheets D120 * New Item--Contact Store
• Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Miniature Bookplates Shape Set  D701
• Blank Notebook with Paper Cover - Kraft
• Nuvo Embellishment Mousse - Indian Gold, Cosmic Brown, Fresh Copper, Lemon Sorbet, Spring Green
• Stampendous Embossing Powders - Gold & Aged Taupe
• Emboss It Ink Dauber
• Glossy Accents
• Tim Holtz Black Soot Distress Ink
• Tim Holtz Mini Metal Brads

Instructions:

Step 1:  Punch out all your chipboard pieces and wipe the edges with a damp baby wipe to remove any laser residue.

Step 2:  Use a damp baby wipe and cover the chipboard pieces with Nuvo Embellishment Mousse as desired.  I used gold on the frame and book plate, other colors on the floral piece.

Step 3:  Dab embossing ink onto the frame and bookplate.  Add random areas of embossing powder and use a heat gun to melt the powders.

Step 4:  Alter the front, back and spine of the note book cover using the  Cosmic Brown Nuvo Embellishment Mousse.

Below is how the inside of the note book looks:

Step 5: Apply a bit of a lighter embellishment mousse to the center of the cover such as Lemon Sorbet.

Step 6:  Use Glossy Accents and attach the floral chipboard piece down on to the center of the front cover.  Also attach the frame on top of the flowers.

You may need to place a heavy weight on top of the chipboard pieces to ensure that they dry flat.  I use a vintage iron for my weight piece.

Step 7:  Once the chipboard pieces have dried and are firmly attached to the cover, lightly dry ink Black Soot Distress Ink over the frame.  Also prep the bookplate piece--see step 8.

Step 8:  While things are drying, insert two small metal Tim Holtz brads into the book plate, use wire cutters to clip the brad prongs off shorter so they do not stick out on the sides as these will not be inserted into the cover.   Also apply embellishment mouse to the chipboard rectangle that came out of the book plate as you will use that for your note book title.  Add some embossing powder on to the book plate and heat to melt the powder.

Step 9:  Use a black marker such as a fine Sharpie to write the word "Notes" onto the chipboard rectangle.  Glue it and the book plate to the lower right corner of the book.

Your note book is completed.  If desired, lightly brush some of the black Distress Ink on to the cover in a few areas and then add embossing powder and melt for some added texture.  This would make a lovely (and quick) gift for someone special or would make a very nice book for your favorite quotes.

Thank you so much for following along.  I hope I've inspired you to use some of these wonderful Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts chippies on your projects.  I will be back on September 20th with a fabulous project combining Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and Canvas Corp Brands 7 Gypsies products.

Happy Crafting!

Sandy

P.S. For more of my crafty projects, visit my blog/website at:   www.sandytrefger.blogspot.com