You can do a lot with a little

Please welcome our newest Design Team member Myry. Myry is from Spain and loves crafting. We hope you like her work as much as we do.

Hello everyone! 

Myry here and I'm pleased to partner with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts!

Sometimes we think that to embellished our works we need a lot of different elements. But that's not true! 

So Today I want to teach you how to take advantage of few elements to create a cover for an album.

The first thing we're going to need are chipboards. I'm going to use "Family" from Fall word set and some pieces from Leafy Swirls and Buds.

Let me give you a tip: sometimes chipboards have traces of something like charcoal. You need pay attention to the edges. If they're dirty clean them with a rag. This way you'll avoid dirtying your work.

Now we're going to use embossing powders to color the chipboards. Use a color that you're already using in your work. In my case, I'm using a pink and violet palette so I'm going to use this light pink powder.

Another tip: use just a little bit powder for a cracked and aged effect. 

This was after two attempts.

Next we'll position the title over between the edges of the heart using a piece of acetate a little longer than the title.

The important thing is to know if our glue fix the acetate or dry as a layer of glass (therefore the acetate will slip).

Try to glue only the parts of the chipboard that will make contact with the acetate.

And now we're going to start putting the rest of the elements in place: the other chipboards, some diecuts and small elements like beads and dots.

One tip more: use the excess of the chipboards to give volume and make layers.

And that was it! So simple and easy :)

I hope this short tutorial help you in your future works. 

Have a good week!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts items used:

Fall Word Set

Leafy Swirls and Buds

Other items used:

Zing "Pink" embossing powder

Distress embossing ink

Heat embossing tool

Cutter, glue and rag

Acetate

Diecuts, beads and dots

Book of Love

I've been dreaming of this project for months and I'm so smitten with how it came out.

Perusing Instagram one day I spied a medieval painting with a young man holding a heart shaped book and I KNEW I wanted to make my own.

Apparently heart shaped books were quite popular during the late Middle Ages. A quick search and you'll find loads of beautiful antique examples. 

For my book, I've used paper from Graphic 45's Flower Shoppe (one of my favaourite collections
ever) and chopped up a  Rose Border for embellishment.

Inside I've covered each folio with music paper, and painted the pages with symbols associated with love and love magic.

A bit of advice: be sure that your layout is dry before moving on to the next. I had a couple of incidents of pages so in love they wanted to stick together and not be unstuck.

I added some stamped elements on a few pages and applied gold embossing powder. I think it gives a nice nod to the gilded illumination in old manuscripts.

There's runes and symbols and all sorts of love elements in my magic little book, but don't feel bound by my example.

The petite size of this book make it wonderful for exploring and experimenting. With just 7 layouts to complete, it's not an overwhelming commitment. AND the chippy pages are pretty great at accepting an enthusiastic application of mixed media. 

Want to see how I put this heart-shaped book of love together? Great! I've made a video to guide you though the process of making your own. Pop over HERE to see it

And here are all the bits I used:

Heart Shaped Album

Gypsy Soul Foam Stamps Coming Soon

Rose Border

music paper

scrapbook paper (Graphic 45's Flower Shoppe)

glue

hockey tape (cloth type)

acrylic paint

gold embossing powder

Paper Flower Fairy House Shrines

You know what I love? Smashing every single thing I love all into one project. Houses, little things,  shrines, butterflies, fairies... check, check, check....

Start with some super cute Mini House Shadowboxes and off you go! There are four different sizes available, each adorably tiny.

To embellish I've used old music sheets inside, and scrapbook paper on the exterior. 

A snip of Gold Tiny Dot Dresden Borders trims each roof.

Inside a paper fairy made from this Matchbox Fairy Collage Sheet with Transparent Wings. Paper butterflies, a pinch of moss, and few sprinkles of "faux flowers" finish those pretty things off.

The most difficult part of this project is cutting out the fairies, but with a pair of sharp scissors and a bit of patience you'll do just fine. If you want to see the whole process of assembling these pretties I have a video walk-through available HERE .

Easy right? You got this! To recap, here are all the supplies you'll need to make these sweet little Paper Flower Fairy House Shrines:

A mini house shadowbox, choose from:

Mini House Shadowbox 1

Mini House Shadowbox 2

Mini House Shadowbox 3

Mini House Shadowbox 4

Old paper
Acrylic paint

Scrapbook paper of choice
Matchbox Fairy Collage Sheet
Transparent Wings

Wee Assorted Butterflies
Gold Tiny Dot Dresden Borders

Moss/Flocling

Small fake flowers or scatter

Glue
Adhesive foam squares
Other embellishments, baubles, washi tape, buttons etc.

Misunderstood Monsters and Mysterious Creatures-Complete Collection

I am happy to present my complete Collection of Misunderstood Monsters and Mysterious Creatures Alphabet. A wonderful instillation and little Munster Nursery. If you want to know how each chipboard was altered or each letter was chosen be sure to check out my previous installments of Misunderstood Monsters and Mysterious Creatures.

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Alphabet Stencil Blanks, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Snowflake Shape Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-String Alongs - Gothic, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Dragons Shape Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Garden Fairies Medium, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Unicorns 

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!

Misunderstood Monsters and Mysterious Creature-Final Installment K and X

It is fitting that my post on 9/11 brings us to an iconic New York building.  This whole series was to show us that things are not always what they seem. There are real monsters in this world but sometimes they are not what people say they are. I will be reusing the Small 5" by 7" Wooden IKEA frames I added to patina to the last time and have included those steps here for reference. This time I will Infusion Coloured  Stains and water to alter the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Alphabet Stencils for "K" is for King Kong, and "X" is for X-men many marvelous and mysterious creatures. Remember this technique can be used to alter any of the GSLC chipboards. 

1.  Take GSLC Alphabet Stencil Blanks from Package.
2.  Print Images of your choosing to represent each letter, I have decided upon a Monsters and Mysterious Creatures one and not sure what I will find.
3.  I am using 3 small 5" by 7" inch IKEA wooden frames to showcase each of the letters.
4.  I am a texture type of guy so I want to alter the frames and give them added interest. I want them to look similar but not the same like they are part of a collection.
5.  For the first frame I used various Ice Resin Enamels in German Silver and Torched Copper and Embossing Enamels in Aged Hunter and Aged Copper. I layered them and cured with a heating tool. This method can also be used on any of the GSLC chipboards as I will probably use later in my project.
6.  I added Tim Holts Distress Sprays in Walnut Stain to add additional patina.
7.  The second frame was aged using Finnabair rust pastes in greens, browns, and orange placed on randomly with a paintbrush. I then used transparent burnt sienna ink to fill in any empty spaces. Once again this technique can be used on any of the GSLC chipboard pieces. 
8.  The final frame was given a patina using Tim Holtz Distress Grit-Paste and Ferro-Copper Paste applied with a thin plastic spatula using a  Snake Skin Stencil and further distressing with alcohol inks in browns and greens. Once again this technique can be used on any of the GSLC chipboard pieces. 
9.  For altering the GSLC Alphabet Stencil Blanks this time I will be Infusion Coloured Stains and a spray bottle of water.

10.                I used different colors on both the GSLC Alphabet Stencil "K" and X". You can sprinkle them both on a nonporous surface and spray with water bottle or sprinkle directly onto chipboards and then mist with a water bottle. As they are water based and if they will be exposed to the elements they should be sealed in a matte medium.

11.                Find complimentary pieces metal for the backgrounds of you GSLC Alphabet Framed Designs. I used red for the "K", and a copper for the "X".

12.                Cut and glue the appropriate images for each of Framed letters, securing with Weldbond.

13.                Our GSLC Alphabet Stencils are complete for Letters "K" and "X" and actually for the whole collection.

Some final thoughts.
"K" is for King Kong, the story of a caged animal who just wanted to find love and to roam free.

"X" is for the X-Men, the story of powerful mutants  fighting in a world of normals for peace and equality.

  

Thank you for joining me in the journey of discovery and introspection. I'm proud of my resiliency and completing such a lengthy project. Now like from a scene from one of my favorite shows, Young Sheldon, when MeeMaw and Sheldon complete the game and they look at each other and say "Now What?"  and they decide to rush out to Radio Shack to buy new ones to master. I do feel a strange sense of sadness as I say goodbye to my Monster and Mysterious Creatures Alphabet. Maybe I need to arrange them alphabetically and show them in the entirety, but this is a task for another day.
Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Alphabet Stencil Blanks, 3 small 5" by 7" inch IKEA wooden frames, Matte Medium Ice Resins in Torched Copper and German Silver, Aged Hunter and Aged Copper Embossing Enamel, Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain in Walnut, Heating Tool, Finnabair Rust Pastes in Greens, Browns, and Orange, Transparent Burnt Sienna Ink, Paint Brush, Versa mark Ink Pad, Embossing Powders-Tarnished Gold, Copper, Wendy Vecchi Red Geranium, PEARLustre Lapis, and Ranger Black Sparkle, Pieces of scrapbook papers for the backgrounds, Various Printed Images of Monster and Mysterious Creatures using Inkjet Printer and paper, and Weldbond.

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!