Sweetheart Mixed Media Frame

Hi everyone!  Hard to believe that January is almost over, and Valentine's Day will be here before we know it.  So, I have a sweet frame to share today that could be used for any romantic occasion, whether a marriage, an anniversary, or Valentine's Day. 

I found this very inexpensive wooden frame at my local craft store.  

Remove the cardboard insert and use it as a template to trace around the section of paper you want to appear through the opening.  Cut out and adhere the paper to the cardboard insert.  

Your print paper will look like this through the opening.

Remove the insert and set it aside, away from all the paint and mediums.  Next, paint frame with white gesso and let dry.  Spread crackle paste through a stencil on the top left and lower right corner of the frame.

Let the stencil paste dry.

Cut the lady apart from the frame at the arrows shown in photo below.

I always like to try out the pieces I choose to make sure they will work in my composition.  This is the plan.

Add three lace flowers to the lower left corner  of the  frame.  I used white gesso to adhere and cover the flowers, making them ready for paint.

Three solid hearts removed from the Hearts Background were gessoed and glued to the top right corner of the frame.

The Sweetheart piece was first gessoed and a piece of lace was attached to the heart with white gesso.

"Sweet" was inked with clear embossing ink and heat embossed with the Caramel embossing powder.  Then, the heart was inked with clear embossing ink and heat embossed with Magenta embossing powder.  I felt the pink embossing powder was a bit bright, so I ended up painting it with the acrylic paints, mixing colors (Quin Violet, Diarylide Yellow, Primary Magenta, and some white gesso) until I got a better match with the colors in the paper.

Trim a piece of  Chickenwire, coat with clear embossing ink and heat emboss with Caramel embossing powder.  Insert the cardboard background into the frame opening and begin adding your chipboard pieces.  Some fussy-cut pieces were added to the insert too.  For instance, a second bird cage image was cut and adhered over the paper with pop dots.  Extra flowers, a branch, and a cute little bird were adhered with glue and pop dots, as shown.

Paint frame with a mixture of Primary Magenta and Diarylide Yellow.  

I made it more pastel by dry brushing on a light coat of Translucent White.

When that layer dried, I added a coat of Raw Umber Antiquing Cream.  

You can let this dry and then wipe away as much or as little as you like.  

Re-align the stencil over the texture paste and, with your finger, apply the gold paste to the stenciled areas.  I also hit the high spots on both the lace flowers and the three heart shapes, as well as edging the frame.

Put the decorated insert back into the frame.  The Victorian Lady was inked with clear embossing ink and heat embossed with two coats Baby Blue Pastel embossing powder.  Then she was adhered to the frame, as shown.  A fussy cut butterfly from the paper was adhered to the top with the hearts.  A few gem stones were added to the lace flowers and the hearts, too.

Supplies Used:
GSL Word Art Romance (Sweetheart)
GSL Victorian Silhouette Frames
GSL Chickenwire 6 inch panel
GSL Hearts Background
Wood craft frame (8-1/2" x 6-1/2" with 4"x6" opening)
Rossibelle  print paper (Prima)
Crackled texture paste
White gesso
Champagne Ice Metallic Lustre (DecoArt)
DecoArt Acrylic Paints (Quinacridone Violet, Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide, Diarylide Yellow, Primary Magenta, Translucent White))
DecoArt Raw Umber Antiquing Cream
Clear embossing ink
Caramel embossing powder (Sparkle N Sprinkle)
Baby Blue Pastel embossing powder (Stampn' Stuff)
Magenta embossing powder (Delafield Stamp Co.)
Classic Treasure Gold metallic paste

I hope I have been able to inspire you with some fun ideas for your next mixed media project.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful, creative day!

Barbara

Love Mail

Middle of Winter and I am dreaming of chocolates, vivid shades of red, and all things lovey dovey.  If I can't have them....I can at least create them, right?

I started out with the mini display tray heart .  I painted the top piece red.

From here I cut a piece of paper to fit behind the top piece and adhered the two together.

I then wound ribbon through the top to hang it from.

and tied my big chunky bows on both sides of the heart.

 Start adding your embellishments...in my case I added the filigree frames that I covered in red glitter. I added my sweet main retro image of the little boy and dog.

From here I started adding cute embellishments and my sentiment faux typewriter keys that spell out love.

Here they are all spelled out.  Did you know you can ask Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts to create any word you would like?  How fun is that???

 I also glittered up some gorgeous feathery flourish set pieces. I added two layered at bottom of love.

Thanks for visiting the Gypsy Soul Laser blog!  Cherry

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts supplies -

Rotating Hobby Organizer

Good morning everyone.  Gina here today with one of my absolute favorite storage pieces.  This is the Rotating Hobby Organizer and it is such a handy way to store items that I use frequently.

The organizer ships flat but is quite easy to assemble.  I began with a dry assemble from the center out.  Once I knew where all the pieces fit, I started gluing the organizer together using Scotch Quick Dry glue. 

For the base piece, I decided to color only the area that would show.  I used a mega sized Sharpie marker but acrylic paint or distress paint would work just as well.

Here is the assembled organizer, ready for paper.  I chose a roll of kraft and black wrapping paper from my dollar store for this one, but have used scrapbook paper in the past.

I began by covering the largest areas first, gluing down the paper and using a brayer to make sure I got all the air out.

Once papered, I used the same Sharpie marker to color the edges of the boards.  At this point I used Beacon 3 in 1 glue to attach the lazy susan hardware piece to the bottom of the organizer.

I assembled the drawers next, papered the fronts and used a wooden bead, nut and bolt to make pull knobs.

Here is the finished organizer.  It holds an incredible amount of tools and supplies and keeps them right at your fingertips.

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Items

Rotating Hobby Organizer

Everybody Needs a "Stuff Holder"

Hey all! I've tackled a new storage piece in my quest for a perfectly organized scraproom. Hubby asked what I was planning to put in it, and my response was, "stuff!" There are alphabet sheets in the paper pack so I decided to cut some out and officially christen this piece my stuff holder:

Here's a photo of the "naked" Memory Keeping Organizer. I like to put all 3D things together before I take them apart again so I see where everything fits.

I painted all the pieces light pink, and then I covered the outer pieces with patterned paper from this pad; as you can see I got a great deal on it!!

I just laid the pieces on the paper and traced around them, as the side pieces are irregularly shaped (and I don't  much like measuring anyway!) I sanded the edges lightly to smooth away and paper bits left over.

As you can see, I added bits and strips from some of the other papers, and I did this on the inside squares as well; there were chevrons, checks and floral patterns as well as the ones with tiny type, so I mixed and matched colours and patterns for a cheery look.

The honeycomb pattern was perfect for the bottom; I chose to cut out each square separately rather than having to cut the slots out of the paper where the vertical pieces fit.into the base.

I glued pearl along the top edge of all the pieces with a hot glue gun; using adhesive pearls with the flat bottoms would probably be easier, but I happen to have several strands of these in a variety of colours (pearl spaghetti, anyone?)

The sets of file dividers are wonderful; the larger compartments in the organizer just happen to fit 4" x 6" photos! These are perfect for the photos I'm planning to scrap soon, and it's a lot easier to look through 3 sections labeled by topic than a huge storage box!! The smaller file dividers I plan to use for diecuts, again divided by topic.

I had lots of fun putting this together, and even more fun putting my "stuff" in all of the compartments! I no longer have a ton of "miscellaneous  embellishments" piled in a drawer where they were a nightmare to look through-they're so much easier to see now and I will be much more likely to actually use these embellishments because I will see them and remember I have them. Treat yourself to one of these awesome organizers and you'll be glad you did!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED
Memory Keeping Organizer

OTHER ITEMS USED

DCWV Vintage Collector Stack

pink acrylic paint

pearl strand
hot glue gun