all are welcome

Lately there seems to be unrest in so many aspects of life,
I felt the need to create a piece dedicated to unity.
This accordion book is made with a few different pieces from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.

When I begin gathering pieces to create the accordion,
I envision many different types of neighborhoods and buildings.
I choose the house oddities box for its variety of building shapes that will become the "pages."
As my ideas for the finished piece become clearer, I decide on having the central panel unfold in the shape of a heart. The GSLC book of love mini album covers are perfect for this use.
I arrange all the pieces in a horizontal line to determine the final arrangement. Two of the accordion "pages" will comprised of multiple shapes overlaid and glued together.

The house oddities box contains a door panel, this becomes the cover of the accordion. I cut two pieces of scrap chipboard the exact same size as the door panel. One of these will become the back cover of the album, while the other will give reinforcement to the front door cover piece. I use inks and paints to color a piece of woodgrain cardstock creating the look of stained wood. When this is dry, I remove the inner panels from the GSLC door and the adhere the "wood" to the door panel with collage medium. I weight it down while drying to ensure that the panel remains flat.

Using an Exacto knife, I carefully cut out the open inner panel sections.
The raised panels of the door are created by adhering the remaining "wood" pieces to only the innermost rectangles from the door panel. When everything is put back into place, the panel "frames" painted with brown acrylic, appear to be recessed from the wood grained raised pieces.

 The back sides of all the pages will covered with patterned paper. Once I select a pattern appropriate for my theme, I trace all of the pages onto the paper, cut them out and label them. This makes it easier to distinguish which pieces go where during the final assembly.  Before adding any of the finishes, I paint the edges of all the interior pages with black paint, this creates a finished look when the accordion is complete.

Each of the building "pages" inside the accordion contain a different wall finish. I decide on wood siding, brick, stone, and stucco, then determine which building shape suits each finish best. 

To create the look of wood siding, I once again use woodgrain paper. Colored with various inks to highlight the woodgrain pattern, the paper is cut into strips which are attached to the house form in an overlapping pattern, mimicking siding.

The brick wall is created from a brick patterned die cut. Glue is added only to the back of the brick pieces of the die cut; when the die cut is placed upon the building shape, I rub lightly over the pattern allowing the bricks to adhere to the chipboard. The remaining paper is lifted off leaving the recessed mortar lines. These bricks are colored with inks and then coated with collage medium. The mortar lines are painted in with a fine paintbrush and acrylic paint.

The stone wall is created with texture paste through a stencil onto the chipboard building shape. When the texture paste has dried completely, the stones and mortar lines are painted in varying shades of gray to look like real stone.

The stucco finish building wall is created by covering the shape with grit paste.

When the paste is dry, acrylic paint is sponged on. Once the paint is dry, the surface is randomly inked with shades of brown ink to give the stucco a weathered and aged feel.

I work on the central heart panel next. Using a linen hinging tape, I secure the two covers from the book of love heart mini album together, aligning the pieces and allowing for the fold. I paint the front side of the heart with two layers of acrylic paint allowing to dry between coats. Knowing I want the heart to look like it has been graffitied, I use a font generator to select the desired style. I print the words "WE ARE ONE" and trace the outlines onto the painted heart. Then I paint in the letters and outline them. I ink the painted heart with black ink to created an aged look. Once complete, the heart is covered with one step crackle. This is set aside. A few hours later, I rub a dark glaze into the cracks and re-ink the edges.

Each of the pages contains various combinations of paper dolls, representing the many people in our world. I color the paper dolls with Copic markers, Distress crayons and ink. The paper dolls are attached to each page with collage medium and weighted down to dry.

The insides of the front and back covers are painted with brown acrylic paint.
A patterned paper of many different portraits is cut to fit each of the inside covers and attached with collage medium. This is then coated with one step crackle and when dry an antiquing glaze is rubbed into the cracks and allowed to dry.

With all of the page fronts complete, I attach the papers to the back sides of the pages and ink around the edges with black ink. Now it is time to assemble the accordion.

We are all tied together by a common thread, this is a loose and fragile connection. I decide to connect my pages with simple burlap string tied through eyelets. I align all the pages along the bottom and attach the eyelets. [Note: the eyelets would be easier to attach before adding the paper dolls.] When all the eyelets are in place, I tie the respective holes together creating the accordion.
Lastly, I add some small talk quote stickers to the interior pages to create a message:
replace fear of the unknown with curiosity
find joy
have hope
we are one
cultivate kindness
together is the best place to be
learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow

I understand that there is always knowledge to be gained and room to grow to further our understanding of the world and people around us.
I believe that we are all one;
we all deserve the patience and understanding that is required to live in peace with one another.
If there were no differences among us, what an unfulfilled life we would live.
Thank you for stopping by the blog, I truly appreciate it.
 Wishing you peace in these trying times.
~Ann

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:
book of love heart mini album
house oddities box

Hogsmeade Inspired Book Nook

Happy Saturday, everyone! Connie here with my interpretation of a beloved spot from the Harry Potter universe in the form of a book nook. Lots of Gypsy Soul Laser Cut pieces were used in this project, including the new GSL Book Nook Box Extra Large. Let me take you through how it was made.

Let's start with the left side wall, which houses the Three Broomsticks Tavern and Inn as well as a cute little shop of my own invention called The Owlery. All of the interior walls are papered with Recollections Brick Wall scrapbook paper. The door to the tavern is made from a GSL Rustic Door 1 to 24 which was painted with acrylic paint and given a thumbtack door knob. The vine of GSL Laser Cut Miniature Ivy next to the door is available over at Alpha Stamps.

The Owlery door is made from one of the GSL Ornamental Birdcages Shape Set with a few of the bits trimmed off before painting in order to make it more door-shaped. I found an owl image that fit perfectly in the center opening.

The door was backed with a wood grained paper and I added a little sign.

The inn sign was made from a GSL Mini Crest Sign. It comes with a key to hang it from that I set aside to use in another project. The broomsticks were made from burlap strings wrapped around a painted skewer.

Each window was made from a GSL Mini House Shadowbox 2, GSL Window Four Panel Square and GSL Square Shingles Half Scale. The window pane is a bit of parchment glued behind the the painted window frame. I painted the shingles dark blue, cut them into sections, glued them to the roof of the shadowbox then trimmed them to fit once the glue was dry.

The floral accent bit is molded paper clay.

The back wall houses my favorite Hogsmeade shop – Honeydukes! The shop display is made from GSL Rectangular Bay Window Half Scale, available over at Alpha Stamps. What I love about the Extra Large Book Nook is this bay window fits just perfectly inside.

The bay window assembles easily with a bit of tacky glue.

I had fun filling the window with giant polymer clay lollipops, jarred candy made from layering microbeads, poly clay molded owls and my favorite, a display box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans made from polymer clay.

Here's a closeup of the right side wall, which houses Madame Puddifoot's tea shop. The window above the shop's pink door houses a tiny bird's nest. 

The door is made from a GSL 4 Panel Door 1 to 24. Here are all of the sections laid out prior to assembly. The door casing was painted white, the door itself a pale pink. I used an upholstery nail head for the doorknob. 

Here's the beautiful tea shop window made from a GSL Ornate Double Window and painted in the same white/pale pink combo as the door. I glued the window on popsicle sticks to give it a three dimensional element. 

I also wanted the upper window to have a three dimensional element so built it from a GSL Simple House Ornament and tongue depressors cut to fit it's circumference and glued in place.

Once the glue dried, I used a GSL Small Cobblestone stencil and texture paste to give a stone facade to the window. I used this same technique on the tavern's windows. Once the paste was dried, the stones were painted and the roof was shingled. I used a GSL Gothic Window Overlay over parchment for the actual window.

A bird's nest was made by gluing spiraled burlap threads. I added a few tiny feathers and some poly clay eggs to finish the look. 

The street was made from a full size GSL Cobblestone stencil and more texture paste. It was important to figure out the entire layout of this project before starting it. I knew where to mask off spots for the Honeydukes window and Madame Puddifoot's wooden steps before texturing the street. 

In this photo you can see I added windows above Honeydukes. I used GSL Windows with Shutters 1 to 24. I set the shutters aside for a future project.

Something pretty exciting for me was the addition of LED lights. I used a chip light kit that was extremely easy to assemble and I love the outcome!

An action shot.

 Thanks for stopping by!

GSL Products Used

Book Nook Box Extra Large

Rustic Door 1 to 24

Laser Cut Miniature Ivy

Ornamental Birdcages Shape Set

Mini Crest Signs

Mini House Shadowbox 2

Windows Four Panel Square

Standard Shingles Half Scale

Rectangular Bay Window Half Scale

4 Panel Door 1 to 24

Double Window Ornate

Simple House Ornament

Cobblestone Small

Gothic Window Overlays

Cobblestone

Windows with Shutters 1 to 24

Other Supplies Used

Tacky glue

Acrylic paint

LED chip light kit

Recollections Brick Wall paper

Wood grain paper

Parchment

Burlap

Printed images

Polymer clay

Microbeads

Miniature glass bottles

Upholstery nail

Thumbtack

Popsicle sticks and tongue depressors

Skewer

Texture paste

Super Serious and Arty Little Houses Matchbox Book

Hello everyone, Lora here with a Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts 
project using the Little Houses Matchbox Book. A fun and simple project I made using bits of scrap paper to compose a series of panels of ladies with crowns.

I struggled with a name for this one and drew a blank. The husband suggested 'Murky Madams' or 'Moss Maidens'.
I do believe his regard for my super serious art is rather irreverent.
Here are a few more pictures.
Perhaps you can think of a super serious artsy name for it!
For a little tutorial on how to compose a collage (it's easy-peasy!) click HERE.

And lastly, the back.

Thank you so much for visiting!

SUPPLIES:
Little Houses Matchbox Book
Collage images from Sandy Gordon
Bits and pieces of saved scrap paper
White acrylic paint
Ribbon

My Best Friend Card

Hi crafty friends!  Leigh Ann here today for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts with a cute card I made featuring the Carlon Layered Frame.

I prepared the base of the frame by coating it with Prima Matte Wax in Charcoal.  The top layer, I painted with ivory chalk paint. While the frame dried I prepared my paper layers. 

Once the frame was dry I assembled my card layers and added flowers, ribbon, and a sticker as embellishment. 

These layered frames are the perfect element to make a quick card look top notch!

I used the following Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts product on this card:
Layered Frame Carlon

The Secret Garden - Part 2

The Secret Garden

In Part 1 we assembled the gazebo - the diecut is coming soon from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. It's 10 inches high, 8 inches wide and 3 1/2 inches deep. I used Gilders Paste Wax African Bronze to cover it.

The chipboard for the mini album is included with the gazebo and the finished album is 7 1/2 inches high, 7 1/2 wide and 3 1/2 inches deep.

 

 I covered the album inside and out with Graphic 45 Secret Garden "Meadow Lark".

The front inside cover is a tag from the paper collection and page one is "Leafy Treetops" with a GSL die cut Flourished Frame Laurel:

The second page is "April Showers" and the third page is the back of the April Showers paper. The little tuck on page 3 is a tag from the collection and is adhered to the page on two sides so a picture can be tucked into it.

Page 4 is "Coming Up Roses" front side of the paper and Page 5 is the back side of the same paper. The tuck is a tag from the collection.

Page 6 is "Posy Patch" front side and Page 7 is the back side of that paper again with a tag from the collection.

Page 8 is a solid color coordination cardstock with a pocket and Page 9 is is the front side of "Seed Fairy" with a tag from the collection used for a tuck spot.

Page 10 is the back side of "Seed Fairy" and has a GSL frame (coming soon). Page 11 is the back of the signature page.

Page 12 is from the patterns and solids that coordinate with the collection with a GSL frame (coming soon) and the back inside cover has another tag.

The finished gazebo without the album inside looks like this: (the medallion is a chipboard piece from the collection and the flowers are from my stash)

And the final gazebo with the mini album inside looks like this:

This was a fun project!