This Would Make Doing the Laundry So Much More Fun by Betsy Skagen

Let's face it, doing the laundry would be so much more fun with a retro pink washer and dryer.

Stashing a bottle of wine in the basket of clean towels, like this happy homemaker has done, probably wouldn't hurt either.

Thanks to the pairing up of Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and Canvas Corp Brands, those of us who can't have a life-size retro pink laundry room can at least make one in miniature. Heck, with a little ingenuity, we can even have a sink bursting with bubbles!

How to Make a Retro Pink Laundry Room

Begin by creating your room base. I created a room from three squares of 9" x 9" foam core because I wanted a little bigger set, but  you can opt to assemble a Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Room Box if you put fewer pieces of furniture in the room.

It is easier to adhere the floor and wall covering with a matte medium before gluing the room together. Use 7gypsies paper for wallpaper and faux white pine cardstock to create the floor. Then cut faux wood strips from the 7gypsies Architextures 8 x 8 paper pad and adhere to your wall panels to create a baseboard.

Paint a Window 4 Panel with white acrylic paint. Place a rectangle of  Blue & Ivory Mini Dot Reverse behind it and glue to the wall. Add some curtains by scrunching some pink and white scrap fabric with a hot glue gun.

It is easy to stick on and even reposition the vintage laundry starch sign with nifty Architextures removable ephemera.

The Table

Next assemble the  Tile Top Table using a strong adhesive. A lot of people wonder what to use for this kind of assembly. My personal favorite is Beacon Fabri-Tac because it is thick, dries quickly without me having to hold pieces in place and doesn't have nasty fumes.

Paint the table an off-white color. When dry, give the table an older, distressed appearance by accenting it with brown ink. Next, take one of the green pieces from the 7gypsies Architextures Junque Pack Attic and cut apart little squares and adhere to the top of the table, creating miniature tiles. Cut two rectangles and add to the front of the drawers and add small brads for drawer handles.

The Washing Machine

Find a small round plastic container to reuse (I used a micro bead container). Center the container on one of the 3-inch cube panels (Coming to Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts soon) and trace around it.

Cut this out, but err on the side of cutting too small a hole because if you cut too big a hole, you are, shall we politely say...screwed. Finish the hole with a file or sandpaper so that your container snugly fits inside it.

Remove the container, assemble five sides only of one of the 3-inch cubes, placing the round hole you made in the front and keep the bottom panel of the cube off. Prime the washer with a coat of gesso.

Take the remaining panel and instead of placing it on the bottom as intended, glue it to the back of the cube with approximately 1/2" sticking above the cube to create a panel.

Give the washer two coats of pink acrylic paint and a final coat of gloss gel medium. Punch starbursts from silver foil tape and adhere to the top panel. Cut a larger circle from the silver foil, adhere to panel and add a black bead.

Insert the clear plastic container and hot glue into place. Open the container and add small pieces of fabric to your "wash load".

The Dryer

Take one panel from the second 3-inch cube set and cut out a door. Sand the edges of the door and the panel so the door will open and shut smoothly. Prime all the pieces with a coat of gesso.

Punch a hole so that you can later insert a brad door handle. Use linen tape to create your door hinge and adhere one side of the hinge to the interior of the door and the other side to the panel interior.

Assemble the cube, placing the door hole you made in the front.

Give the dryer two coats of pink acrylic paint and a final coat of gloss gel medium. Paint a brad silver and when dry insert it into the door.

Just like you did with the washer, punch starbursts and cut a circle from silver foil tape. Adhere these with another black bead to the front of the dryer.

Cover both a plastic flexible straw  and metal nut with silver paint. When dry, trim the straw down and glue the flexible edge into the hole of the nut.

Decide where you want to place your washer and dryer. Center the straw/nut combo with the middle of the dryer and glue to the wall. 

 Washboard, Laundry Hamper & Sink

To make the washboard, adhere silver foil tape to both sides of a thin piece of chipboard and cut into a small rectangle. Run this through a corrugator paper crimper. Cut strips from the "crates sheet" of the 7gypsies Architextures 8 x 8 paper pad and adhere to both sides of chipboard. Make the washboard top, sides and bottom from these strips. 

To make the laundry hamper, cut four 2 5/8" narrow wooden dowels; six 1 1/2" dowels; and four 2 1/2" dowels. Hot glue the six dowels to the four 2 5/8" upright dowels. Then glue the 2 1/2" horizontally in place.

Cover with silver paint.

Cut a 6" strip of fine mesh. Lay a thin nylon string along the top edge, fold the mesh over and glue in place. Do this without getting glue on the string so that the string can still move freely. Repeat on the other end with the same piece of string. Glue both sides together to form a bag with a drawstring closure. 

Repeat to make a second bag and fill the bags with small bits of fabric.  

To make the sink, I actually altered an old wooden dollhouse sink. Paint the interior of the sink and cupboard white, the exterior pink and the faucet silver. Cover all with gloss gel medium. Cut a curtain from Canvas Corp Pink & Ivory Mini Dot Reverse. Cut a wavy pattern along one edge and punch holes along the opposite edge. Thread a narrow dowel through the holes and insert into the cupboard as a hinge.

Fill the sink with miniature antique glass beads and glue in place. Coat lightly with gloss gel medium and sprinkle with Twinklets Diamond Dust.

It's all in the Details

Bringing the laundry room together is all the little details. You can easily make the Happy Homemaker, vintage laundry boxes and the jar labels (and a whole lot more) from retro papers I designed.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. I'm off to do the laundry. -Betsy

Great Stuff

3 inch-cube (two) Coming to Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts soon!
Tile Top Table
Window 4 Panel
9" x 9" squares of foam core (three) or Room Box set
7gypsies Architextures Junque Pack Attic
7gypsies Architextures 8 x 8 paper pad
Canvas Corp Blue & Ivory Mini Dot Reverse
Canvas Corp Pink & Ivory Mini Dot Reverse
7gypsies Trousseau 8 x 8 paper pad (retired)
Vintage Laundry #1
Vintage Laundry #2
Retro Pink Household
Beacon Fabri-Tac
Twinklets Diamond Dust
Glass jars
Set of unlabelled jars, bottles and tins
Metal mouse
Small plastic container
Silver foil tape sheet
Starburst punch
Assorted beads
Assorted miniature items from personal collection
Matte medium
Gloss gel medium
Brads
Narrow wooden dowels
Fabric
Fabric mesh
White nylon string
Thin chipboard
Acrylic paint
Hot glue gun
Corrugator paper crimper

Grunge Phone Holder with Alicia Barry

Today I thought I would take the opportunity to experiment a little and try something different from what I normally do. I decided to create this phone holder for my son. For this I had to abandon the traditional "pretty" style I am used to and go with something a bit more grungy and industrial.

I began with the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts phone/tablet holder. It comes in three pieces which easily slot together giving a very sturdy base.

I covered my piece in black gesso. I also used a Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Steampunk border piece and a  rectangular frame called Mikayla which will be coming soon to the store

I wanted the frame to be the backboard for the phone when in place. I also wanted it to stand out from the other black chipboard pieces,  so I opted instead for more of a rust effect. To achieve this, I applied layers of red and orange Silks paint (sparingly), then swiped some copper 3D stamp paint with my finger and heat set. I then added some Metallic Melts embossing powders. I found the heat setting between layers really enhanced the look by helping to blend my colors together. 

Meanwhile I applied some patterned paper to the back of the phone holder, and embellished the front panel with a ruler sticker, and some circular sticker pieces. I painted my Steampunk Border piece in black gesso, and cut into three smaller sections, with one going on the front panel as shown.

I also applied some black crackle paint to the visible sections of the base. 

I cut a journaling tag from patterned paper and adhered to the back of the frame with foam dots before adhering to the back panel of the holder. 

I then added my remaining Steampunk Border pieces to either side of the frame, and added some additional metal embellishments in behind. Black glass glitter was also applied in various spots across the project for extra dimension. 

Here you can see how the embellishments frame the phone while in use. The phone will also securely sit sideways to expose the charging port. 

Gypsy Soul Laser Cut supplies used:

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Phone Holder

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Steampunk Border

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Rectangular Frame, Mikayla (coming soon)

Other Supplies:

Kaisercraft Story Book paper collection and stickers

Metallic Melts embossing powders

Dina Wakley Media Black Gesso

Ranger crackle paint

Finnabair glass glitter

Silks paint: Ginger peach and Spicy tomato

3D stamp paint: Copper

Foam Dots

Metal embellishments and buttons

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7Gypsies & GSL Junk Journal by Sandy Trefger

This is a special project that I created out of products from both 7Gypsies Canvas Corps and GypsySoulLaser Cuts for a cross promotion.  Each GSL designer received different products from 7Gypsies and were given free choice on GSL chippies to use.  After looking at all the goodies that I was sent, I decided to create a Junk Journal using the fun blank book from 7Gypsies. (In case you wonder, the BC on the finished book are not my initials.  I decided that this would be a perfect birthday gift for a friend.  She's already received it and it's okay to share it with you today.)

To get started, gather up all your supplies that you might want to use on your Junk Journal.

My Supply List:

• Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Keys Engraved, D12Q - Contact Store
• Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Fashionistas: 1930, RB16
• Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Double Window Ornate, D32C
• Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Typewriter Set, D6C
• Canvas Corp Burlap Fabric
• Canvas Corp Blue Stripe Fabric
• 7Gypsies Blank Composition Creative Note Book 
• 7Gypsies 12x12 Paper, Gypsy Moments Collection-"A Novel Thought"
• 7Gypsies Architextures Trinkets China Tea Cups
• Assorted 7Gypsies Architextures Treasures and Stickers
• 7Gypsies 8x8 Serengeti Paper Pad from my stash
• 7Gypsies Naked Tri-Fol Journal Cards from my stash
• 7Gypsies Vintage Journal Pages from my stash
• Nuvo Embellishment Mousse, Mother of Pearl, Black Ash & Indian Gold
• Black Distress Ink
• Black Fine Tip Sharpie Marker
• Scor-Tape & Glue
• Glossy Accents
• Crackle Accents
• Metal Hitching Post
• Clear Wink of Stella
• Jenni Bowlin General Store Stickers
• Paper Clips
• Charms
• Charm Pin
• Prima Pearls
• Wood Initial Letters
• Assorted silk flowers
• Rhinestones
• Prima Tag Me Cartographer Tags

Let's get started!

Step 1: Select your chipboard pieces for the project.  Use a damp cloth to wipe the laser residue from the edges of the chippies. Note: I chose to use only the back layer of the window for my project.

 

Step 2:  Alter or paint the chipboard pieces as desired. My favorite is to rub Nuvo Embellishment Mousse on to the pieces with a damp baby wipe.  I added gold to the window, key and key hole.

Step 3:  Use a black Sharpie marker to paint the typewriter.

Step 4: Place the lady chippie face down on the back side of patterned paper and trace the shape for the dress.  Cut out with scissors and a craft knife.

Step 5:  Use black distress ink to lightly add a darker color to the gold chippie pieces.

Step 6:  Place scor-tape on the center of the front and back cover of the blank book.  Peel the tape backing off.

Step 7:  Cut or tear a strip of fabric and attach to the front and back cover as shown on to the scor-tape.  Make sure to leave long enough tails for tying the book closed.

Step 8:  Color the lady's face and legs with the Platinum Embellishment Mousse and color her hair and shoes with a black Sharpie.  Begin layering your elements and attaching with glue to the front of the cover.

Continue to add elements and flowers.  Add rhinestones, small notes and other elements and stickers.  Also add a hitching post to the top of the window frame if desired.

Step 9:  Use a clear Wink of Stella pen to add sparkly to some areas especially on the chipboard elements.

Step 10:  Add Glossy Accents to the window frame and allow to dry.

Step 11:  Once dry, add Crackle Accents to the window frame.  Allow to dry over night or several hours to achieve a nice crackle.

Step 12:  Add pockets, torn pieces of papers, stickers, stamp stickers, tags etc. to your pages on the inside of the book.

Your Junk Journal is finished!  Use the fabric "ribbon" to tie it closed.

I hope I've inspired you to check out the products that you can find at 7Gypsies and Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts for your next project.  I will be back on October 4th with another GSL project.  Until then...

Happy Crafting!

Sandy

P.S. Please visit my blog/website for more of my craft creations at  www.sandytrefger.blogspot.com

The World is My Inspiration Gatefold Shrine

Hello everyone, Lora here with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and this month we are cross promoting with Canvas Corp with a fun 'Small Worlds' theme.
Here is my offering, inspired by the fun Architectures Parchment Rub-Ons, Live and

the images from the bits and pieces of the Mixed Media Junque Pack-Wanderlust Collection. Looking at the image of the camels and the caravan in the background of this picture, I thought of 'Out of Africa' and off I went.

I used the tags from the collection as pockets and filled them with the kind of memorabilia one gathers on a long journey. Tags and ticket stubs, bits of postcards and a picture or two.
Travel by camel or plane, however you do it, just go out and see the world! It will surprise you by how large it feels and how small it becomes when you see how much we all have in common.
I began with the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Square Shrine Gatefold.

I painted what will be the front of two smaller pieces brown and what will be the back of the center piece brown.

Then the center piece (edges only) the same brown on the other side.
I used the 7Gypsies American Vintage Collection Paper 'Across USA' as my background for the inside of all three pieces of the Gatefold.
When I cut the paper for the large center piece, I made sure to leave about a 1/8 inch of brown reveal around the edges.
I cut out the postcards from the Wish You Were Here scrapbook paper from the American Vintage Paper Collection and used one of these as the opening on the front of the Gatefold, by cutting it in half and trimming it a bit to show some of the brown paint as a reveal on the top and bottom of the front flaps.

I also used one of the postcards as a base for the rub-on of the cute boy in the biplane.

I used Copic markers to brighten up the image, trimmed the post card so it would fit inside the center at an angle, inked it up and glued it down.
So cute!
I also used the bicycle and suitcases rub-on for the front cover. I think they add a bit of whimsy and dimension.

I found the quote 'The World Is My Inspiration' on the back of the packaging for the Architectures Parchment Rub-Ons, Live! It's nice that Canvas Corp has packaging that's nice enough to craft with!

SUPPLIES:
From
Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts
Square Shrine Gatefold.

From
Canvas Corp Brands
Architectures Parchment Rub-Ons, Live
American Vintage Collection Paper 'Across USA'
American Vintage Paper Collection 'Wish You Were Here
Mixed Media Junque Pack-Wanderlust Collection

Thank you for flying by!

The Savage Monster

Hi everyone,

 A few months back I made one of the large stages from Gyspy Soul.  You can find that original post here.  Using the same techniques I used on the big stage I made the Miniature Stage.  This stage is full of Halloween goodies!

I used the spider web from the Halloween corners(coming soon to the store) to decorate the back of the stage.  There is another tiny spider creeping around on the front.  Can you find him?

Here are a couple more detail shots.

Happy Haunting,
Jess