Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Dragon Diorama Suncatcher

In my "Dreaming of Dragons" tutorial I introduced you to an  illustration by Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale titled "Knight Carrying Child" that plays a prominent place in my medieval inspired bathroom décor. There is another illustration that is part of this medieval décor from Free Fall, by David Wiesner. I've included an image below, it is the inspiration for this project.



1.   Separate Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Ornaments, careful not to lose tiny plastic trays that are crucial for this project. 
2.  Choose the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Miniature Dragons you will be using  for these dragon Dioramas.
3.  Use plastic pallet knife and a small stencil to add dainty details of Ferro Textured Paint to the dragons.
4.  Be sure to texture both sides as both will be seen when project is finished.
5.  Once Textured Paint is dry paint dragons using a variety of metallic acrylic paints-I used shades of blue, green, and purple.
6. Use a stamp of your choosing and permanent ink to add further details to your dragons.
8.  Add distressing and interest using DecoArt Americana Chocolate  and FolkArt Copper acrylic paints.
9.  Glue together inserting the tiny plastic tray from GSLC ornament kit using Weldbond.
10.                Allow to dry completely and weighted. 
11.                Once dry, cover the area you will be placing your dioramas with a piece of a trash bag for additional protection in case any ice resin seeps through the plastic tray.
12.                Now carefully mix Ice Resin following directions on bottles. Be sure to wear protective rubber gloves as the resin is very caustic.
13.                Place GSLC Miniature Dragons where you'd like them. It is ok if they do not fit entirely inside of the ornament.
14.                Gently Pour Ice Resin into dioramas slowly assuring it gets to all edges and no bubbles appear. If part of your dragon is outside of the small plastic tray use a paintbrush to carefully cover it now with the ice resin.
15.                Cover your dioramas with an item of your choosing so that dust and other debris does not contaminate your project.
16.                If possible pull a light close to the covered diorama as this will help the Ice Resin Cure more evenly.
17.  Follow directions and wait for your dioramas to cure.
18.  Here I go again not willing to stop with the ordinary design but wanting to make it extraordinary.
19.  Patina Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Small Gate from the set using  Versa Mark and Ice Resin Iced Chartreuse, Tarnished Bronze and Torched Copper Enamels
20.  Cure with a heating tool.
21.  Add distressing and interest using DecoArt Americana Chocolate  and FolkArt Copper acrylic paints.
22.  Use Ice Resin as instructed above to paint onto GSLC gate to give it added structure.
23.  Once dried fully after 3 days begin to assemble your dragon diorama suncatcher.
24.  Cut vintage rusted barbed wire into two sections one 12 inches, the other 8 inches-Could use twigs or other items.
25.  Cut two 2 foot lengths of the bare copper wires, fold them in half.
26.                Use pencil to wrap wire around three times to create a loop with both wires twisting about three times.
  
27. Place onto top piece of barbed wire you marked with a white pencil. 
28.                Tighten to barbed wire use flat nose pliers gently as not to break delicate wire.29.                Keep twisting wires on both sides around each other until you are below the GSLC gate
30.                Attach second section of rusted barbed wire or cool twig. Tighten it carefully using flat nose pliers on both sides.
31.                Cut leaving twisted part of wire hanging below barbed wire.
32.                Use chain nose pliers to carefully push twisted ends of wire toward the back of your project.
33.                Use 6 inches of vintage brass wire to attach GSLC gate to the top center piece of barbed wire using techniques we used above.
 
34.                Do the same for the three GSLC dragon dioramas you created earlier, two on either side of gate attached to top piece of barbed wire and the third centered below the GSLC Gate on the bottom portion of barbed wire.
35.                Cut 9 inches of brass chain to attach to the top loops using two jump rings and flat nose and chain nose pliers.
36.                Hang them some place where they can be observed from both sides like a window allowing sunlight to flow through for an ever changing suncatcher.
This is another great gift for any Game of Thrones fandom. Things are not always what they seem I thought the dragon in the picture was just resting but once you see the entire picture your realize it is a slain dragon. The book itself that the image comes from has no words and you are encouraged to add your own. I like that artwork does the same thing, it surprises us and encourages us to add our own story to that which the artist has created.



 
  Supplies: Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Ornament Double Side-Coming Soon!!, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Miniature Dragons Silhouettes, assortment of metallic acrylic paints in shades of green, blue, and purple, Ferro Texture Paint Irongold, Small Stencil for texturing, small plastic palette knife, stamp of your choosing, permanent black ink, Versa Mark, Ice Resin Iced Enamels Chartreuse,  Heating Tool, DecoArt Americana Chocolate and FolkArt Copper acrylic paints, Weldbond, Susan Lenart Kazmer Jewelry Grade Crystal Clear Ice Resin, Plastic Measuring Cup, Wooden Stirring Stick, Protective Rubber Gloves, Trash Bag, Something to Cover Resin While it is Drying,

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!






Tuesday, July 24, 2018

A Floral Crown Fit For A Diva

Hello friends!  It's Susan, here to share a fun project with you.  I've had a crazy week and this Crown is just the thing to refocus myself on ME (if only for a day!).


The crown kit comes with all these pieces -- enough for two crowns or one ornate one!  For this project I went for the tall one and will save the fancy one for a more delicate crown.


I tore up sheets of French-themed paper and collaged them with Modge Podge.  Once dry, cut around the edges with scissors.





I used a white wash -- a mix of white acrylic paint and water -- on both pieces.  matte varnished finished it off.  I also painted the inside of the pieces pale green.

I attached the back differently on each side.  The first with eyelets and ribbon, and the second with oversized brads.  In both cases I used a Crop-A-Dile for the holes, and to attached the eyelets.


I added silver tinsel to the edges and loads of flowers.  All the flowers!!


Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Crown

Other Supplies Used
Scrapbook paper
Modge Podge
Acrylic paint - white and green
Varnish

Monday, July 23, 2018

Washi Wheelbarrow

hey there! Lynne here with a little wee addition to my collection of storage items; I discovered that the adorable chippie wheelbarrow was the perfect size for the 5 small rolls of washi tape I keep handy to use in my journaling Bible and finished it to coordinate with the GSLC storage caddies on my worktable.



This is the blown-out view showing how the pieces fit together; be sure to put the hole all the way through if you cover both sides of the side pieces with paper; the axle for the wheels must go through these.

I didn't do anything too fussy to this piece, but the new Flourished Chain piece was a perfect embellishment. I used paper from a 6x6 Momenta pad to cover the main part of the wheelbarrow, then inked the edges with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo. I left the handle section bare so I could use the same finish on it as I used on the chain and the wheels




The chain, handle and wheels were all primed in brown, then heat embossed with Distress Embossing Powder in Vintage Photo, then sprinkled just a little Colorbox embossing powder in Peridot over the surface and heat embossed that as well then rubbed with Finnabair's fabulous Waxes in Lucky Emerald and Rich Copper (I just rubbed each one onto the surfaces randomly, here and there, to create a blended look.)




The small piece to the left in the photo above keeps the wheelbarrow standing; as an afterthought I added some of the embossing powder there as well, although in the photo it appears darker.

The photo below gives a closer look at the light flecks of green on the embossed surface; it's fun to combine and layer embossing powders to create new effects! I prefer layering them because if you combine the powders you can't pour them back into either of the original bottles, but if you don;t mind losing a bit of excess powder, it's definitely easier to get a uniform finish that way.





I am in love with the new flourished chain pieces, which come in 3 different sizes (I have used the Small) and it makes me happy that I was able to use this cute 3D wheelbarrow to create useful storage-now I have my eye on the Flower Cart....hmmm....what can I store in that one??!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Wheelbarrow 1:12
Flourished Chain Small-coming soon!

OTHER ITEMS USED

Ranger Distress Ink and Distress embossing powder-Vintage Photo
Versamark Ink
Colorbox embossing powder-Peridot
Finnabair Art Alchemy Waxes-Lucky Emerald; Rich Copper

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Chase your dreams...


It's so nice that you stopped over today to see my newest card I made to share.  We have some brand new background stamps coming in 6 new styles so one of these beauties was the inspiration for my card today.  They work amazing with inks and I have yet to try them with paints yet but I bet they would be great on fabrics too or wood.  Be sure and keep and eye open for the release because you are going to love working with them...

 I started my card with a simple ivory base and just matted each of the squares with matching paper for the flowers i used.  And then I added the birdcage and the leaf sprays that I inked up to match the paper and the gold ink.  I had lots of little flowers and things that matched from my stash and if you ever don't you can always ink them with a dauber or spray them to match.  Getting messy is my favorite thing to do :)


Here is a closeup of the design of the foam stamp.  It's about 3x3 and fits perfect on a 6x6 card.  Or you can cut them down to customize it for a different size or a box.  How fun would that be?


And here is a closeup of the adorable little birdcage and the flowers. I used a neat embossing powder from Stampendous that had flakes of gold in it so that it came out looking like metal. And... I love how all the chippies give it such a wonderful 3D effect and it's great to be able to customize everything to be your favorite colors and styles.  You can probably tell one of mine is aqua and ivory. 

Thank you for stopping by today and be sure and check the store for all the new things 
this month.... we have lots to share so be sure and check back soon!

Supplies:

GSLC Foam Stamp Set--- Coming Soon!!
GSLC Leaves and Flourishes Set