Thursday, October 26, 2017

Three Creepy Halloween Tags with Distress Oxides

Hi everyone! Barbara here on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog.  Well, Halloween is nearly here, and I have a few last minute tags you can make using the new Tim Holtz Distress Oxides (DO) and the cool chippies from GSL.


Before I ever glue anything down, I like to do what I call a "dry-fit" to check how things will look.


I decided on this placement of the String Alongs - Gothic onto each Chipboard Decorative Tags X Large.  For the two tags on the right and in the middle, I simply cut the "string" section above the hole, glued that tiny piece and then moved the rest of the string along down below the hole.


Next, I used clear gesso to prime the front and back of each tag.  I used clear gesso to "seal" the chipboard, but leaving the brownish background to add the color to.  The gesso will also keep the chipboard from acting like a sponge and sucking all the paint or color up, thereby using less paint or inks.

adding gesso to back of tags first

Next, I used the Distress Oxides with a blending tool to cover the background, as shown.  I spritzed with water and used my heat tool to dry the ink.


Then I hit the chippies and the edges with the black DO and blending tool.  I spritzed with water and used my heat tool to dry the ink.


I used a soft brush to add the green DO inside and next to the chandelier, then spritzed water droplets over the background to form these circular ripples, using my heat tool to dry it.


To intensify the colors, I used the soft brush to pick up the colors from the ink pads and brushed it randomly over the tag, blending some as I went along.  The brush allows you to get close to the chipboard and to control where you put the colors.  Spritz droplets over background again and dry with heat tool.


Cut a random shape from the Brick Wall Small, lay onto Candied Apple DO pad and, using blending tool, add color to the chipboard.  Dry with heat tool.


Lightly add Black Soot DO with blending tool, just to add dimension.


Glue pieces to left side of tag, as shown.  I also darkened the chandelier string along with Black Soot distress ink, then picked up more colors with my brush and deepened the colors where I felt it was needed.


Now that I knew I wanted to adhere pieces of texture sheets to the remaining two tags, I went ahead and glued them down before adding the colors.  I used pieces cut from the Texture Sheet Diamonds on the left tag, and pieces cut from the Chainlink 8 by 8 Inch Panel on the right tag.  I also painted the texture pieces with a coat of clear gesso to prime them, just as before.


On these two tags, I added the same Distress Oxide colors using a reinker, a brush, and water.  I liked this technique a lot because I could get stronger colors down much quicker than I was able to achieve with the pads.  If you don't have the reinkers, you can still pick up the colors from the ink pad, as before.


Continue adding colors with the brush and reinkers.


Next, use blending tool to add Black Soot DO to the edges and chipboard embellishments on top of the tags.



Mist backgrounds with water and water droplets for the organic look from the Oxides and dry with heat tool.  Use brush to pick up any colors and "dry brush" any areas that you feel need improvement, such as blending or deepening colors.


Place a drop of Black Soot DO from reinker onto craft sheet.  Use wet paint brush to make a wash and flick drops of the black over the backgrounds.  If you don't have reinkers, just rub the pad onto the craft mat and make a wash with the ink from the pad.


Add spooky phrases to each tag.  You can computer generate them if you don't have these stickers from Tim Holtz.  Use a black pencil to shade around each sticker, and add distress oxide colors to blend in with the background.

 

Supplies Used:
GSL Chipboard Decorative Tags X Large
GSL String Alongs - Gothic
GSL Brick Wall Small
GSL Texture Sheet Diamonds
GSL Chainlink 8 by 8 Inch Panel
Distress Oxides Ink Pads & Reinkers
  Spiced Marmalade
  Wilted Violet
  Twisted Citron
  Candied Apple
  Fossilized Amber
  Black Soot
Distress Ink - Black Soot
Blending Tools (Ranger)
Tim Holtz Halloween Clippings Stickers
Paint Brush
Water mister bottle
Wire edged ribbon

I hope you enjoyed my creepy Halloween tags, and that you will be inspired to make some for yourself with any of the laser cuts available from Gypsy Soul.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a super safe and fun Halloween!

Barbara

Friday, October 20, 2017

How to Video - Halloween Bat Decor with ColourArte

Hi everyone!  Today I want to share another DIY video tutorial using a flat wooden bat silhouette shape that I got from my local Michael's craft store.  Since I am all about dimension and details, I knew I had to do something to bring this flat surface to life.  You can apply all of these techniques to any project, so I hope to inspire you and spark your imagination for any project you make.



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ColourArte Supplies Used:
Radiant Gels - Periwinkle
Vivid Ultra Metallics
  China Black
  Ginger Peach
  Solar Gold
  True Metals Autumn Flame
  Snap Dragon
  Bolivian Blue
  Autumn Leaf
  Kiwi

Other Supplies Used:
Creatology Halloween Bat Plaque
Liquitex Black Gesso
Finnabair Graphite Texture Paste
DecoArt Media White Crackle Paste

I hope you enjoyed my video today.  As always, thanks so much for watching, and have a safe and very Happy Halloween!!!

Barbara

Thursday, October 12, 2017

How to Make Quick & Easy Halloween Candles From The Dollar Store

Hi everyone!  I have a quick and easy Halloween candle for you to make, whether just for fun, or for your  home décor.  Since I found these at my local Dollar Store, you can make lots of them for your holiday decorating or gift giving, They would also make nice party favors for your guests to take home.








Here is a short video tutorial showing how easy these are to make, and they look great!



Supplies Used:

GSL Trick or Treaters Border (contact store)
GSL Rickety Fence With Cats
GSL Spooky Shape Set
Battery-operated candles (Dollar Store)
#48 Glama Natural Clear Translucent Parchment Paper
Tim Holtz Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter
Xyron machine or doube sided adhesive sheets
Halloween Ribbon
Decorative Punches (grass) (fence not used)

I am also entering this in the PaperArtsy 2017 Topic 14 Glitter Challenge.  Unfortunately, I didn't use any PaperArtsy stamps or products, but I was totally inspired by the JoAnns blog post, and I used a lot of glitter on the background vellum paper.  

I hope you have been inspired by my project today and will check out the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts shop to see the fabulous Halloween collection (and more) for all your holiday decorating.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

Barbara