"Ridiculously Good" Retro Cards with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi everyone!  Barbara here today on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog with a couple of retro style cards for you.  These cards can be used for any occasion, especially if the recipient is into vintage or retro styles.

Milk Can Card:

This is what the chipboard looks like.  I left the bits from the detail cuts in the milk can.

Paint milk can with black gesso and sprinkle salt over it while still wet.  Let dry.

Rub salt off of milk can and paint a light coat of Vivid True Silver, allowing some of the black to show through.  The salt left a cool texture on the can.

Use a silvery dimensional paint (steel) and make 3D lines where the detail cuts were made in the can.  Set aside to dry.

Paint two of the Mixed Media Fragments Retro with white gesso and let dry.

Paint the diamond retro piece with Rusty Hinge acrylic paint.  Let dry.

Adhere polka dot print paper to card front.  Cut diamond retro piece apart and adhere to card front, as shown.  

Resize and print collage image onto white card stock.  Distress and ink edge with brown distress ink. Adhere to center of milk can, and adhere can centered over the retro diamond pieces.  Fussy cut print milk can, milk circles, and tags, adhere to front, as shown.  

 Coffee Commercial Card:

Paint retro circles with Malted Milk acrylic paint.  Let dry.  Glue to black print paper, trim excess paper around retro circles.

Adhere red print paper to card front.  Glue retro circles to card front, and use punch out piece of unfinished chipboard from inside one of the retro circles, adhere to card, as shown.  This will help give a level area for adhering the TV in a later step.

Paint retro tv with black acrylic paint.  Let dry.  Resize and print coffee advertisement to fit inside tv screen.  Trace around tv and cut away excess paper.  

Glue retro tv over collage image.  Paint antenna with Vivid True Silver acrylic paint.

Adhere retro tv to card front, as shown.  This is why that extra piece of chipboard was necessary, to help stabilize the tv when adhered to the front.  Add stickers "ridiculously good" to front, as shown in finished photo above.

Supplies Used:

GSL Retro Frame Set
GSL Milk Can
GSL Mixed Media Fragments Retro
Black card stock
Jenni Bowlin Classic Red/Black Paper Pad
Collage Sheets 
   Crafty Secrets Farm Fresh
   Altered Pages Good Morning
ColourArte Vivid True Silver
Ranger Acrylic Paint (Malted Milk, Rusty Hinge)
Lumiere Steel 3D acrylic paint
Chit Chat Word stickers (Tim Holtz)

I hope you enjoyed my retro card projects today.  Check your stash and see what fun things you can find to use with any of the fabulous Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  You may surprise yourself at how easy it is to make some really creative cards that everyone will be talking about.

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to play!

Barbara

Upcycled Metal Candle Holder and Matching Christmas Gift Tag with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi everyone!  In case you did not know, Gina's Designs Lasercuts is now officially known as Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  The products are still the same high quality as always, just the name has changed.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with their family and friends.  But now, the rush is on and Christmas will be here before you know it.  For me, it seems that the next few weeks will simply fly by in no time at all.  So, I wanted to share a really quick vintage style Christmas home decor piece to either use in your own home or gift to someone special.  I also added a pretty matching gift tag, as well.

So, for my quick and easy Christmas project, I started with yet another Dollar Store find.  This time, it was this metal candle holder.

I first painted the metal with Coral Berry Silks Acrylic Glaze, mixed with a tiny bit of Egyptian Gold Radiant Rain dauber on a makeup sponge.  I simply put both colors on the sponge and dabbed it all over, inside and out.  When that dried, I painted a light coat of the Carmen Silks Acrylic Glaze around the top and bottom border of the holder, wiping away the excess.

While that was drying, I chose these snowflakes to use as decorative elements and coated each one with white gesso.

Apply Stardust Stickles to the snowflakes border.  Let dry, turn over and glitter the other side.

 Apply Stickles Waterfall to the individual snowflakes, let dry.

 Paint both sides of a Filigree Frame with white gesso, then Titan Buff, let dry.

Dab frame with Egyptian Gold Radiant Rain dauber for a shabby chic, vintage look, let dry.

Print angel collage sheet onto a transparency and let dry.  

Cut out one angel image and adhere to a piece of vellum.

Then adhere behind frame, as shown.

Adhere snowflakes, snowflakes border, and framed image to candle holder, as shown.  

Front

Back

For safety, do not use an actual tea light with a flame.  Instead, place a battery-operated tea light inside and see the beautiful glow.

Candle holder with battery-operated tea light turned on

Back with battery-operated tea light turned on 

For the tag, I simply cut out the shape from double-sided print Christmas paper, punched a hole and added an eyelet to thread my gold ribbon through.

I glued a second angel collage image from the transparency, adhered it to another scrap of vellum, and then to the tag.  

Gold line stickers were applied around the collage image, and a decorative punched piece of the same vellum was added to the bottom of the tag.

Paint two feathery flourishes with Titan Buff.  Dab flourishes with Egyptian Gold Radiant Rain dauber and let dry.  Adhere to tag along collage image, as shown above.

In photo above, you can see where I cut away a small piece to make it fit my project

Die cut holly leaves and berries from green and red  card stock, shape with your fingers and add around the image, as shown above.

Supplies used:

GSL Winter Shape Set
GSL Filigree Frames
GSL Feathery Flourishes
Altered Pages Ivory Angels Collage Sheet
ColourArte  Coral Berry Silks Acrylic Glaze
ColourArte  Emerald Silks Acrylic Glaze
ColourArte   Carmen Silks Acrylic Glaze
ColourArte  Egyptian Gold Radiant Rain dauber
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic Titan Buff
Black acrylic paint
White gesso
Stickles Waterfall and Stardust
Battery-operated tea light

I hope you enjoyed this fun, quick and easy project today.  I know our time is precious, especially this time of year, and this was truly a quick project, and I really love how it turned out.  

So be sure to stop by Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog and online store for more inspiration and check out the awesome laser cut chipboard products.  

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

Barbara

Take a Trip Mini Album with Altered Pages: Part Two

Hello everyone! As you know, the Altered Pages design team are taking trips throughout the USA this month.  The team has chosen two states to feature, and I chose California and Florida for my posts this month.  My first post featured California, but today, I am going to go with the beachy theme, so Florida it is!

I am continuing to work in my metal covered mini album that I made a couple of months ago.  I still have lots of blank pages to work in, and like I said before, Altered Pages is my go to store for dressing up my mini album pages.

My first page spread:  Background papers are from the Glitz Designs Pretty in Pink paper pad.  I used the Brighton Beach and Vintage Vacations collage images, layered onto slightly larger cream card stock.  I also used the "Miami Beach" image from the USA States Florida collage sheet.

I inked two chipboard scroll corners with Memento Luxe Rhubarb Stalk and heat embossed with clear embossing powder, adding tiny pearl stickers.  For filler, I added a few of the roses from the Valentine Stickers sheet, and a few flowers punched from scraps of the print paper.

I colored a torn strip of the wall joint tape with the Mossy Mixed Media Inx and adhered to the left side edge of the page.

Left Side of Spread

I cut one-third of a pink A10 size envelope and punched binding holes in the side, so that the opening would be at the top to insert a cream card stock tag.  I used the file tabs die cut for the top of the tag.  I left the tag blank to add photos or journaling.

I cut a piece of paper from the Uncharted Waters paper to fit the front of the envelope, and used my Ranger Blending Tool to distress the edges of the paper with the Leather inx.

Right Side of Spread with Envelope shown

Right Side of Spread without Envelope shown

For a shadow effect and to make each collage image pop, I added charcoal pencil around the edges and smudged it with a Blending stump.

Front of envelope

I fussy cut the whale from one of the print papers in the Uncharted Waters paper pad and adhered to the back of the envelope.

Back of envelope

For my second page spread, I used background papers from the Glitz Designs Pretty in Pink paper pad.  I lightly misted some pieces of cheesecloth with ink spray from my stash, then adhered to each page, as shown.

I layered the Brighton Beach collage images onto slightly larger cream card stock and adhered to page, as shown.

I adhered the banner from the Yours Truly What-Nots Embellishment Collection across the top of the page, as shown.  I used foam dots to lift them off the page.

I used a coin envelope and punched a thumb notch in the top of it, then added one of the Brighton Beach collage images that I distressed with Leather Inx and Ranger Blending Tool.

Left Side of Spread

I stamped "Look Out World" onto scrap cream card stock with brown ink and punched with a decorative label punch.

I used the Seashell Mold and Paperclay to make this selection of shells, sand dollars, etc.  When dry, I painted each piece with Twinkling H20s and adhered onto and around my cheesecloth.

For the tag insert, I used a TREASURES Bingo Card and left the back blank to journal onto.  I thought that whenever I go to the beach, I find all sorts of treasures, like these shells and such I have added.

Supplies:

Altered Pages Collage Sheets:   USA States Florida;  Vintage Vacations; Brighton Beach
Glitz Design Paper Pads: Pretty in Pink,  Uncharted Waters; Sunshine in My Soul

Graphic 45 Secret Garden 6x6 paper pad

Graphic 45 Come Away With Me Stamp set
Yours Truly What-Nots Embellishment Collection
scroll corners
Valentine Stickers
Coin Envelopes
Paperclay Packages
Seashell Mold
Bingo Card Packs
Ranger Blending Tool
Mixed Media Salazar Inx (Leather)(Mossy)
Memento Luxe Rhubarb Stalk
Blending stumps
adhesive dimensionals
Lightbulb safety pins
Cream card stock
Twinkling H20s (ColourArte)
Cheesecloth
Clear embossing powder
File Tabs die cut (Tim Holtz)
Self-adhesive paper wall joint tape
Charcoal pencil

I hope you enjoyed my project today, and that you can use some of these ideas for your scrapbook pages of your summer vacation, or a summer card for someone, or perhaps an art journal page with the same theme.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful and creative week!

Barbara

My Art Mouse Trap Note Holder

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first post as a regular design team member for Gina's Designs Lasercut Chipboard.  I am so excited to be here as a regular designer.  I love Gina's chipboard, and the ideas just seem to flow from me whenever I look at her designs.

I was at my stamp club meeting a few weeks ago and we were altering mouse traps.  These make fabulous little note holders.  I had taken some of my Gina's Designs chipboard with me, and I thought, why not share my project with you.  

You can purchase mouse traps quite inexpensively from dollar stores, as well as hardware stores.  The first thing I did was remove the holding bar and the u-clip.  See photo below.

You can paint the base platform or cover it with paper by working around the spring and hammer, you can carefully slide your paper beneath it and glue it down.  Be very careful lifting the hammer so you do not get your finger pinched.  

Sand the platform first.  Then paint it with Broken China, Peeled Paint, and Tarnished Brass distress paints.  I added the ART image to the top section, adding more paint around the image to make it blend into the background.

I used an awl to hold the hammer up while working in that area. I next cut little pieces from the Diamonds Texture Sheet, painting it with the same colors as the platform.  I adhered them, as shown.

I cut away a small piece of the dress form so I can place it around the u-clip that holds the hammer and springs in place, and then I painted it and a key plate with Rusty Hinge distress ink.  I then distressed the edge of the dress form with Gathered Twigs distress ink, and heat embossed the key plate with Versamark ink and rust embossing powder.  

Insert two tiny brads through the key plate holes and adhere both shapes to platform.

Paint small dragonfly with Silks Cool Water, Teal Zircon, and Sunburst Silks Acrylic Glaze.  

Paint small butterfly with Ginger Peach, Sunburst, and edge with Bolivian Blue Silks Acrylic Glaze.  Add Peridot glitter to wings, and Amber glitter to butterfly body.  Adhere each as shown.

Cut two sections from the Border Sticks Lace strip, color with Rusty Hinge, Tarnished Brass,  Broken China, and Peeled Paint distress paint.  Adhere to top of platform.  Add Cream Pearl Pen dots to upper right corner and three in lower portion.

Use an awl to start a hole at the bottom center of the platform, insert a screw eye.  Heat emboss key with Versamark ink and  Rusty Nail embossing powder, then two clock hands with Patina embossing powder.  Hang from screw eye with a jump ring.  

Supplies used:
Gina's Designs:  Dressforms and Wings Shape Set, Keys and Plates Shape Set, Texture Sheet Diamonds, Butterflies and Dragonflies, Border Sticks Lace, Clock Hands Shape Set
ColourArte:  Silks Acrylic Glaze - Ginger Peach, Sunburst, Bolivian Blue, Cool Water, Teal Zircon
I Create, Therefore I Am collage sheet (Altered Pages)
Mouse Trap
Peridot and Amber Glitter Liner, Cream Pearl Pen (VivaDecor)
Ink Pads:  Versamark, Gathered Twigs Distress Stain
Distress Paints: Broken China, Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge, Tarnished Brass
Embossing Powders: Rust, Patina, Rusty Nail
Mini screw brads, screw eye, jump ring
Beacon Quick Grip Glue

I hope you enjoyed my project and that I have inspired you to create one of these fun little note holders for friends, or keep some for yourself.  Add a magnet to the back to hang it on the fridge to keep your grocery list nearby, or hang it on the wall to keep your notes and reminders.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to visit Gina's Designs blog every day for more inspiration from the team, and check out the online store for more great shapes for all of your art projects.    

Have a wonderful and creative weekend!

Barbara