How to Enhance Your Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Chipboard

Hi everyone!  Barbara here today with a card project using Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts "Special Delivery" chipboard and Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime paper collection.  The colors in this paper are nice and soft and perfect for welcoming a cute little newborn baby.  My main focus today is sharing some fun and easy techniques for bringing your laser cut chipboard piece(s) to life. 

Make a 5"x7" top folded card using a peach colored card stock.  I cut two additional layers, each 1/4" smaller.  So the second layer measures 6-3/4" x 4-3/4", while the third layer measures 6-1/2" x 4-1/2".  The edges of each layer were heavily distressed.

Adhere each layer to the base card and set aside.

Paint Special Delivery chippie with Timeless chalk paint.   You could also use white gesso, so use whatever you have.

Dab Picket Fence distress stain (DS) over stork, and Brushed Pewter DS over "Special Delivery".  Let dry.

Color stork's beak, legs and feet with Wild Honey and Mustard Seed distress markers.  Color top of stork's head with Barn Door and Worn Lipstick distress markers.  Let dry.

Trace around the chipboard pouch, as much as you can, onto a piece of sticky back canvas.  You can also use a scrap piece of canvas without the sticky back, and just use white glue to adhere it.

Cut out sticky back canvas pouch and dry brush over it with a very tiny amount of Frayed Burlap DS that has been watered down. 

Remove adhesive backing and adhere over chipboard pouch.

Brush on a coat of white glue to stork and cover with Ivory Flower Soft.  (I did not have white Flower Soft, but you can use either color.  As always, use what you have.)  Add Baby Peach Flower soft to stork's head and add a bit over his tail feathers.  It looks funny right now, but let the glue dry and then gently brush excess flower soft away. 

Rub Tarnished Brass DS over "Special Delivery" for a vintage feel.  Fill in any areas that may need more Flower Soft.  Add a dot of Black Enamel Accents for the stork's eye.

Die cut a piece of the same peach card stock with a decorative die, such as the one I used (Timeless Heart).

Adhere to card front so that it sits centered beneath the words "Special Delivery".

Punch some leaves from a piece of the green print paper.

Adhere Special Delivery chippie, some fussy cut stamp images from the paper collection, paper flowers and craft punched leaves.

Here are a few closeups of some of the details added to the card and chipboard.

Baker's Twine tied around top of pouch

Gold Pearl 3D paint added to flower centers

Three stamp images cut from paper collection

Flower Soft added to stork, black enamel dot for eye

Supplies Used:

GSL Special Delivery
G45 Once Upon a Springtime paper collection
Spellbinders S6-126 Timeless Heart Die
Americana Timeless chalk paint
Distress Stain
  Picket Fence
  Brushed Pewter
  Frayed Burlap
  Tarnished Brass
Distress Markers
  Wild Honey
  Mustard Seed
  Worn Lipstick
  Barn Door
Ranger Black Enamel Accents
Five Leaf craft punch
Paper Flowers (Prima)
Flower Soft
  Ivory
  Baby Peach
Baker's Twine (pink & white)
Adhesive-backed Canvas (Ranger)
Gold Pearl Metallic Dimensional Paint (Jacquard)

I hope you enjoyed today's project and perhaps have been inspired to use some of your products you have laying around in your stash to further enhance your chipboard embellishments. 

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

Barbara

A Look at Hollywood Cemetery with Gina's Designs Lasercuts

Happy Howl-o-ween, and welcome to my version of Hollywood Cemetery.  When I saw this set of tombstones from Gina's Designs Lasercuts, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.  I want to share a bit of history behind Hollywood Cemetery with you first.

Hollywood Cemetery is a large, sprawling cemetery located next to Richmond, Virginia's Oregon Hill neighborhood at 412 South Cherry Street. Characterized by rolling hills and winding paths overlooking the James River, it is the resting place of two United States Presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as the only Confederate States President, Jefferson Davis. It is also the resting place of 28 Confederate generals, more than any other cemetery in the country; these include George Pickett and J.E.B. Stuart.^[3]

My inspiration for this goulish project is simple.  As a kid, on Sundays after church, my father used to take us to this famous, historic cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, to visit relatives buried there, as well as show us historical burial sites for very famous people.  You see, my father grew up in a house across the street from this pre-Civil War cemetery, and as a boy, he used to play all over this garden-like setting.  He knew every inch of it, and knew exactly where interesting people were interred, as well as the history behind it.  It may sound eerie to some, but it is a beautiful and very serene place to visit.  Modern cemeteries do not have beautiful tombstones or mausoleums to honor loved ones, so some of the architecture here was quite stunning.  For this reason, many movies and TV shows would be filmed in the cemetery throughout the years, including a scene from the move, The Jackal, starring Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier in 1997.

Monroe's grave at Hollywood Cemetery.  
John Tyler's grave is visible in the background.    

George Pickett's grave

The Sauer family Mausoleam
in Hollywood Cemetery

I took liberties decorating my tombstones, as I put the architectural elements where the names and dates would be, but art is art, and this is just my interpretation of the beauty I remember.  

I first cut pieces from the Wrought Iron Set and the Border Sticks Floral and Border Sticks Lace,  glueing them onto the tombstones to make them more ornate.  I even used some of the punch out parts from the Wrought Iron Set and put them together to make different designs.  Nothing went to waste here.

Then I base coated each piece, front and back, with black gesso, using a dabbing motion to get some texture.  When that dried, I painted each piece with a wash of dark grey acrylic paint and water.  I used a heat tool to dry it and bubble the paint a bit for more texture.  Remember, some of these tombstones are over 150+ years old.

I painted the smallest skeleton from the Skeleton Shape Set with grey paint, then dry brushed the white over it for an aged look. I shaped the skeleton gently with my fingers and glued his feet to the bottom of the double tombstone.

For a mossy look, I added the green Flower Soft, which was a bright green.  I wanted it to look old, so I added moss green paint to it when it dried.  See the difference on the angel tombstone where I added the paint.

I wrapped the bead garlands around the tombstones to look like vines growing up around them, some of which I colored with the orange distress paint. 

I removed the prongs from metal cross brads and glued them to each tombstone.

Here are some closeups of the different Tombstone Stand Ups in the set.

Gina's Designs Lasercuts Supplies used:
Tombstone Stand Ups
Border Sticks Floral
Border Sticks Lace
Wrought Iron Set
Skeleton Shape Set

Other supplies used:
Shamrock Green Flower Soft®
Distress Paints (Forest Moss, Spiced Marmalade)
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic Paints (Dark Grey Value 3, Translucent White)
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Floral bead garlands (Joann's)
Embellishments (my stash)

If you would like to read more about this famous and historic cemetery, you can visit the Hollywood Cemetery website.

Thanks so much for stopping by and for sticking around for my history lesson.  I encourage you to visit Gina's Designs Lasercuts shop for all of your chipboard needs.  She has the most intricate and high quality shapes around.

Have a very safe and Happy Halloween and stay crafty, my friends.

Barbara