A Shabby Chic Fan for Mother's Day

Hi everyone!  Today I want to share a beautiful and very thoughtful gift to give for Mother's Day, or any Summer time occasion.  These are quick and fun to make, and the addition of Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts will add so much detail and dimension without adding the bulk.

I have made a step-by-step process video showing every step of the way to making one of these beautiful fans.  I am using lots of embossing powder and 3D paint techniques, and I will share a few tips or pointers for working with chipboard and making the fan in general.  This video is especially good for beginners as well as experienced crafters.

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Supplies Used:

GSL Flourish Frame Sienna
GSL Leaf Medallions
GSL Scribble Frame Butterfly
Wavy craft sticks (Hobby Lobby)
Recollections Mixed Media 12x12 paper pad (Michael's)
Fan Base pattern (below)
Xyron Creative Station
DecoArt Americana Chalky Finish paint
  Vintage
  Timeless
  Treasure
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic
  Phthalo Green-Yellow
Natural Fiber Assortment (Paper Studio)
Jacquard Lumiere Gold Pearl Dimensional Paint
VersaFine Ink Pad - Smokey Gray
Emboss It Clear Dabber (Ranger)
Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel
Chunky Rust Embossing Powder (Emerald Creek/Seth Apter)
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Ranger Blending Tool or Sponge

You should be able to click on the pattern and it will enlarge, then click on it again to save as a download.  Then find the pattern in your downloads folder and print it out.

Fan Base

I hope you enjoyed this project and perhaps have been inspired to make one, or more, of these sweet and thoughtful fans to give to your Mom, Grandmother, and other friends you want to keep cool.  Check out the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts online store for all sorts of chipboard embellishments just perfect for decorating your fan, no matter what shape you make it.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy crafting!

Barbara

Vintage Style Tool Caddy with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hello everyone!  Today I want to share this really cool and very useful Tool Caddy, also sometimes called a brush caddy, from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  However, since it can be used for so much more than just brushes, we changed its name.  I love everything vintage and shabby chic, so I am going to decorate my caddy with some beautiful papers from Prima's Wild & Free collection. 

This caddy is very simple to put together.  Here are the parts.

Before I put it together, though, I am going to start to cut out my paper pieces.  It will be much easier to cover the inside pieces BEFORE I glue it all together.  Start by covering the "handle" piece, trimming the paper away from the "pins" and from inside the handle.  Save the ovals cut from inside the handle.  We will use them later.

Trim the paper from between the long "slots".

You will also need to trim the paper from just above the long "slots" to allow for the partition pieces to slide onto.  I used one of the partitions as a template to cut away that portion of the paper.

Cover the opposite side and trim the paper in the same manner.  You can see how the partition can slide on easily, since the excess paper thickness has been removed.

Cover both sides of each partition piece and trim paper from pins and long slots, as shown. 

Be sure to remove the paper below the long slots.

You can now slide the partitions onto the handle piece.

Cover the inside bottom piece and cut away the slots or holes, as shown, and trim paper from pins.

Put glue on the handle and partition pieces.

Set pins on both handle and partition pieces into the slots on the bottom piece, as shown.  Let dry.

At this point, I decided to varnish the paper to protect it.  I prefer to use DecoArt Media Ultra Matte Varnish, but you can also use other varnishes or sealers, too. It goes on really smooth and matte, so you cannot see it at all.

Cut four pieces of 12x12 paper every 4" wide to cover both the inside and outside of the side pieces.  Run the paper pieces through a Xyron Creative Station, or use whatever adhesive you have.

Be mindful of the direction of the printed design, if that applies.  The rose print paper design has direction and needs to be cut so the direction is upright. 

I have laid two sides along the lower piece to show how it will be adhered.  Notice that the top, straight edge is the top of the sides, and the pins are where it attaches to the bottom.

However, since the black print paper has no discernible direction, I don't need to pay attention to the direction in which I cut it.  Here I have laid out the large side with the top at the top, and the side piece has been laid out sideways.  It won't matter in the case of this paper.

Here are the pieces covered.  Excess paper was trimmed away from the pins and in the slot holes.  Do not cover the other side at this time.  It will be covered after the sides are attached and all of the edges can be covered.

Adhere the sides pieces to the handle/partition pieces, as shown.  Remember, the paper covered side goes to the inside.  I used a rubber band to hold the sides nice and tight while the glue dried.  If you don't have a large enough rubber band, you can always use a piece of twine or string.  Let the caddy dry well before handling.

Cover the outside pieces with the black print paper, as shown.

One more piece needs to be cut from the paper measuring 4"x6" to cover the bottom. 

Paint two Border Sticks Shell with Tarnished Brass Distress Stain.  Because this is so watery, it will not clog the delicate laser cuts.

Adhere the Border Sticks Shell along the top edge of the caddy. 

To finish off the top edges of the chipboard, I used a Krylon Pale Gold leafing pen.  In the photo, I placed a small post-it note over the paper to protect it while I added the Pale Gold up against it.

Fussy cut images from the paper collection and adhere to the front and back of the caddy.  Use a metal frame over the small image of the girl, which was cut from the 6"x6" paper pad in the same collection. 

These are the two ovals cut from the handle.  Lay two delicate frames over the ovals and trace around the print area you want to display.  Cut away excess paper and set aside.

Paint the two delicate frames with Tarnished Brass distress stain and let dry. 

Adhere the painted frames over the ovals.

I felt the scallop frame was too bare, so I added the tiny flourish from the same set after coloring it in
the same fashion.

These pieces were adhered to the sides of the caddy.

And here is how you can store your favorite and most used tools right within reach.  This piece can also serve as an inspiration piece, since it will be right there in front of you as you work.  You get to be the creator and make it especially to your liking.  It doesn't get any more fun than that.

Supplies Used:
GSL Tool Caddy
GSL Border Sticks Shell
GSL Delicate Frames & Ornaments Shapes
Prima Wild & Free 12x12 paper collection
Krylon Pale Gold leafing pen
DecoArt Media Ultra Matte Varnish
Dynasty #16 flat brush
Xyron Creative Station
Ideology Baroque Frames
Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Tarnished Brass Distress Stain
Foam dots

I hope you enjoyed my project today and that I have inspired you to make one of these nifty tool caddies for yourself.  Of course, it would make and excellent gift for your craftiest friends, too!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful and crafty day!

Barbara

Art Journaling with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and Graphic 45

Hi everyone!  Today I have a fun art journaling project using both Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts chipboard and Graphic 45's new City Scapes paper collection.  I love how the chipboard adds just enough dimension without too much bulk, perfect for embellishing your art journals.  

Cut two pieces of paper from the Graphic 45 City Scapes collection and run through Xyron Creative Station.  I also ran the top piece from the chipboard hot air balloon through the Xyron, too.

Adhere papers to left page of the art journal, as shown.

Cut a second sheet (red print) to size and adhere to right page.

Place a piece of washi tape down the middle of the journal.  I added a white glue to the tape to make sure it stays in place.

Leave the top piece of the balloon on the Xyron release sheet and paint it with black gesso.

Cut out prints from the G45 paper collection that will fit inside each section.  Here's where your craft mat will come in handy.  Remove the white release sheet from the back of the balloon and stick it to your craft mat.  Start with the prints that will fill the smaller openings and adhere them.  Just lift the balloon off of the craft mat and sit it down onto the prints.

The two larger openings need some extra background paper behind them, so cut out a background paper and adhere behind the two remaining openings.  Then adhere the prints over that through the open section.  Trim excess background paper.

Paint edges of solid balloon back and basket parts.  Adhere solid balloon back to top section.  Adhere G45 paper inside basket opening.

Paint the mini balloon, jalopy, and word ribbon with brown chalk paint.  Adhere a piece of striped G45 paper to the top of the balloon.

Connect the basket to the balloon with three pieces of twine and glue each to the right side of the journal page.  Add the word ribbon at the top of the page and the mini balloon just below the large balloon.  Add stickers to spell "ADVENTURE AWAITS".

Cut a piece from the wrought iron border to fit the width of the page.

Adhere that to the bottom of the left journal page, along with the jalopy. 

Supplies Used:
Mini Display Tray - Hot Air Balloon
Word Ribbons 4
Miniatures Shape Set - Guy Thing
Wrought Iron Set
Graphic 45 City Scapes collection
Xyron Creative Station
Art Journal
Chalk Paint

I hope you enjoyed the project today, and perhaps inspired to give art journaling with papers and, of course, laser cut chipboard for added dimension.  It really does raise your projects up a notch.  And if you don't do art journaling, consider using this layout for just that, a scrapbook page layout, perhaps to memorialize a summer trip to a beautiful city, or maybe even Europe.

Be sure to stop by the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts shop for more really amazing laser cut chipboard choices.

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

Barbara