Desk Calendar with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and Graphic 45

Hello everyone.  Barbara here today with a pretty cool flip album with stand from Gypsy Soul.  This kit comes with six chipboard pages, each with a different decorative bottom edge.  I decided to turn this into a calendar, beginning with August 2016, and carrying on through July 2017.  You can google calendars and find lots of different styles to print and cut apart for this project.  I found that the Graphic 45 paper, Time to Flourish, was a perfect complement for my flip calendar.  

This is the way the album will attach to the stand.  Simple!  I removed the rings and the chipboard pages and first glued the stand together.

Next, I painted the stand with a coat of white gesso, just to give it a good base for paints to adhere.

I wasn't sure where I was going with this, so my first coat of paint was an olive green chalk paint. I knew I wanted a dark color for the base to show beneath the crackle paint I wanted to apply.

I spread a medium thick coat of white crackle paint over the stand and allowed it to dry naturally for best crackling results.

Next, I began adding ColourArte Silks in Peridot, mixing a little Sky Blue into the still wet paint.  I felt this color was not going to work well with my chosen papers, so I tried adding Emperor's Gold Silks.  

I still was not happy, so I added Chestnut Roan chalk ink from a re-inker bottle and applying the color with a piece of cut n' dry foam.  

I was beginning to like it, but it needed some red tones, so I added Transparent Red Oxide with a damp baby wipe.  In the photo above, you can see where I started adding the red on the base, and I completed adding the red in the photo below.

I decided to make the wood look aged, like it had been sitting in a barn somewhere for quite awhile.  So, I added Carbon Black antiquing cream with a damp baby wipe.  

Let the antiquing cream dry, then using a damp baby wipe, remove as little or as much of the antiquing cream as you like.  Allow the piece to dry, then apply a coat of gloss varnish over the piece to protect it.

You may be wondering why I used so many layers of colors when my final layer looks like aged wood.  Well, that is the funny thing about mixed media.  It is all about layers, and to be honest, even though I was not sure about where I was going, those layers are showing through and adding to the aged look.    

Now it is time to decorate the pages.  I added dry adhesive to each of my chipboard pages and covered them accordingly.  Below, you can see that I have laid the first piece down onto the back of the January paper, then I used a craft knife to cut around it and re-punch the holes.  (Note:  Be careful as you work.  The opposite side of my January page will be covered with the July page, February will be covered with August, and so on, so that it will be easy to flip the set of pages at the middle of the year.)

Here are the first six months of the year on the first side of the six pages.  

Here are the second six months of the year on the opposite side of each of those pages.  

Now it is time to decorate each page with images that were fussy cut from the paper collection, and then embellished with appropriate chipboard from Gypsy Soul.

January = Snowflakes Shape Set (Brilliance Galaxy Gold and Platinum Planet)

February = Border Sticks Lattice Hearts (Pink Pastel, Rose Coral, Tangerine Chalk ink pads)

March = 4 Leaf Clover Set (Olive Pastel, Lime Pastel chalk ink, Firefly glitter glue)

April = Collage Border Splash (Inktense Blocks, Star Dust glitter glue)

May = Dressforms 2 Miniature Shape Set (Inktense Blocks)

Miniature Shapes Set - Ladies Choice (Inktense Blocks)

June = Butterflies & Dragonflies (Inktense Blocks + Star Dust Glitter)

July = Seaside Decor (Umbrella and water) (Inktense Blocks + white pen)

Beach Shape Set (chair) (Inktense Blocks + black pen)

August = Butterflies & Dragonflies (Inktense Blocks + Hologram glitter glue)

September = Vintage School Shape Set (Pen, ink bottle, book) (Inktense Blocks, black pen)

October = String Alongs Gothic (Raven) (Inktense Blocks, black, white pens)

Spiders & Webs (Inktense Blocks, Star Dust glitter glue)

November - Fall Shape Set (Inktense Blocks, charcoal pencil, black pen)

December - Light String Border (Inktense Blocks, Star Dust glitter glue)

Christmas Stocking Border (Stocking = Inktense Blocks, Gold Flower Soft)

(Ornament = Inktense Blocks, Diamond glitter glue)

And here it is again, all finished and ready for August!

Supplies used:

GSL Standing Flip Book  

GSL Snowflakes Shape Set

GSL Border Sticks Lattice Hearts

GSL 4 Leaf Clover Set (coming soon)

GSL Collage Border Splash

GSL Dressforms 2 Miniature Shape Set

GSL Miniature Shapes Set - Ladies Choice

GSL Butterflies & Dragonflies 

GSL Seaside Decor (coming soon)

GSL Beach Shape Set

GSL Vintage School Shape Set (coming soon)

GSL String Alongs Gothic

GSL Spiders & Webs (coming soon)

GSL Fall Shape Set

GSL Light String Border 

GSL Christmas Stocking Border

Graphic 45 Time to Flourish 8x8 paper collection 

ColourArte Silks Acrylic Glaze

  Peridot

  Sky Blue

  Emperor's Gold

Fluid Acrylics 

Chalk Ink Pads & Reinkers

I hope you enjoyed my project and have been inspired to make one of these super fun Standing Flip Books for yourself, or with Christmas coming up, this would make a fabulous gift for someone special.  And think about using it to display your favorite photos on your desk.  

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

Barbara

Upcycled Organizer with Craftwell USA eBrush

Hi everyone!  Barbara here on the Craftwell Blog today with an upcycled project using my Craftwell eBrush.  Did you know that August 17th is National Thrift Shop Day?  To honor this quirky holiday, the Craftwell design team has been given a challenge to upcycle a thrift store item or something around the house.  

So, I ask you, what can you do with a few empty prescription bottles and a large plastic jar lid?

I know!  How about a crafty little organizer for your craft desk?  In this organizer, I keep my smaller, but oh-so-necessary everyday supplies, like Q-tips, glue sticks, wooden skewers for stirring, decoupage scissors for fussy cutting, and my most needed writing tools (pencil, black pens, and a white gel pen).  

Step 1:  To begin, I eBrushed color onto an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of white card stock with a light pink marker.  I just wanted to get some color down, but not necessarily going for full coverage.

Step 2:  Next, place a stencil over the paper and eBrush through it with an orange marker.

Step 3:  Repeat Step 2 with the same stencil and a darker pink marker.

Step 4:  Repeat Step 2 again with the same stencil and a yellow marker.

Step 5:  Now that I have some "texture" down, I filled in the background with a bit more of that light pink marker from Step 1.

Step 6:  Using a different stencil, I added some additional design with a blue marker.

Step 7:  To add a vintage feel to the paper, I lightly eBrushed the background with a brown marker.

Step 8:  I used my Cut n' Boss to die cut a couple of honeycomb shapes using my Teresa Collins Honeycomb Project Die.  I love the versatility of this die and use it a lot.

Step 9:  Using the honeycomb die cut as a stencil, I laid it over my background paper and stenciled though it with a green marker, while coloring the die cut at the same time.

Step 10:  Continue coloring the second honeycomb die cut with the same green marker from Step 9.  I left some of the honeycomb bits in the die cut while coloring so I could use them for future projects.  I love saving the bits from my dies for this purpose.  They make great confetti, too!

Step 10:  For a bit of pizazz, I eBrushed the two die cuts with a silver marker.  Set these aside for now.

Step 11:  Use a script stamp with black archival ink to add more depth and texture to the background paper.

Step 12:  Cut two strips 2-3/8" x 8-1/2" from the card stock.

Step 13:  Add adhesive to the two strips, or use your Xyron machine for quick and easy application.  Cut each strip in half and adhere to the four smaller bottles. 

Step 14:  Trace around the large cap, keeping close to the edge of the paper, as shown.  Cut just inside the pencil lines of the circle and adhere the piece inside the cap.

Step 15:  First cut a 2" x 8-1/2" strip from the remaining piece left, and then cut a 2-7/8" x 4-1/4" piece, as shown.  From the 2" x 8-1/2" piece, cut two 1/2" x 8-1/2" strips, leaving a 1" x 8-1/2"strip.   You will use this for Step 18.

Step 16:  Cover the outer edge of the large cap with the two 1/2" x 8-1/2" strips and cut off excess.

Step 17:  Cover the larger bottle with the 2-7/8" x 4-1/4" piece.

Step 18:  Lastly, cut 1/4" strips from the remaining pieces to finish off the top of each bottle.  

I tried to make my paper colors match the amber color of my bottles, since I knew some of it would be showing.  Keep that in mind whenever you cover something that you know will not be covered completely.  

Step 19:  Glue all of the bottles inside the large lid, as shown.  I used a wet glue for this and allowed it to dry before handling it any further.

Step 20:  Cut the honeycomb die cuts in half, but in an uneven fashion.  Adhere the pieces around the bottles, adding glue where the die cut touches the bottle.  Continue adding the pieces until you have gone around the bottles completely.  

Step 21:  Lastly, add some floral embellishments to the organizer.  Use your markers to eBrush any flowers or leaves that you want to have match your project.  Below, I used the four markers shown in the photo, starting with the lightest pink, at the bottom, then the darker pink, following with the orange and then the silver marker.  

Step 22:  For this white flower, I wanted to keep it very pastel, so I only eBrushed it very lightly with the same light pink marker. 

Step 23:  Add the embellishments to the front side of the organizer, as shown.  Below is a view from each side.  

Supplies Used:

Craftwell USA eBrush

Craft well Cut n' Boss

Teresa Collins Project Dies - Honeycomb
Xyron 
Stencils
Markers
Black archival ink
Script stamp

I hope you enjoyed this upcycled project today.  There will be more fun upcycling projects to come, so make sure to check out the Craftwell Blog all month long for more inspiration from the team. 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a crafty day!

Vintage Steampunk Card with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi everyone!  Barbara here on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog.  I want to share a card today with a very masculine, steampunk feel. More birthdays are coming up in the next few months, so I actually have a recipient in mind.  Laser cut chipboard is a real pleasure to work with, and I love how they add so much dimension to a card without adding too much bulk.

For this masculine card, I used a blue card stock for the card base and the first layer is a piece of script paper cut slightly smaller, with a bit of distressing around the edges.

I chose my chipboard pieces and some paper images from the paper pad to use together.  Each piece was painted with acrylic paint, then gelatos were used to give the added color.  A silver ink pad was used to ink the pocket watch, and a gold ink pad was used to ink the key.

The pieces were added to the card front, as shown.  I computer-generated "Happy Birthday Dad!" on a scrap of matching paper and adhered the delicate frame shape  over it.  The circular paper image of the gentleman on a clock was adhered over the pocket watch.

Supplies Used:


GSL Delicate Frames and Ornaments Shape Set
GSL Miniature Shapes Set - Guy Thing
Blue card stock
Print papers and die cuts
Acrylic paint
Gelatos
Gold, Silver ink pads
Makeup sponge

I hope you have been inspired, at least a little bit, to give laser cut chipboard a go on your next card project.  You won't be disappointed, and your recipient will be so impressed.  

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

Barbara

Back to School Altered Boxes with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and Graphic 45

Hi everyone!  Barbara here on the GSL blog, and today I am up cycling a couple of old Cricut cartridge boxes into pencil and school supplies boxes.  I used Graphic 45 papers to cover them, and some fabulous Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts chipboard to finish off the embellishments.

I had stored these boxes in my attic so the glue had deteriorated and made it easy for me to take the boxes apart.  I have been known to use my heat gun to carefully heat the adhesive to make it easy to remove things stuck together, like this.

Next, cover the outside of the "lid" of the box with the G45 paper.  Wrap the ends of the paper around to the inside.

Then cover the inside, as shown, using only strips along the inside edges (red dots) and a piece large enough to cover the inside top of the lid.

The box bottom was covered only on the three sides that will show, wrapping the excess paper around to the bottom, as shown.

Adhere the bottom and back side of the box to the "lid", as shown.

I chose these three adorable ballerina dancers for the main embellishments for the top.  Each one was colored with ink pads that best matched the colors in the papers.

Each ballerina was adhered to the top with foam dots for added dimension, along with fussy cut images from the papers.  The "ABC" was inked with the green ink pad and adhered between two dancers, as shown.

Here is a view from the side.

And a closer look at the finished top.

The second box was covered in a similar fashion, as shown.

A look at the inside of the box.

I left the Vintage School chipboard shapes intact and added a coat of gesso over the whole piece.  

Each piece I chose to use on this box was colored, once again using ink pads that best matched the colors in the paper.  The two rulers were edged with brown ink, and a ruler image was cut from the paper and adhered to the top of each ruler.  

"ABC", the two apples, and "123 charm" were colored with the ink pads.  

And here is the top of the second box, all embellished.  I just love how the chipboard adds so much dimension to the top.  

On the inside of each box, I added a few more chipboard pieces.  A "123" piece was added to the box on the left, and a pencil was colored and added to the box on the right.  Just a little touch like that adds so much to a project.

Lastly, I added magnets to the box bottom and lid of each box to make for a nice closure.

Supplies used:

GSL Vintage School Shape Set (coming soon)

GSL Tiny Dancers - Ballet (coming soon)

Graphic 45 An ABC Primer

Empty boxes

Ink Pads in colors to match paper

Mini Magnets

White glue

Xyron Creative Station

I hope you have been inspired to make a couple of these boxes for your kids to keep their school supplies in.  And be sure to stop by Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts to see all the newest laser cut chipboard!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Barbara