Voltaire Mini Assemblage Box

Hello creative friends!  I'm on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog today, sharing a wee assemblage/shadow box.

I like to use quotes.  A lot.  I have them scribbled on scraps of paper, a white board, a notebook, the tablet; all waiting for inspiration to strike.  Recent events inspired a quote by Voltaire, an 18th century French philosopher.

To see how I made this (featuring mitered corners on Dresden trim!), pop on over to the GSLC blog!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Mini Shadowbox Set C33P Set of 6 
House Ornament Fence D172HF

Thanks for your visit.  I hope you find positive inspiration today!

Cheers
Susan

The Lady In Red

Hello crafty friends!  I'm over on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog, sharing another project in my occasional Pin-Up series. 

I've been hoarding these 3x5 music cards for years, waiting for the right projects to come along.  "The Lady in Red" is from a 1935 movie musical called "In Caliente".   Head on over to the GSLC blog to see my step-by-step!

Oh! The lady in red
The fellows are crazy for the lady in red
She's a bit gaudy, but lawdy what a personality!

Oh! The lady in red
Is fresh as a daisy 
When the town is in bed.
Dancing and dining 
And shining with originality.

She's very proper;
She's nothing more than a pal.
But oh me! and oh my! 
You'd never stop her,
She'd be a dangerous gal
If she should ever meet the right guy.

Oh! The lady in red
Is she a study,
Oh! buddy what a personality
She's got vitality

Say! have you ever met
The girl who's the talk of the town?
A work of art without a question
You'd better write her number down.

Lyrics by Mort Dixon, 1935.

Thanks for your visit today!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Arch Top Cabinet with Doors #D11B

Other Supplies Used
Mod Podge
Vintage 3x5 music card (print date 1943)
Pin-Up Girl image
Jute
Black netting
Black tulle
Brass stars
Dresden trim
Graphic 45 Communique papers
Black gesso
Metal washers
Aleene's tacky glue
Chipboard scraps
Matte varnish

Graphic 45 Tag Sampler

Hello crafty friends!  I'm on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog today.  I have to be honest, I started this Tags In A Box project without real focus.  I wanted to use scraps of Graphic 45 papers, things I prepared with fussy cutting or layering, yet never used. Once I started it, I quickly became underwhelmed by my efforts.  It was a good idea, but...  'meh' on execution.  It was way after midnight and I went to bed with 3 tag fronts laid out, thinking I was too far in to quit, but I needed to sleep on it.

In the morning over coffee, I wondered what I'd do with this project after it was completed.  Should I even continue?

Then I remembered Margo.  We met at a local monthly art & craft event.  My table that month held shadow boxes, embellished greeting cards, altered tins, and such.  We bonded over a love of Graphic 45 papers.  I see her every once in a while and each time we lament that we've never actually gotten together for crafty time.

Margo, this one's for you.  You breathed life into this project and gave it purpose.  Thank you.  I hope to see you at November's 3rd Friday!

****

Here is the base. You'll see I was rubbish at taking photos of the steps, but this should help a little.

The small piece in front allows you to display a tag without it sliding forward.  Pretty clever design, if you ask me.  The kit includes the base as well as 6 tags.  The tags are all roughly 4" x 8" and the box has a generous amount of room, so embellishments weren't a concern.

There's even an Extra Tag Set available if you want to fill it up!

I painted the inside black and covered the outside with Renaissance paper and black acrylic paint.

The tags were covered with background paper using Mod Podge.  The edges were sanded and then inked with brown marker and a foam pad.

Each tag was assembled with scraps of G45 and embellishments.  I used a small cut of gears from the Steampunk Frame to enhance the Steampunk Spells tag.  (Visible in the top photo.)  I used a mix of browns and black embossing powders on the gears.

Thanks for your visit today.

Cheers,
Susan


Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Tags In a Box Display #BD10A
Steampunk Frame #D20C

Something Wicked Shadow Box

Hello crafty friends!  Today I want to share a steampunk-y shadow box made from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts' ATC Shrine Box.

The first thing to do is wipe down the edges with a damp cloth to remove laser residue (if any).  Lay the pieces out and put a dab of glue on the edges that fit together.  I did one panel at a time and held in place for a few seconds to give the glue a chance to catch.  Let this dry completely before measuring for paper inserts.

I used a corner of the 12x12 Texture Sheet Gears for the inside back, embossing it with a red/black/brown powder mixture I made a few projects ago.

I wanted a dash of color so I cut off a piece of the Banner Border Strips, traced each pennant on a different scrap of paper, then painted the pennant with black gesso.  While that dried I cut the triangles and inked the edges.  They are all slightly larger than the actual chipboard piece and overlap nicely to cover the space between each triangle.

I use the Zig glue writers a lot, and this one came in handy to draw a line on the pennant edges and allow me to easily apply the papers.

Next I picked out a few gears and backgrounds from the Steampunk Shape Set and painted them with  metallic paints I have on hand.

Once everything was dry I assembled in a whirlwind and didn't stop to take photos.  *sigh*  In the next two photos you can see the hint of the texture gear sheet in the back.  I chose a plain paper (black with white dots) so attention wasn't diverted from the embossed texture gears.

The pennants are raised up on a layer or two of scrap chipboard for added dimension.  You can also see the metallic gears layered in the right front corner, on which a black cat is perched.

I used more plain paper for the inside walls and ended up using strips of straight black Dresden foil  to finish the inside corners.  Once the outside was covered I used a more ornate Dresden foil to finish the front frame.

Here's a look at the back!

Thanks for visiting today!

Cheers ~ Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used

ATC Shrine Box BD12X
Texture Sheet Gears HR1
Steampunk Shape Set D33A
Banner Border Strips D34D

Other Supplies Used:
Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells
assorted acrylic paint
custom embossing powder
white glue
Zig writer glue
Brown ink for edges
Dresden foil
wood feet
assorted ribbon

A Set of Halloween Art Cards/ATC/ACEO

Hello crafty friends!  I'm here today to share steampunk-y art cards made with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts ATCs!

Do you know the difference between ATC, ACEO, and art cards?  Lemme tell you my take on all of it.  ATC is short for "Artist Trading Card".  The creation of an ATC has to follow a size rule: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".  An ATC isn't for sale, rather made for trading with other artists.  It's a great way to collect and share original art!

ACEO is "Art Card, Editions and Originals".  Yes, that's a mouthful!  ACEOs follow the same size rule but are traditionally the sellable version of an ATC.  They can be original works or numbered limited editions.

An art card is basically an ACEO.  I'm just not fancy enough to use ACEO, y'know?

I cut paper for the front and back sides to 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.  Using the last bits of a glue medium I painted it onto the chipboard and added the paper.  Not shown is my brayer -- I rolled it on to smooth out the glue clumps.  You can also use a ruler or anything that will flatten out the paper if needed.

Next, I used the Postage Frames to give dimension to the spooky stamps.

And that's it!  These were quick projects to make and look neat as a set.  Here's a view of the back sides.

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,

Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
ATCs - set of 3 (coming soon)
Postage Frames D79C

Other Supplies Used
Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells
Cheese cloth
Black and brown inks
Scor-Tape
Ranger Glue n Seal
TH Halloween baubles

More Halloween Cards!

Hello hello!

I'm still in love with this Graphic 45 "Happy Haunting" Halloween paper collection.  Here are a few greeting cards made using it!

Each card has a coordinating gift box and is available in my shop today!

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

Wicked Circus 3D Postcard

Hello hello hello!  Last month someone tracked me down through a project seen on Pinterest.  The wanted a circus-themed piece for their theatre dressing room as they prepared for nightly shows.  We decided to go a little dark for the play's dilapidated mid-century setting.

While I've done altered tins and keepsake greeting cards with a circus theme, my customer favored the 4x6 postcard form I used for a local art gallery fundraiser.

My customer's role is fortune teller.

On the back is a single-layer vintage image of circus performers you might not want to meet in the darkness between tents!

I'm imagining it hung on the mirror in a dark, dusty theatre.

Thanks for visiting today!

Cheers,
Susan

Boardwalk Memories

Hello crafty folks!

Sometimes I'm lucky enough that a base object instantly inspires.  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts' Dimensional Window Kit and Seaside Decor did exactly that, allowing me to create four different scenes for this fantastic G45 paper.

The Dimensional Window Kit is made of 5 separate parts: 3 duplicate window layers, a solid back, and a cellophane window to fit between the layers of your choice.  I didn't end up using the cello sheet but will save it for another project.

I started out gesso-ing the window front panel and all the seaside pieces.  I chose to leave the seaside pieces in their original frame in the hopes I wouldn't cover up too much of the yummy laser-burned shadow on the sides.  In hindsight, it also helped speed up the process since I didn't need to handle small fiddly bits.  You'll see further on how I handled excess gesso on the sides.

Next I picked the paper to cover the front frame, flipped it over and outlined the windows and outer edge with pencil.  I used a finger blade to cut along the lines and turned it over.  The next step was to take that paper and decide which scenes to put in each window.

As you might guess, I changed my mind on the blue wave paper and went with a darker one, below.  I glued it to the front window panel and allowed to dry.  Then I sanded the edges down with fine and superfine sandpaper.  Brown ink went all over the edges to give it an aged feel.  

To preserve the shadow effect *and* fill in spots I touched with the white gesso, I used a brown marker on and around the edges.  Yes, I'm that picky.  ::grin::

Time to work on the Seaside Decor bits!  This was all kinds of experimentation.  Haha!  To create texture on the waves I painted slightly-watered-down molding paste.  After it dried I painted a couple shades of blue.

The umbrella got a multi-color treatment.  It's vintage-y!  I glued sand to the starfish and sand dollar by smearing them in the medium then sprinkling a lot of sand on them.  Once they dried I was able to gently rub the edges to clean off excess glue and sand.  Not pictured is a peachy coat of paint on the 3rd shell.

The next two photos show the pieces I've cut out and edge-inked with brown.  I wanted to take advantage of all the Dimensional Window Kit layers so I started planning out where to put them.  

Before anything was attached, I added hanging hardware to the back.

In these panels, I glued the inside layers and laid out the top layer.  From left to right, Dad's first layer and the boy's only layer are attached, as well as the first wave layer in the lower right.  The second panel has the postcard stamp and the second wave layer.  

Here all the inside layering bits are glued in and I wanted to assemble the Dimensional Window Kit.  I used more of the matte medium and a lot of clamps to dry overnight. Next day it was time to attach all the fun pieces to the top layer!  

Here you can see the layering completed.  I also added the cut-out Coney Island sign to give that window pane a little more dimension. 

Thanks so much for visiting today.  Happy crafting!

Cheers,
Susan

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Used
Dimensional Window Kit #D174WD
Seaside Decor #C40B

Other Supplies Used
Graphic 45 "On The Boardwalk" paper
Tim Holtz Distressed Ink Pad & Pen in Gathered Twig and Ground Espresso
Helmar Scrap Dots dimensional glue under dad and son
Zig blue pen glue
Ranger Glue & Seal Matte Medium
Golden Molding Paste diluted with a little water
Acrylic paint - Liquitex, Golden, craft, gesso

Custom "Baby's Firsts" Mini Album

Hello crafty friends!

I have a great customer who orders cards throughout the year.  For Christmas she came up with the brilliant idea for an album of card fronts.  She wanted to celebrate a new baby in the family as well as that sweet baby's firsts, which happened quickly after she was born.

The album is 3 pages.  I will send a baptism page for the album soon EDIT: the baptism page is included below!  Who knows -- there might even be a 1st birthday page later.  I love this album idea!

This is the front page. Can you see the tag on the right side? It holds a sweet personalized sentiment.

Multi layered

Baby's first Thanksgiving!

The left  side of each page coordinates with the theme.

Baby's first Christmas. This one kind of knocks even my socks off! It was a lot of time consuming work but also the most fun to design and see finished.

The "First" is red Stickles under a layer of Glossy Accents.
It shows better in person!

All Graphic 45 papers, of course. If I could buy up every unused Santa scene page in all the closets across the world, I would. It's perfect.

This baptism page was shipped yesterday!

Thanks for visiting today.

Cheers,
Susan