Rustic Snowman for Gypsy Soul Lasercuts

Hi! Let's make one thing clear-although I love snowmen I am NOT a fan of snow at all! I'm really enjoying our mild green Christmas here in southwestern Ontario and I probably should have asked Gina to custom-design a "let it MELT" word piece for my project!! However I had a wonderful time creating this little guy and I thought the word piece from the Winter Shape Set suited him perfectly!

I used the Artist Trading Blocks and covered each of them with torn paper using Mod Podge for a collage effect then attached them in a stack.I brushed the surface randomly with a little more Podge and sprinkled clear glass glitter on it. The word piece was painted with acrylic paint then stamped and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder. The snowflake on that  piece and on the hat were painted .white then sprinkled with the glass glitter.

The tree was painted then stamped and heat-embossed and then I tried out a really cool product that was new to me-the Marvy Uchida Snow pen! I drew the snow on with the pen then let it sit for a few minutes before applying the heat tool and -voila-3D puffy snow! Now I want to run around putting (pretend) snow on everything!

The eyes are adhesive pearls coloured with a Sharpie and the arms are little branches from one of the sycamore trees in my yard; the hat and scarf were rescued from a worn out snowman decoration I had.

Whether you're up to your waist in the cold white stuff or baking in summer heat (or anywhere in between) I hope you enjoyed my little snowman. Have a super day and thanks for stopping by!

A Very Merry Christmas Tree for Gypsy Soul Lasercuts

Greetings! Tis the season for handcrafted gifts and I created this tree for a good friend of mine who admired a similar one I had made for myself last year.



I primed the tree and base with coppery-gold acrylic paint then heat-embossed the tree with Stampendous Aged Copper. I love the bits of green interspersed with the copper colour!

The snowflakes were primed with gesso then heat-embossed with Stampendous Aged Ivory which has flecks of gold that give them a vintage look.

The tree and base pieces glued together wonderfully; I added a green bow and a couple wrapped mini-presents to complete the festive effect-a simple project to put together that looks like it was a lot more work than it was (now THAT'S right up my alley this busy time of year!!)  Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and hope Santa brings you lots of crafty goodies!

Dazzling-a layout for Scraps of Elegance

Hello there crafty friends! Using the lovely December "Silver Bells" kit I decided to challenge myself to create a non-Christmas themed layout with some of the wonderful Authentique papers that were included . I loved the green plaid and found it perfectly set off this heritage photo of two of my older cousins when they were little.

I distressed and inked the edges of all the paper layers and added some stencilling with texture paste and acrylic paint. The flowers came from my stash and were originally larger; I removed the outer petals of the 2 large flowers and used some of them to make the rose-this way they were much more proportionate to the page. The title piece was a part of the kit and I added a stapled twine frame to complete the page and add just a touch more texture.

Thanks a bunch for stopping by and do try to squeeze in some crafty time for yourself during this busy season-you deserve it!

Christmas gift bag and cards for Scraps of Elegance

hi there! Tis the season and I've been a busy little elf crafting for family and friends. I created a card and gift bag set with the Prima Victorian Christmas papers in the December Scraps of Elegance kit and card with the Graphic 45 Christmas carol papers.

 I stencilled on the bag and the largest piece of paper with homemade texture paste then when the stencilled designs were dry rubbed them with gold ink. The edges of all the papers were rubbed with gold as well and some of them with a rich brown as well. Lots of fussy cutting and some corrugated cardboard painted gold added some interest and dimension as did the berries and leaves which were included in the kit. I finished those clusters with raffia.

The Graphic 45 card is all about fussy cutting and layers; I used foam tape to add dimension and a little twine for texture. The berries were all dabbed with Glossy accents which gives them a yummy hint of shin.

Thanks a bunch for visiting and be sure to checkout the Scraps of Darkness/Scraps of Elegance blog for other projects made with our wonderful kits and for information on ordering them!

Santa's Sleigh in Pastels for Gypsy Soul Lasercuts

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my house-actually it has for a while! I love decorating for Christmas and was thrilled with this gorgeous chipboard sleigh from Gypsy Soul. The pieces went together easily after they were painted or papered with just a wee bit of glue in the grooves.

I covered the base pieces with papers from Kaisercraft's "Silver Bells" collection and also used them for the fussy cut details. I attached some of the cutouts to skewers and poked them into a styrofoam piece that was placed in the bottom of the sleigh. A little greenery inside finished the look.

For the gorgeous ornate overlay I wanted a sparkly magical feel but still wanted to keep it soft and pastel. I primed the pieces with light blue acrylic paint then heat embossed them with 2 layers of Ranger glitter embossing powder in Bridal Tinsel before adding a thin layer of glue and sprinkling them with clear chunky glass glitter.

I added the fussy cut arrangement using some foam tape for dimension. There are so many different ways you could finish this great little sleigh to coordinate with your decor or with that of a gift recipient. It could be filled with any sort of decorations or with gift items-even homemade Christmas treats! Use your imagination and have a great time personalizing Santa's Sleigh!

Gypsy Soul Items Used

Santa's Sleigh

Other Items Used

Kaisercraft Silver Bells collection

Ranger glitter embossing powder-Bridal Tinsel

Colorbox chunky clear glitter

Merry and Bright-Christmas layout for Scraps of Elegance

Well it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around my house and I was just thrilled to receive my Christmas-themed DT kit "Silver Bells"  the other day. The wonderful Graphic 45 Christmas Carol papers were just begging for some serious fussy-cutting so I had a great time creating this layout!

I fussy cut the frame and all of the flowers along with the leaves and berries. I layered the flowers and curled the ones on top for dimension. Gold microbeads were added to the flower centers and the berries were accented first with Perfect Pearls in Forever Red then Faber Castell Texture Gems for a little sheen.

I stencilled with homemade texture paste using a Tim Holtz stencil for the flourishes and a Crafter's Workshop stencil for the script.

The photo is of my two awesome kids back in December of 1997 when they were ages 5 and 2 and the title piece is from Michael's crafts....thanks heaps for stopping by and have a terrific week!

new month and new name!! Metal ornaments for Gypsy Soul Lasercuts!

Hi! Happy December and Hello Gypsy Soul Lasercuts! Gina's Designs has changed their name-same great products same design team but brand new name! This is my first DT post for the new month with the new name- I must say I'm still trying to figure out what happened to July and August never mind the fall; this year has just flown by and I can't believe the Christmas season is upon us already!

I signed up for an ornament swap on a Facebook group I belong to so had to come up with something that would work for mailing. The plain galvanized metal ornaments came from Michael's and the lovely chipboard pieces were perfect accents-fairly flat and not too fragile!

I attached the chipboard pieces to the ornaments with hot glue then primed the whole surface with silver acrylic paint. The snowflakes came from both  the Snowflakes Shape set and the Winter shape set. The gears are metal pieces from my stash.I misted this ornament with Mister Huey's sprays then added adhesive pearls

The chipboard sleigh and reindeer piece was cut from the Santa's Sleigh border and the other embellishments are various metal pieces from my stash.  For this ornament used Dylusions mist and again added adhesive pearls. The small stars are metal confetti bits.

Some white ribbon bows were layered and glued to the top to finish the ornaments; I had fun putting them together and I hope my swap partner enjoys them! Have yourself a terrific week and thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Gypsy Soul Items Used
Snowflake Shape Set
Winter Shape Set
Santa's Sleigh Border

Other Items Used
metal ornaments from Michael's
Mister Huey's mists
Dylusions mist

Recipe file box with decorated cards and a layout for Scraps of Elegance

hi there! I've been having a great time creating with the November Scraps of Elegance kit "Tracey's Country Kitchen" and am featuring my 2 latest projects today.

First I took a cardboard book box I got at Dollarama and transformed it into a recipe card holder and I decorated some coordinating index cards.

I used plain index cards and added fussy cut details from the papers; six are shown although the box could hold a great deal more.

Closeups of details and layers:

My other project is a layout featuring our kitten Maggie who-along with 4 littermates-I bottelfed from 2 weeks old. Three of the kittens have new homes but Maggie and her sister Honey stayed here and are having a wonderful time destroying my house and terrorizing my other 6 cats and 2 dogs-but of course nI love them to pieces!!

The sweet Petaloo flowers coordinated perfectly and I stencilled randomly with texture paste tinted in coordinating colours as well.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

sparkly Christmas Cards for Gina's Designs

hi there! The grass here is still green (although the weather people are saying we might see some of the "white stuff" over the next couple days) but I had a glimpse of a white winter wonderland the last day I was in BC last week and was inspired to create snowy-looking elements on my cards...

Since the fussy-cut ornaments on the blue card had silver details on them I decided to heat-emboss the  open heart pieces in silver. The plain heart I primed with gesso then coated with white glue before covering with clear glass glitter top create a snowy heart.

On the grey card I chose a softer look by priming the pieces with gesso then heat-embossing them with white glitter embossing powder (it took 2 coats to get an evenly sparkly effect)

Both cards look much more snowy and sparkly in real life of course-have some fun playing with glittery products on your chipboard goodies when you create Christmas projects this year-even if you live somewhere tropical you can have a white Christmas! Thanks a bunch for stopping by and have a wonderfully crafty and creative week!

Our Roots-a heritage layout for Scraps of Elegance

hello crafty friends; I'm here today sharing a DT projects created with the gorgeous November Scraps of Elegance kit "Tracey's Country Kitchen". I used a copy of a vintage photo of my great-great grandmother that my aunt gave me recently....I love reconnecting with my family history!

The frames were fussy cut from one of the papers and I altered the colours a bit with rose and brown inks. The Prima flowers (incl. in the kit) were  also inked. The lace, which came in the kit as well, was lightly dyed with coffee. The centers of the flowers were altered with the Lindy's Midnight Gold embossing powder from the kit.

 The flowers and clocks at the upper left were fussy cut, inked and layered with foam tape. A few tears  and some punchwork finished the page. Thanks a bunch for stopping by and have a terrific day!

Amazing-a mixed media layout for Gina's Designs

hi there and greetings from beautiful (but cold) British Columbia! I'm here visiting my dad who hasn't been all that well and just before I left home I created this tribute page with a photo of Dad taken by his best friend last year & lots of Gina's chipboard goodies!

I started with a corrugated background and added some sand paste for texture. The chipboard and metal pieces were painted grey like the background and then attached to it. I added layers of mist and a bit of spattered acrylic paint as well as a little random stamping.

Don't toss the punch-out negative pieces that come with texture sheets like the Brick wall: they make awesome embellishments as well! The brick pieces were covered with silver texture paste then lightly rubbed with black ink

.

 I love this chain piece and added some extra tan mist to make it stand out; I wasn't especially careful about getting mist on the edges of the photo because I thought it would add to the grungy and masculine feel (although I did mask the center of the photo)

I used several of Gina's gears as well as a couple metal ones and clustered them along with a Tim Holtz compass piece which was left unpainted for contrast.



Thanks for visiting-stay warm and have yourself a wonderful week!

Gina's Items Used

Gears shape Set
Brick Wall
Mixed Media Fragments 1
Chain Borders
Miniatures shape set-guy thing
Chevron Words

Other Items Used

Tim Holtz metal arrow, gears and compass

Prima clock

Mister Hueys, Heidi Swapp, Perfect Pearls and Tattered Angels Mists

Gingerbread family banner for Gina's Designs

hi there! I had so much fun creating my little gingerbread house album a few weeks back  that I decided to create a coordinating banner using the same papers with the adorable little gingerbread people from Gina's. When I set up my Christmas decorations in a couple weeks I'll display them together.

I painted the figures with light brown acrylic paint then sponged them with a reddish brown for a lightly mottled "baked cookie" effect. The clothes were cut from paper and attached to the chipboard clothing bases then I added little embellishments and details. I used a pearl pen for the icing lines here and there.The snowflakes are from the Winter shape set and were primed with gesso then painted with pearl acrylic paint. The candies are from the gingerbread house mini album package. I painted them deep red then mounted them onto cardstock which was painted with the same pearl paint as the snowflakes.

I just attached everything to a piece of green jute for a simple homespun feel. Check out the crazy red feather hair on the little girl in the lower photo-I had some fun with the details!!

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

Gina's Items Used

Gingerbread family shape set
Gingerbread house mini album set-pinwheel candies
Winter shape set-snowflakes

Hang On To Hope-layout for Gina's Designs

Hello fellow crafters! Here in Southwestern Ontario we're deep into fall and heading toward-ugh-winter; when I saw this image it made me think of how springtime is hope fulfilled after a long cold winter and that we often need to keep a little springtime in our hearts when our circumstances seem like a big patch of winter in our lives as well.

The tree branches were perfect for extending the image; I ran them through my Cuttlebug in a woodgrain embossing folder then painted them brown to match the photo. The leaves were painted green then dabbed lightly with other colours like the ones in the photo. I brushed the pieces with Glossy Accents to give them a bit of a sheen.

The word piece was painted with acrylic paint then heat-embossed with clear embossing powder. I then mounted it on coordinating patterned paper.

Punchwork along with some stencilling and stamping completed the background then I added a few paper strips to mimic the design on the bottom of the photo.I had a great time creating this cheery project and love the way the branches fit onto the design so perfectly-thanks for stopping by and hang onto hope today and every day!

Gina's Items Used

Leafy Branches with Birds
Word Elements 1

Other Items Used

Marion Smith Posh papers
embossing powder and Versamark ink
acrylic paints

Glossy Accents