Spring Cleaning

Hi Everyone,
I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog today.

Well it's time to do some spring cleaning and that includes my desk.  I try to be a neat crafter, but my desk always ends up looking like a large bomb exploded in the general vicinity.  For today's project I used only items that were on my desk or within reach of my desk.  I will admit some of these are mop up tags, so I don't know exactly what is on there.

Adventure is out there tag-

The butterfly man background was made using Vintage Photo Oxide Spray and then I added Hickory Smoke ink through a stencil(THS091).  I shifted the stencil and added Peeled Paint Oxide Ink.  I splatted on some Black Soot Distress Paint and then stamped the flourish(CMS070) in  Ground Espresso Archival Ink.  The edges got a bit of Vintage Photo Distress Crayon for shadow.

The paper doll was inked up using Tsukineko Inks.  His buttons and watch chain were colored using gel pens.  Get got a pair of wings and was glued to the tag.  I had a snippet of the mini provincial impresslit left so I popped that in the top corner.  Chic chat words were inked up using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and glued down.

A snippet of the Meadow Flowers was on my desk so I added a couple layers of gesso and once that was dry I added PaperArtsy Infusions in The Sage to the stems.  I added grit paste to the flowers and used Peacock Feathers Distress Ink to color them.  There was some leftover Distress Crayon on my desk from edging the tag and I used that to dirty up the flowers.  Once that was glued down, I added detail using gel pens.

Eccentric, but very estimable gentleman-

For the eccentric, but very estimable gentleman tag I used a mop up tag that had some blues and purples on it.  I added some leftover rust from when I was rusting up bits and some Seth Apter Stamps(Eclectica3). 
The circles are from the Mixed Media Fragments 1 Small.  I rusted them using PaperArtsy's Rusting Powder and then added Verday Paint from 10 Second Studios for the oxidized brass bits.  I cut the circles into three segments and attached them to the card using glue.  I added Tim Holtz Hardware heads to make them appear to be bolted down. I added alcohol ink in Patina, Mushroom, and Coffee to the hardware heads.  Then I popped on a bit of Distress Crayon in Cracked Pistachio for a bit more dimension.

I tied a little brass heart to his wrist and glued him down.

 Clipping stickers make for really fun stories and gel pens add the final bits to this tag.

The Proprietor of Ideas-

This little guy gets stuck in all kind of things.  Today I popped him in a lightbulb from the Steampunk Lightbulb Set.  The lightbulb was painted white and then the bulb portion was given a layer of DecoArt Crackle Glaze.  Once the glaze was dry I added Distress Crayon in Black Soot and Brushed Pewter.  A thin piece of acetate was added behind the bulb and colored with mushroom alcohol ink.  The tiny crown on his head will be coming soon to the GSL cuts store(I cannot wait for you to see all of these teeny crowns).

The base of the bulb was painted with Tarnished Brass Distress Paint and then pounced with Mushroom, Latte, and Coffee Alcohol Inks. I snuck in another hardware head here and a story stick.

This tag was made by using Oxide Spray on my gel plate.  It makes such gorgeous and dreamy backgrounds.  I used a Tim stencil(THS051) for the words and numbers.  I used Hickory Smoke and Black Soot Distress Ink for the coloring.  White paint is splattered all over the back, Perfect Pearl spray, and gel pens finish the background.

The main title is from the Tim Holtz Noble Gent set(CMS301).  That was stamped in Black Soot Archival.  The little halo around the bulb is the same set.  I used Dina Wakley Paint in Ancient and Gilt to stamp out the halo.  Be sure to clean paint off your rubber stamps right away!   

Do you save all of your little bits to make projects with later or do you toss out the scraps?

Jess

Spring toadstool fairy exploding canvas

Hi Everyone,
I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog today.
The weather has been so nice here.  Flowers are blooming and pretty soon we will start seeing the baby ducks in our little neighborhood lake.  It's also the time of year when I start to make fairies.  Ah, who am I kidding I love to make fairies all year round!

A couple years back I made an exploding canvas and I totally loved the process.  I decided it was time to make a new one and this time I gave it a little twist.  I knew I wanted a tiny fairy so my canvas had to be small  too.
I started by covering a 5x5 canvas with Tim Holtz Collage paper.  I used collage medium to adhere it to the canvas and coated the top too.  I dried it with a heat gun.  Once the collage paper was dry I used texture paste and a flower stencil to add detail to the top and bottom corners.

I sprayed the canvas using Distress Oxide Spray in Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo, and Iced Spruce.

 I added paint splatter in black(Distress Black Soot) and gold(Dina Wakley Ancient).   I used Distress Crayon in Lucky Clover to enhance the texture paste flowers. At the end I decided to add a bit of Worn lipstick and Picked Raspberry Crayon to the flowers too. 

Once the paint was dry I flipped the canvas over and used a different collage paper to line the inside of the canvas.  I blasted it with the heat gun and then cut the canvas up.  You can see the cut lines.  This is the scariest part of the whole process, but the outcome is fabulous.  

Before I started prepping my canvas I took the Mini Shadowbox set and put together a couple of the boxes I thought might fit into the frame.  Once I had one that fit right I started working on the canvas.  I didn't want to get this far into the thing just to discover that what I thought it would look like in my head would not work out at all. 

After the canvas was cut I glued the pieces to the front of the canvas creating an opening.  

For the hollow, I wound up using the smallest of the shadowboxes.  The fun thing about the box this size is that it doesn't take much paper to cover it.  I spritzed a manila tag with Worn Lipstick Oxide Spray and let it air dry.  The air drying seems to make it oxidize a bit better(it also could be my imagination).I gave it a quick mist of water on either side and ran it through my 3d Kaleidoscope  embossing folder.  This one tag covered the entire outside of my box with some to spare! I sanded the tag a bit and added some Distress Crayon in Gathered Twigs to highlight the raised areas.  

For an added detail I ran metal plumbing tape through my impresslit folder.I colored it using gold, latte, and caramel alcohol inks.   

I cut the manila tag to cover the outside of the shadowbox I used the faux dresden to cover the edges.  The edge of the dresden is the perfect size to cover the edge of the chipboard. 

The inside of the box was lined with paper and washi tape.  I really just wanted the little flowers to peep through in the back there.  I added some spun cotton toadstools, moss, and a teeny paperdoll.  The new Tim Holtz  wings work perfectly on this guy.  

To finish the canvas I colored seam binding using the Worn Lipstick Oxide spray and a bit of Tea Dye Distress Spray.  I made a fluffy bow and added a word band. In the top corner, opposite from the bow, I added a flower cluster with some additional moss.    

Happy Spring! 

Jess

The Social Butterfly

Hi Everyone,
Earlier this year I made the decision to step down from most of my design teams and not to apply to any new ones.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy being on teams and I have been on some amazing ones, but I missed making just to make.  I wanted more time to play with my stuff.  Today I pulled out a bunch of my new toys and just made.  I wanted to try a couple experiments, some worked and some didn't but I had the time to do it.  I think play makes you a better artist.  You learn how to use your tools in new and creative ways. 
So, here is the result of today's session.

I used one of the mini etcetera tags from Stampers Anonymous as my base.  I covered it with paper and then coated the whole thing with collage medium.  I sprayed on Worn Lipstick, Cracked Pistachio, and Vintage Photo Oxide sprays.  I dried it with the heat gun and then wiped it down.  I then added grit paste through a stencil and dried it.  Once it was dry I painted the flowers(Distress Paint in Victorian Velvet, Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron; and  Dina Wakley Paint in Blushing) and then spritzed them with my glitter duster.  Using a dry brush I added paint to the background(PaperArtsy Paint in Green Patina and Distress Paint in Tarnished Brass) and then splattered on Black Soot Distress Paint.

I pulled bits from my vintage ephemera drawers and picked pieces that matched the color scheme of the base.  The vintage fortune gave me the idea to create the social butterfly. 
I picked the Found Relative out of the new pack and started to alter her.  I took two pairs of the new acetate wings from Tim Holtz and coated the back of one with collage medium.  I smooshed Oxide ink in Victorian Velvet, Worn Lipstick, and Spun Sugar on my craft mat.  I ran the wings through and dried them.  I added a couple more layers like this.  Once I had the pink the way I liked it I sprayed the wings with Distress Spray Stain in Tea Dye and used an old Perfect Pearls mister to get the hint of sparkle. I coated a second pair of wings and then smoosh the two together.

I cut slits into the photo and slipped them in.  I glued them to the back of the photo.  I took some teeny vintage flowers and gave her a large bundle right where she had some flowers on in the photo.  I colored the background using a Distress Marker in Tumbled Glass.  I added a double layer of foam tape to the back of the photo so she is raised off the base.  

I embossed a Gypsy Soul Frame with gold embossing powder and slipped it behind the photo so you can just see the flourish.  

There ya go! The social butterfly is ready to go to her supper(did you see that on the vintage ticket) and mingle.  

Have a great weekend,

Jess

Simon Says Stamp Feminine/ Girly Challenge

Try it on Tuesdays Inspired by a word challenge(the word I was inspired by was social)

  

She was a good egg

Hi Everyone,
I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog today with this altered tin.

My crafty mojo has been on a major hiatus the past couple of weeks.  You know when you sit down and everything you make is just blah? Or you just sit there and stare at all of your supplies and you've got no ideas? That's been me.  I decided to just play.
I started by taking the Feathers and some PaperArtsy Infusions to colorize them.  I gave each feather a layer of gesso.  Once the gesso is dry I made a puddle of white paint and sprinkled in some infusions.  The infusions will react with the paint, but if you lightly spritz it with water they really come to life.  I dipped and dragged the feathers through the paint.  On a few of them I sprinkled some extra infusions on top of the first layer and spritzed with water. I inked the edges(on the feather I used on this project I used Peacock Feathers) and added a bit of gold using a paint pen. Now I have a whole bunch of feathers in different colors and shades for future projects. 

A while back I got a blank tin from Gina(Ms. Gypsy Soul) and I decided it was time to use it.  I painted the tin using a layer of clear gesso.  I added a crackle glaze from Deco Art.  It's a super fine crackle and I ended up covering most of it up with my paint job, but in certain areas the crackle peeks through.  

The main color is Dina Wakley Turquoise mixed with a hint of Umber.  The speckles were added using Distress Oxide Sprays in Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain.   I wanted the tin to look like a robin egg.  

For the inside of the tin I added Tim Holtz Collage paper to the shallow side. I used collage medium to adhere the paper to the tin.  Using water on my finger I ran it around the edge of the tin to rip the paper.  I didn't want it to be exact in the tin.  If you peek there are little spaces where the silver of the tin can be seen.  The frayed and wrinkled edges make me happy.  You all know by now that perfection is not my thing!I added some clipping stickers and edged the paper with a gold paint pen. I love how it looks like loose gold leaf on the ragged edges.  

On the deep side of the tin I cut a piece of paper to fit the back and glued it in using collage medium.  I took one of the Scalloped Tin Inserts and ran it though my 3d Kaleidoscope embossing folder.  Using my finger I ran a thin layer of white paint over the surface.  Before it was dry I rub it to expose the raw chipboard underneath.  I ran my Hickory Smoke Oxide pad over the top to age it too.  The inside edge was inked gold using the paint pen. 

The good egg fairy is sitting on a small plastic egg that I smushed so it was dented on either side.  This gave me a flat surface to glue to the bottom of the tin and a concave side to sit a second egg in.  She is propped forward by placing a small wooden die behind her.

The fairy is a tiny Tim Holtz paper doll that was coated in clear gesso and colored using distress markers.  She has tiny shrink plastic wings and a crown.  The "good egg" was trimmed out of a dictionary and glued to her dress using collage medium. 

To finish the outside of the tin I layered up three washi tapes and glued them to the tin. I used a rub on word in the bottom corner and used foam tape to attach the feather.

I feel like I am back in the groove and hope to start making more projects! 

Can you tell I am ready for Spring? What do you do to break out of a creative funk?

Jess

Simon Says Stamp Whatever the Weather

Try it on Tuesdays- Powder It

Wear it again tomorrow

Hi Guys,
I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog today.

I've been in a bit of a snarky mood lately and when I saw this lady I knew she needed to be used for a project.

I started by taking my Laurel Frame and covering it with a layer of gesso using a foam brush.  Using the same brush I added some Dina Wakley Paint.  I didn't clean the brush between uses so there was still gesso in there creating different shades of blue.

Using the script stamp from the Tim Holtz Entomology Set(CMS328). I stamped across the frame in Hickory Smoke Oxide Ink.  I sealed the ink using Micro Glaze.

This photo was cut to fit inside the frame.

For the back panel I used a 5x7 canvas board and loosely painted it using the paints pictured.  I added some stamped bits from the Time Holtz Mini Media Marks(CMS364).  These were done with Archival Ink in Black Soot and Hydrangea.  Before I finished my project I added in a bit of Victorian Velvet Distress Paint to pick up the pink you see in the background piece.  

To mount the photo I used a piece of humble cardboard.  Peel parts of the top layer to expose the corrugate and then cover with gesso.  I did a couple thin layers to cover all of the brown.  I added some collage paper to the bits that still had the full cardboard using collage medium.  To color the cardboard and collage paper I used Distress Crayon(Victorian Velvet, Cracked Pistachio, Worn Lipstick, and Gathered Twigs) and water to give it a dreamy hazy look. Pearl details were added to the frame and the snarky sentiment. 

To complete the piece I painted a set of  Mini Petal Corners using Dina Wakley Ancient Paint.  

 A couple close ups of the finished details. I ended up going back with Jet Black Archival ink and restamping the script on the frame.  I added a bit of DIstress Crayon in Gathered Twigs to dinge it up.  There is a teeny bit of the Dina paint in Ancient on there too.

I love the grungy look the cardboard gives. 

Layers and details.  

I hope you like her and take her sage advice!

Jess

Not qualified

Hi Everyone,

I haven't really taken much time to make projects just for me lately.  I took a day and decided to do just that.  While at Creativation I took a class with ScrapCosy that was hosted by PaperArtsy.  We got to play with Infusions.  They are similar to Magenta's Nuance Powders or Brushos, but they have walnut crystals in them so they make really cool effects.  When I got home I pulled out my Nuance Powders and the couple Infusions I got during class to play(I have since ordered more).  I wound up making a trio of tags using this paper doll.  

For this first tag I put white paint on my craft sheet and added some powder to the paint.  Just a teny shake of the bottle.  Then I spritzed with water and watched the color bloom.  I plopped my tag into the paint and lifted.  I repeated until my tag was covered.  Once it was dry I used a Tim Holtz Stencil to add some hearts to the background using Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.  I added a shadow by using a Wendy Vecchi mini detailing tool and Black Soot Distress Ink.  A white gel pen added an extra pop to some of the hearts.  

I used the new Tim Holtz Mini Media Marks(CMS364) to add some detail around the edge of the tag.  To stamp them I used a new Tsukineko StazOn Pigment Pad.  I am in love with the super bold colors.  The circle behind the doll is from the Dina Wakley Weird is Good Stamp set.  I glued him down and added a party hat.  The final touch was the snarky sentiment.  

The second tag was made in the same basic manner for the background.  I did add more nuance powders to my glass mat and just spritz with water to get the black/gray splatters.  I used the same stamp set from Tim Holtz and the tsukineko ink.  

This dude has seen some things.  He was actually just hanging out on my desk and was a victim of over splatter from several previous projects.  I colored his jacket using the tsukineko ink and a qtip.  It left him with a super bold jacket and it would not rub off at all.  I cut a slit in the doll and added a teeny pocket square made from vintage seam binding.  using the Tim Holtz tiny attacher I added a bit more of the seam binding to the top of the tag.  

I love the snarky sentiment this guy got.  I think it works perfectly for this paint splattered gentleman.

The final gentleman has found himself in a fine mess.  This tag used leftover mess from the Nuance and Infusions.  I just ran my tag through and left it to dry.  I added color using Distress Inks in Picked Raspberry, Cracked Pistachio, Hickory Smoke, and Black Soot.  I used a new stamp set from Seth Apter and Paper Artsy for the circles.   The cross hatching and arrows are the Tim Holtz set mentioned above.  

I used the Tim Holtz Craft Thread to add detail by just hand stitching randomly on the tag.  I colored his shirt using Cracked Pistachio Oxide ink.  It kind of looks like he's sporting a turtleneck.  You can see the detail I added with gel pens here too.  Each tag has scribbles of white, black, gold, and silver.

I hope you like my crazy mess dudes.  Have you ever played with the Infusions? Do you have an favorite techniques?   

Jess

Simon Says Stamp Typography