a soulful journey

Hi everyone, today I am on The Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog, sharing "a soulful journey."

Some of the first Gypsy Soul laser cuts I was drawn to were the triptychs. I have always been in awe of antique triptychs. Growing up, we had a few prominently displayed in my family's home that had been passed down through the generations. Many of these were religious; however, more and more nowadays I notice a number of mixed media artists utilizing triptychs as a canvas for all types of art, both secular and religious. I am excited to share my altered triptych with you.

The Triptych - Towers Top is comprised of 6 pieces. Each of the three components has a solid back and a frame front.

 

When I look at the design of the towers top arched frame, I envision a bronzed and copper patina. I set about creating this with some of my favorite embossing powders. I coated each framed top piece with embossing ink and covered it with Emerald Creek burnt copper leaves powder. Before heat setting it, I sprinkled a pinch of turquoise antiquities embossing powder by Ranger in various spots. I then heat set the powders. I wanted a varied texture, so I only heated it all the way smooth in spots and other portions are only partially melted creating a bumpy surface.

Once the frame pieces were completed, I set about selecting a background paper for the three openings. I selected a paper from Tim Holtz Menagerie paper stash that I felt complemented the frame and had plenty of depth to set off the accents that I will be adding to each opening. I traced the outermost edge of each frame onto the paper and fussy cut them out. 

When the papers were placed between the frame and backing piece, I felt that the uppermost portion that has open framework needed to be brighter. I was hoping to end up with a "glowing" effect. To achieve this, I traced the boundaries of the open framework onto the paper while the top piece was in place, then I removed the uppermost triptych frame pieces and painted the outlined area with Dina Wakley acrylic paint in penny. I also painted the innermost edge of the "frame" to give the appearance of added depth when it was put back together as well as to tie the upper areas to the lower. I try to use similar colors throughout a project so that it all ties together when it's complete.  

Once the frames were done, I set them aside and painted the backsides of each of the triptych's solid back panels. I first painted a layer of Distress paint in walnut stain and then went over it with a dry brush and a small amount of the penny acrylic paint. I also painted the front edges of these panels just in case they did not align perfectly when I put them together (since I will have multiple layers in between.)

I glued 1-5/8" long antique bronze colored hinges to the triptych backs and allowed them to dry before I adhered the painted and inked papers. In order to ensure that the hinges lined up and that the triptych would be level when placed upright, I used a straight edge below all three backs to keep them in place. I marked the location for the hinge placement and then measured the correct distance on all pieces. Although the hinges have holes to be screwed in place, for my purposes, I simply used a strong multi-purpose glue.

I then began work on the inner areas. Using Hero Arts manuscript background stamp, I lightly inked with Brilliance cosmic copper metallic ink, and I stamped the script design to the paper backing piece. I did this to all three papers, randomly inking areas of the stamp to simply add some interest instead of the solid stamp image. The metallic ink blends nicely, and reflects the light when viewed from different angles. I inked all the paper edges with walnut stain distress ink as well as some areas on the front face of the paper.

Next I die cut three ironwork gates from heavy weight cardstock with the Tim Holtz Sizzix gothic gate die, each of these were inked with an embossing ink dauber and coated with Emerald Creek burnt copper leaves embossing powder, then heat set to a smooth finish. I painted some highlights on the embossed fence with the penny acrylic paint once they had cooled. These gates were placed behind the triptych frame front, trimmed to the correct size, and then glued in place.

While the ironwork pieces were drying, I stamped a Character Constructions Doll stamp from the Timekeepers Garden collection on watercolor paper. I colored her with distress inks, Copic and fine tip Steatdler markers. I also stamped butterflies from the Stampers Anonymous flutter collection on watercolor paper. I reduced the size of the stamps on my copier and colored those in as well. I then fussy cut the butterflies and die cut the doll stamp. Theses pieces will be located on the open areas of the triptych.

Now it was time to assemble the piece. I glued each piece of background paper to the respective back panel, covering the hinge flanges. Each of the side frames (with ironwork embellishment intact) was then placed over their respective back panel and glued in place. Since I had multiple layers between the two chipboard pieces, I made sure to put a heavy weight on top of them while they dried.

I adhered the colored butterflies, as well as a small key for her hand. Lastly I added a Tim Holtz word band that has been dabbed with gold and mushroom alcohol ink. I felt that this sentiment was a perfect finishing touch. I used leather cording and secured it around the bottom of the middle triptych panel.

I hope that you are inspired to create something in this new year.
~Ann

wish keeper

The new year brings new blessings.
I am really happy to share that this year I am a member of the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Design Team. This is such a fabulous opportunity, I am inspired by the other members of the team and am able to work with such amazing products. I am very thankful to be a part of this amazing group of talented designers.

 Today I am sharing my very first post for the Gypsy Soul Lase Cuts Blog with you.

Each year as my children grow older I notice that the innocence and dreams of childhood become more and more distant. In an effort to find a special place to tuck away these hopes and dreams, or "wishes" as I like to call them, before they blow away in the wind, I created a "Wish Keeper" box for my daughter to store her precious thoughts. 

I started with the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts ATC Sized Faux Book Box (BD12T), and searched my Tim Holtz paper stash for the perfect papers to complement my vision. The  book box arrives flat, so I laid out all the pieces and temporarily created the box portion to get an idea for paper sizes and orientation.

Once I selected the papers to use, I went ahead and adhered the floral paper to the base so that I could locate the main design within the interior of the box. I used my exacto knife to cut out the areas where the sides fit into the base so that they would insert freely. I then glued the sides of the box into place on top of the covered base.

I adhered an Idea-ology design tape along the top edges of the box sides, cutting into the corners so that it would wrap around the edges and lay flat.

I then selected a coordinating piece of solid Distress Cardstock and cut a long strip the height of the interior "walls." I cut this strip into the exact lengths for each side of the box interior. Using distress ink in walnut stain, I inked around all of the edges and let dry before gluing these pieces onto the interior box "walls."

 

I then cut another long strip of the solid cardstock, the same height, for the outside of the box "walls" and inked the edges along the top and bottom. I left this piece as a strip and fitted it around the outside of the box, creasing it at each corner. Once wrapped, my strip did not meet end to end, and therefore, had a slight gap. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use some more of the decorative tape.

While I set the entire base aside to dry, I began to plan out the cover. I love the look of frozen charlottes, they are so reminiscent of childhood days gone by, and wanted to incorporate this into the design. Using a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvaged Doll, I dabbed mushroom alcohol ink on it to give it an overall aged look, then colored her dress and other details with Copic markers. I embossed a pair of wings from the Gypsy Soul Laser Cut Steampunk Shape Set (D33A) with Emerald Creek's Charred Gold embossing powder on both sides.

These wings were then wired onto the doll body with bronze jewelry wire. I created a large paper rosette with a die and added details on the rosette with Stickles. When the details were dry, I used a hot glue gun to adhere the winged, salvaged doll onto the rosette and set it aside.

Using a Sizzix die, I cut the word WISHES three times from thin chipboard. I layered these on top of each other for dimension and then heat embossed the word with the same Charred Gold embossing powder I used on the GSLC wings. I selected a piece of patterned paper and cut strips of the floral base image to incorporate on the cover.

Now it was time to begin working on the spine, and hinging the book base and cover so that it could all be put together. I used masking tape to create the hinge where the front and back covers meet the spine. The outside taped edges will be covered with paper. On the interior, when the book is open, the hinge gaps can be seen. I covered these gaps with more of the decorative tape. I like the way that this tied all of the areas together in a subtle way. 

 

I measured and cut pieces of the solid cardstock to cover the inside face of the spine as well as the inside face of the cover. These pieces were inked along the edges and adhered with glue. 

I decided that I wanted to be able to latch the wish box to keep the wishes secure inside. Without getting into adding chunky hardware, I thought a great way to keep the box closed would be with a piece of ribbon. I tied the ribbon around the box before adhering the exterior coverings, thus concealing it, as well as ensuring that it will remain intact.

I wanted the spine to give a glimpse of what was to come inside, so I cut a piece of the floral pattern 1/2" wider than the spine chipboard piece itself. This will allow it to cover the hinge area on each side. I scored the piece at each extension so that it could easily bend when the book box was opened and closed. I glued this piece to the flat plane of the spine and let it dry. You will notice that the ribbon closure is in place prior to adhering the spine cover, hiding it and securing it in place. 

I found an interesting piece of cardstock that contained a vintage image I thought would be perfect for the bottom of the base. I cut the piece 1/8" wider than the base piece to allow overlap onto the spine hinge area. I inked the edges of the piece and adhered it to the bottom. I placed a heavy weight along the spine and base hinge line, making sure that the seam was completely flat. I allowed this to dry completely before continuing. 

Similar to the bottom, I cut the Top cover piece wider than  the measured laser cut so that it would overlap my spine/hinge paper. I inked the edges and glued the soil cardstock to the laser cut, concealing the ribbon closure and creating a flat seam along the hinge. Using an embossing ink dabber, I ran it along the edges of base and dipped them into charred gold powder and heat embossed. I did this for each edge of the book.

 Once the embossing was cool, I adhered the final layer of details onto the cover. 

The "Wish Keeper" has harnessed her wings and is ready to soar to any of the places the heart desires when reminiscing through hopes and dreams once tucked away.

Wishing you a year filled with promise! 

~ Ann

fancy fold "frosty" holiday card

Hi everyone, I am excited to share a super fun, fancy fold card that I have made for the upcoming holiday. Recently, I was inspired by a blog post by Einat Kessler. The post contained two interesting cards, but this fancy folded "squash card" caught my attention. I immediately envisioned using the new Tim Holtz Christmas paper stash, paper dolls, and ephemera, along with a few of my favorite dies to create my own holiday card. It's really simple to make and provides a lot of planes to embellish and use a bunch of fabulous ephemera from your stash.

I began by gathering all my supplies: 8 1/2" square of double sided yardstick for a "base", (5) 4" squares of coordinating decorative paper, bone folder, adhesive, distress inks, dies and/or stamps, ephemera to suit the occasion, embellishments, and ribbon or cord for closure.

The first step involves folding the base cardstock into quadrants and then unfolding and creating a diagonal fold across the entire base piece. Einat's video shows the process for this very clearly. You can view this at http://einatkessler.com/12-cards-of-christmas-2017-fancy-fold-cards. You can also click the link below:

https://youtu.be/G2XIBNMxqDA

Once all the folds have been creased with a bone folder, the two quadrants with diagonal folds press into the middle as the card folds into a 4 1/4" square.

Cut two of the 4" decorative paper squares into triangles by way of a diagonal. These will be adhered to the triangular faces on the inside of the card. I inked the edges of the decorative papers and adhered one of the full squares to the card front. The remaining squares and triangles were used on the inside of the card. It was easiest for me to work on the interior of the card while it was flat on my work surface. The planes of the card are readily identified by the crease marks. I chose to use different (coordinating) papers on the triangular spaces to create some visual interest; however, these could all be covered in the same patterned paper. You can make the card as simple or complicated as you wish.

 For the bottom square on the inside of the card, I die cut a circle out of the center of one of the remaining decorative squares with Tim Holtz stitched circles die by Sizzix (662229) and then used the same circle and the next smaller circle die to cut a circular frame from a scrap piece of my "base" cardstock. This gives a finished look to the cutout. I then adhered my coordinating paper under the hole to create a spot for my sentiment. 

Now it was time to get creative! I love the look of this holiday plaid and I felt that it paired perfectly with the new Tim Holtz Retro Merry Christmas die by Sizzix (662420) I die cut the word Christmas from metallic Kraft core in silver and also from a scrap of my "base" color so that I could layer the two cuts to create a shadow.  I die cut the MERRY from another scrap of my red "base" and cut into a rectangle.  This piece was then adhered over a small piece of heavystock lightly inked with iced spruce distress oxide to coordinate with the plaid. I placed the layered pieces onto the front panel and adhered them with multi-medium matte, then allowed to dry.

 Opening the card to the flat position, I began to place different pieces of ephemera onto the planes of the card until I found a desired layout. I wanted my card to have a "frosty" feel to it, so I selected images that added to that effect. During this process, I kept in mind that the card needed to fold into itself in order to close. I wanted some of my pieces to cross from one triangle to the one beneath it. In order for this to function, the ephemera can only be adhered to the topmost triangle, and simply overhang the bottom, leaving it free to "move" as the card folds into itself.

  In the uppermost quadrant, I used an idea-ology holiday flashcard and silver snowflake die cuts made using Tim Holtz Sizzix paper snowflakes, mini dies (661599) with metallic kraft core. Once the snowflakes were cut, I roughly sanded them and rubbed with black soot distress ink. Along the top edge of the panel I created a line of icicles with glossy accents and while it was wet I sprinkled distress glitter in clear rock candy on top. I allowed this to completely dry before moving onto the next area. 

I wanted to use a coordinating paper for the triangular areas of the card to add interest. I created my own coordinating paper by layering a printed vellum over a very light blue cardstock. I cut my piece to fit the space and inked around the edge with black soot distress ink. I chose a saying from the idea-ology occasions small talk stickers, and added a few more of the snowflake cutouts with the holiday ephemera pieces, making sure that the December 25 was only adhered to the upper portion (not the plaid). 

I was determined to use one of the Tim Holtz holiday paper dolls on my card. The lower corner seemed like the perfect spot. First, I inked the edges of the Christmas Snow ephemera piece and adhered it to the upper triangle (in this corner, that was the plaid triangle). I then inked around the edges of the paper doll, splattered him with picket fence distress paint and added a touch of grit paste to his shoulders, folded arm, shoes and the top of his hat. Once dry, the snowy gent was adhered to the uppermost triangular portion as well. To complete this corner, I added a few more die cut, sanded and inked snowflakes. 

The last quadrant of this fancy fold card was reserved for the sentiment. I had created the circular area to locate this carved snowman stamp by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous. This stamp was from the Simon Says Stamp Stamptember 2017 release. I love this set because it had a selection of images from a number of the Tim Holtz Christmas release sets, all on one sheet. The carved snowman settled right into the center of the circle. In order to get a perfect image that was dark enough to stand out from the star pattern of the vellum, I used my TH Tonic stamping platform. I added a few more snowflakes and then used glossy accents and distress glitter to create the icicles like in the first quadrant. I thought this would create a balance on the interior, and give it a little added icy sparkle. I let this dry completely overnight.

The next morning, when I was sure that everything was absolutely dry, I folded the card into itself. The picture above shows how the pieces that were adhered to the triangles layer onto each other as the card closes. In order to keep my card closed for mailing, I used a piece of stretchy silver cord and wrapped it around like you would a package. I tied the cord and attached a couple pieces of idea-ology embellishments. The snowflake charm was heat embossed with holographic embossing powder by Ranger. The typed token was edged with this embossing powder as well. This closure can be easily slipped on and off the card. 

  

I hope you will try to create one of these "fancy fold" cards, they are so much fun! I can see myself using this format for a lot of different occasions.  I will be entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp  Monday Challenge "Icy".

Thank you so much for stopping by, I know the holiday season can get very busy and I truly appreciate you taking time out of your day. 

Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays!

Ann