Valentine Doll House

Hello and happy Friday!! I love Valentine's crafting, the pink and red make my heart happy. This project doesn't have any pink in it but the bold red and black were fun to experiment with.

I started with the Mini House Shadow Box 3. I thought it would be fun to make a "doll house" and have the house be the doll's body and contain a heart full of love.

I started by painting all pieces of the Mini House Shadow Box 3 with black gesso. 

I then cut a template out for the main wall of the shadow box. I cut out a piece of white cardstock slightly larger than my template. Using a black sharpie and a messy cursive strip I wrote out 'I Love You' repeatedly across the paper. I also did this for strips to cover the outer roof of the shadow box. It was a nice meditative exercise to write out such sweet words. 

I then cut strips of black and white polka dot scrapbook paper to cover the rest of the shadow box walls. I ran all the pieces thru my Xyron. It makes for super easy application. 

To finish off the inside of the house I heat embossed the floor with a red glitter embossing powder before assembling the Mini House Shadow Box 3. Using foam dots I attached a red glitter heart in the middle of the shadow box. I stamped and colored a paper doll and attached to the back of the house. I will admit this project took on a life of its own as I went, but sometimes the process of making is the more fun than the end result. 

I hope you all find some creative time this weekend!! Happy Creating ~Jennalee

Happy Friday the 13th

Hello!! Happy Friday the 13th!! I've always found this day to be a day of luck. 

I have a tutorial featuring my favorite number to share with you over on the My Rusty Crown blog. I hope you'll stop by and take a look. 

Here are a couple sneak peeks for you. 

Happy Creating ~ Jennalee 

Altered Composition Books for My Rusty Crown

Hello!! Happy Friday!! 

Does your heart skip a beat when you see school supplies hit the shelves? I love the promise of new notebooks and crayons!! 

I am sharing some fun altered Composition Books over on the brand new My Rusty Crown blog. 

If you know me you know I LOVE my Character Construction stamps and they are the star of the show. 

Here is a sneak peek. For all the details and a step by step picture tutorial for the vintage skirt book be sure to check out my post here 

Santos Cardboard Journal Cover

Hello!! My admiration of cardboard continues. 

I love the texture and strength provided by such a simple substrate. Plus since cardboard is so accessible and basically free there is no pressure if you mess up. That freedom is wonderful for those of us who overthink everything!! 

I recently added the Character Constructions Santos Cage Doll to my collection. You may remember I used her on a previous assemblage piece. Since that project, I added the cage skirt to my collection. So, of course, I had to make another project with her. 

I recently ran across some cardboard pieces that were flat and had rounded corners. And the perfect size when folded with a spine for a traveler's journal cover. 

Technique

Peel top layer off one side of cardboard piece to reveal the corrugated layer. 

Fold spine to be approximately 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.

Add random swipes of Gesso with a palette knife.

Spray with coffee mix. 

Dry with heat gun. 

Sew square of lace off center on front of journal.

Punch holes and thread elastic thru spine. 

Scrunch and sew on piece of muslin to spine. Making sure not sew over the elastic. 

Sew on ripped muslin strips for bow closure. 

Stamp and assemble Santos Doll. 

I used the same technique for the doll body as used here.

Add a piece of scrapbook paper behind skirt with handwritten sentiment. 

For bird nest wrap 20 gauge brown wire to form nest shape. Add turquoise beads. 

Attach Santos Doll offset on journal cover. 

I am linking this project up to the Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge 

August Challenge:
Anything Goes!:
(stamping MUST be included)

Find all the entries and information at 

http://craftstamper.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/take-it-make-it-challenge-august.html

Thank you for stopping by and spending a few minutes with me today. Leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by!! Happy Creating friends~ Jennalee 

Santos Cage Doll

Hi everyone, Jennalee here today!! I've had the idea for this Santos Doll for awhile. When I was digging thru my Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts stash I found the perfect halo background piece and frame ends, and from there it all fell into place.

I have long admired Santos Dolls and had been wanting to make one for some time, but needed to find all the perfect pieces. I had been looking for the perfect halo of light piece. When I  saw this Swirl Medallion-Large (coming soon) I knew that painted gold it would perfectly offset the Santos figure. 

To begin, remove the top layer on a piece of corrugated cardboard. Using a palette knife apply a layer of Distress Grit Paste or Grout to cardboard piece. For the cage skirt I used wooden coffee stirrers from my stash or you can also use a flat wooden dowel cut to size. To the skirt pieces apply a generous layer of grit paste. Allow pieces to air dry. 

Once dry paint cardboard background using your choice of paints or inks. For mine I used acrylic paints and Distress Oxides.

 To add "rust" to skirt pieces paint with brown acrylic, while paint is still wet dip piece into cinnamon. Allow to dry. Using your finger and a very light touch add highlights of gold and aquamarine for a patina effect.

For the background halo paint Swirl Medallion with brown acrylic paint. Allow to dry. Once dry spray generously with a gold shimmer spray. 

For frame pieces emboss 1 Herald Medallion (coming soon) with Burnt Copper Leaves. Cut Medallion in half. Use the top half of  the Medallion to frame the top of your piece and the larger bottom half of Medallion as a frame for bottom edge of piece. 

To add texture to your Santos figure add a very thin layer of gesso to book text. Using a palette knife allows for control and to add some rough texture for a clay like effect. Stamp out figure and color in using watercolors or choice of medium.

Now for the fun part putting it all together. Using hot glue attach Swirl Medallion. Layer on Santos figure and arrange cage skirt as desired. Attach skirt pieces with hot glue. Add top and bottom Medallion pieces to edges. Step back and admire. 

Thank you for stopping by and spending a few minutes with me here at Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts today. I hope you enjoyed this project and that you can find all the right pieces for that project that you've been dreaming up. ~Jennalee 

Unlock Your Wings

Hello!! I am so excited to share with you my first post on Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. 

I had so much fun creating this piece using lots of awesome Gypsy Soul pieces. I am always drawn towards art that incorporates house shapes, and that was the basis of this piece. It all started with the Simple House Ornament. 

To start cover the Simple House Ornament with a piece of scrapbook paper and ink the outer perimeter with Distress Inks. Apply a layer of crazing medium, allow to dry. Using Gold embossing powder heat emboss the outer edges of the house ornament. Heat Emboss 3 Inch Bird Cage, key hole and key pieces from the Keys and Plates Shape Set using Charred Gold adding extra detail with Burnt Copper Leaves and Verdigris Sparkle. Also emboss 4 mini brads using Charred Gold. Stamp girl image and color as desired. With mini brads attach key hole to birdcage. 

Paint the wings from the Wings Assortment with Robin Egg Blue acrylic paint. Allow to dry.  Add detail with Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide ink. Add random spots of Verdigris Sparkle and emboss. Around edges of wing and a few random spots on inner wing add Charred Gold embossing powder. Stamp and color girl as desired. Adhere all pieces to house ornament. Set aside.

Trace house ornament shape on scrap paper. Using a couple pieces of washi tape attach cut out pattern to the middle of a book page. With brown thread add stitching approximately ¼ of an inch around the edge of the pattern piece. Because I LOVE messy stitching I went around the perimeter 3 times. With gold thread sew the book page to a piece of muslin scrunching the fabric as you go. Add Walnut Stain Distress Oxide ink to edges of muslin and spray with water. Heat set the inks. This adds a warm vintage touch.

Hand stitch key to bottom of book page. Using glue dots attach vintage button to the round ring on bird cage and the top point of stitched house shape. Adhere house ornament to book page. Adhere finished piece to metal plaque. 

I had such a great time playing with all of these amazing chipboard pieces and watching this piece take me in a different direction than expected. Happy Creating!! Jennalee

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:

Simple House Ornament 

3 Inch Birdcage with Solid Back

Keys and Plates Shape Set

Wings Assortment

Other Supplies:

Embossing Powders 

Character Constructions Stamp Mannequin Cafe Plate 4

Tim Holtz Craft Thread

Vintage Buttons 

Vintage Book Page 

Metal Plaque (Michael's)