Faux Book Box treasure box with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi all, and welcome to a new project using the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts faux book box. I decided to turn this on its side and add some little metal pieces as legs to make a pretty little treasure box. 

Here's what it will look like when it comes to you. You will see two pieces without tabs. These will be the hinged pieces. You'll need some tape for those. 

The first step was to assemble the box as shown. I used some paper tape to attach the hinged pieces, so that the box could open and close easily. Next, I gave the whole box, inside and out two coats of white gesso. 

I cut panels of patterned paper to fit each of the faces of the box that would be seen, including the 

inside faces and inner base.

I used a combination of frames and labels to create a feature piece for the top of my box. The bottom layer was painted with gesso, then I applied Metallic Melts embossing powders in varying colors. The next layer was painted white, then coated in clear embossing powder. The top layer was coated in super fine glitter. I layered these three pieces with a triple layer of foam dots on the top piece. I glued a metal button onto that. This created a functional handle to lift the lid of my box.

From there, I framed the main part of the handle base with paper flowers, leaves and some ribbon. I created a similar but smaller cluster on the opposite side, creating a visual triangle with the two clusters and the handle. 

I kept the base plain with a simple ribbon wrap. 

I think these metal things are actually book corners but they worked perfectly for this. I used hot glue to adhere these to ensure they would be strong. 

Supplies used:
  Faux Book Box Large
  Stackable labels shape set

Glitter cards with Ruby Rock-it |Alicia Barry|

This month on the Ruby Rock-It blog we are showcasing both the new Glitter cardstock as well as new Franchville card and envelope sets. These come in 4 colour sets with 50 cards and envelopes per box. There are pastels, brights, neutrals and metallic sets. 

Today I have focused on some pastel pink and purple card bases with white Bella! Glitz cardstock. 

I thought I would share a short tutorial on how I came up with the pink card. The purple one was made in much the same way. I didn't have purple flowers, so I sprayed these white ones with purple paint mist.

First, I cut a panel of white metallic card and embossed it. I then gave it a light spray with pale green paint mist.

I distressed the edges, then layered the embossed card onto white glitter cardstock, then adhered both to a pale pink card base.

Next, I added some mesh tape and wrapped some white seam binding around one side. 

I die cut a fancy label from the same white glitter cardstock. It cut perfectly the first time. I die cut another smaller label from white cardstock and adhered it with foam dots, and attached a sentiment sticker to the front. I also added some pieces of gauze to the top and bottom of the die cut.

These flowers come pretty flat in the packaging, and I wanted some more dimension, so I used a metal nozzle to add some glue to the flower centre, then squeezed the base of the flower (from the back) to form the flower into a more dimensional shape. Once dry, I adhered the flowers in place, along with a small ribbon bow.  I added a couple of small roses to the top right of the label. 

Finally I tucked in some small punched leaves to the flowers, and added a few more drops of green paint onto the background.

I followed the same process for this next card, using different colours. 

Supplies used:

Bella! Glitz cardstock

Francheville card and envelope set

Fundamentals birthday sentiment stickers

Faded Empire florals

Heritage florals

Fundamentals bows

A new design opportunity- Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

Hi all, and welcome to my very first post with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. It's been a little while since I have had a chance to really play around with chipboard so I was excited to see what I could come up with. I love the delicate scroll work in this memo board piece. With such a big open area to play with, I really wanted to experiment with some different textures. In addition to the memo board base, I also used some really pretty Swirl Medallion pieces in two different sizes to become my focal point in my background.

So here is what the memo board project will look like when it comes to you. It's a pretty simple one to put together, and in fact the tabs are all one way, so it is literally impossible to get them in the wrong way :) The next pic is the board once assembled. Since I was painting my project I assembled it before I started to decorate. Sometimes if I am covering with paper, I might do that before assembling.

 Since I know I was going to be adding lots of paint to this piece, I started with couple of coats of white gesso. This serves a few different purposes. It primes my surface so that it will accept the paint layers without compromising the chipboard and making it soggy. It also allows the paint colors to really pop. I was sure to get into all the edges of the scroll work too, so that even the parts where the colored paint didn't hit, the project still looks complete.

Next, I added my chipboard pieces to the background. You can see that I cut the larger Swirl Medallion into two pieces and aligned them along the edge of the project. This is a great way to extend your design across a larger project creating a cohesive look. I also added a Meadow Flowers piece which I also cut into two to add to the different layers of the project. I also added a few decorative metal pieces. I again covered these all in gesso. 

I then added some texture paste through stencils, some mesh tape and some crackle paint, all to add some more interest to my background. While it looks a little busy at first, then co-ordinating paints over the top help to blend it all together. 

Once dry (I used a heat tool to speed up the process, plus it also allows my texture paste to bubble up even higher). I started with the paler green paint sprays first, dabbing with paper towel if it got too splotchy, and heating between layers. I then added the lighter blues, then the darker colors using the same process until I was happy with the effect.

Next I added some extra highlights using acrylic glaze paints and a small brush, allowing it to fill into some of the spaces in the Swirl Medallions. Finally, when dry, I dry brushed some gold paint over the relief areas of the project. 

When I was happy with the way the colors looked and everything was dry, I embellished the project with gauze, flowers and leaves, creating clusters with the vines and large flowers first, then tucked in the smaller flowers. These wont really be seen once I pop a little notebook into the tray, but when empty, it should make a nice decorative piece on my wall.

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts supplies:

Memo board

Swirl medallions - Coming soon

Meadow Flowers - Coming soon

Other supplies:

Gesso

Handmade texture paste

Ranger stencil

Memory box stencil

Ranger crackle paint

Lindy's Stamp Gang paint sprays: T-Bird turquoise, C'est la vie cerise, Merry-go-round green, Delphinium turquoise, Tilt-a-wheel teal

Silks acrylic glaze: Ocean wave, Olive green, Sunflower

Metal charms

Gauze

Mesh tape

Prima flowers

Paper roses

Cheers

Alicia Barry

Putting the ART in party with Ruby Rock-It |Alicia Barry|

I recently posted some party invitations I made using the new Bella! Glitz glitter card stock. Here they are in case you missed them:

This past weekend was the party, and I made a few more things to co-ordinate using the same cardstock. The main thing I created was a treat stand. I have had this red one for years, and while still perfectly functional, the red was a bit plain for an art party, so I saw a really cute idea online somewhere of a palette shaped serving plate, and decided to extend on the idea to create this art themed stand. 

The before picture:

First I got some foam board fromt he dollar store, and using my original plate as a size guide, sketched out a palette shape. I made a smaller one for the top also.  I marked out where the slots would need to be cut. 

Next I cut it out. The easiest way that I found, was to use a sharp knife. I heated the blade over a flame (I used my gas stove). Be aware that the foam does smell as it burns, so outside would probably be a better option. I did have to keep re-heating the knife, but it worked perfectly.  The holes didn't need to be perfect, as I planned to cover over the edges anyway. 

I then just covered the base with strips if coloured card stock (Use liquid adhesive, this stuff is thick). I covered the plates in card stock, thenI traced the holes and cut them cut a little smaller so I could hide the rough edges. I needed to do the bottom plate in sections, as it was quite large. 

I hand cut some paint splatters to sit on top where the rainbow jelly cups would sit.  I made the popcorn cups from some plain, coloured card stock I had on hand. (Gitter would have looked great, but some glitter does rub off, so not good for food). 

For the top, I adhere some wooden sticks to a large brush from the dollar store. The bristles hid them perfectly, and then poked down the sides of the stand.

I also made some simple favours to go with the party. Strips of glitter card stock wrapped around water bottles is so simple, but looked really great on the table. I found the images online for free. The tag was for a party bag. I printed the label from the net, then mounted it on glitter cardstock.  I love how the card stock brought all of the elements of the party together.

Here's the painting table. The paint tins on the table have paint drips around the top also made with glitter card stock. The banner is made from paint chips from the hardware store with Happy Days glitter letters attached. So simple and easy. 

Supplies used:

Glitz cardstock

Happy Days Chipboard Alphabet