New Name!! New Blog!!

Hello everyone! As some of you may already know, Gina's Designs is changing! On December 1, 2015, Gina Designs officially becomes Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts!! Same great products, just a different name. 

The new blog is up and running. You can find the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog here! All of the posts from this blog has been transferred over so you only have to look in one spot for great inspiration!

Thank you for continuing to follow us!! Please make sure to bookmark the new sites.

Mixed Media Mini Album

Hello friends!  Debbie with you today sharing a little mixed media album.  This little album holds pocket sleeves for those cute little photos and journaling.  It makes a perfect gift!  to decorate this little album I used Gina's Designs Butterfly Corner Top and Bottom.  I'll start off sharing the front and back covers.

The steps I took to complete this album were simple.

1. Gesso the whole album inside and out.

2 Add Stenciling with modeling paste and your favorite stencil 

3. Use your  heat gun to dry everything

4. Spray with your favorite sprays, I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in 4 different colors.

5. Rub with DecoArt Metallic Rub

6. Stamp and embellish

The final step I took was to add sequins.  I dipped a paint brush into gel medium and then into my sequins and simply painted them on.

Gina's Designs products used:

Gina's Designs Butterfly Corner Top and Bottom

Thanks for stopping by Gina's Blog today!

Debbie

A Very Deer Canvas by Shanna

Hello to all you crafters out there. I am excited to share a new altered canvas I created for some change in weather inspiration for you. Also with Thanksgiving this past week I know some people love to get those Christmas decorations out and get started on the season. 

So first I covered everything with gesso. Then I added some various sprays, paints, and inks to achieve the look I desired. 

For the deer I just covered the chipboard with gesso and after that dried a thin layer of Crackle Accents. After letting the Crackle Accents dry I went over the deer with some Distress Ink so it got into the cracks and then used a paper towel to wipe off the extra ink. The crackle will act as a resist!

I did the same thing with a leftover piece I had from the Wrought Iron Set. I just love this technique. 

I added some stamping and flowers with a word I cut out. With Winter well on it's way I thought this project would inspire you to get into some cold weather themed projects!

Items Used:

Flourished Deer

Wrought Iron Set

Vintage Christmas Card and Tags

Hello! It's Gloria Stengel back again with another project. I made a card and two tags for you this week. (If you missed my Christmas composition box from last week, click HERE to see it.)

My favorite type of Christmas decor is vintage with traditional colors and a bit of rust and whitewash tossed in for good measure! I like to use chipboard elements on cards and tags because it adds a lot of detail and interest without a lot of bulk or weight.

The card is 6" x 5" and made with dark brown cardstock. I used just a bit of designer paper because I wanted the chipboard elements and the sentiment to be the stars of the show. {Stars...get it?!} I covered the oval element from the Stars and Flourishes Borders and Corners Set with gold pigment ink and then embossed with Aged Bronze Embossing Enamel. I made sure to allow the enamel to look pitted and aged, with a few bits of the original chipboard showing through. 

I decorated the star oval with snowflakes from the Winter Shape Set and the  Snowflake Shape Set. I sprayed the snowflakes with white shimmer mist, and then embossed them with sparkly white embossing powder. The buttons are tied with kraft twine and then glued to each snowflake.

I covered one of the keyholes from the Keys and Plates Shape Set with gold pigment ink. I added tiny gold brads to the keyhole. Each flower was dipped in gold ink before I glued them to the card.

I decorated the inside of the card with some leftover bits of paper and a stamped greeting.

I always need extra tags around the holidays, so I made two tags to match the card. 

I added a bit of paper to the front of the tag before adding the chipboard elements. I sprayed the star flourishes from the Stars and Flourishes Borders and Corners Set with white mist and then dabbed them with watermark ink. I then embossed the flourishes with embossing enamel. I mixed white embossing enamel with gold embossing powder to make a custom enamel! I love how "clumpy" and thick the enamel is, but the areas with the gold embossing powder are thinner, sort of like rust. It makes the chipboard look amazingly vintage!

I sprayed the word from the Words and Phrases 1 set with Fire Baseboard Mistable Paint and Pearl Glimmer Mist. I added some "gilded" flowers and some bits of paper the I curled around a stylus. I also tucked a few faux postage stamps into the flowers.

I decorated the small tag with one corner from the Art Deco Corners Set, which I sponged with gold pigment ink. I sponged the miniature bookplate from the Miniature Bookplates Shape set with silver pigment ink. I added tiny silver brads to the bookplate. I used a Shabby Blue Embossing Enamel for the stars.

I hope you use up some of your paper scraps and bits of chipboard to make a few cards and tags this holiday season! Come back next week to see more...fun with chipboard!

~ Gloria Stengel: Scraps of Life 

Supplies:

Gina's Designs Laser Cut Chipboard:

Stars and Flourishes Borders and Corners Set 

Snowflake Shape Set

Winter Shape Set

Keys and Plates Shape Set

Words and Phrases I Set 

Art Deco Corners Set

Miniature Bookplates Shape Set

Other Products:

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa and Rhubarb Stalk dye ink, Delicata Silvery Shimmer and Golden Glitz pigment ink, Top Boss Watermark ink 

Mist: Tattered Angels Fire Blackboard Mistable Paint and Pearl Glimmer Mist, Deco Art White Shimmer Mister

Embossing powder and enamel: Stampendous Shabby Blue and Aged Bronze EE, Hampton Art glitter white EP, custom mix white and gold EE

Paper: Graphic 45 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, The Paper Studio Old World Winter

Cardstock: WorldWin Papers Cocoa and Natural

Stamps: Verve Stamps Holiday Treats, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Christmas Innies

Tags: Graphic 45

Ribbon and twine: Really Reasonable Ribbon Light Silver and Old Gold Diagonal Stripe Satin ribbon, Iridescent White Metallic String

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Brads: Creative Impressions

Buttons: craft supply

Tools: corner rounder, Spellbinders Framed Tags One die

Adhesive: Ranger Glossy Accents, Scotch 3M ATG tape, hot glue

A Very Vintage Christmas Ornament

Hi everyone!  Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you all are enjoying your holiday and time with family and friends. Barbara here with a pretty quick and easy Christmas ornament using a recycled tuna can and some Gina's Designs Lasercuts chippies to make it extra special. Dont forget, we will be changing our name to Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts December 1!

Cut away Santa's sleigh and one reindeer from the border. Save remaining border for another project.

Use Intense blocks and water brush to color Santa, his sleigh, and reindeer.

Add glitter glue to the sleigh and reindeer antlers and nose. Use silver pearl pen to add a metallic look to the bottom of the sleigh.  Set aside to dry.

Cut two circles, one larger than the printed circle, to fit inside the tuna can.

Adhere the two circles together and glue to the inside bottom of the can.

Add a bit of snowflake paste to the bottom of the can, just beneath the printed scene.

Coat bottom and part of sides with white gesso to prepare it to accept paint.  Use an awl to punch a hole in the top of the can to insert a dyed to match piece of ribbon for hanging.  (See photo of finished ornament above).

Mix the Radiant Gels together with some clear glaze medium, paint bottom and sides of can.  Paint smallest circle from the Fanciful Elements set with the same color mixture. as well as two small snowflakes.  Splatter white paint over the back of the can and the circular frame.

Distress the edges of the circular frame and snowflakes with the brown ink pad.  Stack the two snowflakes and add a small metal embellishment and diamond gem to the center of the snowflake.

 

Paint the lace border with white gesso and while wet, sprinkle stardust glitter over it.  

Cut a coordinating strip of paper from the Christmas paper collection and glue around side of can.   Adhere the lace border around the sides, aligning it with the upper lip of the can.

Run of line of glue around top lip of can and adhere the circular frame.  Then adhere Santa's sleigh and reindeer, above the scene inside the can.

 A few closeups.

Supplies used:

Gina's Designs:  Snowflake Shape Set

 Santa's Sleigh Border

 Lace Border Sticks

 Fanciful Elements

Water Color blocks

Waterbrush

ColourArte Radiant Gels: Twilight, Guatemalan Green

ColourArte Primary Elements Clear Glaze Medium

white gesso

Circle dies

Brown ink pad

Stardust glitter

Snowflake Paste

I hope you enjoyed this sweet Christmas ornament and that inspiration strikes you to try making one, or two, or three, for your own tree, or gift giving.  You could also attach it to a gift package for an extra gift.  Be sure to visit Gina's Designs for more laser cut chipboard to inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by, and once again, have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Barbara

Tutorial - Altered Tin by Betsy Skagen

As my Guest Designer time comes to an end, I want to share one of my favorite kinds of projects with you: altered tin ornaments.

I'm Betsy Skagen of Paper Calliope, and on this Thanksgiving Eve my heart is filled with gratitude for getting to spend the last month here at Gina's Designs. It has been a fun and delightful adventure.

Usually I make my altered tin ornaments with Altoids tins...but a gal can only eat so many mints. In fact, I must 'fess up to possession of quart-sized Ziploc bags of uneaten mints. Hmmm...maybe I could use them to make altered art igloos? Perhaps puree them to create faux snow? Or maybe fashion ATCs featuring Victorian ladies with dandruff?

Surely it would be better to find alternative tin sources that don't involve more mints. I recently found some  on Amazon, but didn't realize until they arrived that they are a square rather than rectangular. Thankfully, they still work just fine for ornaments.

Tutorial: How to make the Altered Tin Winter Birds Ornament

Step 1: Remove the lid and hinge from the box. Save the lid to make a second ornament.

Step 2: Trace the box base onto cardstock that features an outside holiday scene with tree branches. I printed mine from GraphicStock, which I have found to be a great resource. If interested, you can use my GraphicStock discount to subscribe.  Cut out the square you traced, trimming as necessary, to make sure it fits perfectly inside your box.

Step 3: Trace and cut a second cardstock square so it fits the outside base of the box.

Step 4: Measure the sides of the box and cut two strips (one for the outside and one for the inside) of holiday cardstock to fit it. Make the width of the outside side strip just a hair wider than the inside strip.

Step 5: Cover the inside base of the box with matte medium and adhere the holiday scene cardstock square you prepared.

Step 6: Cover the inner sides of the box with matte medium and adhere the cardstock. Place the seam where the bottom of the ornament will be to make it less conspicuous.

Step 7: Cover the entire surface with matte medium and let dry.

Step 8: Cover the outside base of the box with matte medium and adhere the second cardstock square you prepared.

Step 9: Cover the outside sides of the box with matte medium and adhere the remaining cardstock strip. Again, place the seam where the bottom of the ornament will be.

Step 10: Cover the entire surface with matte medium and let dry.

Step 11: Cut a miniature fence to fit across the tin. Adhere it to the box with a strong adhesive. After it dries, dab faux snow onto the fence and onto the base of the tin. Sprinkle with glitter and let dry.

Step 12: Bend the end of a small artificial pine branch 90 degrees downward to form a small tab. Dab faux snow on the branch, sprinkle with glitter and let dry.

Step 13: Adhere the branch tab to the side of the box with a strong adhesive.

Step 14: Punch a hole in the top of the tin.

Step 14: Paint Gina's Birds Shape Set with black gesso. Let dry.

Step 15: Cover the birds with gloss gel medium. Press assorted colors of Primary Elements onto the birds.

Step 16: Make a small loop of metallic pipe cleaner and thread through the hole in the ornament. Add a metallic bead on the inside and secure with a strong glue.

Step 17: Adhere metallic pipe cleaner around the edge of the tin with strong adhesive.

Step 18: Adhere birds with strong adhesive.

All that is left to do is hang on your tree or give to someone special. 

Thank you for letting me join you here at Gina's Designs. I wish you the happiest of holidays.

Warmly, Betsy at PaperCalliope.com.

Great Gina's stuff to use:

  Bird Shape Set

Other stuff to use:

 Bird cardstock

   Assorted holiday cardstock

    Artificial pine branch

    Miniature fence

    Metallic pipe cleaners

    Metallic bead

    Aleene's True Snow

    ColourArte Primary Elements: African Jade, Forest Green, Lucky Apple, Sky Blue, Bushing Rose and Mango Freeze

    White glitter

    Gloss gel medium

    Matte medium

Christmas Tree Canvas by Amylove

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I have done a canvas, and just love doing them! Couldn't let Christmas go by without doing one! Here is my Christmas canvas offering. I hope you all enjoy it.

Follow this link to my video tutorial of this creation:

Mixed Media Christmas Tree Canvas

Products used from Gina's Designs

Pine Tree Shape Set

Snowflake Shape Set

A Candle in the Dark by Barb

The question I'm most often asked is, "Where do you get your inspiration?" 

It might be easier to ask where I don't find inspiration. Because, it is everywhere! All the time. I only need to pay attention.

The other night as we were about halfway through one of the wildest storms I've seen here in about a decade, the power went out. And it stayed out for five hours. We were lucky - some people waited almost three days to get the lights turned back on.

The power outage was an inconvenience, but we were prepared. We lit candles and admired the sound of the howling wind and driving rain. 

As I watched one of the candles flickering and throwing it's tiny light out into the big dark room, this cool Candlesticks set from Gina's Designs came to mind. As soon as the lights came on again, I was off and running... uh... painting!

The base of this project is a 7 x 9" canvas panel to which I applied acrylic paint. For the candle, I coated the base in gold Delicata ink. I gave the candle a real wax look by using a combination of irRESISTibles in white and shimmer. I used yellow irRESISTibles for the flame and sprinkled on yellow glitter while it was still wet. I love the way the flame catches the light!

Inspiration is everywhere. All we have to do is pay attention.

Gina's Designs products used

Candlesticks 

Other products used

Canvas panel

Acrylic Paint

irRESISTibles

Delicata ink

Glitter

Glue

Sparkly Christmas cards by Lynne

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 two 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!

Gina's Items Used

Build a Layout-lovebirds (small solid heart)

mini flourishes Bella

winter shape set (snowflakes)

cupid's shape set (open heart circle-cut in half)

Other Items Used

Kaisercraft Silver Bells paper pad

Stampendous Aged Silver embossing powder

ColorBox chunky glitter

Ranger embossing powder-Bridal Tinsel