Barb's Birds and Ivy

Hi Everyone! Barb here with a piece that I worked on while thinking of Earth Day. In celebration thereof, I decided to do a little up-cycling and use a couple of pages from an old lettering handbook that belonged to my Dad (a commercial artist back in the day when signs were painted by hand and not chunked together on a computer).

I began by putting the pages on a canvas panel with Mod Podge. After letting it dry overnight, I distressed it by using a wash of watered down white acrylic paint, sponged on inks, splattered paint and spritzed on sprays.

For the ivy frame I began with a bright green. I often go brighter and bolder on the initial paint because I know I'm going to abuse it into submission with lots of distressing. It's easy to subdue a color, but not as easy to make it brighter. Many have been the times when I've finished something and wish the color had a little more pop. Generally, the reason it doesn't is because I began it with a too subtle color.

Of course, once it was dry, I gave it all sorts of abuse. I sponged, stamped, splattered, wiped, sanded, splattered and sponged some more. I don't have a recipe for this stuff; I just play until it works for me. To bring out the color of the ivy I used StazOn Studio Glaze.

For the birdhouse and larger flying bird, I used Ranger Distress Crackle paints - Vintage Photo brown for the birdhouse and Clear Rock Candy for the bird (which I first primed with a coat of white gesso).

Once the crackle paints were completely dry, scrubbed on ink with a sponge and splattered and spritzed them as well.

Because I wanted the frame to be on top of the birdhouse and the smaller birds on branches, I used left over bits and pieces (the in between stuff) of Gina's Designs chipboard as spacers. See? More up-cycling! Plus, since it was the same material, the spacing was perfect. The frame is set apart and gives a nice shadow box effect to the whole piece.

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!

Gina's Designs Used

Birds Shape Set

Birdwatching Shape Set

Collage Frame Birds & Ivy

For the Birds

Other Items Used

Acrylic Paint

Ranger Distress Crackle Paint

irRESISTibles spray

Mod Podge

StazOn inks

StazOn Studio Glaze

Music rubber stamp manufacturer is unknown

9 x 12 canvas panel

Country Girls a Layout by Donna

Hi friends! This is Donna here today to share a layout using some of Gina's chipboard shapes! I was inspired by the Build a Layout - Country Living collection. There are 5 really cute items in this pack. I did not use three of the items, the windmill, an old water pump, and a wooden window that you would find on a farm or in the country. All of the items are great designs and I cant wait to use the other items in a new layout! When I saw this collection I immediately thought of a photo of my granddaughters, in their sun hats, in the country in Virginia!

  I tried something a little different with the paper. After putting down the first couple papers to frame the page, I added torn sections of  paper to create the background for the country scene. I added two borders to the page before adding the embellishments. I think the red gingham paper enhanced the "country" look. I then fussy cut the two girls from the photo. I used pop dots on the back of one of the girls to give the scene some dimension.  I painted the chipboard pieces with gesso, with the exception of the chicken wire and birds nest. I wanted the natural look for those pieces. I embossed the words, Country Living, with fired brick embossing powder, then decided to add a clear medium over the top to smooth it out a bit. It's fun to try different mediums on the chipboard. I used several different shades of chalk ink and stamping ink on the fence, the wagon wheel, and the blue bird.  I outlined the fence and the bird with a marker to make them stand out, and I secured a few of the chipboard pieces with pop dots for dimension, the fence, the bird, and the birds nest on a branch.

Gina's Designs products

Build a layout-Country Living

Bird Watching Shape Set

Chicken Wire

Other products

Graphic 45 French Country collection

Misc flowers, twigs, eggs from my stash

Thank you so much for stopping by Gina's today! Have a great week!

Artist Trading Blocks by Nancy

Hello Friends!  Nancy here to share my version of our Artist Trading Blocks.   Our team members have been sharing these all this month, and it's been amazing to see all the different versions of these fun and versatile blocks.  I decided on a bird theme for mine.  I used the large block separately and left the top cover open,  and I stacked the smaller ones together.  The blocks are made of chipboard and come ready to assemble using the pre-scored fold lines.  I used red line tape to assemble my blocks.  Once assembled,  I covered the blocks completely with gesso to help build a firmer and sturdier surface.  I also "frosted" over the seams lightly with modeling paste and a painters spatula, then I painted and inked the edges.  I used matte Mod Podge to apply the paper, and I also put a heavy coat of the Mod Podge on top of the paper.   My end result were blocks that are very solid and sturdy like wood!

I chose digital papers in a colorful bird theme from Ephemera's Vintage Garden to cover my blocks.  For the feet, I glued wooden spools to the bottom of the blocks then painted them with gesso followed by Tim Holtz dabber paint in copper.  I toned that color down with Gilder's Paste in Verdigris and in Patina.  I also rubbed on some extra gesso to further distress the feet.

  Following the prep work, I had a lot of fun decorating my blocks with  3-D birds, nests and eggs from the floral dept. at JoAnn's.   I felt that I needed some greenery so I die cut vines and ferns, and then I coiled some green floral wire by wrapping it around the handle of a large artist's brush and poking the straight end of the wire through the birds nest, then bending it and attaching it to the bottom of the nests on both blocks.  To the top of the coils I added eggs on the large block and the letters "FLY" on the smaller set.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Artist Trading Blocks

Bird Watching Shapes Set

Faux Typewriter Keys - Gold

Other:

Design Paper by Ephemera's Vintage Garden -  Spring Chic Collection

Vine Die by Marianne Creatables

Fern and Leaf Die by Marianne Creatables

Leopard Butterfly by Renea Bouquets

Altered Canvas by Veronica and Trinket Box by Donna

We have two designers on the blog today with some truly inspiring projects to share.  First up is Veronica.


Hi Everyone! Veronica here to share an Altered Canvas that I made for a friend of mine. I'm calling it "She Stood in the Storm", as she just recently beat breast cancer.  I wanted to show her my support through a mixed media canvas.

Gina's Designs  has so many wonderful choices in laser cuts, that I was easily inspired!

I love having all my medias at reach any time I work on a project.
  I just go at the canvas with how I'm feeling at that moment, and with so many chipboard shapes to choose from, I find myself immersed into a Mixed Media Heaven!

Thank you so much for stopping by,
and have a Blessed Day!


Products used:
Gina's Designs
Dress Forms 1 Miniature Shape Set
Doily Set Intricates
Steampunk Lady
Vintage Ladies Silhouettes Set
Art Deco Borders & Corners


Next up is Donna to share one of our trinket boxes.  These boxes are actually quite large at 7x7x3.

Hi scrappy friends, it's Donna again with a trinket box from Gina's Designs. This is a great item to make as a gift or just to keep all your special trinkets and scrapbook goodies in. It is a great size, sturdy and very easy to assemble. The dark color hardwood is a beautiful, smooth, semi gloss brown color. I almost hated to cover it up with paper!

 

The first thing I did, before I assembled the trinket box, was to take each piece and trace an outline on the paper I chose to cover the box. You have control of which parts of the paper you will use for each section.  It was very easy to cut out the shapes and glue them to the hardwood pieces. I did not paint the sections of the box that would not be covered with paper. As I previously mentioned, the hardwood is a very beautiful color. Then being very careful to attach the paper to the correct side of the hardwood sections, I glued the paper in place.  If needed, take a small file of some type and gently sand/file down the areas your paper may not fit exactly over the shape of the base and lid of the box. I had a lucky day, mine fit perfectly!

And then the real fun begins when it's time to add the embellishments: a few fussy cut flowers, paper flowers, gold lace, cameos, pearl sprays, pearls, crystals, and I added a couple of birds on branches from Gina's Birdwatching Shape Set.  I covered the chipboard shapes, with gesso, let them dry, and then painted the two birds with antiqued bronze crackle paint. The branches were painted with artichoke shimmer texture paint. I wanted to keep the chipboard simple because there are a lot of embellishments on the box. And I added a brass handle to the lid. There is a pre-drilled hole in the lid if you need it. There are so many beautiful knobs and handles out there to choose from for this fabulous box!

It was very hard to capture, in photos, how beautiful the muted colors of the paper and flowers work together, and how pretty the brass stamped cameos and handle are. The flowers and tips of some of the leaves are misted with gold shimmer mist. They really have a beautiful sheen in person. I also added paper to the inside of the box. 

Gina's Designs products

Trinket Box

Birdwatching Shape Set

Other products

Fabscraps Heritage paper

Gold sparkle lace from Tresors de Luxe

Brass stamped cameos and frame from Etsy

Gold pearl sprays

Gold shimmer mist

Misc jewelry pearls and crystals

Flowers and leaves from Prima

Misc flowers from stash

Antiqued bronze crackle paint

Shimmer texture paint-artichoke

Crafters Pick - glue

Thank you for stopping by Gina's today! I hope I have inspired you to make something beautiful!

Bird and Butterfly Cards by Melissa and a Layout by Guest Designer Rashida

We have two designers up on the blog today.  First up is Melissa with two beautiful botanical styled cards to share.  Also on the blog today, we are happy to welcome back Rashida as a guest designer!

Hi everyone!  Melissa here with two cards using Gina's Lasercut Chipboard.  

I love these very elegant flourishes.  I used them as tree branches in my design.

I began by painting the flourishes with a coat of gesso.  I then mixed green and brown watercolors, and dabbed on a little green chalk ink to paint them.  I used a small paintbrush and water to  take off  a little paint from the centers.  I put a bit of white paint on and them and  blended it with the edges of the green.

On the chipboard birds, I also began with a coat of gesso.   I used birds from the Graphic 45 Botanical Tea papers as my color inspiration for the chipboard birds. I penciled in some lines to separate top from bottom, then I put a little of pink and  brown on the the top. On the bottom  I used a little blue, and a little green.

On the heart I used gesso followed by pearl Viva Decor paste. 

Gina's Designs chipboard used:

Fantasy Frames and Flourishes

Birdwatching Shape Set

Hearts Background

Other products used:

Prima Fairy Belle paper

Tiny pieces of Prima Nature Girl and Botanical Tea papers

Dried moss, and lichens from my yard

Vintaj butterfly and bead caps

Prima flowers

Tim Holtz Big Shot
Sizzix-Tim Holtz-Alterations Collection-Sizzlets Decorative Strip Die-Tattered Flower Garland

Sparkling H20s

Winton and Lewis watercolors

Tsuineko chalk ink
Jolee's bling

Next up is Rashida with a layout featuring our Masquerade Masks in two different styles.

Hi Rashida here today! It's carnival time again in Washington, DC., and as a reminder of my Trinidadian heritage I made this wall hanging layout that I call "The Mask".

All of the Caribbean islanders in the area come together and unite as one. Participants and visitors can enjoy dancing, celebrations, good food and fun. One thing that always captivates me is the bright display of  colors  that are seen so frequently in the islands.

For this wall hanging I decided to use black for my mask base, because black represents unity and strength. Once I colored my mask with a black Sharpie paint marker, I highlighted the black mask with lime green and        silver stickles to give it a little pop and sparkle.

 Finally, for the background, I added memento ink in lime green and gray to white textured cardstock. Once everything was dry I layered the mask on the page with pop dots and added a few flowers from my stash. For a finishing touch I added Dazzles silver strips and a few Jolees.

Supplies from Gina's Designs:

Mask Shape Set

Peacock Feathers Shape Set

Dreamcatcher

Other supplies

Jolees

Dazzles silver strips

Sharpie Paint Marker

Stash Flowers

Lime green Stickles

Silver Stickles

Momento Ink 

Card Stock

Pop Dots

Scrapbook layouts by Shanna and by Marfa

Today we are sharing two scrapbook layouts by two of our Design Team members with very different styles!   First up today is Shanna with her layout titled "Hide n Seek".

Good morning everyone!  Shanna here to share a layout. I have had this photo of my daughter for a while and I absolutely love it. I was waiting for the right papers to create it and here it is. I love these papers and then I got the idea to use some of the Texture Sheet - Checkerboard style.  

First I gave it coat of gesso, then used some spray to give it color. I really wanted it to pop so I used a palette knife to spread texture paste across,  not to fully cover but just to make it pop.

I also used a key from the Keys and Plates Set. I gave it a coat of some Inka Gold and then some chalk to dull down the shine. 

I had to finish the layout with some flowers and some splatters and I thought the title Hide n Seek was perfect for this layout. It was her favorite game once she got her feet. 

Next up is Marfa with her layout titled "Birds of a Feather".

This is one of my favorite layouts in quite a while.  It is simple, elegant and the photo is fun.  My mom's cousin was visiting from Georgia.  We hadn't spent much time together in months.  I used chipboard shapes from Gina's Designs as focal points.  I painted them with black acrylic paint and then I outlined them with Sharpie markers in metallic colors.  If you're one of those crafters who thinks that you don't have a lot of time for scrapbooking, let me tell you that I created this page, from scratch, in a couple of hours.  You can do it too.  I have a list of supplies at the bottom of this post.  Go get your own and give it a try.  You will find that you DO have enough time and creativity to make your own scrapbook pages :-)

Gina's Designs Supplies:

Paisley Frame

 Birdwatching Shape Set

Other Supplies

Webster's Pages paper:  Your Life. Beautiful "Let's Celebrate"

Prima flowers: Jardine Pixie Glen

Elle's Studio The Sweet Life Large Journaling Tag

Bird Cage with Marjolaine

Hello friends, Marjolaine here.

Today I'm scheduled for an off the page project and I thought this birdcage would be perfect. It was super easy to assemble and I'm thinking I would like to make many more for Christmas table center pieces. 

I kept if fairly simple. The cage is painted with two layers of gesso and I used a script stamp on top to add texture. For my roses I used a six petal flower punch and followed this tutorial. 

My supplies are as follows:

BirdCage  (coming soon)

Birdwatching Shape Set

Fabscraps paper

Tim Holtz stamp  

I love antique bird cages and will need to find a special place in my home for it. How about you, where would you display it?

Birds of a Feather Layout by Nancy

It's Wednesday and it's Nancy blogging with you today!  This layout features my cat "Timothy" who loves bird-watching from the wire enclosure outside his window.  This is one of the many outdoor enclosures we had built for the enjoyment of our multi-cat family and to keep them safe from harms way.  I used tons of chipboard embellishments from Gina's Designs on this one, including many of our newer items in the store.

My inspiration for this layout in both design and color comes from the very talented Charlotte aka Suepup sketch 0513.

Supplies Used:

Items from the Bird watching shape set

Large sized 8-inch doily sets (this one in Ivory)

Ornamental Birdcages Shape Set

Border sticks (this one in heart shape, other styles are available)

Decorative flourishes

For the birds shape set (I used the nest and eggs from this set)