Tag Archives: PaperCrafts

A ballerina music box goes steampunk 

A ballerina music box goes steampunk 
A ballerina music box goes steampunk 

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My latest creation was inspired by my daughter who will be performing in a steampunk circus show for the month of August.

Instead of being a dancer like this tiny figure, my daughter will be riding a giraffe unicycle (giraffes are the extra tall unicycles) amid amazing steampunk props and scenery. However I loved the idea of transforming the typically delicate music box into a steampunk wonder. Read the rest of this entry

A secret one story home for you

A secret one story home for you
A secret one story home for you

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When I was a child I would get lost in book series like the Borrowers and the Littles. They both featured tiny human-like creatures who lived undetected in our homes using discarded or lost items as their furniture–bottlecaps for table tops, thimbles for stools, etc.

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When I saw Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Hidden Drawer Book Box, I knew this faux book would create a perfect home for fictional tiny characters. Read the rest of this entry

Send some sweet little wishes with this greeting card

Send some sweet little wishes with this greeting card

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At least once in a lifetime a person should receive a tiny jar full of sweet wishes. Every now and then we all need something magical to happen! You can be the one to create magic in someone else’s life–and perhaps help a wish or two to come true, when you give them this card. Read the rest of this entry

Zelda the dancing pig is captivating audience everywhere

Zelda the dancing pig is captivating audience everywhere
Zelda the dancing pig is captivating audience everywhere

Audiences go hog wild when Zelda the Dancing Pig enters the stage. Adorned with a sparkling heart pastie on her juicy hocks and a bow on her tantalizing pigtail, Zelda is sure to never be a boar.

Zelda travels with the carnival, where loud barkers sell out her shows hours in advance and carnies are sure to swine-dle a few naive gents.

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Peek inside for a tiny little dancer shadowbox

Peek inside for a tiny little dancer shadowbox

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I had so much fun making this altered art project featured at Gypsy Soul Lasercuts. After my massive undertaking of Kringle’s Toy Store, I wanted to tackle something a little less time consuming.

I think one thing that made the Tiny Dancer Shadowbox so much fun is that when I started I had no idea what the end result would be. I began by gathering the tiny pink dancer and the Mini House Shadowbox and let serendipity take its course. Read the rest of this entry

Fill your eyes with wonder at the Kringle Toy Store

Fill your eyes with wonder at the Kringle Toy Store

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Christmas is nearly upon us. Part of the magic of the season is when children fill their eyes with wonder while window shopping.

Make sure you leave time to stop by Kringle Toys, where the glowing chandelier casts a warm glow as shoppers come in from the newly fallen snow.

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Approaching Kringle Toys, visitors see the faded ghost sign on the brick wall–a testament to the store’s longevity.

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A card for the Winter’s Solstice

A card for the Winter’s Solstice

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Winter has arrived in here in Minnesota. It is a blustery nine degrees outside and as dusk settles, the wind is rattling the windows of our turn-of-the-century home.

In other words, it is a perfect night for crafting and for playing with the deep blue, purple, white and silver colors of Winter’s Solstice. Read the rest of this entry

Putzing around

Putzing around

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 There are so many delightful ceramic Christmas villages that people display this time of year. While I have occasionally been tempted to begin such a collection, I have remained true to the Putz houses that stem from an earlier era.

These Japanese-made cardboard houses adorned with sparkly materials, tiny bottle brush shrubbery and cellophane windows were mostly made between 1930 and 1960.

At the heart of my Putz village are the worn and slightly tattered houses that I played with as a child. Since I was born after that timeframe–I am old enough, I don’t need to add on extra years–they were tattered and torn even then.

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts featured how I made my own little home fashioned after these Putz houses. Here’s how I did it:

GSL-Putz-House-by-Betsy-Skagen-171258 Read the rest of this entry

A Christmas Love Story

A Christmas Love Story

gsl-Christmas-kitsch-angel-by-Betsy-Skagen-0028Nothing sets my heart aflutter like Christmas decorations made from the 1940s-1960s.

Since this era was before my time and people typically collect things from their childhood, my infatuation may not make a lot of sense. But as the youngest child of older parents, most of my family’s Christmas decorations came from the 1940s and ’50s.

gsl-Christmas-kitsch-angel-by-Betsy-Skagen-0046 Read the rest of this entry

Small but mighty holiday album

Small but mighty holiday album

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It’s true what they say, good things do come in small packages. At only 6 x 6 inches, this holiday album might be small, but it is packed full of goodness.

You can see how to make it by checking out my tutorial at Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.

Christmas-Album-by-Betsy-Skagen-0004 Read the rest of this entry