Tag Archives: Tutorials

It’s ok, I’m here now

It’s ok, I’m here now
It’s ok, I’m here now

After two and a half loooooong months away due to an unplanned medical snafu, I am gratefully alive and finally venturing back into crafting.

Unlike the arrogant little tot featured in my project, I was much less confident about getting back to crafting. I decided to make the transition a little easier by using some of my favorite things for my first project: Gypsy Soul Lasercut’s Mini House Shadowbox, Paper Calliope’s Snarky Ancestors, 7gypsies paper and Seth Apter’s embossing powders.

GSL-Rusty-house-by-Betsy-Skagen-463 Read the rest of this entry

Gardening at night

Gardening at night
Gardening at night

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 Spring has arrived and gardens are blooming. But beware those cute little garden gnomes…for at night they turn the garden into a place where evil resides.

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Under the cloak of night  these gnomes cast wicked magic upon your garden. Innocuous plants turn into man-eating beasts while the gnomes themselves cart body parts from nearby cemeteries into their gardens. What they do with them, one can only imagine…and shudder.

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I had such fun making the “Gardening at Night” scene (which by the way gives a subtle nod to R.E.M., my all-time favorite band). You can see the tutorial below, or better yet, stop by the Gypsy Soul blog to see where it all began.  Read the rest of this entry

Hippity hoppity back in time with a vintage ATC

Hippity hoppity back in time with a vintage ATC
Hippity hoppity back in time with a vintage ATC

Hippity hoppity Easter’s on its way. With Easter approaching, it is the perfect time for springtime tales and bunny tails.

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I combined these themes with my take on a time-honored altered art form–the Artist Trading Card (ATC). Read the rest of this entry

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