Key and Crest Wall Hanging for Gina's Designs

Hi Everyone!  Today I am sharing a vintage heritage project.  I thought these photos of my Dad and my Granddad, would be perfect to display on our new Key and Crest Wall hanging.  This is a good sized piece to work with, about 12 inches across.  I am really happy with how it turned out, and it's a keepsake since my Dad and Granddad are no longer with us.

 I used several products to get the look I wanted for the key and crest, meaning the scrolled areas and the key.   The center area was papered with the DCWV Timeless Type Stack.    I began by using a fan shaped brush to achieve a light dry coat of gesso (at that point some raw chipboard still shows through).  Next I covered the whole piece with a bright turquoise luminescent type paint.  Following that I dry brushed a bit of bright orange here and there.   Next I embossed over everything with Tim Holtz vintage photo distress embossing powder.  Following that step I stamped over the whole piece with a burlap textured stamp,  and embossed those areas with copper colored embossing powder.  I then rubbed Gold colored Gilder's Paste all along the edges.  Thanks for looking!

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Key and Crest Wall Hanging

Pocket Watch Assorted Sizes Set

Tulip Scroll Corners

Chain Borders

Faux Metal Number Plates

Miniatures Shape Set - Guy Thing

Heidi's Stars Shape Set

12 x 12 Layout in a Shadowbox Frame

Today I'm sharing a project that is personal to me.   The main photo is me as a little girl, with Mom in the oval frame.  I'm calling this piece "The Dressmaker's Daughter".  When I was young, my Mom made all of my dresses and I used to model them in fashion show competitions.  I really enjoyed it, and I continued modeling on department store runways well into my 20's.  

This project began as an unfinished shadowbox frame I purchased at Michael's.  I painted the frame with gesso,  then I did some stenciling with modeling paste, some stamping and some spraying until I got the look I wanted.  The papers I used on the layout are from the French Seamstress Kit at Kitty's Scrap Post.  I really love this digital paper kit and this is my second project using it.  I also did some fussy cutting of elements from the kit like spools, thimbles, birdcage, flowers, etc, and of course you'll find plenty of Gina's chippies on it too.  The shadowbox is fairly deep so I added measuring tape and some wooden spools to the inside.   Thanks for looking!

Gina's Design Products Used:

Dressforms 2 Shape Set

Skeleton Clocks

Doily Box -Sew

Scribbled Lines

Delicate Frames and Ornaments Shape Set

Design paper by Kitty's Scrap Post - The French Seamstress Kit

Latex roses in two tone blue on upper right of layout by Craftsupplies1

Lace Appliques by Cathy's Crazy by Design on Etsy

Artist Trading Blocks for Gina's Designs

Hello Friends!  The team at Gina's Designs have been sharing these Artist Trading Blocks 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.  I love the vivid images of birds and nests!  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 to complement the images on the design papers.   I felt that I needed some greenery so I die cut vines and ferns, and then I coiled some green wire by wrapping it around the handle of a large artist's brush and attaching it to the bottom of my bird 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

July Sketch Challenge at Gina's Designs Blogspot

Welcome to the July Sketch Challenge at Gina's Designs!

Each month, on the first Monday, a new sketch will be provided.  Use the sketch to create a layout, card or other craft project.  Winner will be drawn from all eligible entries and will receive a $10 gift certificate to Gina's Designs online store.  We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win.  You have until the first Monday of the Following month to enter and the winner will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of the following month.  Use the Link Up tool below to enter.

Here is the sketch for July

Here is my take on the sketch.  This month I decided to create a memorial layout for some of my favorite furry freinds who have passed on in recent years.  I am featuring one of our new ribbon titles, our chipboard bridge, and our Queen Anne's Lace.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Ribbon Title Memories

Bridge

Queen Anne's Lace

An InLinkz Link-up

Book Box and Card Set for Ephemera's Vintage Garden

Hi Crafty Friends!  Today I am sharing my latest Creative Team  project for Ephemera's Vintage Garden. For this rotation, I am fortunate to be working with The Vintage Queen Bee Kit.  The images in this digital kit are amazing!!  If you enjoy making handmade journals and mini albums, then these complete kits are for you. For my first project with this kit, I chose to alter a wooden book box from Michaels and to store some handmade cards, created from the kit, inside the box.  I know I've said it before, but I can't say it enough how I've enjoyed working with digital papers.  Not only are they gorgeous, but you can print them over and over again, and even resize them to suit your needs.  In this case, I can give these cards to special friends, and just make more so I will always have cards to match my book box!

Below is a better view of the book box.  All paper is from the digital kit which comes with the papers and all sorts of extra images you can cut out to create little pockets, belly bands, circles, tags, etc.  The spine of the book box is also paper from the kit, with just a wee bit of extra distressing added by me. The roses are even created from the printed papers and using a rose die.  The knob and bookplate on the front of the box are by Recollections.   The chipboard flourishes on top of the box are by Gina's Designs.

Below is a closeup of the top of the book box.

Below is the inside of the book box.  Isn't the paper GORGEOUS!

Below are the three cards I created to fit inside the box  More info under each card.

Background design paper from the kit,  as are the pop-dotted elements at lower left (circle and ticket).  Honeycomb at upper right is a Tim Holtz die, chipboard bees on top of honeycomb are Gina's Designs.

On the card Above, all paper is part of the kit.  I only added bits of lace, buttons and a flower, and some Tim Holtz distress ink.

On the card above, all paper is from the kit including the circle shapes at mid and upper left.  In the center I have created a cut-out and tucked in a piece of chipboard honeycomb as well as a couple of bees and crowns by Gina's Designs.

Products Links:

Ephemera's Vintage Garden

Vintage Queen Bee 5 x 7 Printable Journal Kit

If you would like to see a tutorial on how this paper kit can be made into a completed journal, all ready for your personal touch, you can watch a video by Debbie-Anne the creator of this lovely kit HERE.

Check out Debbie's other gorgeous papers, and sign up for some amazing freebies HERE! 

Vintage Seamstress - Sewing Themed Altered Cigar Box

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing an altered cigar box using papers from digital files that I have printed myself.  This coming August,  the Gina's Designs team will be participating in a cross promotional using digital designs by Kitty's Scrap Post.  We were excited to find out that in addition to each of us picking our choice of a digital  kit to work with for our August projects, all of us received the French Seamstress Kit as an extra bonus.   When I saw this gorgeous French Seamstress kit,  I just knew I had to combine the papers with Gina's sewing themed chipboard shapes.  A match made in Crafty Heaven!

 I'd been wanting a box to store my vintage Czech glass button collection and other sewing related collectibles I have accumulated, so I dug out this cigar box from my stash, and went to work.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out.  The box measures 7" x 7.5" x 4" deep.

I began by covering the box both inside and out, even the bottom got papered.  The best thing about digital papers is that you can print them as many times as you want to.  Just look how pretty the images are in this collection!

After the box was papered, everything got two coats of matte Mod Podge so the box can be wiped clean with a wet cloth.  Several techniques (as described below each photo) were used to decorate the chipboard shapes.

The dressform on the top of the box was embossed with Stampendous Shabby Pink Embossing Powder.  Closeup view of the top below:

Aren't the papers gorgeous!  In addition to the dressform, I simply added a few Recollections flowers and fabric leaves.

On the front of the box I added more chipboard shapes and a few buttons to blend in with the button print on the paper.  Here the chippies were painted with Folk art acrylics.  Metal bookplate by Recollections and metal feet by Tim Holtz were painted with gesso and green acrylic paint.

On this side of the box I added the button border from Gina's Designs, and embossed it with Stampendous Shabby White, Pink, and Blue alternately.

On this side, I added a skeleton clock and clock hands embossed with Stampendous Shabby White embossing powder.  The chipboard clock mimics the clock and clock hands design on the paper.

On this side, I added scissors and another dressform.  The dressform is embossed with Shabby Blue, and the scissors with Shabby Marine (handles) and with a brass color embossing powder for the blades.

Here's a view of the inside! I'm all ready to add my collection of buttons and things!

Closeup of the inside lid.  On these shapes,  I have painted first with Gesso, stamped with a script stamp and then inked with pale pink and pale blue inks from Recollections new Vintage Romance collection of products.

Inside of the box at the bottom is another gorgeous design from the kit.  It was so hard to decide which paper to use on the top!

I hope you like my project, and be sure to visit us at Gina's Designs, and also check out all the gorgeous digital paper collections at Kitty's Scrap Post.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Vintage Seamstress Shape Set

Button Border

Dressforms 1 Shape Set

Dressforms 2 Miniature Shape set

Skeleton Clocks

Clock Hands Shape Set

Other:

Digital Design Papers by Kitty's Scrap Post

French Seamstress Kit

Vintage Beach Layout

Today I'm sharing another layout I created with one of the vintage family photos that my Mother recently shared with me.  That's Me and Mom on the right.  I love using the beachy teals, greens, and vintage photo colors.  This layout was pretty quick and easy because I built it around one of our botanical journaling blocks.  The shapes are available in a package containing 3 shapes and sizes.  The intricate detailing around the edges is amazing!  I painted mine with gesso, used a script stamp with Perfect Medium, then brushed it with Perfect Pearls Powders.  I used distress inks around the edges, and colored the intricate areas with Prima Chalk Ink.  The chipboard border and element pieces were coated with gesso, then painted with Silks paints.

Botanical Journaling Blocks

Elements Shapes

Cardstock Doily Set 1

Banner Borders Strips

D T Project for Ephemera's Vintage Garden - Standing Flip Style Mini Album

I decided that I would feature my cat Timothy on these stunning and vivid digital papers by Ephemera's Vintage Garden.  I've been so impressed with these papers.   They are so saturated with color and they print out beautifully.  This is my third project with this same collection!   This collection by Ephemera's Vintage Garden is called  The Spring Chic Digital Paper Pack.  The papers are designed to make creating handmade journals easy, but you can use them in any other application, just as you would any other design paper. 

Thanks for looking, more info below the photos.  The first photo is the cover, and the last one is the backside of the mini album.

To view the other projects I made with this same paper collection, please go to the labels section on the sidebar of my blog and click on Ephemera's Vintage Garden.  Head on over to Ephemera's Vintage Garden, to check out Debbie's other gorgeous papers, and sign up for some amazing freebies HERE! 

Design Papers by:

Ephemera's Vintage Garden

Spring Chic Digital Paper Pack

Other:

Standing Flip Book Mini Album and chipboard embellishments by Gina's Designs

Altered Inverted Canvas - DT Project for Gina's Designs

Today I have another Summer themed project, a 12 x 12 inverted canvas featuring our mermaids, one of my favorite shapes to play with.  The larger mermaid I had custom cut in a larger size by special request. 

 I began my project by painting the wooden frame on the backside of the canvas with gesso, followed by ink sprays, then texture paste applied through a stencil.  I rubbed on more gesso to get the look I wanted.  I then flipped the canvas over, and applied a script patterned tissue paper to the front side of the canvas with Mod Podge.  I followed that by spraying the script paper with ink sprays in ocean colors.  I then cut the canvas with sharp scissors randomly from the center, then rolled the sections and adhered them to the frame with hot glue.  At that point the canvas has no backing so I adhered a 12 x 12 sticky backed canvas sheet to a piece of 12 x 12 chipboard.  I painted that with an ocean scene and then adhered the piece to the backside of the canvas with gel medium.  Then I just needed to decorate the inside and of course my mermaids.

I painted the mermaids with gesso, followed by a white pearlescent paint.  When the paint was dry I added texture paste and used a small painters spatula to create swirls to look like fish scales.  When the texture paste was dry, I painted over it with various shimmering paints like silks, twinkling H20's, pearl-ex powders mixed with water, and acrylic metallics.  The type of paint didn't really matter as long as it was shimmery, and I just used whatever I happened to have in the colors I wanted.  I drew the hair on with a thick coat of glossy accents, forming waves, and then poured glass micro beads over the glossy accents.  I was happy with the way they turned out.  Thanks for looking!

Gina's Design Products Used:

Mermaid Shapes Set

Custom Cut Mermaids (8 inch by special request)

Beach Shape Set

Sea Horse Shapes

Palm Tree Shapes Set

Lace appliques by Cathy's Crazy By Design on Etsy

June Sketch Challenge for Gina's Designs

Welcome to the June Sketch Challenge!

Each month, on the first Monday, a new sketch will be provided.  Use the sketch to create a layout, card or other craft project.  Winner will be drawn from all eligible entries and will receive a $10 gift certificate to Gina's Designs online store.  We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win.  You have until the first Monday of the Following month to enter and the winner will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of the following month.  Use the Link Up tool below to enter.

Here is the sketch for June

Here is my take on the sketch.  This month I am using one of my daughters selfie photos in a mixed media layout.  I am featuring one of our texture sheets which made creating the rest of this layout so easy.  I painted the sheet with gesso followed by white pearlized paint by Folk Art.  I painted some of the other chipboard pieces with shimmerz paint and also used the same paint to cover a few random diamonds in the texture sheet to tie the layout together.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Texture Sheet Diamonds

Words and Phrases 1

Scribbled Lines

An InLinkz Link-up