gypsy tip: christmas card storage & giveaway!

holiday cards are always such a fun part of the Christmas season! 

gypsies everywhere get beautifully creative with the pictures they put on the card, cute little blurbs about their family achievements for the year and sometimes a silly photo or saying to get their friends and family to smile.

one problem we've come across in the gypsy workshop is how to store and display them.

most of us run out of magnets on our fridge, counter space or cupboard space to display them, and there are those of us who just don't know what to do with these beautiful cards!

boy have we got some solutions for you gypsies...

how adorable do these cards look displayed in our large receipt holder? 

you can see little pieces of all of them and stacking them makes for a colorful display! 

how about using our amazing vintage ticket holder?

this is perfect for a table centerpiece or displayed in the living room on a coffee table.... 

we just LOVE how the cards look displayed inside our library drawer....

how about switching out which card is in the front each day of the month - 

or even a couple times a day so that everyone gets some front row action! 

and last but not least....the fantastic atc & photo display! 

you can turn each level to see all the cards and adjust them to the height that best fits your cards...swoooooon

now for some real gypsy fun...

we would LOVE to be added to your Christmas card mailing list this year! send us your 2011 holiday card and we'll add it to our holiday card collage wall AND on Christmas day, we'll pick  

one lucky winner

to receive a Christmas box from the gypsies, full of all kinds of fun goodies from our workshop!

please send your cards to:

7gypsies

175 East 200 South

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

happy holidays gypsies!!

gypsy tip: library drawer dividers

we know that our library drawer is a fun way to display projects, organize photos, store recipes and more, but we get lots of requests for creative ways to create dividers in the drawer that hold your items in place.

so we thought we'd share some fun divider ideas we've discovered in the gypsy workshop...

square hooks are the new gotta-have-for-every-project product...

simply adhere square hooks to each side of your drawer to create a slotted divider

or string one of our chain dangles across the square hooks for a decorative divider. use your imagination and see what YOU, our creative gypsies, could tie to these as dividers!
think ribbons, twine or even embellish chains with trinkets.

elastics become a quick divider if you combine them with our loops!  just add loops to the sides of your drawer and thread the elastic ends through.

now you know how much we love papertape. 

we are always on the hunt for new uses and we found these are a gorgeous addition to the drawer...

want the dividers to be adjustable? why not use thick rubber bands? 

we are LOVING our new rulers and have to find ways to incorporate them into EVERY project! by using a small piece of bookboard on each side, these rulers fit nice and snug inside the drawer

(gypsy tip: these can be glued in place or not to remain adjustable)

gypsy tip: color rubbings on any surface

have you seen the new 7gypsies color rubbings? 

yes we said COLOR rubbings.

think vintage details and lots of bright colors~ choose from apothecary labels, tickets, ephemera and BUTTERFLIES!

 and these rubbings can be transferred on just about any surface... 

(we'll show you!)

have you noticed that bright colored butterflies are popping up everywhere? - fashion, jewelry, home decor, bottles - you name it - butterflies are in!  

check out the butterflies on these apothecary bottles~ you can create your own set using the butterfly rubbings or how about that FABULOUS globe covered with butterflies to map out the world! 

oh so clever...

It's simple to add your own rubbings to just about any surface.  

We've tried ours on glass, wood, metal, fabric, acrylic, crystals, glass ornaments and even a pair of shoes!

use rubbings to dress up your glass serving bottles, mini tins and wood drawers

or even this mini spoon, metal organizer or right on the surface of a 7gypsies tray!

can you see these crystals and ornaments hanging from your christmas tree? 

what a way to add a bit of gypsy to your old christmas ornaments!

even customize your shoes using rubbings.

gypsy tip: after the rubbings were transferred to the shoes, 

we set them in place with a blast of air from a heat gun.

Ready to try rubbings?  

Here are a few simple tips for transferring onto mixed surfaces:

1.  GO SLOW

2.  Hold rubbing in place firmly with your finger while you rub to transfer your design to the surface

3.  Peel back the top protective sheet slowly to ensure that the design has transferred

4.  Keep rubbing if the design hasn't transferred~ patience helps with this tip!

5.  Once the design has transferred gently rub surface with your finger to smooth and reinforce bond to surface.

here we place our ticket rubbing on the edge of our artist printers tray

gypsy tip: move very slow, working small sections at a time to wrap the rubbing around the edges

we love layering here in the workshop - here we add a rubbing to the tray edge on top of another rubbing! 

we can't resist placing our rubbings on apothecary bottles.  

Just follow our few basic tips and you'll be covering just about everything you can find with rubbings! 

gypsy tip: this is extremely addicting.

Click HERE to shop 7gypsies rubbings.

gypsy secret: tray guide & measurements

Some of the questions we hear most at the gypsy workshop are usually about our trays.  

Gypsies everywhere want to know which tray we recommend most, what colors the trays come in and most importantly what SIZE the compartments are on each of the tray styles.  

Did you know we sell 10 different trays and that doesn't even include our collection of librarie drawers and vintage receipt holders?

Well~ we've finally decided it might be time to showcase them all in one place!  

We've put together the official guide to all 7gypsies trays 

(even our newest~ yet to be shipped styles), 

colors, their measurements and our recommended uses.  

But if you've got more tray ideas, secrets or tips you'd like to share, please comment!

Enjoy!

Artist Printers Tray (the original 1st tray in our line!):
available in black or white
recommended for beginning tray artists
great for: wallet sized photos, ATC cards & exchanges, 12 months of the year, advent calendars,  we even saw a great project that showcased a wallet sized photo of each year of school K-12!

4x6 Photo Tray:
available in white or black
recommended for beginning tray artists
great for: 4x6 photos, recipes, card storage.  This is our most basic style of tray and recommended for first time tray artists.  It is easy to complete by simply filling with your favorite photos.  Add some embellishments for more layering or leave as a custom photo display.  Either way, this is a super simple and unique piece of home decor!

Letterblock Tray:
available in brown or black
recommended for intermediate tray artists
great for: multiple sized items, small photos, trinkets, most finished projects in this tray are a real show stopper because all of the different sized compartments make this interesting to look at an explore what's in all of the little openings!

Letterpress Shadowbox Tray:
available in dark stain
recommended for intermediate tray artists
great for: showcasing dimensional items such as bottles, keys, spools, etc.  We created our shadowbox line of trays especially for adding dimension for an extra authentic touch.  With its drawer pull style handle, this tray is most true to the original letterpress trays that we drew inspiration from when creating this line!  And the beautiful, rich stain finish looks beautiful as a part of any home decor!

Solo Shadowbox Tray:
available in black and white
BRAND NEW~ ships in August
recommended for beginning tray artists, the perfect starter tray!
great for: GIFTING!  This darling mini version of our shadowbox trays makes a unique and custom gift for lots of occasions.  Think baby showers, weddings, engagements, grandparents, fathers, mothers, dads, grads, sisters, girlfriends, school teachers.  It's simple to create one by just adding a 4x6 photo and a few mini trinkets.  This one is selling fast for the holidays!

Photo Shadowbox Tray:
available in black
BRAND NEW~ ships in september
recommended for beginning/intermediate tray artists
great for:  a quick, custom photo display gallery.  This shadowbox was designed specifically to hold standard sized photos.  So even though it looks complex with lots of different compartments, you can simply slip your favorite 4x6's, 5x7 and wallet sized photos in with just a few openings left to fill with your favorite dimensional trinkets.  This is part of our shadowbox line of trays so it is built with extra depth to hold many kinds of findings: bottles, shells, baby booties, and more.  It looks great displayed on our new easel!

Display Easel:
available in black
BRAND NEW~ ships in September
great for: ALL 7gypsies trays to be showcased in your home.  But not only do our trays look fabulous on this wooden easel, so do framed photographs, layouts, books and more!

And if you didn't get a chance to view our shadowboxing video, take a moment to watch.  It will inspire you to make one using any of our trays!

Click HERE to view our previous blog post with the video.

A new addition to your tool box...

Have you seen the new white Photo Tray that was released with the Venice collection? Well, we have seen them up close and they are fabulous! The new white trays come in both the 4 x 6 version as seen here and in the ATC size. Now since we have been working with the trays getting ready for CHA we have found a new tool to add to our tool box...the wooden skewer.

skewer |ˈskyoōər| noun a long piece of wood or metal used for holding pieces of food, typically meat, together during cooking.

We have found this to be a most useful tool when working with the trays. Here's how: Say you put a picture in one of the rectangles, but then you change your mind (like that never happens). Just reach for your handy wooden skewer, we bought ours at the dollar store...mind you there's enough in the package for a lifetime of trays as well as shish kebab-ing for a mob on the weekend. The skewer is just right to get into the corner and pop the picture right back out without scratching or cutting anything. Can you tell what tool we WERE using before we found the skewer?

We also thought you might like better look at one of the new white Photo Trays using the new Venice line.

In the first square you can see our new 97% sticker, N is for Nest. Did you notice the little book that says, "a short guide to us?" tucked behind the black book belt? (she just cut the book belt with scissors to make it fit). The stickers in the center bottom are adhered at different levels. Some are right on the backing and other are mounted on one or two pieces of book book to create the different heights. A few even have copper tape on the edges. The numbers in the last square relate to the house number where the family lives (must be a love nest).
We hope you like the new white trays and the new Venice line as much as we do.

All I want for Christmas...

Is the new 7gypsies BINDERIE PUNCH...or as our gypsy friend Wendy from Bad Girls Kits calls it... "the little red hottie". We thought we would walk you through some basic steps to making a journal. You will be surprised how simple it is to use!


Step 1-Gather supplies

1. The amazing Binderie punch!
2. 1 package 7gypsies 6 x 6 black board (we used 2 of the 4 pieces that come in the package for the front and back covers)
3. 3 sheets of 12 x 12 Bazzill cardstock (you can use whatever you have on hand). Cut the cardstock into 6 x 6 squares to match cover size.
4. 3 medium black binding rings- the rings may look large for the size of the book, but after you add embellishments and photos you will need this size.
5. pencil
6. ruler

Step 2- Pull out the arm
The bindery punch has an arm that slides out from the right side of the punch. You must pull the arm out one notch (it will click into place). This arm will allow you to drill holes the same distance apart, whether you need 3 holes or 10.


Step 3- Mark your paper
Mark the center on one side of cardstock as shown. Since our cardstock is 6 x 6 we marked it at 3". You only have to mark one piece of cardstock because the Binderie punch will drill through multiple sheets (we are doing 8 sheets in the example) so all will be punched together. Easy huh? All the holes lined up with only one measuring line...so easy.
(TIP: the cardstock will slide into the Binderie punch about 1 1/2" so make your mark long enough so that it does not disappear when you slide the cardstock into the punch)




Step 4: Line up and Punch
Slide the stack of cardstock into the Binderie punch (all 8 sheets)...make sure you push the stack all the way back. Line up the center mark on the top sheet with the Binderie center mark and push the button. That's it...you've just drilled your first two holes.


Step 5: Adding a hole...or 10
It is so easy to add more holes to your project. (Make sure the arm is pulled out from the body of the punch) Place the right hole that you have just drilled in the stack of papers on the "button" found on the arm. Push the stack of paper all the way back and push the button on the top again. Now you have three holes!
TIP: We have found that the easiest way to get the paper/book board out of the machine is to swing the paper out and then lift the stack off "the button" as shown below. Remember...punch, swing out, lift off...very simple.


Step 6: The cover
The cover is done exactly like the pages but there is no marking needed. Just use that same piece of cardstock you have already marked. Lay it on top of the book board cover about 2" from the top as your guide (remember, our cover is black book board). Slide in, line up the markings and punch.
Of course, if you like you can always measure and mark the cover if you choose not to use the previously marked page.


The finished book-
From start to finish it took 10 minutes to make...and that included cutting the cardstock.

Keep watching and you can see the book build...we'll add some very basic elements like the 97% complete ATC sticker -Family  , learn some cool binderie ideas and add some fun things as inclusions. The binderie punch works great for adding ephemera...so quick, you better have a big stack because you won't want to stop!