gypsy contest: solo tray winners!

CONGRATULATIONS 

to the following devoted gypsies!

Tina Walker

Karen Wiseman

Carolyn Kropp

Debbie Olsakovsky

Jenn Wrathall

Kelsey Adams

Nicole Martin

the pre-orders you placed online for the solo trays are completely FREE!

FREE shipping - FREE trays!

look what we got: global collection

Have you seen our new global collection?  

It's the latest in BRAND NEW products to arrive in our warehouse and is ready to ship now!

Maps are popping up everywhere~ decor, fashion, decoupage and all over our favorite craft inspiration sites.  We're even seeing large scale maps framed and sold as wall decor! 

(check out the latest Restoration Hardware catalog)

We've long been inspired by old maps and charts.  They represent a sense of adventure and exploration of places we've been or long to visit.  Some tell stories of places that have changed with time.

Our inspiration for global was drawn from our own collection of maps and charts.   We reconstructed parts of each to create this line of papers. 

Many of the papers are centered around places of meaning for us including the birthplace of our founders.

You'll find that most of these papers have a warm, vintage palette of colors.  

We also think the Global collection coordinates beautifully with our CAMDEN collection and have been playing with combinations from both paper lines on our projects.

Have you seen the fun Globe paperchain?  

It's featured in our last post as a DIY project!

The papers come in 12x12, 8x8 and 6x6 sizes.  You'll LOVE seeing these maps in the mini 6x6... so cute!

A FABULOUS chipboard alphabet covered with a map overlay! 

And some pretty art tags.  We can't wait to use these on gifts and in the Artist Printers Tray.  Maybe even a mini tag book?

And we've saved our FAVORITE for last: the new Global papertape.  It is so GOOD~ we can't wait to start using it on everything.  

(we'll have to wait just a bit longer~ it's the only global collection element not shipping now~ but will be here soon!)

diy: globe paper chain

what you need: paper, scissors, adhesive and string. one. Use a circle stencil (or bottom of a tin can) to trace circles and cut. Each globe contains 7 circles. (the more the merrier!) we cut three different size circles to create dimension in our paper chain. two.  Fold each circle in half. three. Select two folded circles, use any type of adhesive (we used a tape runner) and glue two flat sides together. Repeat until you get to the last circle you need to glue. four. Place string in the middle of the circles before you glue the last one on, then glue the last circle on to form a ball. five. Repeat steps one through four until you have string of paper globes!

hang up anywhere your gypsy heart desires!!!

facebook friday: susan johnson-tutt

Congratulations

 SUSAN JOHNSON-TUTT
your INSPIRATIONAL receipt holder is our 
Facebook Friday pick this week!

spotted and hearted: globes and paperchains

Maybe we're just super anxious for our new Global collection to hit stores, but we can't help but notice globes and maps popping up everywhere we look.  We've also discovered a new love: paperchains.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Without a doubt these altered globes are some of the coolest things we've seen.  

We're tempted to try our hand at making a 7gypsies version adorned with our van.  

Check back Saturday~ we'll be posting DIY instructions for how to make this global paper chain!

from the studio of: vicki boutin

mixed media art board

by Vicki Boutin

This gorgeous art board is layered with several techniques and mediums.  

If you look closely you'll notice that it is an 8x8 board collaged with new off the wall papers mounted on a 12x12 board covered with 7gypsies tissue, paints and finished off with brand new color rubbings!

Vicki was awesome enough (as always!) to share her inspiration and techniques with us:

I have a thing for tissue paper.  It is one of the most versatile mediums to work with as well as being light, delicate and oh so pretty!!  One of my favorite things to do with tissue paper is to create textured backgrounds.  

When I created this art board I wanted to move beyond a basic scrapbook page and make something dimensional and textural.  I covered the 8x8 book board in patterned paper and added a thin layer of gesso to create a collage look.  For the 12x12 piece, I decoupaged tissue to the base and added some color with paint.  Once it was dry, I rubbed the surface with gold paint and added the new 7gypsies butterfly rubbings.

The tissue is a great solution for imperfect surfaces, too!!  Super fun and easy!

You can see more of Vicki's work in our online gallery or by visiting her blog at: vickiboutin.typepad.com

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.

facebook friday: marina khong

Congratulations MARINA KHONG!

your STUNNING layout is our Facebook Friday pick this week!

look what we got: off the wall

Our NEW collection has arrived and is shipping now!

Off the Wall

Did you read about the urban art inspiration behind our designs?  

Our last post was dedicated to urban art and graffiti stenciling~ click here to read if you haven't already.

Look closely at the Off the Wall collection papers and you'll see layers and layers of different elements.  Some designs have textures created from images of walls from around the world combined with vintage graphics and even clippings from previous 7gypsies papers!

You'll also notice the silhouettes on every paper~ our take on the graffiti stencil art images that inspired this collection!  

Each silhouettes represent themes that are meaningful in our lives and can be interpreted in many ways. The child over the faded clock speaks to the childhood and passing of time, birds on a wire more whimsical and quirky layered over the Times Weekly, the globe and plane are a nod to travel and exploration, the hands reaching out in adulation at a rock concert...

The paper designs come in 12x12, 8x8 and 6x6 sizes.  

The smaller versions are perfect for cards, ATC art and mini books.

We love this mini village that gypsy artist Ann Mabee created using the new 8x8 Off the Wall papers.

These new chipboard alphas & numbers coordinate with Off the Wall papers.  They are a classic newsprint and look great with just about every 7gypsies paper!  

Check out the 7G in the bottom left corner for better detail.

The Off the Wall art tags are a funky new shape and you'll love the 2x3 size.  

hint:  they look fantastic in the artist printers tray, mini library drawer, or bound together with a premium binding ring as a mini tag book.

The new papertape has got us drooling...  

The full color printing is unique and hard to find on tapes.  We also love the graph grids and stripes~ these tapes are going everywhere with us!  

Can you say new must have at all times in our paper tape stash?

Click HERE to shop the Off the Wall collection now!