facebook friday: tina walker

Congratulations

 Tina Walker
your Halloween solo tray is our 
Facebook Friday pick this week!

journey: south africa - paula cheney

I recently had the opportunity to travel to South Africa to teach fellow gypsies at the SA International Scrapbook Convention.  What a fabulous experience it was to be in South Africa again, seeing some of the delegates that I met previously and finding that they still are true gypsies.

I wanted to share a couple of experiences from the trip that inspired me.

Our first stop, a little town called Kalk Bay on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula on False Bay.   It's called False Bay because it is so large that early sailors rounding the Cape of Good Hope thought they were in open water when in fact they were in a horseshoe-shaped bay.  Once in the bay, they would have to wait for the winds to change to take them back out to find the open passage around the cape.

Even though this sleepy little town was a short stop on our way around False Bay, it did not disappoint.  A picturesque harbor full of brightly colored fishing boats, some in dry dock...some at sea.

 A bright yellow passenger train passing by on it's way to Cape Town.

The proximity to the sea made for the perfect stop at Kalky's for fish and chips.  We ate at the blue picnic tables right at the waters edge.

Can you believe the size?

A good time was had by all that day

Nic and Paul Howard, David Kennedy and Dave Schuh

After our lunch we took a walk along the beach...toward the shops.  Much to our surprise whales were just off shore, so close in fact that you could easily see them bobbing up and down in the water.  You might notice the train crossing light on the right side of the picture.  I purposefully left this in the frame so I could remember how very close we were to them.

As we wandered in and out of the little shops on the main street, I came upon a shop with a memorable name...
I knew this was my kinda town.

Next on our travels...Spier

I had the opportunity to stay at Spier for a few days while in the wine country region of Cape Town.  Soft rolling hills, vineyards, and green grasses are par for the course in this area.. so very similar to coastal California where I live.  I wanted to share my experience at Spier with you because there is something so special about this place; the landscape, the people and the art.
Especially the art.

The landscape here is truly inspired from the beautiful vistas to the historic buildings.  You really could wander around for hours taking in the beauty of this place.

 Brightly yellow colored birds live in these hanging nests.  You can sit on the bank of the lake to watch them come and go.  I'm not sure where the front door is, but they seemed to have no trouble finding it.

 Even between buildings there is beauty.

The Spier Estate has a rotating art collection.  I was lucky enough to see works by many different South African artists from photographers to painters to crafters, and be inspired by each.  In fact this broad collection was magical, a coming together of of many different mediums to create vibrant backdrop for the interiors.  With so much natural beauty on the outside and the art collection on the inside, I could have stayed much longer to just sit and contemplate the true joy I was feeling.  I hope you can see it too, even though this is such a small snapshot of the collection.

about 4 x 6'

 The beauty is in the details...

 This piece has so many textures and patterns that it is almost hard to take it all in.  The more you look at it the more you see the mixed media elements of collage, texture, found objects.

 Actual metal nailed on to the top right corner.

The Tree's Life

 This is only one in a series of linocut prints by Lucas Bambo that were scattered throughout the estate.  Love the texture the white lines make, the simplicity of the black and white palate, and story being told. 

And lastly, my very favorite.  

These 2 pieces, along with 8 or 10 others, hung in the hotel dining room.   I apologize in advance for taking these at night since by day the tables in the dining room were filled with people. 

At first glance you might say, that is a really nice painting...

about 3 x 4'

 But if you look closely you can see that the entire work is made of beads.  

Fascinating, amazing, don't you think?

This particular piece fascinated me how the artist even used different shades of white and clear beads to convey the shadows in the tablecloth.  

about 2 x 2'

So much more I could share with you from Spier...I suppose I will have to return to gather more inspiration, contemplate beauty and live out a dream of living where someone drives me around in a golf cart.  Much better weather here than a summer in Florida.

Here's to finding simple beauty in your little part of the world,

paula cheney

spotted and hearted: keys!

what could be better than finding every way possible to incorporate 

the amazing look of vintage keys into all different

aspects of your life? nothing (at least we think so)

it's beginning to get cold outside - our favorite time to snuggle up and read a good book!

use a key and ribbon to mark your page!

check out the new keys tissue used as wrapping paper - swooon

our gypsy workshop MUST have a treasure as great as these giant keys on the wall!

getting married? look at the adorable place setting tags and the rings with the keys - perfect for any vintage soul!

check this out: MUST HAVE kit of the season!

artist advent kit

limited edition

the entire 7gypsies creative team and staff have 
designed this season's MUST HAVE kit!

Starting October 10, the Gypsy Journal blog will 

be taken over by our creative team and they're 

inviting YOU to create with them. 

 purchase your kit NOW before the fun begins!

There are only a limited number of kits available

learn new techniques and unique ideas from each of

the 7gypsies designers and staff as you complete

each section of your vintage mini clip receipt holder.

facebook friday: sue thomsen

Congratulations

 SUE THOMSEN
your Prague tower album is our 
Facebook Friday pick this week!

diy: Scrapfest make & take!

what you need:  circle book board, conservatory clear stamp, tissue paper (1-5"x5", 4-4"x4") chipboard alpha, mini ephemera, naked tabs, papertape, acrylic block, ink, foam brush, mod podge (or other adhesive), small piece of sand paper, scissors and ribbon. one. grab the 4-4"x4" squares and stack on top of each other. begin by fan folding the pieces about 1/2" wide two.  tie the ribbon into a knot (be sure that it's snug but not crimping the tissue paper) three. adjust the knot to be on the side without the print. using a pair of scissors, round the ends of the tissue paper. beginning with the top layer, being gently peeling up the first layer of tissue bringing it towards the center.    four. tip: keep one hand near the center while using the other to gently and SLOWLY pull the layers up. repeat this process until all layers have been separated and pulled up towards the center. set aside. five. using a foam brush, coat the circle bookboard in mod podge (or other adhesive). you want to get it as even and smooth as possible six. lay the tissue paper on the circle. tip: DO NOT try to smooth out lumps or wrinkles - this will tear the tissue paper.  seven. using the small piece of sand paper, gently brush the edges of the bookboard going completely around the circle. tip: DO NOT try to tear the tissue off, continue sanding the area to get a clean edge. eight. place the butterfly and "by air mail" stamps on an acrylic block together and stamp so that the butterfly's wings are inside the tab on the naked tab. nine. glue the naked tab onto the tissue covered bookboard wherever you want. (we placed it in the center but do what your gypsy heart desires) ten. grab a piece of mini ephemera and glue to the bookboard. rip two strips of papertape and stick them on top of the mini ephemera.  eleven. glue the chipboard letter or number of your choice on top of the papertape.  twelve. line up the bookboard circle as close to the center as you can and punch. tip: be VERY careful to line up as centered as you can. if your punch goes off the board, you can use papertape to reinforce and try punching again.  thirteen. tie the ribbon through each hole. fourteen. glue tissue paper flower onto bookboard.

journey: scrapfest!

hello gypsies!

we survived our journey to Archiver's Scrapfest and WOW! 

what an amazing event to be a part of.

we are so excited and ready to announce the treasure hunt winners! 

we had three lucky winners in our line before our booth had even opened. 

we LOVED that

we also received our online winner's submission at 2 a.m.! 

a few of the gypsies with the treasure hunt winners!!

WINNERS

Erin Wilson, Michigan

Heather Ince, Wisconsin

Janet Lebeau, Ohio

virtual winner: DeeDee Catron, Wyoming

couldn't make it to Scrapfest? that's okay! check out our blog later 

this week for instructions on how to create our make and 

take in your own workshop!

caught on film: CHAS11 arrivals part 2

facebook friday: julie dix

Congratulations

 JULIE DIX
your Lille mini journal is our 
Facebook Friday pick this week!

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)