from the studio of: ranjini malhotra

postale library drawer

by ranjini malhotra

7 gypsies supplies: Gaffer Tape - Nottinghill Librarie Drawer with Index Cards Librarie Drawer Naked Sidetabs Paper Tape - Postale Tag Envelopes - Postale Tag Inserts - Postale Index Envelopes - Postale Index Cards - Postale Petit Carnet - Rue/French 97% Complete Stickers - Always Lille Paperclip Dangles Avignon Paperclip Dangles 7 Gypsies Tags (Vintage & Victoria) Other Supplies: Mini Paris Envelopes (Zulio.com) Paris Stickers  (Cavallini) Trims: red seam binding, red/white baker's twine, blue/cream striped linen ribbon, red twine, eyelet lace trim (1.5") Vintage Buttons Photos, Ephemera, Index Tags Postale Librarie Drawer When I spied the Postale Collection from 7 Gypsies, I was so excited to be asked to create this project! I wanted to recreate the look of a cherished box of letters tied with ribbons, chock full of photos, ephemera, tickets, tags, memories, all tied up with pretty ribbons and buttons. The key for me was to work within the Postale palette. When you are pulling together supplies for this project, look for things you already have that will work with the palette - the addition of the vintage buttons, the trims etc. give an authentic feel to this project and is also visually pleasing. You'll love and cherish the finished project!  Instructions 1. Use a Phillips screwdriver to unscrew the screws on the metal handle of the Librarie Drawer. Remove hardware and set aside.  2. Cover the front of the librarie drawer with Nottinghill Gaffer Tape, trim to fit. 3. Replace the metal handle on the face of the drawer, the screws will pierce the gaffer tape as they are screwed back in.  4. Assemble the drawer contents adding postale envelopes, inserts and photos. Journal on some of the inserts, you can adhere photos directly to the insert or envelopes and add journaling as well. Address the envelopes if you like, add vintage postage stamps. Use your imagination - you're creating a letter box full of memories!  5. Add other ephemera from your stash - letters, tickets, tags.  6. Tie mini postal envelopes with red and white baker's twine, securing the centers with a vintage button.  7. For the very front portion of the drawer, layer the tag envelope shown on top of the postale index card shown. Use a circle punch to punch out a photo and center it within the circle on the tag envelope. Add the A sticker from the 97% Complete Stickers to the left side of the postale index card. Use a small circle punch to punch a half circle on the left side of the index card.  8. I wanted the drawer to look as if it contained stacks of old letters and cards, tied together with ribbons. To imitate this look, you can stack journaling cards/envelopes/photos/ephemera of similar size and tie them together with ribbon as shown.  Repeat this several times to give the drawer fullness.  9. Lots of little touches bring the drawer to life - add paper tape on the Naked Sidetabs, use paperclip dangles on the envelopes and inserts, fashion a rosette from fabric trim with a few stitches and a button for a center. The key is to add lots of color in the postale palette - look for the reds, whites and blues that make up the postale palette and bring those in through selecting trims and vintage embellishments in the same palette.  10. You can add a petit carnet from 7gypsies in the back, mine was from a previous project and it fit nicely in the drawer for storage.

from our workshop: cha winter sneak peek #5

New SHADOWBOXES!

Many of you have already fallen in love with our vintage inspired wood display trays.  Well, we have too and just had to give you a couple of new ones to create with!

These basic shadowboxes are done right~ with an added distressing and just the right thickness and depth.  They become gorgeous showpieces for your precious belongings and latest creations.

We offer a 12x12 version in black.

and the 8x8 version in a natural wood.

The 8x8 shadowbox also has accompanying inserts in both round and square.  Simply slip the inserts into the shadowbox and fill with your latest findings.  Or perhaps create a project using the insert like one of our talented gypsy artists shown below!

We'd LOVE to send 2 lucky gypsies a shadowbox of their own.  

Simply comment on your FAVORITE new product from the CHA release and you'll be entered to win.

good luck gypsies!

from our workshop: cha winter sneak peek #3

We apologize for the delay in our posts - we had such a great and busy time at the CHA Winter trade show....

we know you've been patiently waiting to see more and here you go gypsies!

introducing the Trousseau collection

a few of the inspiration boards for our newest collection

lots of soft colors and textured surfaces

mixed patterns, photos, found book pages and fine laces

vintage patterns and papers

hand tinted and sepia photos~ many came from our own personal archives!

we flipped when we found trousseau in the dictionary~ we couldn't think of a better name for this collection.  do you agree?

Lots of fun patterns, drawings and vintage photos on the front of these designs, with classic vintage patterns on the back

you can really see how the soft tones and color blend together in these 2 designs.  and we LOVE the strawberry on the top of the "always" paper

Love love love the vintage photos covering the back of "grace"~ lots of fun images to work with in your mixed media designs.

all papers are available in 8x8 and the ever so popular 6x6 designs

coordinating clear stamp (the strawberry!)

and paper tapes.

collection and alphabet stickers

DARLING printed scalloped tags

and naked versions as well for stamping and altering

these are simply delicious little envelopes to tuck the scalloped tags inside or your own mini masterpieces inside of

and finally ANOTHER Tattered Angels paint system, custom formulated just for the 7gypsies Trousseau collection...

old pages glam, mercury glass glaze, silk glimmer mist and sterling glimmer mist.

Check back Thursday for more fun new release items!!

from our workshop: cha winter sneak peek #2

The journey through the postale collection continues... we have SO many new products that are part of this collection!!

A fun new clear stamp along with 3 new papertape designs.  Now if you haven't tried our papertape yet, you MUST.  It is NOT washi tape, it is paper tape~ it actually works like tape AND looks great too!

And 2 new stickers~ a classic black alphabet and a MUST have collection sticker.

These "tags" also double as cute journaling cards and inserts for the new tag envelopes!  SO darn cute in a 2.5"x 2.5" size.  (you'll want to wallpaper your craft room with these when you see them)

These envelopes are made to fit the new tag inserts and are CUTE (we just can't say it enough)

What is also FABULOUS about these new envelopes and inserts is that they fit perfectly in our mini library drawer and the artist printers tray!

Here's a beautiful project showing the mini library drawer stuffed with the new postale inserts & envelopes.

Next up are the index inserts.  These are made to fit our the new index envelopes (below)  These are a great size for journaling and cards.

We also just had to throw in a naked version of the index cards~ create your own design by stamping, inking, collaging and journaling on these!  AND they have a scalloped edge!

The index envelopes are designed to fit the index inserts.  At 6"x5" they'll also hold photos and fit perfectly in our Librarie Drawer!

And since we've got lots of fun new goodies to fit the librarie drawer, we figured that every gypsy needed a new set of Librarie Drawer tabs to complete a fun librarie drawer project.  Check out the project below!

And.....

New 7gypsies/ Tattered Angles Paint system!!

We were so excited to get to formulate and design our own custom 7gypsies paint system with Tattered Angels.  It coordinates with the Postale collection and has a bit of everything~ glam, glaze, glimmer mist & chalkboard mist!!

Are you excited to play with these???

Check back Tuesday for a look at the new Trousseau collection!!

news & events: check this out!

we are SO proud of our design team here at 7gypsies...

and not only for the wonderful projects they create for us, 

but for all the fabulous things they create outside of 7gypsies....

take a look below, these are just the most recents ones we've seen, 

but three of our wonderful gypsies have been published in Creating Keepsakes magazines!

 this was Janelle's, published in the Jan/Feb 2012 

 Mou's layout was published in the Scrapbooking for Every Season special issue by Creating Keepsakes

Ranjini's layout was published in the Scrapbooking for Every Season special issue by Creating Keepsakes

Creating Keepsakes is a fabulous magazine - a must have! 

you will have to purchase the whole magazine for more details on these lovely projects!

from the studio of: ranjini malhotra

ranjini created this gorgeous winter display with our classic atc & photo display....

we love the way that she has incorporated pieces of nature into this project...

how adorable are those little birds nests with the tiny blue eggs? swoooon

 frosting the tips of these acorn ornaments gives this such a winter wonderland feeling

 our princesca dangles create a lovely icicle look when combined with all the blue and silver in this project!

we are so tickled that we can always count on ranjini to create these one of a kind, gorgeous, vintage style projects!

holiday decor: wrapping!

there are so many fun ways to wrap presents during the holidays...

sometimes, okay well we actually think always -  it's just more fun to get creative then spend all your money on expensive, pre-printed wrapping paper....

our gypsy Ann came up with some amazing wrapping ideas...take a peek.

how cute is the chipboard letter used as a tag on this present? 

and don't forget the Christmas papertape to keep those little ones from peeking early!

the combination of the 7gypsies Paris tissue with the doily create a gorgeous holiday gift wrapping 

using our Life tissue paper, Gypsy tags and Lille papertape with the perfect addition of pink ribbon and bells - Ann created a true Christmas morning treat - but you can't eat this one gypsies!! 

simple, easy, beautiful...

 gypsy Ranjini wrapped this gift with kraft paper and the Lille papers...

with the addition of the gypsy hardware kit, this will look absolutely gorgeous sitting under any tree this season.

 this adorable little package incorporates our gorgeous conservatory collection with the gypsy hardware...

who wouldn't LOVE receiving this adorable gift? we love the way she attached the bottles to the outside to give it that special gypsy touch...

what will you be wrapping your gifts in this year gypsies?

stay tuned for more holiday decor this week!