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.

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!