Alpha Stamps Gypsy Fever Blog Hop!

It is time for another really fun blog hop with Alpha Stamps.  This time there is a bit of a challenge, but it is worth investigating, because there is a $100 prize to be had.  To enter, simply find the secret words in our posts, unscramble the saying and leave the answer as a comment on the AS blog!  Correct answers that have been posted on the AS blog will be entered for the chance to win the prize!

I have been so excited to show off this project to all of you, as it has been in the works for a while!  Be warned, there are lots of pictures in this post.  I designed this little gypsy caravan for Alpha Stamps, as they are hosting a gypsy swap.  I had so much fun with this theme, I just may have to join in the fun.

I had some challenges with my little bottle cap wheels.  It seems my first choices in glue were poor, so my first photo session was an absolute disaster.  The wheels were popping off left and right!    

I like how the book rings look like big hoops a gypsy just might wear.  The cool thing is I could add more cars to my caravan if I choose too or I could split them up.  

First we shall take a peek inside and see what these gypsy folk are up to.  I loved the imagery used here.  Alpha Stamps has a lovely selection of imagery in this theme.  As always, there is a sale that goes with the current swap to sweeten the deal.   

The central image above was black and white, which would not work in my project.  To solve this, I simply used colored pencils to color it in a palate that worked for me.  I love the new beaded trim Alpha Stamps now has, very fun.

Each of the wheels of the caravan are simply bottle caps painted with gesso on the inside and then two layers of gears.  I was able to mix and match my gears to create a number of different wheel styles.  This proved to be problematic, as when I had my wheel issue, I did not pay attention when reattaching them and made some matching errors. All is well now!  

One thing that really made this project easy was the wonderful Gypsy Sister paper from Alpha Stamps  which was used as a background on all of my caravan. I absolutely fell in love this paper and I so wish I had gotten the whole stack!  I call a sell out on this item for sure.  

The rich colors of this paper works well with the theme, but it is typically not a palate I usually gravitate towards.  I am slowly starting to embrace colors beyond vintage brown!!!

Now we can take a peek to see how the "back" of my pages turned out.  I tried to make them look like the outside of a caravan.  As I researched caravans on the Internet with good old Google, I noticed that they often were brightly colored, had flowers or plants and they were very ornate.  

Resin windows got an aged finish with my favorite...Guilders Paste. 

Here a gypsy peers from behind a gilded window.

It is hard to tell, but on this car I used a spray ink and a stencil to add some texture as the paper was a bit plain.

And here is the caboose, so to speak.  A bit of filigree and a cool key hole finish off the last of my cars, at least for now.  My favorite, Dresden scrap borders, also add a bit of ornate detail to this car.  

I hope this project inspires those of you who are considering joining in the fun swap.  It was a blast to create, and I had so much fun showing it off to you. 

Be sure to check out the rest of the hop as there is a prize to be had, if you can crack the code and find the fortune!

Cheers, 

Rhea