Sending Wishes

Hi hi everyone!!  Michele here with you today and I would like to share a fun background technique that I saw over on Mr. Holtz's blog last year.  Paint and stamps together can create a fun shabby looking background.  Let's get started...

You will need a tag, acrylic paint, stamps, clear embossing power, a paper towel and water to start.

 I used Writing Background (Item 16207 Plate 1287) and Writing Circles Background (Item 19567 Plate 1455) for my background layer.

VLVS! High Gloss Embossing Powder creates an amazing resist.

Paint over the entire tag.  Let dry to the touch, leaving a bit tacky.

 I did 2 layers of paint for a bit more depth.  Then I used Coffee Ring Stain (Item 19230 Plate 926) and Mesh Texture (Item 19569 Plate 1455) for the next layer.

So here is my finished tag with a few more awesome VLVS! images fussy cut and water colored with my Distress Markers.

Tricycle Girl Mailing Letter (Item 19558 Plate 1451) and Happy Moon (Item 19507 Plate 1450).

We have also got some Um Wow Studios layered clouds, glass glitter, thread and gesso.

 Along with a bit of Tim Holtz tissue tape.

Thanks for stopping by...until next time, get inky!!

The Hunt.

Hello!!  Mary here with a pocket-sized book for lookin'.

 

Last weekend, I was able to capture a few snapshots of my kiddos at my church's annual Easter egg hunt.  From the moment I took them, I knew I wanted to scrap them...and FAST!

 

Here's a peek at my book...

 

I've been on a mission to use up some of my old paper stash.  While it's a noble endeavor, playing with older paper can be a bit blah.  I find myself craving the new.  It's exciting to get your hands on craftin' goodies---hot off the press!!  So, I thought what better way to jazz up old paper and make it new again, that with some rock solid stamping??

 

I started my book by cutting my photos and papers down to 3x2 inches in size.  For each patterned paper, I chose a stamp and stamped (sometimes repeatedly, depending on the size of the stamp) my image down with Memento ink in Tuxedo Black.  A bit of color added really makes the stamped image POP!!  I've used my Copic markers in a variety of colors.

 

Being such a tiny book, I decided to add my journaling on vellum.  It gives me plenty of room for the story without covering up any of the lovely stamping.

I LOVE how this bulls eye page turned out!

 

 

And this clouds page is super whimsical and totally makes me smile.

Here's a peek at the rest of my pages...

 

 

And that's my book!!  I love that it's pocket-sized but still packs a punch.

 

Viva Las VegaStamps! used:

 

Medium Doily

Waybill/Invoice Background

Be Adorable

Bulls Eye Solid

Victorian Flourish

Lace Background

Whimsical Cloud 1 1/2 x 2 1/4

Whimsical Cloud 1 x 2 1/2

 

 

Thanks so much for joining me today!!  xx Mary

Tag you're it!!

Hello There!
Tera Here again

Just wanted to share a quick Tag that I made the other day using some really fun stamps!!

Products Used:

Owl In Vest 2 x 3

Tiny Arrow Heart 3/4 x 3/4

In The Pale Moonlight 3/4 x 1 1/2

Coffee Ring Stain 2 3/4 x 2 1/4

UmWow Star Confetti 

Distress Ink and Black Archival Ink 

Love Is A Work Of Heart

Hello its me Tera Again!

Happy Early Valentines Day to all of you! 

For my piece today I want to share a special layout that I made for my brother and his girlfriend. 

(Shhh... This is a surprise so don't tell them yet hehe...)

For this Layout I wanted to use depth and color to highlight the focal images. I chose to use corrugated board and my favorite kiwi colored tattered angels spray (over a layer of Gesso to keep it's truest color). Since this will be placed in a shadow box frame, I wasn't worried about the thickness of the embellishments. 

Stamps Used here: 

Love Is A Work 2 x 2

Large Lightbulb 2 x 3

Large Arrow Heart 2 x 1 3/4

Eyes Looking Left 1 x 3 (which I didn't end up using in the final piece)

I started by inking the stamped images that I thought I would use, and cutting them out. 

I then arranged them around the photo and adhered them with miracle tape. 

I also decided to really spruce things up but adding some fun UmWow Studio Chipboard Star Confetti

 and the inside of the UmWow Chipboard Contoured Feather! 

Now that you've seen this super simple layout, Who's ready to get stamping!?!

Don't forget about the ongoing February challenge and that you can also share your creations on the Viva Las VegaStamps! Groupies Facebook page too!!  

Tropical Dream Journal

Hello stampers! It's Amy here today, to share a journal I created to contain all of my hopes, dreams, and future plans. Because I hope beyond hope that my future means living in Hawaii, I created the cover of this book with tropical flair.

I started by taking an old paperback children's book and covering it with a thick layer of gesso. When it was dry, I put little drips of acrylic paints in tropical colors all along the book, and went over them with a brayer.

When the paint was dry, I stamped the background using the Map Background 4 1/2 x 4 3/4 using Momento Ink in Tuxedo Black . I then layered up some scrap papers (7 Dots Studio and vintage book pages) to create a palm tree trunk (using miracle tape), and a bit for layers along the side.

I colored on the Fancy Grass/Weeds stamp, using Copic markers in mistletoe and burnt sienna, stamped them onto a library card, and fussy cut them out. I then layered them onto the base of the "tree trunk." When that was complete, I stamped the Anchor 1 1/2x2 with the black Momento ink, and fussy cut it out as well.

I created the palm fronds, by cutting cheesecloth, and spraying it with Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Mint until it was saturated. When it was try, I arranged it to create the top of the tree, and added two brown buttons from my stash, as coconuts!
Adding the adventure awaits sentiment (stamped onto a library card), a few stamped Stars, and 7 Dots Studio alpha stickers spelling out "Dream"; as well as some UmWowStudio chipboard, completed my book cover.

This was a fun, quick, and exciting project to create, and it gives me a place to journal my dreams......which is an added bonus!

Thanks so much for joining me today, and I hope I inspired you to get inky!

Supplies Used:
Viva Las VegaStamps!: Map Background, Stars, Adventure Awaits, Anchor, Fancy Grass/Weeds.
Ink: Tsukeinko Momento, Tuxedo Black; Copic Marker, burnt sienna, mistletoe
Paper: 7 Dots Studio
Chipboard: UmWowStudio

Come to the Greatest Show On Earth!

An indexed journal book is a great substrate for VLVS circus images!  Remove "Under The Big Top," or elephant and add a personal pic from when your family attended the circus.  Makes a wonderful scrapbook page.

VLVS Images:
19190 - Admit One Ticket
19193 - Bulls Eye Target Open
19196 - Bulls Eye Target Solid
19195- Circus Lady
19199- Greatest Show On Earth
19200 - Under The Big Top
19219 - Whimsical Elephant
979 - Design solid Circles

VLVS Partners:
Sakura of America - Cray Pas Expressionist Oil Pastels, Moonglow Gelly Roll Pens
UMWow Studios - Chipboard Banners

The first thing I did was create the background.  There is a subliminal orange and creamy orange jacquard-like background.  I stamped the dots and the bulls eye images.   For the dots, do not ink up the whole stamp, just part to give a more natural look.  Edges distressed slightly.

The picture above is my playing with how I might want the finished layout to look.  Things usually change as I work on my art.  Notice, I changed the "Big Top" word placement with "The Greatest Show" word placement.

Each image is colored using oil pastels colored on plastic (An old CD works well for this) and use odorless mineral spirits to create a more watercolor look.  The Gelly Roll pens add pops of color for contrast.  A couple colors of Copic pens also used to finish off the design.

Here is a close up of how I colored the Chipboard banner pieces.  Instead of picking up color from the CD, I colored full strength with the oil pastel on the chipboard and softened with mineral spirits brushed on top.  It would be fun to go further and layer maybe another patterned chipboard shape over the solid - i.e. the orange striped piece over the solid blue.

This is how the page looks standing up in the journal.  The left side could be where you scrapbook or journal words about your memories of going to the circus as a child or with your children.

We all love the Big Top, afterall; it is The Greatest Show On Earth!!!


Cre8tivelea Yours - Lea

Challenge - Accepted!

Hi Everyone - Karen here with you again today. Have you seen the awesome new inspiration challenge that we have here at VLVS this month??

 



 

I love the colours.. So I decided that I would use this as my inspiration ,

 

This is what I came up with..
 

 

 I used a base of the VLVS Grunge writing 1787 , then layered down  lots of different elements, including book pages and lace added in some Tim Holtz embellishments and some hexagon chipboard from UmWow Studio .  I've coloured the chipboard with brown ink, even though I love the natural colour of the UWS chipboard, I wanted it a little darker this time, and  lastly some stitching and flowers.

 

and a couple of close ups..

 

I love the detail in this crown.

 I stamped  both the crown and the bee on manila coloured cardstock, the inked the edges with walnut stain distress ink.

 

I've  used Miracle tape to stick my vintage lace down..  Is there anything this tape wont stick??

 

I used three different VLVS images for this one..

 

Crown

 

 

 For the background  I used

Grunge Writing 1787

 

And I fussy cut the bee from

 

Italian Sonnet Background

 

 

Thank you for stoping by,

I hope you have a fantastic day, and get a little stamping in

 

Happy Stamping..

Karen.

Doing My Part to Creatively Save the Planet... with my Stash of Viva Las VegaStamps!

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! Susan here today to bring you some inspiration using September's Challenge Inspiration Board. I am all about recycling and greencrafting so this was right up my alley... and my crazy "one touch rule" decided to tag along also.

In gathering up goodies to create with I came across an Altoid tin... so this project is also inspiration for the current Viva Las VegaStamps! Altoid Tin Swap {CLICK HERE for swap details}.

I have these scraps of book pages that are leftover from cutting out a niche in an altered book which is a perfect size for ATCs... and for today's project... papering the inside of an Altoid Tin. I put down a base layer of gesso, then overlaid Peeled Paint, Old Paper and Antique Linen Ranger Distress Stains. This made a nice background for scene stamping on top of.

I hammered the lid of the tin to flatten out the raised embossed letters - and it left a nice bumpy texture and rounded convex finish to the lid.

Inside the tin, I primed with a mixture of gesso and Peeled Paint Distress Stain. I mounted and prepared my stamps; "Panda Eating" #963 and "Flower Background" #18369. I stamped the panda onto white cardstock using Staz-On Black ink and added touches of color using my Ranger Distress Markers and waterbrush.

I stamped the flower background onto my painted paper using Frayed Burlap and Peeled Paint Distress Inks; then overstamped with Staz-On Black ink to give the effect of depth in the foilage.

Now to add some color and "POP" with my Sakura of America Gelly Roll® Stardust® Glitter Pens and also Souffle® 3-D Opaque pens. The colors of the Souffle pens are opaque and dry a little raised, and the Stardust pens are translucent and give that touch of glittery shimmer. I really love smudging the color of the Stardust pens around to get subtle color with a little bling.

I finished off with some buttons, a knot of natural raffia and painted corrugated around the outside of the tin – all in the flavor the inspiration above. Built the scene with layers of texture and various chipboard details - a disassembled UmWowStudio Cattails and a balanced in the opposite corner with a decorative flourish; each painted in the same fashion as the book page base. To add that final bit of detail, I ran a bead of Diamond Glaze around the edge of each side and dropped in some pale green iridescent glitter... one can never have enough glittery goodness!

Doing My Part to Creatively Save the Planet...

I hope you are INSPIRED and will link up your creation to this month's Challenge.

Left side detail... with a field of button florals and glittery goodness.



Right side detail with the panda nestled amongst the foliage.

•••••••••••

Supplies used: STAMPS - "Panda Eating" #963 and "Flower Background" #18369. Other supplies: white cardstock; recycled book pages and Altoid Tin; gesso; Staz-On Black ink; Miracle Tape; Ranger Distress Markers; Sakura of America Gelly Roll® Stardust® Glitter Pens; Sakura of America Souffle® 3-D Opaque; Ranger Distress Stains - Peeled Paint, Old Paper, and Antique Linen; water brush; Peeled Paint and Frayed Burlap Ranger Distress Inks; Cattails Chipboard from UmWowStudio; buttons; glitter; Diamond Glaze; and natural raffia.

Thanks so much for dropping by. I invite you to play along with the monthly challenge - make a creation using the inspiration and your stash of VLVS! stamps... you could win! CLICK HERE for challenge details. Also, did you receive the latest Viva Las VegaStamps! newsletter??? If not - you may have missed the LABOR DAY SALE and the Altoid Tin Swap info. Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to be IN THE KNOW of everything going on at the Viva Las Vegastamps!. There's so much amazing inky inspiration to see!

If you would like to see more of my creations please visit my blog, sbartist : painting in the dark HERE. I'll be back soon with another stamping adventure!  Sb