My mail ran away with the circus (mail art part 2)

Hello it's me Tera again here with a super fun 2 part Circus Mail Art series. 

you can view part 1 HERE

I really really love this awesome plate of rubber, It is super awesome with the new USPS Vintage Circus postage. (Also how cute would these be in a MINI album!?!)

Also I apologize ahead of time but my scanner wouldn't work so its hard to see the amazing details of these stamps... you'll just have to buy some and try them!! you'll love them!

Stamps used: 

Admit One Ticket 1 1/4 x 2 1/2, Striped Border Arrow 1 1/4 x 2 3/4, Strong Man 3/4 x 2 1/2, Zoltar Machine 2 1/4 x 4, Circus Lady 1 1/4 x 3 1/2, Bearded Lady 2 1/4 x 2 1/2, Shoes Hanging From Wire 1 1/2 x 5, Circus Strongman 3 3/4 x 3 1/4, Spinning Swing Ride 3 1/4 x 4 1/2, Under The Big Top 1 1/4 x 3, Bulls Eye Target Solid 1 x 1, Be True 3/4 x 1 1/2, Bulls Eye Target Open 1 1/4 x 1 1/4, The Greatest Show 3/4 x 1 3/4

I started by stamping out my envelopes and a set of "masks" to mask off the areas i don't want covered by sprays. (Below you can see I used scarp paper to create my masks)

I even love how these envelopes look even with out color, the detail in these stamps is just unbeatable! 

Next I masked of the parts is wanted to stay white, and sprayed the envelopes with "kiwi" tattered angels ink spray then removed the masks and allowed to dry

(in the 1st two below I decided to leave them at this step so a friend could color them to match her art journal... they are still really cool though and the stamps seam to pop off the page!)

To finish off my piece I added my postage stamps and tried to match the colors in them by using my distress markers and a water brush for a fun vintage feel.

 

I hope you are feeling inspired to send some at through the mail now!!
Happy stamping!

Circus Mail Art Part One

Hello it's me Tera again here with a super fun 2 part Circus Mail Art series. 

I love this awesome plate of rubber, It is super awesome with the new USPS Vintage Circus postage.

Stamps used: 

Admit One Ticket 1 1/4 x 2 1/2, Striped Border Arrow 1 1/4 x 2 3/4, Strong Man 3/4 x 2 1/2, Zoltar Machine 2 1/4 x 4, Circus Lady 1 1/4 x 3 1/2, Bearded Lady 2 1/4 x 2 1/2, Shoes Hanging From Wire 1 1/2 x 5, Circus Strongman 3 3/4 x 3 1/4, Spinning Swing Ride 3 1/4 x 4 1/2, Under The Big Top 1 1/4 x 3, Bulls Eye Target Solid 1 x 1, Be True 3/4 x 1 1/2, Bulls Eye Target Open 1 1/4 x 1 1/4, The Greatest Show 3/4 x 1 3/4

I started by stamping out my envelopes and a set of "masks" to mask off the areas i don't want covered by sprays. (Below you can see I used scarp paper to create my masks)

Look how awesome these envelopes look even with out color! 

Below you can see the parts I masked off

Next I sprayed the envelopes with a homemade ink spray then removed the masks and allowed to dry

To finish of my pieces I added my postage stamps and tried to match the colors in them by using my distress markers and a water brush for a fun vintage feel. 

I hope you all enjoy these and have fun creating some of your own! 

Celebrate everything!

Hello all, Nataliya is here :)
Today I invite you to celebrate everything with our Blast from the Past! I got a wonderful Circus Acrobats stamp :) It's so cute!

I very love one-layer card :) And in this card I made backgtound with Gelato, VLVS! stamp, GooseBump spray, VersaMagic ink and Pearl Powder:

In a bouquet of butterflies I added a bit of spray splashes:

I just love the shine of pearl powder!

My VLVS!

Circus Acrobats 2 1/4 x 2 3/4

Butterfly/Spotted Wing/Sm 1 1/4 x 1 1/4

Butterfly Specimens 1 1/2 x 4 1/2

Waybill/Invoice Background 4 1/4 x 5 1/4

Until Further Notice 1 x 2 3/4

Have a sheeny day!

Circus Themed Card using Creative Paperclay

A couple years back, I took a pottery class through the Lifelong Learning program offered by my city's Parks and Recreation department. We learned to throw pots, work with clay slabs and even did some molding. Back then I used some small face molds to make embellishments for a clay bowl. When it came time to play with Creative Paperclay I remembered the molds and thought it would be fun to cast paperclay.

The Creative Paperclay was really easy to work with and molded quite well. I was happily surprised by how much detail you can get. Once the castings were dry, I used an emery board to smooth the edges so they were ready to paint.

Viva Las Vegastamps! has several circus themed stamps and for some odd reason, when I look at them, I'm drawn to the Unicycle Lady 2 3/4 x 3 1/2 #14619.
I thought she would look great in brightly colored costume that sparkled. So, I stamped the image with dye ink, colored it in with Copic markers and then used a glue pen to add glitter. After I fussy cut the image, I knew I had the focal point of a card.

The sentiment, Perhaps You Were Just 1 1/2 x 2 1/4 #7834 from Viva Las Vegastamps!, seemed like a good companion to the unicycle lady. The molded faces could become part of a crowd, watching her perform. I found a vintage crowd photograph, printed it in sepia tones, and painted the faces a similar shade using an acrylic wash.

I love texture and wanted the bottom of the card to look like the dirt floors I had seen in circus rings. I had saved some sawdust from a previous project (I save everything! LOL) and applied it using 1" wide Miracle Tape and it gave me just the looked I was hoping for.

With all the components complete, I assembled the card. I used pop-dots to lift up the circus ring wall from the crowd, so they would appear to be sitting behind the wall. I used pop-dots again for the unicycle lady so she would be in front of the wall. It took a double layer of pop-dots where he body was above the crowd (versus the wall).

I hope you enjoy this card and it doesn't give you any nightmares about your past at the circus!

You can see my other projects on my blog on the Create & Craft website.

Happy crafting!
Joe Rotella