February 2019 challenge :

New challenge time!

Let's get SPACEY & WHIMSICAL for February's board. Anything dreamy, galaxy, stars & moons, suns, celestial, planets, galaxies. Also think astronauts, weird scenes in space, sci-fi. What might be floating around in the galaxy of your fantasies? Just have fun & go for it!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

Inlinkz Link Party

January Challenge : TOP SECRET

It's a new month... sheesh. It's a new YEAR!

Welcome to 2019 :)

let's bring it in with some mystery & intrigue hey?

Your monthly challenge for January is all about MYSTERY : TOP SECRET & let's really get out with there... FRINGE SCIENCE. Oh yes. Blacks, browns, tans and any color you'd LIKE to include. Business men, men in black, hats, ties and secrecy. Folders, files, text, handwriting, notes, coffee, splashes & splats. Tape, stick it notes, stamps, equations, numbers.

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

Inlinkz Link Party

November WINNERS

We have a couple November Winners to announce ...

The voted winner is : TINDALOO!!!

Our randomly chosen winner is : Kapree Clark...

Please email me @ deedee430@gmail.com with your shipping address to claim your prize!

Monthly Challenge - UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER

Welcome to December's Monthly Challenge >>> 2019 is next month. NEXT.MONTH.

Yeowza. Let's get to winning some rubber hey?

It's time for UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS & red, black, white, teal. Think about ornaments, Santa, blocky christmas patterns, reindeer, sparkles, letters to Santa Claus. Christmas icons, script, dots & anything else that you can gain inspiration from in our board.

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

Don't Blink | September Challenge Inspiration | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

It's Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am sharing a piece I created recently that was inspired by this month's awesome "For the Birds" challenge. It also showcases one of the amazing new release stamps, which I couldn't wait to use!

Here's a look at this month's challenge inspiration...

One of my arty friends has been using index cards a lot lately, and I was inspired by the pieces she has been creating to use an index card for my project. (One of the good things about index cards, is that they are almost exactly the same size as a standard photo, so they fit nicely into 6x4" photo frames!)

Here is my card inspired by the challenge...

To begin my project, I used some gel matt medium to adhere some book paper onto the index card. I then applied heavy white gesso using a brush. I chose to use a brush as I wanted the texture of the brush strokes to show through; but in hindsight, next time I will go a little thinner with the gesso so the text is more visible on the finished piece.

After the background was prepared; I used black Staz On ink and the new Raven Looking Up stamp as the focal image of my piece. I then added some tree branches across the top and bottom of the card using the Branch Antlers stamps. I also inked around the edges of my card.

Next, it was time for some colour! I wanted my piece to have an eerie feel, so I opted for green as the main colour. I used Faber-Castell gelatos to scribble gently onto the card, then used a baby wipe to blend the colour out.

I started with the darkest shade around the edges of the card, moving towards lighter shades in the middle. In the centre of the card I used a yellow, blended with a small amount of green; and along the edge of the raven's silhouette I also added a small amount of orange.

Once the colour was complete, it was time to add some text. I used the recently released That Look of Otherness stamp and combined it with Don't Blink to form my focal quote. I stamped each of them out on some scrap white cardstock, then used the orange gelato and a baby wipe for blending to add a small amount of colour over the top.

I then cut the words out and inked the edges of each piece with black ink. To add some texture to my project, I added some messy white cotton thread before sticking the pieces of the quote down.

To finish off, I used Colour Blast 'Soot' Colour Artist Ink and a small brush to add some fine splatters randomly around the card.

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you.
Don't forget to enter this month's challenge for your chance to win some new rubber and a feature spotlight on the Viva Las VegaStamps blog. (Link your entries HERE)
I hope I have inspired you to get inky too!

Stamps used:

- Raven Looking Up

- Branch Antlers

- That Look of Otherness

- Don't Blink 

Other materials:

- Index card

- Book paper

- Mont Marte gel matt medium

- Colour Blast white heavy gesso

- Tsukineko Staz On ink

- Faber-Castell gelatos

- Colour Blast 'Soot' Colour Artist Ink

- Baby wipes (for blending)

- White cotton thread

- Liquid adhesive

For The Birds - September CHALLENGE

Hello HELLOOOOOO

Finally .. a month I can say WELCOME TO THE COOLER WEATHER :)

It's time for September's challenge, and it is a FUN one. If I do say so myself, anyways!

BRING ON THE BIRDS!

Everything bird related, crows, raves, pigeons, swallows... bring 'em on. Alfred and his bird freakiness, maybe a little Poe... whatever strikes your fancy BIRD wise. Also be inspired by oranges & yellows for the fall season, black & white as accents, and any cool vintage/fall imagery like clocks, invoices, handwriting, hay. You know :) the good stuff!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

August Monthly Challenge

It's ETHOS time!

have you seen these incredible new rubber stamps we're offering from the mind and carvings of Tina Walker???

Check out ETHOS rubber stamps here.

and be inspired to enter our monthly challenge!

Be inspired by the Ethos stamps by Tina, plus VIVID jewel tones like dark teals and purples, earthy oranges & greens, other florals & natural aspects, polka dots, grunge and more.

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

Winners!!!

We need to round up some winners for your viewing pleasure :) :) :)

First up are the gorgeous creations being featured on our blog, then comes some random winners from each challenge. Everyone wins a grab bag of unmounted Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps.

From January's Challenge :

Julie S. !!!

From February's Challenge :

Carla!!!

From April's Challenge :

Chris!!!

From May's Challenge : 

Leanne Jago!!!

Our random winners are :
Cheetarah!

Mercy N.

Melinda Sweetman

Sandra S.

Everyone >>> Please email me @ deedee430@gmail.com with your shipping address & we'll get you a grab bag in the mail ASAP -- CONGRATS EVERYONE! Thank you so much for joining our challenges :)

Check out June's Challenge to win again! 

Life is an Adventure | June Challenge Inspiration | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here today and it's my turn to share some inspiration for the Viva Las VegaStamps Monthly Challenge with you! If you haven't already seen the June inspiration image, it looks like this...

"Let's play with LIFE. Be inspired by nature, the tree of life, trees & roots, stars, star charts, the heavens & earth, above & below. Think tandem but opposite. Yin & Yang."

I was super inspired by the solitary tree image, and I knew I wanted to create something featuring a tree and incorporating the word "life". I was also inspired by the neutral palette of the image, so I grabbed my altered book art journal to play and this is what came out...

As always, I did my best to document my process as I went along (although sometimes I get so lost in the creative process, I forget to take a picture!) 

1. I started by adding some gesso to my book page. This was not only so I could prime the surface, but also so I could strip the yellow tint to the paper back a bit.

2. I then took some old music paper and another sheet of book paper tore up some small pieces. (I wanted to add some extra interest to the page, as the one I was using was the dedication page and didn't feature much text.)

3. I collaged the pieces onto the page using matte medium.

4. I then rubbed a little extra gesso over the collaged pieces using my finger to help them blend in.

5. I felt like using a different colouring medium, so pulled out some water soluble wax pastels in raw sienna, burnt sienna and black and added some colour to the page.

6. I then used a water brush to blend and soften the lines I had drawn.

7. I used the Stitching Lines stamp to create structure in my foreground.

8. I then used the Doodle Dots stamp to add some interest to the sky.

9. I then stamped out my feature images onto some tissue paper. I chose this method as I wanted to ensure I had a good, clean image rather than stamping directly onto the book. It also gave me the ability to shuffle the images around to decide on placement.

The stamps I used were:

- Weathered Tree

- Banksy Balloon Girl

- Flock of Geese

10. I adhered my images to the page using matte medium, then took the pastels and added a little shading and colour around them.

11. I added the quote using the Choose Your Own Adventure stamp, then added the remainder with a black pen.

12. I finished with the second part of my quote in the bottom corner. For continuity, I used the word "choose" from the same stamp, then simply added the word well in pen.

I love how this page turned out and I can't wait to see how this month's challenge inspires all of you!

To enter, make sure you link up your entry via this post HERE before the end of the month.

You could win a project spotlight on the blog AND some new rubber! So what are you waiting for? Get busy!!

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to get inky too!

Stamps used:

- Stitching Lines

- Doodle Dots

- Weathered Tree

- Banksy Balloon Girl

- Flock of Geese

- Choose Your Own Adventure

Other materials:

- Colour Blast white heavy gesso

- Old book and music paper

- Monte Marte acrylic matte medium

- Staz On ink

- tissue paper

- Reeves Water Soluble Wax Pastels

- Ohto Fude Ball 1.5mm pen

June Challenge -- Tree of Life!

Well well well... WELCOME TO JUNE! 1/2 way through the year... man oh MAN! 2018 is flying by. I seriously think the years go by quicker the more they come.

Let's play with LIFE. Be inspired by nature, the tree of life, trees & roots, stars, star charts, the heavens & earth, above & below. Think tandem but opposite. Yin & Yang.

Oh MAN I cannot WAIT to see what you guys create for this challenge!

Meet us back here shortly for inspiration & our last challenge's winner!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

May Challenge

May the 4th be with you!

ahahahahaaa... sorry.

MAY CHALLENGE :

Be inspired by ... STAR WARS! Octopuses, Victoria, vintage, retro, tea, magic, SITH, evilness, rays, gray, black & white, RED RED RED, and anything else that strikes your fancy from the mood board.

Meet us back here shortly for inspiration & our last challenge's winner!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

April Monthly Challenge ---

Be inspired by words like nature, natural, trees, forests, camping, mountains, skies & water, fishing, birds, reflections, boats, dogs, gray, tan, white & black, gray + anything else that you might be inspired by!

Meet us back here shortly for inspiration & our last challenge's winner!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

Mermaids and Monthly Inspiration...

Hello Crafty Friends!!!

I hope you are all as excited as I am about another monthly inspiration.  I love this month's inspiration board (of course what's not to love about mermaids?!)

I used the inspiration and I also added a little Valentine twist...

STAMPS USED:
XO
You are Beautiful
Bettie Mermaid
Miracle tape (not stamp but vlvs)

OTHER PRODUCTS:
White cardstock base
Black cardstock
Pink cardstock
Distress ink- worn lipstick, festive berries
Memento ink- tuxedo black
Markers/Pens-zig clean color, blick alcohol-based markers, gelly roller pens, and wink of Stella
Glitter (various pinks)
Foam tape (I created my own with fun foam)
Distress Collage medium (as a wet glue for my mermaid... cant have glitter getting stuck)

I love shaker cards, but rarely ever make them.  I am super excited with how this one came out.  This one is going to be a Valentine card for someone special (Don't want to spoil the surprise by saying whom for).

I started with a white A2 card base, a black matte, and a pink card stock base. The top layer of the card was created with more black card stock, and some clear acetate from some packaging I had lying around.

On my pink card stock i started by stamping the XO stamp in "worn lipstick" and "festive berries" distress ink.  I also stamped "you are beautiful" in black memento ink on the pink card base.

On a separate piece of card stock I stamped my Bettie mermaid in black memento ink.  I colored my image with various markers (zig clean color, blick alcohol-based markers, gelli roller pens, and wink of Stella).

(before top shaker layer added)


(Close up of glitter goodness inside the card!)



(different angle so you can see all that glitter in the shaker!!!)

I hope you enjoy this card as much as I do. :)
Don't forget to join in the challenge!!
(There are prizes to be won!)

Under the SEA >>> Monthly Challenge

The 1st always brings loads of monthly challenges in the industry -- we can't be left out ;) This month we're looking for any & all projects related to.. THE SEA.

Dig deep for things with sand, coral, water, the sea, mermaids, fish & other underwater creatures! The wonderful thing about the sea is that it is full of ALL colors! You can draw inspiration from the board with teals, tans, black & white, gray, and pops of pink and green.. OR whichever color combo makes you happiest :)

Meet us back here shortly for inspiration & our last challenge's winner!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

WINNERS!!!

We have a couple winners to announce from our monthly challenges! YaY! It's always so incredible to see each person's interpretation of our mood boards.

From OCTOBER:

Christine Dring!!!

Poe | Hanging Bat

From NOVEMBER:

Preeti D!!!

Pumpkin Barfing | Until Further Notice

From DECEMBER:

GERRINA!!!

Frosty The Snowman | Christmas Trees Large

& our random winners :
Ionabunny
Gerrina
Vivan Foo

Please everyone email me @ deedee430@gmail.com with your shipping addresses & we'll get you some grab bags in the mail!

November Challenge

It's time for November's Challenge to be announced! :O 

Use anything fall, harvest, fruit, crops, eating, silverware, food... you name it! 

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

October CHALLENGE

Ready for some creepy stamping time?! We LOVE Halloween!

We're going a little more traditional this year with yellows & oranges, black & white. Also be inspired by anything that goes BUMP in the night, creepy crawly feelings, scary ladies & witches. You can draw inspiration from bats and things in flight, moons, trees, and other lights. GOOD LUCK!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up