circus themed bird house

My first post as a new design team member and I am so excited. I turned a bird feeding house into a circus themed one.

1. Take a wooden bird house and coat it with a layer of gesso, do this again with a layer of white acryllic paint.
2. Mask off the bottom half with tape, and put stripes on with collage tape, paint the top half with red acryllic paint. Trace the stripes with a black pen by hand.
3. Mask of the stripes (after drying the top half) and give it a layer of turqoise acryllic paint, let dry and stencil with a lighter colour turquoise paint the diamonds. make accent dots with a white edding marker.
4. trace the hart onto foam and cut out. Give the foam heart a layer of golden acryllic paint and sponge with the lighter colour.
5. Take a piece of mat card stock and stamp the image of the Whimsical woman on with Stazon Black. Trace the heart over to the card stock and cut out the heart. The heart is slightly smaller then the hight of the image, so you have to cut around the hat and feet.
6. Colour the image and the heart surrounding it with watercolours.
7. put a layer of Versamark on top of the heart and emboss it with ultra high gloss clear embossing powder, repeat this 4 times.
8. Glue the heart with image onto the foam heart with miracle tape 1/2"
9. finish it off with a bow at the top with ribbon of May art and at the bottom with the cute pompoms also from May art, glue that on with miracle tape 1/8".

VLVS products used:

Whimsical woman in dress also on plate 1389

miracle tape 1/2"

miracle tape 1/8"

Ultra High Gloss Clear embossing powder

Stazon Black

and

May art ribbon grosgrain stitiched edge and mini pompoms

Hope you enjoy it!

HERMINE

Make your Halloween Eerie and Bright with Viva Las Vegastamps!!!

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps!!! Susan here with my first post for the new Design Team term - and I am so thrilled to be part of this creative team for the next 9 months. So what's in store today??? Some super easy and fun Halloween Paper Lanterns that I'm using the "Trick or Treat" Shopping Our Stash Challenge Number 73. First I'll show you a TRICK and at the END of the post there is a TREAT!!!

I'm no "Martha" - but boy does she come up with great ideas for Halloween... and even I was able to create this in under an hour. Most of my time was spent finding some orange vellum and black cardstock from my stash... and I love scouring through my stash of goodies for just the right item begging to be used in a project. This paper lantern is one of "Martha's" - a downloadable PDF file from her website and I just printed the pattern out, cut out and traced on 4 sheets of black shimmery paper.

Then I cut out 4 sections of orange vellum {you can use white} and stamped my scene consisting of 4 stamps: tree background, cemetery, full moon and the flock of bats. The moon, bats and cemetery I ganged up together on a large acrylic block to save time and make all four sides exactly the same. Using my handy-dandy MIRACLE TAPE - I taped the panels in and each lantern side together and I have a pretty paper lantern - AND - the best part... it will lay flat for storage until next year!

My Paper Lantern will keep the Party Glowing.

I added a battery powered LED tea light and this lantern is complete!

How about a TREAT??? Viva Las Vegastamps! is has a FREE SHIPPING coupon through the month of October! Check out the newsletter for all the details : http://ymlp.com/z6J5AX

CLICK HERE to visit Viva Las Vegastamps! online store to see all the fabulous October stamp releases.

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

Time Flies!

 

Hello Everyone! Judy here, this is my first blog post as a
Viva Las Vegastamps DT member!
I hope this project inspires you to get out your stamping supplies and play along.  

I had a lot of fun creating this tutorial to share with you, the
stamps I used:
“Flying bird”
“Time Flies”

I love all the stamps on this plate: #893 
 
My finished tags, 3 1/4" x 4 3/4."

 

 

 

 

To begin; you will need Kromecote glossy cardstock, a tag die and die cutting tool. It’s hard to stop making these once you see how beautiful they look! While you have the supplies out die-cut a few more tags.

Place tag down glossy side up on non stick craft sheet; apply no more than three colors of oil pastels crayons to cover the tag. I used blue, purple, and white.

 

tag with oil pastel crayons

 

After the tag is covered with oil pastel crayons, use a 1" foam brush to add one layer of gesso over the tag. If your gesso is thick, spray the tag with a little water. (You will need a thin coat of gesso to cover tag.) Let dry to touch. Very important, place you tag on a scrap piece of paper and not on your craft sheet. Then use fine sandpaper to remove some of the gesso. Some of oil pastel might be removed down to the Kromecote with just a little blue color, that's OK. Clean residue from tag with soft dry cloth.

 

Place your sanded tag back on craft sheet, apply distress inks using Ranger foam ink applicator, stamp bird and quote images with black archival ink, while distress ink and black ink is still wet, place tag on scrap paper and immediately pour Viva Las Vegastamps Ultra High-Gloss Clear Embossing Powder over the tag. Pour off excess and then heat set with embossing tool. Portions of the tag and images will have a high gloss finish, other portions of tag will be matte finish.  

 

Die cut a tag with chipboard. Adhere Miracle Tape on back of finished tag and adhere to chipboard tag. Attach May Arts Ribbon to the top with a mini stapler to finish.

 

close-up

 

The results; Amazing! I love the finish using the ultra high gloss embossing powder.

 

VLVS Supplies:

Plate #893

Ultra High Gloss embossing powder

Inkssential foam applicator

Miracle Tape

Heat tool

 

 

Other supplies:

Mays Arts Ribbon

Oil Pastel Crayons; Caran d'Ache

Sizzix; Scallop tag die

Ranger distress inks; frayed burlap, stormy sky
Ranger Craft sheet

Ranger mini-stapler

Ranger archival black ink

Die cutting machine

Fine grade sandpaper

1" foam brush

Gesso (liquid)

Chipboard


Tag # 2
After I finished making the first tag,
I was playing around with different paints and came up with this technique.
The supplies are the same as above with the change of one product.
Instead of gesso, I used Pearl Dabber paint by Ranger over the oil pastels.  

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for viewing my first tutorial!

 

 

 

 

Ding Dong the witch is dead

Hello everyone! This is my first post for the new term of VLVS! Today is a journal page.

I've been really liking the Oreo cookie ads that Have been in magazines the past few months. I saw the one for the Halloween Oreo's and knew I had to do a journal page with it and VLVS!stamps.:)

As you can see the cookies are legs of a witch.I instantly thought if the Wizard of Oz when the house Fell on the Wicked With of the East. I have to say I should of done this page on the other side, as would of liked the legs closer to the edge of the page, and not next to the holes. But the page turned out great!

The background I used two orange craft paints. a light orange and a bright orange  I put some on the page and with my pallete knife I spread the paint all over the page. I then took a baby wipe to spread the paint out  more on the page. I took the Star punchenllia that I was RAK'ed, with black craft paint put some on the page with a sponge. I then took a brick stencil and some Golden light molding paste(it was one of those little jars from the mediums starter set) and with the CLEAN pallet knife put the molding paste on the stencil. 

After it dried I deiced to leave it white. I took the tree background  and stamped the top pf the branches in Black archival ink pad around the edges of the page. 

I glued the Cookie legs on a piece of lightweight chipboard (cereal box) to give it some sturdiness. I put some foam tape in it to give it some dimension to the page. First time ding that on a journal page. I then stamped the Wicked Witch With Broom on white cardstock with black Memento ink pad. colored her face with green color pencil. fussy cut her out and put her on the page like she is standing on the legs of "her sister"

For the page title I went through my stash of alpha stickers and pulled out these green and black ones. Stuck then on to White glossy cardstock. The cut that out and glued the word blocks on the page. Then they stuck out like a sore thumb with all the white. So I took the Black Soot Distress ink pad and a water brush and painted the white glossy cardstock. 

Items used

Clairefontaine journal

Orange craft paints

star punchenilla

black craft paint

brick stencil

Golden light molding paste

pallet knife

white cardstock

glossy white cardstock

alpha stickers

foam tape

color pencils

black soot distress ink pad

black memento ink pad

black archival ink pad

water brush

Elmer's white glue

Stamps used

Tree background

Wicked Witch with Broom

Fan Feature + Free shipping

Good Morning Stampers!!!

DeeDee here today, and I thought it seemed like a wonderful time to give a quick shout out to all our fans. 

So I'm sharing two projects that were shared with US - One via our facebook wall and the other is the winner from our Halloween Link up!

First up we have Michele:

She shared this awesome Frankie card with us just recently. (She happened to win that stamp mounted from one of our DT members, btw!)

VLVS! stamp used: Frankenstein's Bolts

Second is this tag from Gerrie:

She won by popular vote for linking up her project during our Halloween Blog Hop:

VLVS! stamp used : Skull

And for a quick delightful announcement... we'll be doing FREE SHIPPING through the month of October! Check out the newsletter for all the details : http://ymlp.com/z6J5AX

Just Keep Swimming

Hi my art friends! I have a fun tag that I created just for YOU!

I have been selected to be on the VIVA LAS VEGASTAMP DESIGN TEAM! Its a company in the United States that has thousands of unique rubber stamps, along with other art supplies.

So I am really excited to part of an awesome fun company.

Here is the complete tag I made:

Here is the stamp I used

The link to the stamp
FISHY CRACKER.

Its 1x 1 1/4 inches. I love it. I love to draw mermaids so I am sure you are going to see me use this cute little stamp again.
Here is a pic of the supplies I used.

1. Versamark ink pad
2. White embossing powder
3. White shipping tag
4. Twinkling H2Os
5. Water brush
6. The fishy cracker stamp

Note shown:
1. Sea Salt
2. Various pens for doodling.

First stamp the fish with the Versamark ink Pad, this is a clear ink, sprinkle the white embossing powder and heat emboss.
Once that is done, moisten the Twinkling H2O's with water and let them soften up a bit. Then begin to randomly paint over the entire tag. Don't worry about getting the watercolor paints on the stamp fish as the white embossed area acts like a resist.
While it is wet lightly sprinkle some sea salt on the wet areas.
Let it dry completely and then once dry wipe the sea salt off, it will leave small layered spots where the salt sucked up the paint.

Add some personal writing and doodles and a lovely art tag will appear!

This tag was inspired by "Finding Nemo". The scene where Nemo and is sad and about ready to give up and Dory played by the awesome Ellen Degeneres - but anyways she sings a song
"Hey Mr Grump Gills
You know what you gotta do when life gets you down?
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming swimming swimming
What do we do we swim, swim, swim
OH HO HO How I love to swim
When you WAAAAAANNTTT to swim you want to swim"

So this tag was made to inspire YOU, that no matter what, just keep swimming.
Just keep reaching for your hopes and dreams. Just keep doing what your soul and heart tells you.

Here is a close up

Art on my friends,
ANg

Birthday SASS!

Hi there VLVS friends!!

Pinky here for my first official 

Viva Las Vegastamps post and I am so very excited!

I went for a card this time just to get my toes wet and

to check out the incredible stamps I found- 

can I just say I LOVE THEM?

I really do! Brash, Sassy, and FUN!

Since it is my birthday this month I decided to create a

 birthday card that  says exactly how I feel this year....

and the Older I Get 1X2 stamp was perfect. 

Because I wanted a more faded vintage style for this card I pressed

black ink onto the stamps, then I spotted grey ink over it. 

It leaves a more vintage ad style impression. 

Instructions:

1. Trim out 9X6 card stock for base. 
2. Use bone folder to crease middle (fold for card base).
3. Trim 4.5X6 patterned paper for card front. 
4. Trim out 4X5.5 to layer. 
5. Layer card front using Miracle Tape 1/2". 
6. Using die cut or die cut machine- trim out 2X3" scalloped oval and slightly smaller straight edge oval (Cream card stock).
7. Using VLVS Housewife in Kitchen 1 3/4X3 stamp pat stamp using black in, then layer on gray ink. Stamp image onto 2X3 straight edge circle. Repeat using VLVS Older I Get 1X2 Stamp onto scrap Cream card stock. 
8. Trim out VLVS Older I Get 1X2 Stamp image -1.5X3.
9. Layer stamped images and embellishments as shown in photo. 

And this I will proudly display all month long!

Until the next project, I hope you check out the fun and sassy products 

Viva Las Vegastamps!

Pinky Hobbs- VLVS Design Team

Products Used:

VLVS Older I Get 1X2 Stamp

VLVS Housewife in Kitchen 1 3/4X3 stamp

Miracle 1/2 Tape

Simple Stories paper and stickers

ATC madness!

Hi everyone, Glenda here with my very first post as a new DT member! I love making ATC's (artist trading cards) and first started making them when I attended a free workshop in 2008. After that I was hooked and have since made over 600 ATC's and have traded with people from all over the world and regularly participate in ATC swaps as well.

I have 3 binders full of ATC's and love to experiment with different techniques when I make them. One of my favorite products to work with is Glimmermists and I use them almost everywhere!

On this ATC I used watercolor paper for my background as it holds up well under the Glimmermist. I sprayed the Glimmermist and let it run and then dry. I then stamped my image and cut it out and glued it onto the watercolor paper. I used watercolor pencils to color in her dress and the grass and since I love quotes added one of my favorite ones.

I used the VLVS image "Lady by fence" stamp

and this is the card I made:

I hope you all enjoyed this and until next time,

Glenda

Time 2 Stamp - Episode 2

Hi Everyone!! Here is the 2nd episode of Time 2 Stamp with VLVS!

After I turned off the camera I finished the page with some doodling and of course a bit of journaling:

Stamps used:

Fly

Mason Jar

Radioactive

Ink used: Glimmer mist in Inchworm and Charcoal by Tattered Angels, Archival Black by Ranger, a uniball pen

Other: Gaffer tape by 7gypsies