Gallery of Stamping for All Occasions...

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! Today is the last day of JUNE... where on earth did the month go??? Susan here today with some more super fun cards. DID you TAKE my CHALLENGE I posed... remember a few weeks back I shared a couple birthday cards I entered into round one of the Gallery Idol Competition {click here to view post}? Well as promised, I have been stamping along with my hoards of Viva Las Vegastamps! completing each weeks' challenges. This week they will be announcing the 2013 Gallery Idol as JUNE MADNESS comes to a close.

I did not make the cut to round two, but had fun playing along just the same. I love to create to a challenge, because it pushes me to use things and work on themes I wouldn't normally do - "sort of the love of the hunt". For round two - the challenge theme was "Defining Dad" and I went off to rummage through my catalogue of Viva Las VegaStamps! For inquiring minds... I got so many stamps by ordering VLVS pound 'o rubber grab bags {you get so many stamps for your $$$}.

    

I used the Air Stampo #601 and this Standard Alphabet and Numbers to spell out my "I <3 DAD". I stamped plane and letters onto white cardstock using black Versafine Pigment Ink and embossed with Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder in preparation for coloring with my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink pens. I made two - one for good measure and in case I flub up the coloring. After coloring, I fussy cut, popped up using 3D foam dots, and finished off banner with a glittery green heart. Mounted on a blue card base with a matted patterned paper that looked like clouds in the sky... easy-peasy!

   

Now for the ROUND THREE challenge: "Make a stamped background". Okey-dokey! This one was pretty easy also, except this meant NO PRE-PRINTED patterned papers. No worries... I've got this.

Using the Cracked Background #16208, I stamped a few times to fill a section of lavendar cardstock with Milled Lavendar Distress Ink. Then I repeated on a slightly darker stock and also stamped the Fancy Border #18951 using a Stuart Superior magenta pigment ink and embossing with Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder to make it POP!

 

       

        

I stamped a background on my perfectly purple card base with the doily stamps {Large Doily #18847; Medium Doily #18846; and Small Doily #18845} and the Butterfly/Spotted Wing Small #9473 using Milled Lavendar Distress Ink. I really love the varied values I got when stamping depending how much I inked the stamps.

Challenge #4 was to "Make a card using only TEN embellishments". WHAT??!!! So easy - right? WRONG. This was a lot harder than you would think. This is really an exercise in LESS is MORE and tying everything together. I really needed to put my thinking cap on for this one, and I also enlisted a sketch from Unscripted Sketches to help keep me on track.

I had a few leftover colored stamped images from other projects using stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps! {Celebrate Early #9340; Party Streamers #130; and Cat Jumping Out of Cake #12072} so I double matted them with coordinating colors dictated by the "PARTY" embroidered sticker. I'm so happy with this card and I have another fun and festive birthday greeting for the card box! My Miracle Tape makes assembly with scraps super easy and it holds paper, ribbon and even textured things wonderfully. All the elements came together beautifully - the hard part here was only sticking to TEN embellishments... can you find them all?

Thanks so much for dropping by. HAVE YOU HEARD??? New plates are now available in the Viva Las Vegastamps! store!!! They are so awesome... you have to see for yourself.

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

The Viva Las VegaStamps! Button Fairy Swap

The VLVS! Button Fairy Swap

When I joined the Viva Las VegaStamps! Button Fairy swap, I immediately knew which stamps I would use.  

Fairies are whimsical, honorable in their own way, but ever willing to trick you if they can.  The Steampunk Dogface fairy, with his dog-like aspect, lets you know  he'll test you, but once he's accepted you, he's loyal forever.  Doesn't mean he won't trick you, but mostly his tricks will result in steaks gone missing, and drool on your pillow, and he'll follow them up with toothy grins and slobbery kisses.

Supplies:

VLVS! stamp used:

Steampunk Dog Face-Item 18669 

Tall Tree-item 14917

Whimsical Cloud -Item 19091

Amazing Mold Putty

Amazing Clear Cast Resin

Creative Paperclay®

May Arts Ribbon

140 lb .watercolor 8x20 inches

Silk tissue Rice Paper-Natural

Unryu Paper-Natural & Brown

Illustration Board

9x12 300 lb. watercolor paper 

Faber-Castell gel sticks-Lt Blue, Black, Sienna, Orange, Yellow, Green
Acrylic Paint-Metallic Copper, Metallic Crystal Green, Metallic Black Pearl

Krylon Pale Gold Leafing Pen

5 Buttons of various size

Gellyrol- Metallic Gold, White

Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Colored Pencils-Lt. Blue, Lemon Cadmium, Canary Yellow, Dark Sepia, Prussian Blue, Gold Ochre

Scissors

Thin wire

StazOn Inkpad-Jet Black, Saddle Brown

Golden Soft Gel Matte and Heavy Gel Medium Matte

E6000 adhesive

The Background

Using my gel sticks (which are the cheaper version of Gelatos), I swiped color onto the watercolor paper, and spread the color with generous amounts of water.  I added more color, then more water, smearing with both brush and finger until I was happy with the result.  

With the StazOn Saddle Brown I stamped the Tall Tree image several times across the page, re-inking after every 2 or 3 stampings.  Then I smeared a little more green gel stick around the foliage.

I tore a few strips of the Unryu paper and decoupaged it with Soft Gel where I most wanted to lighten (natural) or darken (brown) the color.  It's a bit thicker than the silk tissue paper, and also has these thick threads that create really cool patterns when you add the gel medium.

I repeated the process with the silk tissue rice paper building up texture and a glaze that gives the piece a hazy, mystical look.  

Once all the soft gel had dried, I added more gel stick where I wanted to increase the intensity of the color, and to highlight some of the threads from the Unryu paper (It's pronounced Oon-Roo or Oon-Doo).

Matte gel was used rather than glossy because I wanted to photograph the piece, and glossy shine is hard to do.  I was happy with the matte though, because it gave a softer, mistier  look.

The Resin Pieces

Although VLVS! has tons of wing stamps, I used a cloud stamp for the shape of my wings.  I wasn't interested in the detail of the image, just the shape, because I intended to use drywall tape for the texture.  I stamped the image onto a piece of illustration board, using both the front and back of the stamp, then made a mold.

I also used molds already made, one from rolled paper roses, a star-shaped piece from a shower curtain embellishment, a machine piece that I cannot identify and a piece of dried fungus (which I decided later not to use for this piece).

The Button Fairy and Flowers

I stamped the Steampunk Dog Face onto a piece of Unryu Paper, cut it out and colored it with colored pencils and gel pens.  Then after rolling some Creative Paperclay to a thin layer about the same thickness as my resin wings, I took the same stamp and pushed it into the paperclay, then trimmed around it.  

When the paperclay had cured, I used Soft Gel to adhere the Unryu image over the paperclay.  

I painted the resin wings with acrylic paint, and picked out the drywall tape texture with the gold leafing pen.

To assemble the button tail, first, I wove a piece of thin wire through the buttonholes to make it stiff.  Then I wove ribbon through, using it to tie the tail to the paperclay fairy.  I used heavy gel to stick on the wings, and then adhered the entire fairy to the background.

I used a touch of acrylic paint to color the flower castings.  I wanted to keep the translucency, so I just brushed on enough paint to add a bit of color.  

Putting it together

I laid my button fairy and flowers on the watercolor painting and moved them around until I knew where I wanted them to go.  I realized immediately that my painting wasn't large enough.  I wanted a stiffer support anyway, so I painted up a 9x12 300 lb. piece of watercolor paper with metallic black pearl.

Heavy gel medium was used to adhere the Button Fairy because of the weight. Because the flowers were resin-slick, I used E6000 to adhere them.  

I went back to the Heavy gel medium to adhere the whole piece to the 300 lb. watercolor paper.

For more of my work with Viva Las VegaStamps!, Amazing Mold Putty, zentangle-inspired art, and daily links to tangles, tutorials, and giveaways please visit my "Life Imitates Doodles" blog.   ~ Sandra Strait

.................................

__________________________________________

.................................

Check out the VLVS! Store for all your stamping needs and the  VLVS! Blog for new projects and news every day. Follow VLVS! as the VLVS! Forum - VLVS! FB - VLVS! Pinterest - VLVS! Twitter.

Up To Bat {Our New Design Team!}

I'm super stoked to reveal our new line up! They are UBER talented and will have TONS to share this term! Here they are! I've asked them all to finish the sentence "I stamp..."
The Design Team for the July 2013 term is up as follows:

Amy Lassiter -- a brand new hitter
"I stamp -----because it is an addiction that feeds my creativity, and augments any project my imagination dreams up."
--her blog--

Glenda Tkalac -- a returning home runner

"I stamp because it makes my heart happy!"

--her application post--

Hermine Koster -- a returning home runner
"I stamp to create, to relax and  have fun."
--her application post-- 

Karen Knight -- a brand new hitter
"I stamp because being creative makes me happy."
 --her application post--

Lea Cioci -- a returning home runner
"I Stamp because it is an integral part of who I am.  How I express my soul."
 --her application post--

Natasha Serova -- a brand new hitter
"I am a stampаholic & stampamaniac"
--her application post--

Sandra Strait -- a returning home runner
"I stamp when I need inspiration or when I'm feeling inspired.  The rest of the time I just stamp because I want to!"
--her application post--

Susan M. Brown -- a returning home runner
"I stamp in the dark"
--her application post--


I'm super excited to move forward this term and share with you the work by these talented artists. We have LOTS coming up and I know it'll be a great six months.

Steam Punk "Finally Hotel"

                                                                 Finally Hotel

Vivalasvegastamps

I located a beautiful plate of VLV stamps item no. 1420

it includes several Victorian accents

I used the elegant window set and the doves

Brick background no.19077  half opened door no. 10789  facial features no.12321

Clock face Bicycle no. 19007    Kneeling Lady no. 4162

Ornate Corners

18928 and 18927

I colored this card with chalks

and I stamped using India Ink because of all

the details.

Steampunking!!!

My all time favorite stamps at Viva Las VegaStamps! is the wonderful collection of Steampunk. For my last post on this fantastic team I had to pull out some of my favorites! The Victorian Balloon, Flying Man, Steampunk Warrior and Nesting Gears. 

Lately I have seen a lot of tunnel cards in magazines and online.  I thought all the flying Steampunk contraptions would look great in one.  Here you can see the Victorian Balloon, Flying Man and Man in Flying Machine inside the tunnel card.  They are stamped on a transparency and heat embossed with Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder. zA hint of color was added with Copics.   

The tunnel card is four 5 x 6 inch pieces of card stock for the front and back.  The front is cut out to create a 1 inch frame. The sides are scored to create an accordion between the back and front. Miracle Tape was used to construct the card. 

The front and back were stamped repeatedly with the Nesting Gears.  Also on the front frame are the Fancy Vintage Key, Key 3/4 x 1 1/4, Steampunk Gothic and Steampunk Gear. 

Just inside the frame the Binocular Man is peering out of the frame, he was stamped on a transparency. On the outside of the frame is the Steampunk Warrior stamped on craft card stock. Both were heat embossed with Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder. 

If you look carefully you can see all the dimensions inside of the tunnel. Tunnel cards are fun to make, give one a try!

Viva Las Vegastamps! Supplies
Steampunk Gothic
Steampunk Warrior
Steampunk Gear

Flying Man
Binocular Man

Nesting Gears

Victorian Balloon
Man in Flying Machine

Fancy Vintage Key

Key 3/4 x 1 1/4

Miracle Tape

Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder

It has been great being a part of this team of amazing artists.  I hope you have been inspired!  I am looking forward to following new team and their inspiration projects!!!