Thursday, June 28, 2018

Kicks and Cards

Hello Everyone!!

Today I want to share an easy and fun any occasion card.  


I don't normally create simple cards, but there are just some occasions that call for it. I love that this design lends itself to a variety of themes and ages.  You can easily create it in any color, and you could add any sentiment.  I love that it also works well for men and teens!  Men and teens can be difficult to create for at times.  

You card also simplify this design even more by not layering the pieces... or you can jazz it up with more embellishments!

Stamp Used: 

Other Products:
Card-stock in black and white
Distress Oxide ink (Candied Apple)
Distress ink-Hickory Smoke (I could have left the edging off though)
Archival ink (Tuxedo Black)
Tim Holtz Layering stencil (THS003 "RAYS") 
pop-dots
Yellow marker
Wink of Stella (clear glitter)

I started by stamping my star sneaker on a separate piece of card-stock and set it aside to dry.  While that was drying I grabbed my card front (cut 1/4 in less than A4 size on each side), and added my rays stencil.  After I finished stenciling I went back and cut out my star sneaker stamp.  I decided It would pop a bit more if I matted it with a layer of black card stock, so I did. 
(This also allows it to match the card base which is matted on black as well)


After deciding I needed a tad more color, I chose to color in the star with a yellow marker, then added some clear Wink of Stella over that. 

The final step was to stamp my sentiment, and add pop-dots to adhere my card and start sneaker together. 


Thank you for stopping by! 
I hope you have found some inspiration for a fun and easy card!





Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Artist Trading Coins: Three Amigos

Hi!
A short while back I participated in an international swap of artist trading coins. ATCoins have become really popular lately; ATCoins are just like artist trading cards but circular, with diameter of 2.5 inches.

These were my very first ATCoins, and I ended up creating two identical sets of three coins; three of them I sent to my swapee, and three I kept to myself.

Here's how my 'Three Amigos' ATCoins looked like:

They were really fun and easy to make:

I started with die-cutting the circles from white cardstock (one of the nesting Sizzix circle dies has a diameter of 2.5 inches!). For coloring the coin backgrounds I used a purple Distress Ink, then splashed the inked surface with water, and dried with my heat gun. For the finishing touch I used a VLVS! pattern stamp ('Doodle Dots', my favorite!).

I stamped the main images on white cardstock, colored with Promarkers, and cut out. Lady Grey and the cute fox (which I colored like it was a raccoon, lol!) had some fine details that could not be fuzzy cut, so instead of trying to cut out the fox whiskers or Lady Grey's hair I stamped the complete images on the purple background, and glued the simplified fuzzy cut images on top. Worked well!



I love the shape and size of the ATCoins. They were so fun to create, and I'm sure I'll make many more!
Have you created ATCoins already?




For my ATCoins I used the following VLVS! stamps:


Wishing you a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by!


Monday, June 25, 2018

It's mail art Monday ! Yay !

Hello everyone,

and welcome to Mail Art Monday ! I have made and decorated an envelope and have filmed the process too.






...and here is the VIDEO:


I have used the following stamps for this envelope:

19995 - Overlapping circles (Designed by ME !!!)


Thank you for stopping by today !






Thursday, June 21, 2018

Artist Trading Coins ► Majo

Hello my crafty friends!

With summer peeking just around the corner, I decided to create some Artist Trading Coins with natural images that remind me of the upcoming season.


 After creating a masterboard with Distress Inks I stamped the images 19827
(Doodle Dots) and 20166 (Scribble Circle) in coordinating colours.

I used my Cricut to cut the 2½" circles.

I stamped all images with Versafine Onyx Black. 

After adding the rub ons (Tim Holtz) I distressed all edges and glued my coins to another piece of cardstock. I had used Watercolour paper, but it's actually too thin, so the second layer makes them more sturdy.

I show you the coins one by one ..... 




These are the images I used besides the both on the background:

19330 - Dandelion
19666 - Wildflowers
19223 - Dragonfly

Thanks so much for stopping by today ♥
 
Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

I Hope You Know...

If you can believe it we are about half way through 2018...I am having trouble understanding how fast time is flying by!!!
Michele here today with a 5x7 page that will end up being framed and given as a gift for a friend who can use a reminder every now and then.


Stamps used and stamped in Archival ink: Large Star Chart/Map, Humpback Whale, I Hope You Know


The sentiment is also heat embossed with Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder.


The background is Distress Oxide ink in Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio, lots of blending and then splattering with water.


The edges are Distress ink in Vintage Photo and more water.  Where the paper was still wet I rubbed a bit of the paper off to give a nice aged look to the page.

Now to find the perfect frame and viola a great home decor gift that keeps on giving with a reminder of some of thingsyou are!!!

Until next time...get inky!!

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

I Hope You Know... | Sue Plumb


Hi everyone!
Sue Plumb here to share my latest VLVS design team project with you. Following on from my previous post a couple of weeks ago when I shared an art journal page inspired by the June Monthly Challenge; I was inspired to create a full 12x12" scrapbook page that incorporated some of the same design elements. (If you missed it, you can see my art journal page here.)


I began my page with a sheet of white cardstock and stamped out my background design using Staz On ink. The first stamp I used was the Tree of Life - Tree with Roots (which is also the main inspiration image from this month's challenge). I added some variety to my "forest" by also using the Weathered Tree stamp. Besides stamping the full image, I used the very tops of the branches in various places to add depth.


For my foreground I used the Smear/Smudge stamp and repeated the image several times. Then it was time to add some colour. 


I wanted to keep the colour soft and subtle, so I used Faber-Castell Gelatos and applied the colour by scribbling onto my messy mat and then I picked the colour up with the tip of a water brush and applied it to my page, blending as I went. I started in the centre of my page and worked my way out towards the edges.


After I had the colour completed, it was time to add some more details to my page. I used the new release I Hope You Know quote stamp in the bottom left corner of my page and balanced it out by adding the Flock of Geese in the top right corner. 


I also added the Tiny Moon from the new release Plate #1500 to the sky.


I added a little more detail to my foreground by lightly stamping with my fave Doodle Dots stamp.


With all of my page background complete; I then added the photo of my children, which I mounted up on some cardboard to help it pop and then adhered to the page using Miracle Tape.

To finish my page I wanted to add a little touch of magic, so I took a sweet image I had pre-stamped onto some tissue paper using the Fairy stamp. I applied the image to some cardstock using gel matte medium, then brushed on a little colour using the Gelatos again. I then trimmed the fairy and adhered the top part of her so that she appeared to be hiding behind the log in the photo, bending her wings up from the page to add a little dimension. I also added some messy white cotton thread for a little texture. 


Don't forget to enter this month's challenge, you can link up your entry via this post HERE before the end of the month. You could win a spotlight on the blog AND some new rubber! 

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


Stamps used:
Fairy

Other materials:
- American Crafts cardstock
- Staz On ink
- Faber-Castell Gelatos
- tissue paper
- gel matte medium

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Art Journal Page: Underwater Wonders

Hi!
Elina with you today, sharing the latest page I created in my art journal:

Coloring stamped images is one of my favourite things to do. For me it's perfect mindfulness; working with images that have lots of details requires concentration, and seeing how the colors bring the images to life is always so rewarding!

This time I stamped the lovely Brian Kesinger image twice, and colored and fuzzy-cut both images:


I wanted to place the octopus into a simple underwater scenery, and while coloring I got the idea of using a submarine window as a frame around the main image. Even though I was not quite sure of how a submarine window should look like, I liked the thought of looking through a submarine window, and seeing this quite unusual marine animal swimming by :)
I traced and cut a circle frame from grey cardstock, and used the center piece as a mask when painting and decorating the page background. Once the paint was dry I inked the center of the page, and created waterdrop patterns with plain water and a thin brush. My blue Distress ink reacted with water, and I was able to lift the ink underneath the waterdrops by pressing the page with a paper towel. Before gluing down the die-cut greens and the fuzzy-cut octopus I highlighted the edges of the waterdrops with a white gel pen.



The bolts on the window frame are heat-embossed with a silver embossing powder. Finding a nice circle stamp small enough was not easy, so I decided to use the eraser end of a pencil as my stamp. Worked quite ok!

The second octopus is now on the front of an ATC card. Size of the image was just perfect!

I hope my latest creations inspire you to create something yourself. For more information on the VLVS! Brian Kesington 'Pirate Otto' octopus stamp please *click here*

Wishing you a wonderful day!



Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Make it Manly...

Hello Everyone!

In light of fathers day coming up, I wanted to create something masculine. 



At first I thought I wanted to create a card, but then I decided something more fun would be an envelope for gift cards.
(You could of course use this base to create a card as well)

Stamps Used:

Other Items Used:
Scrap book paper
Sizzix thinlet die- gift card bag (662687) 
Tim Holtz Layering stencil (THMS070)
Distress ink -gathered twigs
Archival Ink- tuxedo black
water pen
Tim Holtz Remnant rubs

I started by picking out the paper I wanted for my base.  I went with some Tim Holtz paper that had nice neutral colors and some general text.  (looks kind of like a vintage invoice).  Using my sizzix gift card holder die, and my big shot I cut my base out.


I used my distress ink around the edges before gluing everything together.  (you could probably skip this step. I ended up inking everything again at the end to deepen the color anyway). 


After my piece was folded and glued, I stamped "Fabrique De Cravates Ad" in black ink. Then, I used my distress ink to watercolor some shading on the suit. 


 When I was satisfied with that I used the same distress ink to stamp my clock randomly on the front and back. 


To finish this off I added some stenciling details. 



I added a remnant rub with "TIME" on it for added detail



I love how this came out, and it was so simple! 
(Now I need to decide what gift card I want to give him.... Tough decisions!)

Thank you for stopping by the blog today!
I hope this inspires you!



Monday, June 11, 2018

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 :













From May's Challenge





Our random winners are :
Cheetarah!

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 :)