Alice in Wonderland on Scrapbooking Layout | by Elina

Hi!
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. My Christmas days were all about relaxing, spending time with my family, eating a lot of chocolate, and some crafting, too! :)

On Boxing Day I took out a pile of photos I had planned to use on scrapbooking layouts, chose some of my favorite patterned papers, and started playing. I had to start with a cute photo I had taken in Singapore summer '17; I knew my VLVS! 'Alice in Wonderland' stamps were going to match to it perfectly:

I started with stamping, coloring, and fuzzy cutting the stamped images:

The background I decided to keep quite simple; layers of patterned papers, splashes of white paint and black ink, and stamped patterns were all I needed.

The rabbit had too many fine details to cut out, so I re-stamped the image on the background, and glued the fuzzy-cut image on top:

Then it was all about placing the lovely images on the page! It was such a fun project to create.

My kids had a lot of fun when looking for the small Alice in Wonderland statues in the beautiful Flower Dome garden. I'm happy that this precious memory is now recorded ❤

For this project I used the following VLVS! stamps:
Queen Of Hearts 3 x 3
March Hare 2 3/4 x 3 1/4
TweedleDum And TweedleDee 2 3/4 x 3
I'm Late I'm Late 1 1/4 x 2
Mad Hatter 1 3/4 x 2 3/4
Pocket Watch 2 x 2 1/4
Cross Marks Background 2 1/2 x 3 3/4
Staple X 3/4 x 3/4
Three Staples 3/4 x 3/4

This was my last project for this year and for VLVS! design team. What a year it has been! I want to thank you all for your lovely comments and your heartfelt support.
In 2019, my VLVS! inspired projects can be viewed in my blog Elina's Arts And Crafts. Hoping to see you there!

Whimsical Owl Tag - with Elina

Hi!
Elina here today, sharing with you my latest mixed media tag creation:

For the tag background I used a fun resist technique:
Using my craft mat as my ink pad, I stamped the stained glass pattern on the tag with Distress Paint (color 'Antique Linen'). My tag was a bit longer than my stamp, so I stamped the pattern in two pieces, masking the center of the tag with a paper strip.

Once the paint was dry I inked the background with yellow and brown Distress Inks (colors 'Mustard Seed' and 'Vintage Photo'). The dried paint resisted the ink, and the dark ink highlighted my background pattern beautifully.

I placed the inked tag on my stamping platform, and stamped the main images with black StazOn. Before staming I glued a strip of paper on the bottom of the tag; the lovely owl needed a ground to stand on.

 

Then I stamped the main images on white paper, colored with Promarkers, and fuzzy cut. The last step was gluing the images on the tag, and my project was finished!

For this project I used the following VLVS! stamps:

Whimsical Owl in Clothes 1 3/4 x 3
Flying Eye Insect 2 3/4 x 2 1/4
Stained Glass/Mosaic Background 4 x 5 1/2

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Mail Art Monday with Elina

Hi!
Happy Mail Art Monday!
My latest mail art project is created on a craft envelope, using Banksy images and a limited black/brown color palette:

With a help of a stamping platform I first stamped my two main images on the craft envelope. I left the stamps on the platform, and re-stamped the images on a white paper:

Then I cut out the address label from the white paper, following the stamped lines on the left side. I glued the label on the envelope on top of the stamped images.

Then the only remaining thing was the decoration: I stamped some patterns on the top of the envelope, and here and there added a bit of color with color pencils. The background needed a hint of white, so I traced around the edges with a glue pen.
I think the envelope looks quite nice!

For this mail art project I used the following Viva Las VegaStamps! products:

Banksy Pulling Back The Curtain
Banksy Ladder Painter
Typeset Scallop
Staple X
Triangle Arrow Marker

Wishing you a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by!

Queen of Hearts ❤ with Elina

Hi!
A new spread is now finished in my small Moleskine art journal:

I'm in love with my new VLVS! 'Alice in Wonderland' stamps! The amount of character and expression is amazing, and I know for sure that they will be in heavy use for various types of projects.

The cool images didn't require too many additional elements, so for the background I just simply built layers of gesso, acrylic paints, gold colour cracle medium, and stamped patterns. One layer I stamped on a piece of tissue paper and adhered it to the page with collage glue; it was an easy way to decorate the layer of stencilled texture paste.

I think the simple color palette was a right choice for this page, and I'm quite happy about it's bit grungy, weather-worn look.

Here are close-ups of the main images:

For this page I used the following VLVS! stamps:

Queen Of Hearts
Mad Hatter
Texture Background
Row of Scribble Circles/Eyes
Smear/Smudge
Rows of Numbers

Wishing you a wonderful week! Hope my art journal page inspires you to take out your favourite stamps :)

Art journal page by Elina

Hi!
Elina here with you today, sharing my latest art journal page for which I used the fun 'mirror stamping' technique:

My starting point was a page in my art journal that had got some paint from the project next to it. I did not want to try to cover the paint stains with gesso, but used a piece of craft cardstock instead. Before gluing the strip on the bottom of the page I inked the page with yellow and orange Distress inks.

I stamped the main image on white paper, and replicated it with mirror stamping: In mirror stamping you first stamp the image on a smooth surface like the back of a large stamp or a piece of ez-mount foam. Then you use that surface as your stamp, and it transfers the inked image onto your paper. This technique works best for outlined images, but as you see here, it can very well be used for more detailed images, too. My mistake was to use a bit dry ink pad, and I had to reinforce some of the lines of both images with a thin black marker. But the result looks quite nice!

For the bottom part of the page I added layers of stamped images. Some of the images I fuzzy cut and glued on the page, some I just stamped on the previous layers.

The top of the page I decorated with stamped dots and stamped and fuzzy cut circles.

Using various stamped images and creating collage art journal pages is so much fun. True art journaling pleasure!

For this page I used the following VLVS! stamps (click the links for more info):

Clown Face
Row of Distressed Lines
Writing Circles Background
Typeset Scallop
Tired Of Trying To Cram
Doodle Dots
Multi-Leaf Branch
Staple X

Wishing you a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by!

Art journal spead: Just because

Hi!

With Banksy now popping up on tv, in newspapers and on social media I had to take out my Banksy stamps and to create a new spread in my small Moleskine book:

I started with stencilling and inking the page background. I splashed water on the Distress ink, dried the page with my heat gun, and stamped patterns on top. For the pink crosses I used acrylic paint, and for the small numbers a black dye ink.

The main image is heat embossed and painted with watercolors. Heat embossing works very well with watercolors, as the melted powder resists the colors, leaving the black color true black.

I think the background texture looks quite nice. It matches well to the brick wall patterns on the woman's face.

Here's a list of the VLVS! stamps I used for this spread:

Banksy Wall Singer
Banksy Just Because
Rows of Numbers
Carved Xs

Hope my page inspires you to get creative and to take out your own art journal :)

Wishing you a wonderful day!

What time? by Elina Stromberg

Hi!
One of the recently released stamp plates contains a super cool text that always makes me smile. I combined it with the intriguing 'Lid Lady' image, and made a card and a matching ATC:

For the background I used the large 'Stained Glass/Mosaic Background' stamp that has the perfect size a 4"x6" card base. I stamped it on a piece of mixed media cardstock, and heat embossed the pattern using white embossing powder. Melted powder resists watercolors, so for coloring the background I simply painted over the entire pattern with yellow, red and brown watercolors. Once the paper was dry I decorated some of the darker areas with a number pattern stamp.

As usual, I stamped two main images on one go, colored them with my Promarkers, and cut out. I also stamped and colored two backgrounds; one of them I used for my card, and the other I trimmed to ATC size. I think the ATC looks quite nice, too!

For these cards I used the following VLVS! stamps:
Lid Lady
Stained Glass/Mosaic Background
Rows of Numbers

Wishing you a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by!

Colorful ATC's - By Elina

Hi!
In less than two week's time I'll be attending a live ATC swap. In order to have enough cards to swap, my ATC factory is already full speed, and soon I'll have a pile of ATC's to take with me!

This time I used the lovely 'Whimsical Beaked Guy in Crown' stamp as my main image, and put him on a colourful background painted with acrylic paints:

I colored the background with a brayer, and once the first layers of paint were dry I also used acrylic paint for stamping. My craft mat was my ink pad; I spread a thin layer of paint on the mat with my brayer, and stamped random patterns on the background paper. When stamping with acrylic paints it's important to clean the stamp right afterwards. Don't let the paint dry on the stamp!

There are now seven ATC's in this series. This main image was so cool that I just had to make several cards on the same go!

Before gluing the main image on the card front I added some stamped textures on the background. StazOn or Archival inks work well on acrylic paint.

I think the cards look quite nice! I hope someone will pick them up on the ATC swap! :)

For this project I used the following VLVS! stamps:

Whimsical Beaked Guy in Crown
Measuring Tape Section
Carved Xs
Whimsical Triangle Banner

Wishing you a wonderful day.Thanks for stopping by in our blog!

Art journal page: Freaking Awesome! By Elina

Hi!
I just love playing with the VLVS! stamps on my art journal books! Here's my newest creation I made in my small Moleskine book:

Isn't that 'Whimsical Lettered Man' image awesome! This time I decided to color it with quite conservative colors, but I'm sure next time I'll choose a more unusual color combo. That cool image for sure tolerates bold color choises :)

For coloring the background I cut a simple mask from plain printing paper. While keeping the mask still in place I stamped some random cross patterns on top of the green ink, using the same Distress color.

 

I stamped and colored three 'Whimsical Lettered Men' on the same go, as I also wanted to create two ATC's. I think they turned out very nice, too!

For these projects I used the following VLVS! stamps:

Whimsical Lettered Man
Cross Marks Background
Staple X
Row of Scribble Squares
Tired Of Trying To Cram

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Twins on an art journal page - By Elina

Hi!
Today I'm sharing with you my latest art journal page, filled with all my favorite elements: bright colors, lots of stamped patterns, and lovely main images (isn't that sheep stamp just adorable!):

My plan was to create a contrast between the colorful background and the quite monotonous main images. That way the page with lots of colors and patterns would not get too busy.

For coloring the background I used acrylic paints and a brayer. Once the paint was dry I stencilled white color on top (pattern stencil by Tim Holtz) and added different stamped patterns here and there. When stamping on acrylic paints I recommend to use a waterproof ink. We all have our own preferences when it comes to ink brands; my opinion is that on an acrylic paint surface StazOn works the best.

I have noticed that the 'Smear/Smudge' stamp has become one of my new favorite stamps: When using standing or sitting images on my projects, I prefer the characters to have something to stand on. This stamp is perfect for creating that kind of grounds!

With only one sheep image the page looked bit too empty. So the solution was to repeat the image, and to use two sheep instead of just one, Repetition usually works well on an art journal page!

For this art journal page I used the following VLVS! stamps:
Sheep with Legs
Bubble Wrap Texture
Punchinella/Sequin Waste
Rows of Numbers
Smear/Smudge
Cross Marks Background
Doodle Frame

Hope my page inspires you :)

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!