Bookmarks and Notebook - Gift Ideas | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

It's Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. As we head into the festive season, I thought it would be a good time to share a couple of simple appreciation gift ideas with you. There are always people in our lives that deserve a small token of our thanks - whether that be teachers, neighbours, friends, the mailman, or even the staff at the local store. So I decided to whip up some simple stamped bookmarks and notebooks featuring some of my fave Banksy stamps to give out.

For the notebook, I started with a plain, kraft cover notebook (purchased from Kmart). I used Dina Wakley acrylic paints, applied with a brayer and layered randomly to add some colour. I then took the recently released Victorian Flower Background and used it to stamp a border around 3 sides of the cover.

Next, I chose the fabulous Banksy Wall Singer for my feature image on the cover, before I also stamped the Banksy Life is Beautiful as the accompanying text. I love how it turned out! I paired it with a pen before wrapping it up.

After I created the notebook, I decided to re-visit a project I have created previously and shared here - bookmarks. (You can find my original watercolour bookmark post HERE) This time however, I wanted to use a more minimalist style to showcase some cool Banksy stamps. 

I started by cutting some smooth white cardstock into strips measuring 2x8.5". I then stamped a focal Banksy image onto each one, and an accompanying quote as well. 

Here is a list of all the stamps I used on the bookmarks (as shown from left to right above):

- Banksy Man on Bicycle and You Only Live Once

- Banksy Frida Kahlo and Banksy Just Because

- Banksy Spray Can Cop and The Unicorns Made Me

- Banksy Einstein Protestor and Banksy Love is the Answer

- Banksy Girl Floating with Balloons and She Was a Dreamer

- Banksy Ladder Painter and Banksy Life is Beautiful

- Banksy Gas Mask Flower Girl and Where is My Mind?

- Banksy Child Sitting and I Hope You Know

- Banksy Swing Girl and She Spread Her Wings

I also stamped the back of each bookmark with the Banksy stamp.

Once they were all stamped, I used Faber-Castell gelatos to add a splash of colour to each one. I wanted to keep them simple, so I only used a single colour on each one and left the focal images uncoloured.

I then took all the bookmarks and laminated them, trimming off the excess laminate with a trimmer.

I then punched a hole into each bookmark and added a variety of twine, tassels and a metal charm to decorate them.

I am so happy with how these turned out and cannot wait to gift them to their new owners! Thanks so much for stopping by so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to create some special handmade appreciation gifts for the people in your lives too. 

Stamps used:
- Victorian Flower Background
- Banksy Wall Singer 
- Banksy Life is Beautiful
- Banksy Man on Bicycle 
- You Only Live Once
- Banksy Frida Kahlo 
- Banksy Just Because
- Banksy Spray Can Cop 
- The Unicorns Made Me
- Banksy Einstein Protestor 
- Banksy Love is the Answer
- Banksy Girl Floating with Balloons 
- She Was a Dreamer
- Banksy Ladder Painter
- Banksy Gas Mask Flower Girl 
- Where is My Mind?
- Banksy Child Sitting 
- I Hope You Know
- Banksy Swing Girl 
- She Spread Her Wings
- Banksy

Other materials:
- Plain notebook
- White cardstock
- Tsukineko StazOn ink
- Faber-Castell Gelatos
- Dina Wakley acrylic paints
- Laminating sheets
- Assorted twines, tassels and charm

Frida - A journal Page by Fiona

Hello my VLVS friends!! Fiona here with you today to share an art journal page I have created dedicated to the gorgeous Frida Kahlo.

Frida was a radical comunist and an artist living in both Mexico and New York in the 1920's and 1930's.

You can read more about here HERE

 In short .... she was mostly disabled due to both Polio she contracted as a child and an horrendous train car accident she was involved in when she was 18. This was what lead to her being a painter, mostly of self portraits depicting the chronic pain she lived in for the rest of her life.

She was one very remarkable woman.

My page depicts one of her most famous quotes 

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly"

VLVS Products:

Banksy Frida Kahlo

Wildflowers Silhouette

Birds on Wire Large

I hope my Frida page has inspired you. She most certainly inspires me.

See you all again soon xx

Mail Art Monday; Banksy Mailart Inspiration by Cheetarah

Hi all, welcome to another Mail Art Monday here at Viva Las VegaStamps! inspiration blog. I'm excited to share this envelope I made for our February Mailart Group Swap over at our Facebook VLVS! Groupies hangout.

And here it is, a Frida centered piece of Mailart. It's very easy and fun to make with just a few stamps needed. Let me share the process with you.

So this month's swap theme is Banksy which means you have to use at least one of VLVS! Banksy inspired stamps. There are so many great images to choose from but I decided to go with Frida for these envelopes. Started off by stamping her on the envelopes with memento tuxedo black and masking her off together with an address space next to her.

When the masks were on the envelope, I stamped Wildflower silhouette in 3 different Staz-on colors Hydrangea blue, Azure and Midnight blue.  Start with the lightest and then the darkest one on top. I made a busy bush but it's going to be pushed to the background in a later step.

I put the masks back on and added some brighter colors with my distress tool and mustard seed and ripe persimmon distress inks. Now it's time to color the face.

My choice of alcohol markers are the old style Letraset Promarkers. They are now distributed by Windsor and Newton. I chose to trace over the memento black stamped image with a mauve black color to give more warmth and accentuate that stenciled Banksy look. I also doodled around the address section with a Fabert Castell Pitt Artist Pen. And now to make it pop from the back ground.

Before I used my white gel pen I stamped She was... and an artists stamps with colorbox midnight blue and embossed with WOW indigo. My fave white gel pen to use is the Uniball Signo Hybrid, it rolls smoothly, has a great stark white gel liquid that stays wet enough to use in other ways. Love to use it as a high lighter! I just trace along the edge of the image in parts then rub the liquid out while it's still wet. You can get a nice blurry white halo around your image that way. And it definitely pops the image to the foreground.

In the end I also spattered some Liquitex INKS! in white and gold for a sparkle effect (I put the masks back on when I did this) and created a vignette by rubbing some black metallic rubs around the edges of the envelope.

Hope you're inspired to create something for the swap and join the fun! If you do, please don't forget to upload your made envies to the swap events page before february 17th and then PM our awesome swap coordinator Michelle with your address. And who knows, we might get partnered up and you might be getting one of these from me in your mailbox soon!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Stamps used:

Banksy Frida Kahlo

Wildflower silhouette

She was...

an artists

Others:

Uniball signo hybrid white gel pen

alcoholmarkers

liquitex INKS!

faber castell artist pitt marker

Staz-On Hydrangea blue, Azure and Midnight blue

Memento Tuxedo Black

Distress tool round

Distress inks mustard seed and ripe persimmon

Black metallic pearl rub

Arist Trading Card Duo - "Frida Kahlo" by Jenn Engle

Today I have an ATC duo to share featuring a really cool new Banksy stamp, Frida Kahlo. Make sure you check out the process video at the end of the post!

STAMPS USED:

Wildflowers Silhouette

Stitching Line

Sawtooth Stitching Line

Numbers Set

Banksy Frida Kahlo

Thanks for Looking!

~Jenn

PLACES TO FIND ME:

Instagram @mixedmediajenn

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MixMediaJenn/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jenniferengleart

Blog: www.mixedmediajenn.blogspot.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/users/jenniferengle22

Email is the easiest way to get a quick response from me:

Gmail: jenniferengle22@gmail.com