More Halloween cards with Josefine

And more, and more, and more ;)

I ordered all the latest plates-o-rubbers and just had to start playing with the Halloween set and the mark maker set (my two favorites from the release). And what better way to play than to combine the two?

I started by stamping the gravestone cross in a nice, black ink - once onto my card base and then on masking paper.

Then I added the masking paper on top of the stamped cross and stamped the lines with squiggles in a light grey on top. This way it looks like the lines are behind the grave once I removed the masking paper.

Next, I used the sentiment "No Tears for the Creatures of the Night", stamped it with Versamark ink, and embossed the sentiment. Since I created multiple cards at the same time, I decided to use different colors of embossing powder - one in white, one in purple, and one in orange.

As a final step, before mounting everything onto a card base with a black frame, I added a few orange and purple splatters to the background. 

And voila, new Halloween cards using the two new plates :)

I love how the colored embossing powder looks on the lines.

I have a feeling this is going to be a great Halloween season :P

Stamps used:

- Plate 1522

- Plate 1525

Is it time for Halloween yet? Spooky card with Josefine.

Halloween! My favorite time of the year for card making. While I'm waiting for the new Halloween stamps (from Plate 1504) to arrive at home, I wanted to get a head start with my Halloween crafts using some older Halloween stamps.

I started with a slightly different idea. I wanted to create a shining moon for the Bats over Moon stamp, so I started with ink blending a light color onto some watercolor paper.

But the moonlight ended up being a much larger area. I just rolled with it because I wanted to know where it takes me.

To add some initial texture, I sued some simple bubble wrap and stamped the same inks all over the background. Before stamping, I misted the bubble wrap with some water.

Then I added a variety of mark-making stamps to the background - again, using the same colors that I used for the initial ink blending.

Here you can see the finished background (waiting for the water to dry ;) ).

Now I stamped the bats.

I also stamped the Halloween labels onto a piece of cardstock and decorated it with some of the stamps that I used for the background. I then cut them out and distressed the edges.

I wanted to mount the card onto a separate piece of black cardstock to make it stand out a bit more. To give that background piece some texture, I stamped the Beware Of stamp using white ink. You don't see much of it at the end - mainly that awesome font.

After I adhered the pieces together, I added a bit of ribbon and a trinket - and voila, the first Halloween card of the year is done.

Wit a lot of fun texture :)

When my husband saw the card, he was reminded of the movie Suicide Squad... the colors match it pretty nicely.

Stamps used:

Plate 1504

Bats over Moon

Mercurial Ointment

Beware Of

Rows of Numbers

Carved Xs

Row of Distressed Lines

Thanks so much for stopping by :)

Create your own card backgrounds with Josefine

Is it just me or do people send more cards nowadays? Especially during the last months. It probably helps with feeling closer. So, why not show some ideas on how to make a few quick cards, maybe even with a little humor?

I used the Grunge numbers to create two simple backgrounds that are full of texture.

For the first background, I used my stamp platform to stamp all the numbers at the same time. So, I mounted my paper into the platform, arranged the stamps randomly, and stamped using Distress Oxide. I had to rearrange the numbers and stamp again since they didn't quite fill the entire card base. 

Then I used Distress Ink in a slightly lighter color and blended it all over the background. I made sure to leave it splotchy and uneven. I didn't want to go for a perfect and even look.

Next up, I used the Mesh Texture, Bubble Wrap Texture, and actual bubble wrap to add more interest to the background. I used both ink colors to stamp those. I also splattered some water and Distress Oxide ink on top.

To finish it up, I added a frame around the border.

For the second background, I skipped the stamp platform. I wanted the numbers to be closer together, so it was easier to that by hand. Here, I used Distress Oxide again.

Now I blended two Distress Ink colors on top, used the same stamps and bubble wrap to add some texture, and finished it up with a few splatters of water and other inks.

Here are the two backgrounds next to each other.

Now I simply added a few sentiment stickers, paper dolls, and wings to the card and mounted it onto a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 card base.

I hope you enjoyed my two cards and that you feel inspired to create some of your own :)

Stamps used:

Grunge numbers from Plate 1444

Mesh Texture

Bubble Wrap Texture

Not everything in black & white makes sense with Josefine

Hello and welcome back to the VLVS! blog. I'm sharing a new page in my zine art journal using a bunch of different stamps - some of which that were in the grab bag that I got just recently. 

The page already had a background. You can see what that looked like in my first post about this journal. I simply added a bit more stamping on top. All in similar colors with a mix of Distress Oxide and Distress Inks. Btw, the tree is not blurry. I stamped it twice, once in a lighter shade of blue and then a second time in a darker shade of blue.

The tree needed someone next to it. I wanted to make sure that the image of the statue is crisp, so I used a stamp block and put a piece of foam underneath the page - both things that help with getting a detailed image.

Since the background was rather busy, I needed a bit more to make the statue stand out. I used the Distress Inks and Oxides as watercolors and colored the statue in. Once that was dry, I went over the stamped lines with a very fine micron pen.

In the end, I added a sentiment to the right and a few more patterns to outline the sentiment.

And to add just a bit more texture, I decided to adhere the postage stamp to the top left. This has been laying on my desk for months now and I finally felt that I found a good spot for it.

If you haven't seen it yet, here is another page in the same journal.

Stamps used:

Measuring Tape Section

Smear/ Smudge

Weathered Tree

Roman Statue

Double Coffee Rings

First Class Mail

Thanks for stopping by and see you next time :)

Making Shrink Plastic Embellishments with Josefine

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Viva Las VegaStamps! blog. 

I am in a creative low. I only have little time to create and when I find a few minutes I seem to be overwhelmed and don't know where to start. That happens all the time though, so I prepared a few tricks to get my mind going. One of them is to pick something from my "new supplies" pile (how big is yours? ;) ). This time, the item I picked was shrink plastic. Yikes... I've never used it and it totally intimidates me.

So, I thought that I'd start with something simple. Just a stamped image. Maybe a few more, so I don't do one and then have to stamp another image. If I have a few ready, I might get into it.

I stamped the images using my Misti and StazOn ink. 

Then I cut all the pieces. I didn't even try to cut right at the edges. That plastic is rather thick and starts breaking when the scissor is at a too tight angle. Also, something that I learned during the process, the more intricate the piece, the more difficult it is to shrink it.

In addition to shrinking just a simple stamped image, I decided to color two of them using Copic markers.

And guess what... IT WORKED :D

I thought the sheep would end as a black blob, but you can actually still see the shape. One more tip: punch the holes for the embellishment before you shrink them. Much easier (guess how I know that....).

Now I got a bit creative. I dusted off an old jewelry making kit that had some earrings left. I think the sheep work great as earrings.

I have not done much with the colored images yet, but am sure that at least the silly reindeer will end up on a Christmas art journal.

This turned out amazingly crisp. I'm so excited about it.

And finally, the Ethos Door is now an embellishment for my zine art journal that I created for one of the last VLVS blog posts. 

What do you think? Fun project or not worth the time? ;)

Stamps used:

- Ethos Door

- Ethos 3 Sheep

- Super Pug

- Cross-Eyed Reindeer

- Weeping Statue of Liberty

Thanks for stopping by!