The ocean - art journal page

Hello everyone,

Today's art journal page features some landscape stamping which is not my usual style, but nevertheless I enjoyed the process of making it. So here we go with a little tutorial and some technical tips about how to arrange a landscape composition.

When I started my page, I had a rough image in my mind how this page should look like. I already knew my focal image - this man with his dog - and so stamping and cutting this was the first thing I did. Also, I inked up the edges with a black marker which would help the image blending easily into the scene later. At this stage I wasn't sure if I wanted the image to be colored or not, so I left that decision for later.

Next, I chose some stamps for my background scenery: a rower and a pier. And here's my little tip about arranging your composition: When you are not sure where to place your images, first stamp them on some transparency. I always use a slow drying ink such as Versafine as this can be wiped away from the foil afterwards. You can then move the foil or foil pieces to get a good idea how it looks in different positions. In my case I wasn't sure about how high I wanted to have my horizon line. This technique helped me to figure out where to place the stamps.

Ater I added the two stamped images to my page, I added some texture to the sky. Therefore I used the new plus sign stamp (not only as a whole but also just parts of the stamp) and heatembossed that.

Finally it was time to add color. I diluted some Dylusions ink sprays with water and added them to my previously wetted page. I left a lot of white space on the page which I really liked in the end.

Once I was done with my background, I needed something for my focal characters to sit on. I grabbed a piece of tissue and tore it into pieces and strips. Then I crumpled these up and glued several layers down to the bottom of the page with matte medium, making sure to retain the crinkled texture. After it had dried, I added a few more Dylusions inks with a brush and ended up with the perfect ledge for the man and his dog. I also added a few lighthanded lines to the horizon.

That was the point where I decided that they need a little color and grabbed my watercolors. Then I glued them down with foam tape, added a matching quote sticker and called this project done. Here are some close-up shots of the finished page.

 

 

Stamps used:
Man And Dog Sitting (18968)
Plus Sign Background (20571)
Pier or Dock Silhouette (19716)
Man In Row Boat Silhouette (19712)
Recommendation for creating landscapes: Plate 1460

Other material:
- Art journal (Hahnemuehle DIN A4 watercolor book)
- Versafine ink (nocturne)
- Versamark ink
- Dylusions ink sprays (calypso teal, vibrant turquoise, periwinkle blue, chopped pesto, slate grey, melted chocolate)
- watercolor
- embossing powder (Ranger - frosted crystal)
- tissue paper
- matte medium
- Studio Light Sticker (Jenine's mindful art collection)
- black brush marker and fine tip marker

See you soon!

 

Monthly Challenge : MARCH

MARCH is here. March >>>> MARCH is already here. I can't believe it.. Spring is on the way, the birds are chirping in Vegas and we are back to short weather. :)

We are also back with another CHALLENGE!!

We'd like to inspire you with words like nature, clouds, sky stuff, water, rivers and streams, masculine, males, fishing, trees, wilderness, greens, browns, blues, fluffy white, flies and other bugs, dirt, worms, fish, wildlife and more!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-Post it to your blog with a link back to us

-Upload to our linky using your direct blog post link (You may also upload via facebook, flickr or other gallery)

You could win a Project Spotlight post on our blog + some new rubber of course.

And visit us back here for inspiration! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?

When I was around nine or ten my best friend Rita and I decided to hold a contest. Who could make the largest gum foil ball? Back then gum sticks came in a pack of five and each stick of gum was wrapped in a thin piece of paper stuck to an aluminum sheet. It took some patience but after stuffing each piece of gum into our mouth, we would carefully separate the foil from the paper and then roll the foil into a ball.

I honestly can’t recall how long our contest lasted, or who won, but I distinctly remember a huge argument over the accusation of cheating with Reynolds aluminum foil!
 

I decided to do a bit of research and found that our idea wasn’t exactly unique. Recently on eBay a vintage six pound gum foil ball sold for $299.99! I never received any money or notoriety from my ball, but am now having a bit of regret that I didn’t save it.
 

When I saw the adorable Tinfoil man stamp on the VLVS website I knew I just had to try my hand at making a real foil card. It was easier than I thought and I love the way it turned out.

Supplies



Miracle Tape



VLVS – Tinfoil Hat Man and Cat and Tinfoil it's not just for hats anymore.



Cardstock – white and gray



Silver Stickles



Black/White Patterned Paper



Aluminum Foil



Embossing Folder
 

I just made a simple greeting card and layered black cardstock on the cover. To emboss the tinfoil I used Miracle Tape to tape down the foil to a piece of cardstock. I then ran it through my Vagabond, cut the embossed piece to the desired size and glued it to the card. I added Silver Stickles to the stamped hats and then glued it to the card.

Have you ever made a tinfoil chewing gum ball? Or a tinfoil hat? The closest thing to a tinfoil hat that I ever wore was using a frozen orange juice can as a hair roller. Can you top that??