The Butterfly by Tracy Blackwolf

 Hello Everyone!!

Today's project is a mixed media on canvas board. Enjoy~

To start This piece, I got a 4 x 5 canvas board. I sprayed on some distress spray stains, Dried them with my heat tool, And  then stamped the writing background ..  I then   randomly put white crackle paste over it leaving empty spots. I used a small pallet knife That has to dry overnight for the cracking to happen.

Once dry, I sprayed some more spray stains making sure some went down in the cracks.

While I waited for that to dry, I stamped the butterfly three times and cut it out in varying parts, and then colored it in with alcohol ink markers.

I wanted kind of an old look so I cut a strip of silk to have coming out of one of the layers-

I used foam tape between the layers to get some great dimension. I started to assemble my butterfly onto the canvas. I shaped the wings a bit using my fingers to roll the edges. I went back in with the blending marker because I was not happy with how the markers were blending. I ended up going over it with some spray stains and a paintbrush just to refine the blend a bit more. I put some inks on the silk to grunge it up a bit.

Then of coarse it needed some black crystals - and a little face bead. Last I Found a little verse board and added a green crystal and some foam tape and applied it to the canvas. And that is it! Done!

Stamps Used:

Butterfly Gossamer, lg.     7760

French Writing     20646

Other supplies:

Ohuhu alcohol markers

Ink- Versaclair pinecone, Nocturne

Distress spray stains: Vintage photo, Gathered twigs, Twisted citron, Victorian velvet, Tea Dye, Antique linen

Crackle paste by Golden

Silk gauze

4 x 5 board canvas

Moon bead

Black and green crystals

TH Quote chips

 

Art Journal with Wire Butterfly by Jenn Engle

Hey everyone! I have a super fun project to share with you today using a classic, the Large Gossimar Butterfly.

Stamps Used:

Large Gossamer Butterfly

I made the journal by just glueing random pages onto a piece of brown paper bag using PVA glue.
To make the cover, I started with one large piece that would fit all across the front, spine and back.

I collaged all kinds of vintage papers, masking tape, brown paper bag, and book text to my piece. Once that was dry, I used a palette knife to scrap gesso all across the piece. This helps to bring things together and tone things down a bit.

Once that was dry, I stamped the Large Gossamer Butterfly using distress ink. Then I used water on a paintbrush to move color around outside of the butterfly. To get a darker brown, I added some Sepia Fluid Acrylic by Golden.

Once I was happy with the way my bitterfly looked, I used some really thin jewelry wire to construct a butterfly. I really just tried to follow the curves of the stamp and then add extra loops.

I used my paper trimmer and just cut out the center of my butterfly. Then, I glued all the pieces to my book, keeping one wing on the front, one wing on the back and the body on the spine. Then, I glued my wire on using Glossy Accents.

My last step was to wrap some leather cord around my journal. For now, it's just for looks but once I started using my book the leather will keep it together.

Stamps Used:

Large Gossamer Butterfly

OTHER SUPPLIES USED:
Vintage Ephemera
PVA Glue
Brown Paper Bags
Blick Gesso
Distress Ink
Golden Fluid Acrylic in Sepia
Jewelry Wire
Glossy Accents

Thanks so much for looking!
~Jenn

Guest Blogger : Sue Plumb X3

We are back with a 3rd project from the uber talented Sue Plumb! You can learn more about her from the 1st time she visited us.

Today she is sharing a journal page with us -- totally killer!

"This is a Paint-Me-Dori paintable fabric journal cover that I won as a prize at a scrapbooking retreat. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with it, until I was inspired by all the VLVS images I had stamped onto tissue paper (courtesy of Fiona Paltridge's stash). 

I first gave the canvas cover a quick swipe of colour using a pale aqua acrylic paint; then cut out the images I wanted to use and applied them using a matte medium to create a collage. 

The beauty of this method is that as the tissue paper dries, it virtually disappears into the background, leaving only the stamped image behind. 

Once the cover was completely dry, I added splashes of colour using Posca paint pens and black and white gesso."

Here's a list of the stamps I used on this project:

- Typeset Scallop

- She Was a Freaky

- Bloody Hand Print

- Banksy Balloon Girl

- You Had the Power/Glinda

- Circle Pattern Circle by Tera Callihan

- Kissing Skeletons

- Whimsical Lettered Man

- Butterfly Gossamer (large)

- Squiggle Heart

- Bat Skeleton

- Fuck Head

- Magic Maker Paintbrush

- Helloooo

- Whimsical Lady's Face with Tears

- Whimsical Horned Boy

Dare to Dream... and Let your Heart Soar!

Hello everyone! Susan here my take on the Viva Las VegaStamps! June Challenge Inspiration Board. Luscious blues and greens... wings and words... I LOVE it!!! Challenges are a fun way to push yourself to try new things and new styles – and to be perfectly honest – this was way out of my creative box.

I started with a watercolor paper that I monoprinted with a blend of blue and green metallic Ranger Adirondack acrylics. Then I scribbled and smooshed on some blues and green Faber-Castell Gelatos to my liking. Using gel medium I fused a ghost monoprint on deli paper, which glues the layers together while giving translucency to colors below.

I wanted to have a scribbly heart so I made a dribbly heart mask by melting/drizzling Amazing Remelt onto my non-stick craft mat. I waited a few minutes for it to cool and solidify. Then I placed onto my background then sprayed with black Ditto glimmer spray.

I let the spray mostly dry before removing my handmade mask. Look at all the glorious blue and green exposed! I brushed some water at the top where the spray was still a bit wet and let the black color drip down. This was fun and a bit scary... I'm a total newb to the dripping technique.

I gave a blast with the heat gun to dry everything and added a few strokes of Gelatos to the heart. I stamp the butterfly onto a matching painted cardstock using black Versafine ink, then embossed with VLVS! ultra high gloss EP... and BAM!!! Wings that POP! I fussy cut and cut in half. To finish this mini masterpiece, I overstamp the bubble wrap texture and spell out "dare to dream" with Hero Arts Unicorn white pigment ink {this is the white of all white inks} and heat set.

I gently slide the collage into a Deflecto Acrylic Craft Frame and tucked the wings off each edge giving me a new georgeous piece free-standing art in an instant.

"Let Your Heart Soar..."

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From Viva Las VegaStamps:

"Distressed Alphabet from December Daily Plate #1430"

"Bubble Wrap Texture" #19566

"Butterfly Spotted" #9459

Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder

Other Supplies: watercolor paper, white cardstock detail scissors, black Versafine pigment Ink; Hero Arts "Hero Hues" Unicorn {white} pigment ink; various blues/greens Faber-Castell Gelatos; detail scissors; Faber-Castell Gel Medium; drizzle heart mask made with Amazing Remelt; Ditto black shimmer spray; and a Deflecto 3" x 4" Acrylic Craft Frame.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Thanks so much for dropping by! Have you seen the JUNE inspiration board... its AMAZING!  I invite you to join us and play along with the June inspiration challenge {CLICK HERE for details}. Just make a creation using the inspiration above and your stash of VLVS! stamps... linkup and you could win more RUBBER!

If you would like to see more of my creations please visit my blog, sbartist : painting in the dark HERE. Have a fabulous day!!  Sb

Birdhouse Photo Display.

Hello and welcome to another day of inspiration with VLVS! and Art Anthology!!

 If you haven't, you'll definitely want to check out what's been going on this week over on the Art Anthology blog along with this weeks post here on the VLVS! blog.

For Viva Las VegaStamps

Website: http://www.vlvstamps.com/index.php/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vlvstamps

Blog: http://vivalas.blogspot.com/

For Art Anthology

Art Anthology's Website: www.artanthologyinc.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Anthology/392413134139071

Blog: www.artanthologyinc.com/blog

Now, on with my project!

I decided to give an old birdhouse from my stash new life!  My original idea was to make a wind chime with this baby, but after covering it in a layer of clay, it was FAR to heavy to attempt hanging---so Plan B---a photo display!

Before my clay had fully set, I stamped into it with the Butterfly Gossamer/Large image.  I just cannot get enough of this stamp!  A few Idea-ology Memo Pins were just the hardware I needed to make this piece functional.

I LOVE the texture stamped clay provides!  It's subtle, but so lovely.  After my clay had fully dried, I gave the whole piece a nice coat of  Art Antology's Velvet paints in Red Velvet and Imperial.  When this paint dries, it has a nice sheen and such a lovely sparkle!

What you couldn't see from the front, were the glass stones I've embedded into the roof.  A bit of patterned paper glued onto the bottom beforehand adds a nice pop of contrasting color against the Velvet paint.  To finish off the piece, I've sprinkled a handful of vellum butterflies to give a little more dimension to my house. 

And that's the project!  Thanks so much for joining me today, and don't forget to hop on over and see what the crew at Art Anthology has created.  See ya tomorrow!

Supplies used:

Butterfly Gossamer/Large rubber stamp

Velvet paint in Red Velvet and Imperial

wooden birdhouse

glass pebbles

patterned paper

vellum punched butterflies

Idea-ology Memo Pins

Flight of the Painted Butterfly... March #12tags2015 Viva Las VegaStamps! Style

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! Susan here today to share with you some inky, painted stamped goodness... inspiration courtesy of T!m's 12 Tags of 2015 for March. I've created my version of this month's tag using loads of Viva Las VegaStamps! images to set my butterfly aflight in a rainbow painted sky.

This wouldn't be entirely VLVS! style if I used my store-bought tissue tape... so I've made my own with some of my fav VLVS! stamps – it's so quick and easy! Grab a sheet of recycled tissue paper and stamp repeatedly with a variety of stamps using Jet Black StazOn Ink, filling up sheet {see below for links to all stamps used}.

Turn tissue over, line with strips of 3/4" Miracle Tape across sheet and burnish down.

Then gently tear strips apart to give a nice distressed edge. Easy-peasy!

Here's my homemade VLVS! tissue tape – it looks just as pretty as the readymade, right!

Next I applied torn sections of my various tapes to my blank tag.

Now time for the marbelized painted background using Ranger Distress Paint.

I substituted a few colors for the colors I have in my stash.

Dried background after heat setting ready for stamping!

Using Versafine Pigment Ink, I stamped the "Butterfly Striped Large" #9506, then embossed with VLVS! Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder – which when heat set, really made the black butterfly POP off the painted tag. If I hadn't embossed it, the black stamped image would have looked dull and melted into the background. I repeated process adding the "Small Bee" #19012. I stamped each off onto removable stickyback paper to make masks and fussy cut to prepare for the gilding to come.

Since I wanted to use stamps for the gilded parts, I skipped the steps using stencil with dimensional paste. I have a secret weapon to get a real dense embossing with embossing powder that looks pretty amazing. I apply Globecraft & Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive {comes in a dauber top bottle} which is a nice, thick fluid that grabs a lot of embossing powder. I stamped the "Cracked Background" #16208 and "Chicken Wire" #5757 over the masked images and applied gold embossing powder... then heatset to reveal the beautiful gold gilded goodness, careful not to overheat and melt the embossed butterfly and bee. Just gorgeous!!!

Now for the finishing touches... some sari ribbon and fibers to tie off the top and a Tim Holtz Idea-ology metal word band phrase rubbed with metallic distress paints; a pen nib for the butterfly's body {seemed out of place floating in the background}; and a punched distressed painted metal foil paper butterfly using a Sizzix movers and shapers die accented with bronze gems for the body. 

"Flight of the Painted Butterfly"

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From Viva Las VegaStamps:

"Butterfly Striped Large" #9506

"Small Bee" #19012

"Cracked Background" #16208

"Chicken Wire" #5757

"Pretty Lady Stamp/Cancellation" #17538

"Paris Address" #17539

"Grunge 1787 Writing Background" #17545

"Dictionary Page" #19015

"Patent" #1687

3/4" Miracle Tape

Jet Black StazOn Ink

Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder

Other Supplies: handmade cardstock #12 size tag; scrap of distressed aluminum tape paper; rainbow and metallic colors of Ranger Distress Paints; Globecraft & Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive; Clearsnap Gold Embossing Powder; Versafine Black Pigment Ink; Sizzix Movers and Shapers Mini Butterflies; Tim Holtz Idea-ology metal word band; bronze adhesive backed gems; pen nib; sari ribbon and decorative fiber.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Thanks so much for dropping by! Ready for Spring??! I hope you will join us and play along with the March inspiration challenge {CLICK HERE for details}. Just make a creation using the inspiration above and your stash of VLVS! stamps... you could win more RUBBER! Take some time to browse around the blog here and the amazing creations from the entire VLVS! Team... there's so much amazing inky inspiration to see!

If you would like to see more of my creations please visit my blog, sbartist : painting in the dark HERE. Hope you have a fabulous day!!  Sb

September Winners

Hi hi folks!! We've got a couple WINNERS to announce from our September Challenge!

By popular vote the talented Harikini is our winner!

She's used our  

Butterfly Specimens,  

Men in Balloon Basket 

and  

Weathered Tree.

Harikini please feel free to use the following image on your blog as our voted winner!!

And our RANDOM winner is Carla.

Congrats both ladies, please email me @ deedee430@gmail.com with your shipping address to collect your rubber!

And don't forget to enter to win in our SPOOKY October Challenge.

A Vintage Game of Tag

Hello, Its Me Tera here again with another fun project to share! 

Today I am sharing a fun Vintage themed Tag that I created. 

I started  with a base of patterned paper by Prima, and a main focal image that I wanted to build around. 

(From here I really got into the swing of everything and forgot to take progress shots as I went so bare with me while I try to explain my madness :-D) 

 I started by stamping Chicken Wire 3 3/4 x 4 1/2 randomly on the background in frayed burlap. 

Next I stamped the Big Ben 1 3/4 x 4 1/4 on the left side in VersaFine Sepia.

 I also inked and distressed around the edges in various shades of browns.  On a separate sheet of paper I stamped the Bearded Man 2 1/4 x 2 1/4  in verafine black and distressed it with versafine sepia. I also stamped the #7 from Plate 1430  then embossed it with black embossing powder before i cut it out and distressed it.  At the top right I stamped Butterfly Specimens 1 1/2 x 4 1/2 then also embossed it in black. To finish things off I added some film strip by Tim Holtz to the side, as well as some random spots of Tim Holtz washi tape. I popped up the 2 pieces on pop-dots, then embellished with UmWow Studio Gears. 

Below are a few more detail pictures :-D