SYMPATHY CARD by Fran Chalmers

 Hi everyone!

Unfortunately, I have had some sad news over the last week and have had to make a sympathy card.  It's relatively quick to make and I hope you like it.

I wet some card (which holds water well) and then sprinkled Ost. Blue brushos onto it, dabbing the excess water off with a tissue.

When I was satisfied with the amount of colour, and the card was completely dry, I stamped the main stamp in Versafine Clair Nocturn.

I then went round the edge of the mat with a blue Sharpie pen to match the tones in the brushos.

I stamped the inside of the card with the lovely sentiment on grief in Versafine Clair Medieval Blue.

Once I had stuck the mat onto the card, I grounded the tree with some Distress Ink in Blueprint Sketch.

Stamps Used:

|Leaves blowing from tree 19177

Surviving Grief 19772

Other Items Used:

Brushos (Ost. Blue)

Versafine Clair in Nocturn and Medieval Blue

Distress Ink in Blueprint Sketch

Blue Sharpie Pen

See you next time.

Finding My Way - Tag by Susanne

Hi everyone!

It's Susanne writing today and I want to share a mixed media tag with the lovely "Girl In Princess Costume" with you.

 
If you are gelli printing addicted, like me, you might have the same "problem": Tons of gelli printed backgrounds. This is one way you can use them:

Cut a tag from the background of your choice and stamp the main image:

Stamp the same image on white cardstock, too. Cut it out.

I did the same with all images that are on my tag. (Except from the sentiment and the tree on the background)

Colour the images with a medium of your choice (I used Distress Inks) and adhere them to the tag. I used a Nuvo Glitter Gloss pen to add some shimmer to the crown.

Here are some close ups:

Normally I use tags in my Art Journal, as a bookmark or to decorate gifts.
I hope you like this one. Thanks for stopping by today!
xx Susanne.

Supplies:
Viva Las VegaStamps!:
Girl in Princess Costume
Whimsical Worm
Compass
Finding my Way
Leaves Blowing from Tree
Others:
Gelli Print
Staz On ink
Distress Inks
Nuvo Glitter Gloss pen
Tim Holtz Stamping Platform

Watercolor effect and embossing

Hi, Diana Fisher here with you today to share my latest card. This is my last month with Viva Las VegaStamps and I am already starting to get sad. I have loved everything I made over these last three months — the stamps at Viva Las VegaStamps are stunning, easy to use and original.

For today's card, I was going for a soft watercolor effect without using watercolors. It's a big trend right now, but not everyone is comfortable trying the actual watercolors on their cards. It can make lighter weight papers bend, the color can bleed through, or the colors can mix in ways you wouldn't have planned for.

With that in mind, here is a way to get that look with your ink pads!

I started with the Leaves Blowing from Tree stamp. I applied it with Ranger Distress Embossing Ink and then a white opaque embossing powder. Then I heated it up with my embossing gun.

After that was done, I used four different inks: Heidi Swapp (Teal), VersaMagic Chalk Ink (Sea Breeze), VersaMagic Chalk Ink (Aloe Vera) and VersaMagic Chalk Ink (Thatched Straw). That is the order I used them in, too, from top left corner to bottom right.

I applied the inks with Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, one for each color. I worked the color right over the white embossed area and before it could dry, I would quickly wipe off any ink on the white areas. 

It's hard to tell unless you zoom into the picture, but the bottom left corner has the Cross Stitch Stamp. I thought it went well with the Close Knit by Crate Paper tag and heart die cut that I ended up using for my sentiment. That was stamped in VersaMagic Chalk Ink (Aloe Vera).

I hope you have some ideas now on how you can get a watercolor effect without the actual watercolors!