I'm Late... I'm LATE for March Madness!

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! Susan here today to share a fun ATC that is perfect for the month of March... in Easter pastel colors complete with a racing rabbit!

I needed to make some ATCs for an Alice in Wonderland themed swap "Down the Rabbit Hole" and {of course), I had the perfect stamps in my VLVS! stash for them. It all started with a sheet of painted paper using a handful of Ranger Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Evergreen Bough and Picked Raspberry. I modified this T!m Holtz' marbeling technique in painting my background – I added all the colors in a splotchy fashion, and sprayed a lot of water onto the craft sheet to give a more subtle watercolor effect when paper is dragged.

When dry, I cut this down to make my ATC card blanks {3 1/2" x 2 1/2"}, then added a torn strip of  fun harlequin washi tape along the bottom of each and set to work on the stamping and layering of elements. It was interesting doing a horizontal card for a change. I saved a section of the background for stamping the sentiments.

One special stamping trick – combine stamp images by layering two stamps on top of each other. I did this with the girl and a keyhole - placing the keyhole over one of her eyes; then I fussy cut each keyhole out. This gives the perfect eye peering though the keyhole for this Alice in Wonderland themed ATC. 

The sentiment I've had for ages and I thought it went perfectly for the quirky white rabbit whose always proclaiming, "I'm Late!" Everything is edged with coordinating chalk inks for an extra "POP" of color and adhered with miracle tape. These came together really quickly and they were fun to make!

"Down the Rabbit Hole" ATC

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From Viva Las VegaStamps:

"Pensive Girl" #16033

"Keyhole Shading" #9498

"Wheely Rabbit" #18377

"I Try Not to Limit..." #15414

Miracle Tape 1/8"

StazOn Jet Black Ink

Other Supplies: white cardstock and metallic purple stationary for keyholes; variety of colors of Ranger Distress Paints; brayer; water misting bottle; StazOn Royal Purple Ink; harlequin washi tape from Dollar Tree; and detail scissors.

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Thanks so much for dropping by! What are you stamping with your stash of VLVS!? 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

Come Sail Away to Some Stamped Deserted Islands...

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! - it's finally FRIDAY and the weekend is almost here! Susan here today bringing a beautiful card made from leftovers and stamped images that are not "perfect". If you are like me, there's really no such thing as a "PERFECT" stamped image. It's the best out of several (or 10) stamped images, then you have a pile that are sent to the "Island of Misfit" images to the scrap box.

Remember the hurricane card I made a while back on shaving cream painted papers... well - the leftovers made their way into my project due to my "ONE TOUCH" rule this week. What is my "one touch" rule? Simple - if I pick something up in effort to find something for a project... it goes in the project, too. I started doing this to help me use up the leftover stuff sitting around that's usable and too good to throw away.

What do you do with leftovers and stamped images that aren't totally perfect... I make MOSAICS. Cut them up and piece them back together. The interesting design of the mosaic pattern adds interest and nobody will notice the stamping faux pas. And a nice fine point black pen for touch ups doesn't hurt, either. Before assembling into a border, I inked all edges with chalk ink to give a aged and weathered feel. I completed this mosaic border with some coordinating May Arts burlap twines that really add to the weathered nautical feel. Miracle Tape makes assembly quick and easy!

That ship in the bottom section of the border did bother me - it was slightly blurred and not completely clear. Another quick and easy fix... just add a layer! I stamped the larger ship onto another scrap of the shaving cream paper, torn around the edges and chalked with Clearsnap creamy brown cats eye chalk ink. Another mishap occurred when I came back a few days later to assemble my finished piece...the black StazOn ink reacted in a couple spots with my shaving cream paper and it blurred out around the masts. It looked like an oil stain and I was compelled to repair this also. So I used a white Signo Uniball pen to color over stained area and smudged out the edges. Then I used a fine point EK Millenium black pen to repair the mast and rope lines. I repeated the white in a few places to complete the look and looks like it was meant to be.

I layered this onto a brown paper bag envelope that I gently took apart to have a piece large enough to layer my mosaic border on. I had a fold at each edge of this paper... hmmm - it's such a perfect match, but that won't do. No worries! To camouflage the folds...I added more folds spaced equally apart - leaving an interesting and textural element to the paper. Another near miss. I mounted the completed piece on top of a plain wicker box. The aged nautical look is completed and my plain box will make a perfect Father's Day gift now.

Supplies used: STAMPS - Nautical Collage #19016, and Triple Mast Sailing Ship #19026, Also used matte natural finish cardstock, and brown paper bag envelope; Miracle Tape; 3-D foam mounting squares; Various May Arts Ribbons/trim; Black StazOn Ink; Ranger Weathered Wood and Peeled Paint Distress Ink for shaving cream painted paper; and Clearsnap Creamy Brown Chalk ink.

ALSO - here's a sneek peek of my Altered Paint Brush for the latest VLVS! Swap. Join me tomorrow at the Saturday Crafts Fair on Linqto to see how I made this. QUESTION everything creative in sbartist : daylight musings room this weekend's Saturday Crafts Fair. Look for the question mark to join in!

All are invited to join me live at 4:00pm EST {1pm PST} in the Daylight Musings room at the Saturday Crafts Fair on Linqto! I demo live every Saturday and I share my projects, how-to's, tips and tricks and more. Tomorrow, I will be showing how to altered a 3" paintbrush - just like the ones I made for the Viva Las Vegastamps! Paintbrush SWAP.

https://apps.facebook.com/mylinqto/saturdaycraftsfair

Thanks so much for dropping by. Stick around a while and check out what the rest of the Viva Las Vegastamps! Design Team has been creating -OR- drop by the Viva Las Vegastamps! store and browse the rubber vault. If you would like to see more of my creations please visit my blog, sbartist : painting in the dark HERE. I'll be back in 2 weeks with another stamping adventure! Hope you have an inky day - and a fabulous weekend! Sb