NEW PLATES!! >>> Grab on PRESALE for 20% off

Three brand new plates are up for 

pre-order on the site!

twice as much fun!

Hi Hermine here again and still in Christmas card mode hahaha. Below you will find two crds using exact the same materials and rubber stamps (except for the tekst stamp) but using two different techniques.

Technique 1:
step 1: take a piece of paper and scribble different colours Derwent Inktense Blocks on it horizontally. Take a waterbrush and blend the colours. Do the same with different colours vertically, repeat the blending and dry with a heattool.
step 2: take a round sponge and some gesso and put 3 circles on the background. Let dry. Put some colour on the circles with Derwent Inktense Blocks using reds and orange and blend with the waterbrush.
step 3: Stamp with Versamark the set of three Christmas ornaments 19309 at the top and embos with WOW Silver Hologram Sparkle Embossing Glitter and heatset.
step 4: take a Lyra watercolor crayon, I used sepia and mae some shades around and inside the ornaments.
step 5: Stamp with Stazon jet black the tekst Eat Drink end be merry 19316. Colour the edges with Colorbox chalk ink and matt on a double folded card.

 

Technique 2:

 

step 1: Stamp with Versamark the set of three Christmas ornaments 19309  on the cardstock and emboss with WOW Silver Hologram Sparkle Embossing Glitter and heatset.



step 2: scribble with Derwent Intense Blocks some colours at the top. Take a waterbrush and blend the colours, then squeeze your water brush to let the colours run down.
step 3: Take a waterbrush and a Lyra watercolour crayon sepia and make some shades at the top part of the ornaments.
step 4: stamp with Stazon jet Black the tekst Bring on the twinkle 19313 and matt this on a double folded card.

Used materials:
set of three Christmas ornaments 19309
Eat Drink end be merry 19316
Bring on the twinkle 19313
Stazon Jet Black
Versamark
WOW Silver Hologram Sparkle Embossing Glitter
Derwent Intense Blocks
Lyra Aquacolor
gesso

'Tis the Season

I thought it would be fun since we are getting so close to Christmas to make a few Christmas ATC's using some stamps from the fabulous Plate 1411

 Isn't that gorgeous?? I also used alcohol inks for these ATC's and thought I would show you a few different ways to use them.  For this first ATC I used a piece of transparency and cut it the 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 size and then took 3 different colors of alcohol ink and dropped them straight from the bottle onto acetate.Then I dropped some drops of blending solution over the colors which caused them to blend, almost looking like stained glass.  You have to let it dry naturally as a heat gun will melt or distort the acetate.

Then I took a piece of patterned paper and cut it to match the size of the transparency and placed it behind it.

I like how the words come through faintly. Then I stamped the ornaments stamp onto the transparency using black Staz On ink and decorated with rhinestones and stickles.

 For the 2nd ATC I used Kromecoat cardstock and then dropped different colors of alcohol inks onto the cardstock and let dry. I wanted to make a bunch of circles so I didn't use any blending solution.

 and then I stamped the "Keep calm and open presents" stamp onto it and added some festive tinsel!

The last ATC I made I dabbed different colors of alcohol inks onto a piece of felt and then added some blending solution to the felt and dabbed all over the Kromecoate cardstock.  I also used some metallic alcohol ink as well.

 and then I stamped the Santa stamp on and used a white sharpie to color in his beard and fur trim, used stickles for the smoke and added a funny saying.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few different ways that you can use alcohol inks as background as well as my Christrmas ATC's. Tis the season everyone!

Happy Holly Greetings... 12 Tags of 2013 for December Viva Las VegaStamps! Style!

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! Susan here today to with my take on T!m Holtz' December installment of the 12 tags of 2013. YES - I did complete the tag for November... you can click here to sneek a peek. OK - I'll start out by saying I took liberties with creating this month's tag. I created my own dimensional plastic using stuff I have in my crafty stash. I had a bit of fun with this and the result is STUNNING!

Using a section of a recycled #6 take out container, a scrap of vellum cardstock and a section of miracle sheet - I fashioned my own faux frosted plastic by adhering the two together. If you have made your own DIY shrink plastic using a recycled #6 plastic container - you know that the plastic will warp and bend when heated. If you heat it a lot - it will shrivel up into a shrinky dink.

I stamped Holly Large #18930 repeatedly onto the vellum cardstock side using Timber Brown StazOn and then fussy cut out all of my pieces.

I started out this month's tag painting the base tag background by dragging tag through smattering of Old Paper, Antique Linen, Antique Bronze and Picket Fence Distress Stains. I distressed the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. 

Then I began adding my stamped images (Holly Small #18929; Holly Leaf 3760; Leafy Border #6292; and Ornate Corner Left #18928) creating a border using Timber Brown StazOn Ink. I wanted to keep with the vintage feel so the dark brown ink really compliments the background and will make my colorful holly "POP". I added pattern to the background using an ink blending tool with the Harlequin Mask from UmWowStudio; first using Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Then I shifted stencil over to hit reverse areas with Iced Spruce Distress Ink. It was a little bright now, so I toned the background down by brayering on a layer of Picket Fence Distress Stain. I finished off with some splatter dots of Picket Fence Distress Stain - the splatter is subtle, yet gives the snowy effect.

Now it's time to color my holly leafs. They all got a quick douse of color with Peeled Paint, Brick Red and Vintage Photo Distress Stains. When dry, I added more detail and color with various Distress Inks and an ink blending tool.

I know it's hard to see here in the photo - but these are my heated and curled dimensional holly leaves. Holding with heatsafe tweezers, I gently heated and shaped each leaf to my liking. In a couple areas I heated the leaves a little too much and the plastic began to shrink a little, but it just added to the charm of the shaped leaves. It's clear and on the backside - so it's not really noticeable.

Now for final assembly! I added some Diamond Glaze to add some "POP" to the holly berries and to accent details on holly leaves (here and there). I layered the sections of holly to my liking and added a piece of black 3-D pop dots to anchor leaves down as they lay. I finished off with adding some pink sticky back crystals and pearls for berries that I colored red with a permanent marker (and they match perfectly). 

Happy Holly Greetings!

This tag is complete... all tied off with a shimmery gold/red satin ribbon. I may go back and add the white splatter for snow overall - but for now I'm pretty happy the way that it is.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Viva Las VegaStamps used: "Holly Greetings" #6043; Holly Large #18930; Holly Small #18929; Holly Leaf 3760; Leafy Border #6292; and Ornate Corner Left #18928. Supplies used: Vellum Cardstock; Recycled #6 plastic take out container; Timber Brown Staz-On Ink; various Ranger Distress Distress Stains; various Ranger Distress Inks; Versafine Black Ink; Miracle Sheets, Harlequin Mask from UmWowStudio; Diamond Glaze Dimensional adhesive; Red permanent marker; sticky back pearls and gems; black 3-D pop dots; and ribbon from stash.

Thanks so much for dropping by. Have you entered the monthly challenge??? Its a brand new month with a new inspiration board. Just make a creation using the inspiration and your stash of VLVS! stamps... you could win more RUBBER! CLICK HERE for challenge details. Also, you definitely want to subscribe to the blog feed and to the Viva Las VegaStamps! newsletter to be IN THE KNOW of everything going on at the Viva Las Vegastamps! store. 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. I'll be back soon with another stamping adventure!  Sb

Fan Feature!

Join us today in celebrating fans around the web!!

It's plain and simple.. we LOVE seeing our stamps in use. We love seeing them shared on our facebook page, instagrammed, tweeted and stumbling across them on pinterest.

We also LOVE sharing your works with our other fans! And that's just what we're doing today! If you want to be featured in a fan feature, be sure to tag us (#vivalasvegastamps, #vlvstamps) so we stumble across your project!

First up today is Tera:

She's used:
Victorian Cameraman 1 3/4 x 3 1/4
I'd Rather Be In Paris 1 x 1 1/2
Carpe The Hell 1 x 3 1/4
Parisien 1 x 2 1/4

Next up is Czekoczyna:

 She's used:

Swirl Background 2 3/4 x 5 3/4

And finally Louise Nelson:

She's used:

Flying Bird Trio 3/4 x 1

Tropical Dream Journal

Hello stampers! It's Amy here today, to share a journal I created to contain all of my hopes, dreams, and future plans. Because I hope beyond hope that my future means living in Hawaii, I created the cover of this book with tropical flair.

I started by taking an old paperback children's book and covering it with a thick layer of gesso. When it was dry, I put little drips of acrylic paints in tropical colors all along the book, and went over them with a brayer.

When the paint was dry, I stamped the background using the Map Background 4 1/2 x 4 3/4 using Momento Ink in Tuxedo Black . I then layered up some scrap papers (7 Dots Studio and vintage book pages) to create a palm tree trunk (using miracle tape), and a bit for layers along the side.

I colored on the Fancy Grass/Weeds stamp, using Copic markers in mistletoe and burnt sienna, stamped them onto a library card, and fussy cut them out. I then layered them onto the base of the "tree trunk." When that was complete, I stamped the Anchor 1 1/2x2 with the black Momento ink, and fussy cut it out as well.

I created the palm fronds, by cutting cheesecloth, and spraying it with Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Mint until it was saturated. When it was try, I arranged it to create the top of the tree, and added two brown buttons from my stash, as coconuts!
Adding the adventure awaits sentiment (stamped onto a library card), a few stamped Stars, and 7 Dots Studio alpha stickers spelling out "Dream"; as well as some UmWowStudio chipboard, completed my book cover.

This was a fun, quick, and exciting project to create, and it gives me a place to journal my dreams......which is an added bonus!

Thanks so much for joining me today, and I hope I inspired you to get inky!

Supplies Used:
Viva Las VegaStamps!: Map Background, Stars, Adventure Awaits, Anchor, Fancy Grass/Weeds.
Ink: Tsukeinko Momento, Tuxedo Black; Copic Marker, burnt sienna, mistletoe
Paper: 7 Dots Studio
Chipboard: UmWowStudio

Paper Haus Release - Winter Frolic - GIVEAWAY

Welcome to the Viva Las VegaStamps! stop on the Winter Frolic 12 Days Of Christmas Blog Hop!

We are celebrating the release of the Winter Issue of PaperHaus Magazine but also inspiring you each day with wonderful holiday projects, giveaways and inspiration! The blog hop will run from December 1st to December 12th! Be sure to stop each day and leave a comment each day to win some fabulous prizes by all the lovely sponsors! Don't forget to check out the Winter Issue for additional inspiration, holiday cheer and some amazing projects from our contributing team!

The wonderful blogs on our hop today are...

• PaperHaus Magazine www.thepaperhaus.com
• Jodi Baune http://dancingintherainjb.blogspot.com/
• Lori Hairston www.lorihairston.blogspot.com
• Viva Las VegaStamps! : http://vivalas.blogspot.com

A little introduction about us.. We are Viva Las VegaStamps! -- America's Rubber Stamp Paradise. We manufacture deeply etched pink rubber stamps that come wood mounted, cushion clinged, and just as plain ol' rubber! We have over NINETEEN THOUSAND different rubber stamps available in all sorts of categories like Vintage, Steampunk, People, Holidays, Postal, Animals, Bugs and what seems like a million more.

Now we have some beautiful inspiration for you! These glorious Christmas cards come from DT member Hermine Koster

She's used the following of our deeply etched pink rubber stamps:

• Xmas Silhouette Collage 19317
• Bring on the twinkle 19313
• Set of three ornaments 19309
• With love 19302

All these stamps can also been found on plate 1411 -- which happens to be OUR GIVEAWAY TODAY!

Just comment on the blogs today and be sure to READ the beautiful magazine full of goodness! 

Christmas Card in Black #VLVS #VivaLasVegaStamps #VLVS #ChristmasCard

Black isn't a color you usually associate with the holidays but it works surprisingly well as a base when using metallic or glittery gel pens.

Supplies

VLVS! Stamps Used:

Santa Smoking - Item 19314 Plate 1411

Sakura of America Gellyroll Pens
     Stardust: Red-Star, Lime-Star, Green-Star, Sky-Star, Golden-Star
     Metallic: Green, Gold, Blue, Red
     Standard: White

Tim Holtz Distress Markers: Barn Door, Peeled Paint

Elmer's Paint Pens: White, Black

Kromecote A2 Cardstock
Strathmore 140 lb cold-press watercolor paper 8 x 10
Golden Black Gesso
Miracle Tape
A finger or blending tool

Fold the sheet of watercolor paper in half so the more textured side is on the front.

Paint the front with black gesso, leaving a white border around it.  Don't worry about crisp  or even edges.

Stamp the Santa on a piece of Kromecote and color him with the Distress Markers.  
Place enough Miracle tape to cover the Santa.  Leave the strip on the back side of the tape for now.

Cut him out.

Remove the back strip from the Miracle Tape, and place the Santa so he is flush with the bottom of the card and outside the black area.

Add some blue metallic around the Santa and smudge it with your finger or blending tool (I really find the finger does a better job.  The oils I think).  Smudging must be done immediately while the ink is still wet.

Use the Gold Metallic pen to draw a border around the black, but keep a black border around the gold.

Continuing with the gold pen, outline a simple christmas tree, each section a triangular shape with three loops on the bottom.  Keep a line of black between each section.

Add the gold ornaments.  Simple again--just round and oval blobs.

Outline the packages, still using the gold pen..  Don't worry about perspective.  This is a primitive-style drawing so simplicity is what counts.  Make one large package next to Santa, and then draw 2 small packages behind him and the tree.  If you can fit another small one between the large package and tree do so, but don't sweat it.  

Fill in a stripe around the boxes for ribbon, and draw loops for the bow.

Color the area around tree, packages and Santa with the Red-star pen. Throughout, while you are coloring, leave a thick, black line between your color and the gold lines.  The black does not have to be an even thickness. It's more interesting if it isn't.

Use the red metallic to place stripes that run from the edge of the card toward the tree.  They won't show much, but will add a little depth.

Switch to the green metallic pen and color each section of the tree completely.

Switch to the Green-star pen and draw stripes from the bottom of each section to the top (same reason as with the red stripes)

Now switch to the lime-star and add similar stripes.

Switch to the Golden-star and make dots along the center stripes.

Use the blue metallic to draw the strings for the lights. Use the Red-star to color the lights (simple ovals), then use the Elmer's paint pen for white highlights.

For the rest of the black (except the border on the outside of the gold) color it with blue metallic.  Rather than making it solid blue, color a section about the size of your fingertip, and then smudge it as far as you can.  Keep doing this until the black is covered, but hints of it show through in places.

In the white border, on the left edge, color a dot of blue metallic about the twice the size of the pen's tip, and smear it in a fan shape.  Go down 1/2 and inch or so, and repeat this on the right edge.  Continue doing this around the entire border. Just skip over Santa and continue on the other side of him.

Use the black Elmer's painter pen to adjust your black lines.  If you have places without a black line around objects, add one.  If you have an area where it's just too, too uneven, even it out a bit (don't get to fussy about this.  It's a primitive-style, remember?).

In the white border, where you created the blue smudging, draw a line or two and smudge.

Finish by using the black Elmer's to thicken the Santa's outline on one side.


I hope you've enjoyed creating a Christmas Card in black!

Don't forget to check out the VLVS! November Challenge for a chance to win (plus it's fun!).

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you've enjoyed your visit to Wonderland!For more of my work with Viva Las VegaStamps!, Amazing Mold Putty, zentangle-inspired art, and daily links to tangles, tutorials, and giveaways please visit my "Life Imitates Doodles" blog.   ~ Sandra Strait

Helpful Links: VLVS! Store for all your stamping needs; the  VLVS! Blog for new projects; VLVS! on  FaceBook,  Pinterest and Twitter

December Inspiration from Natasha

Hello! Nataliya is here :)
I congratulate everybody with the beginning of winter!
And today I will show you New Year Inspiration Book. I made it for our December challenge.

Jingle bells, jingle bells,
jingle all the way!

As delimiters, I used clothespins:

In this book, I'll write Christmas recipes, text songs for my daughter, glued beautiful foto.

This envelopes for a wish list:

And I even make the envelope for CD with holiday music.

I created cover using texture paste, stencil, VLVS! stamps (Washi Lines Background 1 1/4 x 5 1/2) and cheesecloth.

And painted everything with a spray, add some stars - pearls & VLVS! stamps (Stars 2 x 2 1/4).

Have a festive day!

December Challenge

1st of all.. I can't believe it's DECEMBER already. JEEZ. SOARing right along to 2014. Thanks to all the beautiful entries from November's Challenge!

 It's now time to delve into Christmas and all the wintery goodness that comes at that time! This month's inspiration is all about green and red, trees, washi tape, and silhouettes!
See you this time next week for December's winner.

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps (please no competitor stamps on your entries)

-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!

You are welcome to draw inspiration from any portion of the board, as well as create any type of project. Cards, layouts, tags, altered bits n bobs. Draw inspiration from the color, the stamps, the FEEL, the images.. whatever! You do it, we wanna see it!

Visit tomorrow for inspiration from NATASHA!

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