For the love of Letters...

Easter is Right Around the Corner

Happy Friday ALL!!
Michele here with a bit of last minute Easter inspiration...for those of us who just remembered we needed a couple of cards before the bunny hops by.
I started with watercolor paper and used Authentiques Eastertime for accents.

Stamps used:

Bunny Looking Right

Silhoutte Clump of Plants

I started by stamping the bunny on watercolor paper with archival ink.

Then again on a thin dictionary page to mask the bunny.  This allowed me to stamp the clump of plants around the bunny with Distress Oxide ink.

The bunny is colored with Distress Markers and a waterbrush.

These little gift cards are perfect for some Easter treats I will be passing out Sunday.

Next a couple of cards...

Stanp used:

Chick

Using the same masking technique I stamped the chick several times.

The last chick is colored with Dustress Markers and a waterpen and popped up.

Stamps used:

Bunny in Boxers

Whimsical Triangle Banner

I used the masking technique here too and the background is Distress Oxide Inks.

The bunny is colored with Distress Markers and a waterpen.

Can't wait to see what you do with my favorite masking technique!!

Until next time...get inky!!  HAPPY EASTER!!

Banksy takes over the post again!

Hello Again!
Welcome back to another Mail Art Monday!

Today I want to share the Envelopes I made for the VLVS Banksy Mail Art swap on the

  Viva Las VegaStamps Groupies Facebook page! 

(I hope some of you joined in!)

To start I created a pair of A2 sized envelopes using my Envelope punch board and some blue watercolor looking scrapbook paper.  

Next I stamped all 3 of my Banksy stamps in black Stazon ink. (stamps listed below)

I masked off my address block, with an business card that I often use as a mask. 

(Hence the ink all already all over it...lol)

I traced around this with a black Micron pen.

Now to enhance the blue color, I used Distress inks in salty ocean and tumbled glass. 

The stencil I used was by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous (THMS055)

Next, I added a few flicks of picket fence and black soot distress stains. 

After I removed the mask I added a few doodles around the inside of the address lock with my white gel pen and a black Micron. 

I hope you all enjoy these fun envelopes, and I hope you feel inspired to get inky!

Why Hello

Hello ! Nikki here sharing a simple card I made using this adorable whimsical dog image : 

Don't you just love his thoughtful expression.

The dog is stamped directly onto the background with black versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder, then colored with water color pencils and white paint pen.

But its the background I wanted to talk about today. Anyone who uses acrylic paint or other mediums with a brayer, what do you do with the sheet you roll the excess paint off onto ? When you look at the sheet as a whole it might look as mess, but if you cut it down to card size, it appears quite different. You can see here some scrap papers I had used / background opportunities I had created:

I cut one of the sheets to a card front size, then stamped and colored the dog. The messy/painty paper takes on quite the different look as a background to my focal image. 

 I wanted to ground the image onto the card, but not add anything too imposing.  I masked off the colored dog as shown below and stamped a scenic image over it in grey, I used the water mill scene :

Finally I stamped the 'Why Hello' sentiment and matted the card front onto plain white card stock and onto a black card base.

I think everyone probably has scraps of paper with ink or paint on them, try them as backgrounds before throwing them out :)

Stamps used :

Whimsical dog 19774 

Why Hello 19547

Water Mill Scene 19535

Nikki x

Mail Art Monday with Michele

Today is my first Mail Art Monday, thanks for joining me!!!

I started out by cutting an envelope from a heavy white cardstock.

Then I did some masking with washi tape and stamped images.  I fussy cut the Whimsical Lady Walking and Whimsical Poodle and made them into a sticker with my mini Xyron.

I stuck the images down and did some background stamping with the Numbers Set, Writing Circles and Writing Triangles.

Then some spraying with Distress Sprays Broken China and Crushed Pistachio.

I peeled up the masks.

Then stamped the images in their spots.

 I did some coloring and doodling to finish it up.

When it was completely dry I assembled the envelope.

Of course I had to create the matching card...

I sprayed with the colors I colored with on the envelope, Pickled Raspberry and Wilted Violet.  The sentiment, Don't Waste a Moment, is stamped and then cut apart.

Fun right??!!  Hope you try it and if you do make sure to share with us on our Facebook page, Viva Las VegaStamps! Groupies!.

Until next time, get inky!!

EGGstra Special Easter Wishes...

Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! Susan here today to bring some seasonal crafting inspiration... and a Bunny who's all dressed up for the Easter Parade!

This project is a little altered home decor project using a leftover scrap of Ranger Distress Stain painted cardstock and a plaster egg decor piece... and my stash of VLVS! {of course}, with one "Fancy Bunny #17610" to star in this crafty redux. This egg base is partially decorated on the front and is glittered, which will make a great finish for the backside – so I will alter the backside which is flat and plain just screaming for some inky stamped goodness.

 

First thing, trace shape onto my painted scrap of cardstock, stamp bunny with Versafine ink, and make a quick mask.

I traced shape onto a section of Miracle Sheet, trimmed and adhered my stamped background with mask applied to the backside of the egg. Using purple and green dye inks, I stamped in some grass and pattern to the egg background... and my bunny is perfectly safe!

Now the magic is revealed!! A few minutes of fussy cutting is always worth it for layering stamps and seamless image. I had planned to use "Fancy Border" #18951 for grass, but it wasn't working... so I smooshed the edge of ink pad to paper making chunky grass. 

Now for the finishing touches... lots of hand coloring and doodling using a variety of pens and a waterbrush. I tied off some creme organza ribbon for a hanger at the top with a bow – and from the bottom, hung a ribbon tail with a triple matted sentiment block combining words from two different stamps. This stamped lovely is ready to hang and is super sparkly!

"Mr. Bunny brings Easter Wishes"

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From Viva Las VegaStamps:

"Fancy Bunny" #17610

"Easter" #18114

"Best Wishes" #826

"Washi Lines Background" #19073

Miracle Sheets

3/4" Miracle Tape

Other Supplies: painted cardstock using Ranger Distress Stains; Versafine Black Pigment Ink; green and purple dye inks; Sakura of America Gelly Roll Stardust Pens; waterbrush; Faber-Castell Pitt Pens; Offray organza ribbon.

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Thanks so much for dropping by! It's a brand new month - check out the April inspiration board... just makes you want to get inky. Join us and play along with the April 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

WOW... It's Chilly Outside!

Welcome to Viva Las VegaStamps! Susan here today and I'm so overwhelmed by my ever growing stash of VLVS! stamps – I can't decide what to stamp or create. So what's a gal to do??? Scroll through the hundreds of emails in my yahoo box from blogs I subscribe and see what's shakin'!

I found a winner... a cool challenge over at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers. SOSS #25 - W is for WOW it's Cold. Winner winner chicken dinner! I'm off and running and I know exactly what I'm going to use to make a couple ATC's to enter in the challenge.

I started out with a leftover section of marbelized paper using T!m's technique with Ranger Distress Paint Daubers, in wintery colors. Then I made some quick trimming to get my ATC blanks ready to stamp. I stamped my images using black waterproof ink and created a quickie mask of each with post-it notes so that I can layer in some scenery.

After stamping, I hand colored with my waterbrush and Sakura Color of America Gelly Roll Starburst and Soufflé Pens – this really gave the characters a fun "POP" of shimmery color. I added some layers of torn handmade paper at the bottom of each for snowbanks using Miracle Tape. EASY PEASY! I finished off with labelmaker stamped words and a smudging with Tsukineko Antique Gold Dewdrop ink around the edges. Totally chilly and fun!

WOW it's COLD!!!

Snow Much Fun!

From Viva Las VegaStamps:

"Flamingo Skiing" #5090

"Chicken/Rooster in Winter Parka" #10983

"Barb Wire Fence" #14021

"Christmas Trees Large" #18942

"Christmas Trees Small" #18941

Miracle Tape

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Thanks so much for dropping by. Don't forget about the January inspiration challenge. Just make a creation using the inspiration above 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. Hope you have a fabulous day!!  Sb

PANPASTEL Mini Album Cover

Up for today during our Pan Pastels Feature is Tera Callihan!! 

Hello Everyone! It's Tera here again. 

Today I want to share a fun mini album I created using PANPASTELS to create a beautiful marbled background with ease!

To start I sized up the stamps tat I wanted to use on my 4x4 Mini 

I used: 

Stamps:

Diver In Suit 1 1/2 x 3

Sunken Anchor 2 x 1 1/2

Not All Who Wander 3/4 x 2 1/2

PANPASTELs in: 
560.1 Phthalo Blue Ex.Dark
921.5 Pewter

Next I stamped the Diver In Suit 1 1/2 x 3 on the left side and prepared a "mask" of him that I will use to cover the areas I don't want to overlap

After the mask was placed I stamped the Sunken Anchor 2 x 1 1/2 slightly overlapping the "mask" of the Diver

  

Next I sponged the PANPASTEL in  Phthalo Blue Ex.Dark over the front of the album as well as along the spine

Next,  I colored the Diver with my gray marker, then sponged PANPASTEL over the top to add a beautiful shade and shimmer. I also colored the stone and grass with markers to help them pop

Stamp the quote "Not all who WANDER are LOST."  on a separate piece of card stock then cut out

Use the Blue PANPASTEL to edge all of the cut out pieces so that they stand out from the background

Use your favorite adhesive to glue the quote to the cover.

Finish off with eyelets and your favorite cord 

Enjoy your finished piece!!!