New Mercies Art Journal Page- Unity Stamp Co.

After my last post I am sure you are surprised to see more of my grungy funky side. These are projects that I took to CHA, so I want to post all of these before I get into creating more. This page is an art journal page that I created using a paper bag that is washed to look like suede. A simple technique I learned in kindergarten that apparently my artist heart couldn't let go of.

Art journaling is such an amazing way to express on paper what your heart and mind may be trying to tell you. I started art journaling during a tough time in my life, yet I continue to do so now just because I find that it is a great way to allow myself to stop and process things life and any sort of circumstances that come my way.

Mercies Art Journal Page 

Products used: Crafters Inks, Glitter (Clearsnap Inc.), Stamps (Liz Hicks Studios for Unity Stamp Co.), Adhesive (Dry- Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L and Wet- Beacon Adhesives), gesso (Liquitex), Pen (Sakura of America) Resin Paper (Created with Ice Resin), Punchinella, Doilies, Mylar  (Unknown). Sticker Letters (Prima Marketing Inc.)

 

By creating monochromatic papers with the stamps, I was able to create the mosaic background of the mountains and sky. This art journal page is pretty simple, even though it may look complex. Layering textures is a great way to "paint" with paper and in all honesty takes no time at all. It is a quick and simple way to create in a short amount of time with minimal clean up :)

If you are interested in purchasing these background stamps click here to see the Liz Hicks Studios page on the Unity Stamp Co. website. As of this morning the stamps are still on sale for 40% off, my Alphabet stamp is over 50% off! Great deals for stamps that are brand new, never released designs.

 

 Thanks for stopping by today, and remember to check out the giveaway we are having to support the launch of the new stamps. Check it out here for the details!

~Liz Hicks

Valentines Day Cards in a non traditional sense- Unity Stamp Co.

I think we all can agree that my style of crafting is not exactly... well traditional. I have grown to really love what I do and through the process I have come to the realization that I tend to lean towards the artsy, colorful and re-purposed style of crafting... and I couldn't be happier.

I am trying to expand my horizons, as I have found that the reason that I do lean towards the artsy distressed style is not because clean and simple couldn't be a style I create... more or less to draw or cut a straight line kinda frightens me. I hide my mistakes with paint, flowers and inks... lol. But I am going to try and create some simpler designs because I love love love the look of it.

Today I created some non-traditional "Not yo' momma's" Valentines Day cards. These cards were for examples at CHA, of the New Crafters Inks by Clearsnap Inc. Both of these greeting cards were created using my new background stamps from Unity Stamp Co.

4 YOU greeting card

Products used: cardstock (Bazzill Basics), Inks, Glitter, and embossing powder (Clearsnap Inc), Stamps (Liz Hicks Studios for Unity Stamp Co.), Pen (Sakura of America), sequin and vintage paper (Unknown), Dry adhesive (Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L) and wet adhesive (Beacon Adhesives)

Foreground and background: use rich colors to create your focal point like I did using Collage of Digits here. I added some visual interest to the background by layering my stamps over tinted vintage paper. Using Dinged Dots and I.Kat along the side helps to break up the boldness of the main stamp.

 

Layer Colors and Patterns: The happening trend right now in fashion is not only color blocking BUT also blocking with complimentary patterns. Use analogous or complimentary colors with my stamps to create beautiful layered effects like you see above. I used three different colors and 3 different stamps to create this colorful collage.

Isolate a number and use it to your benefit: Here I added glittered embossing powder to the #4 to use it for my sentiment.

 Love You Card

Products used: Cardstock (Bazzill Basics), Inks and embossing powder (Clearsnap Inc.), Stamps (Liz Hicks Studios for Unity Stamp Co.), Pen (Sakura of America), Punchinella and Vintage paper (unknown), Dry adhesive (Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L) and wet adhesive (Beacon Adhesives)

Make a bold impression: Use a repetitive pattern (Like the hearts here) in bold colors to allow the stamped background to fade. Taking the visual interest off of the background with this bold heart pattern allows the viewer to see the hearts first and notice the background secondary, which translates really well as perceived depth.

Outline to define: Use a dark pen to outline letters or patterns that may otherwise get lost in the background.

Since this post IS a part of our Launch Party with UNITY STAMP CO. I want to remind you of our giveaways taking place till February 2nd 2013. Check them out here. 

I used ALL 4 of the background stamps on the first card and Dinged Dots & my alphabet on the second.

These background stamps are on sale for only $8.99 AND my Alphabet is only $20 right now. To add to the amazing prices... $1 of every sale goes to help Melody Ross with her work for Full Circle Exchange in bringing awareness and assistance to those involved in Human Trafficking. Sale is for this weekend only so grab them while you can. You can order your Unity Stamps right here.

Also make sure to check out the brand new LIZ HICKS STUDIOS facebook page that we created to keep track of all of the good stuff we are doing with Liz Hicks Studios. If you didn't know... Liz Hicks Studios is not just me, it is my family as well but mostly me and my husband. This is our families joint effort and I would love for you to check out what we are doing next by checking out our page here.

There is a whole lot of fun things going on this year... this is just the beginning. I hope you enjoyed these cards and the details that I have shared. With explaining them as I did, I hope that you can take this info and find ways to make it useful in your crafting.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Liz Hicks

Liz Hicks Studios for Unity Stamp Co.

Deep breath...

I have to catch myself because this is kind of awesome to see my designs come to life. These stamps have been in the works for a while so I am so happy to finally see them go public!

It's no surprise that Unity Stamp Co. is dear to my heart. Although Angela and I had met before at a trade show, we truly connected when we were both campers at Brave Girls Camp.We didn't know anyone as we got on the bus and headed into the mountains. For some reason we clung to each other, even though we didn't know each other well... it was enough to feel safe as we started this journey together. When I needed some quick stamps for a class that I was teaching, Angela came to the rescue... from there we have been building up some designs of mine to create into these unique 4x6 format stamps.

WHY4x6? 

Well that was my idea in hopes that it would appeal to all sorts of crafters. Anything that I create needs to be useful and versatile... If it can't be used for multiple types of crafting then it will most likely sit on your shelf and never be used. As a frugal crafter myself, I watch my pennies as I spend them on crafting supplies and always make sure that I can get the biggest bang for my buck, so my hopes is that this 4x6 size will appeal to cardmakers, stampers, ATC enthusiast, jewelry makers, mixed media artists, art journalers, scrapbookers, art quilters... and well anyone else that may enjoy these designs. The theme is that regardless of any type of crafting that you enjoy, these stamps should work for you.

 $1 of every sale will go to the Full Circle Exchange to assist Melody Ross with her to bring awareness to human trafficking.

And in the spirit of our friendship, Angela, Melody and I have teamed up to give $1 of each purchase from Unity this weekend to Full Circle Exchange which is an organization that is helping empower and rehabilitate women with skill sets to help them further their life through creativity. Melody just came back from a trip to the Philippines where they worked with women in prostitution to help empower them and  give them the confidence and skill sets to further themselves and to pursue other careers. I can't imagine a better gift to be able to give someone.

Collage of Digits

 Dinged Dots

 Letterpress Numbers

I.Kat

Buy these stamps right here. On sale for only $8.99 this weekend!

Besides these four background stamps I also have an awesome alphabet set available. This set is a solid modeled times new roman style font with a book print distress. The letters are about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch tall so they are perfect for any style of crafting.

So I have a few projects to share using the background stamps as well as the alphabet stamps. I thought it might be fun to have a launch party this weekend so that I can tell you a little more about my inspiration behind the designs as well as some of the other concepts that I am working on for future designs. So if you are game... join me this week as we introduce these 4 new designs to the Liz Hicks Artisan Collection of Unity Stamp Co.  From today through next week I will be sharing some fun projects using these stamps. Since this is a party... we need to have a little something to celebrate, so how about a giveaway? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to give away some of my favorite inks. It is no surprise that I LOVE CLEARSNAP inks.. and they just came out with a brand new set of Crafter's Inks that I used in every single project with these stamps. This weekend I will also introduce you to the many fun effects that you can get with these water soluble permanent inks... Yes you heard me right... water soluble AND permanent... it is the perfect match. And of course... we will be giving away one of each stamp to 4 people... that is a total of 6 prizes up for grabs!

So to enter into the giveaways simply use the widget below to enter. You can enter as many times as you are allowed and you may share it too. The winner will be randomly picked and chosen on 2/1/2013 and announced later that day. We will be having a fun week of inspiration on different ways to use these new stamps as well as some fun and amazing techniques using these new ink pads from Clearsnap.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So join the fun, be inspired, create art and do it all with your heart for a good cause... We are going to have a blast.

~Liz Hicks