Trust your own wings

Hello everybody,

there is still some time left to join the STRENGTH themed challenge over in the VLVS Facebook group. You need a little creative kickstart? Here we go! I went for an art journal page about self-confidence.

I started my page by applying water with a big watercolor brush in the shape of a big circle. Then I added some Starburst sprays from Lindy's. I used the sprays more as a watercolor.
To create more depth I worked with various layers - adding water (by spraying or flicking or with a brush), adding the spray paint, drying, continuing with another layer. It was so much fun!
As a final touch I drew a few scribbely lines around the circle.

For some background texture I chose two stamps, a nature collage and the waybill/invoice, which I stamped with black Versafine ink.

As a focal image I used the flying bird. I stamped it and got out my watercolors. Somehow I was able to blend the red from the bird's body into the turquoise of its wings without getting a muddy shade. After it had dried, I did some fussy cutting and inked the cutting edges with a black marker. This way the image blends better into the background.
I also cut the sentiment from a sheet of scrapbooking paper, glued it down and added some thin black lines around it.

Here are some more photos:

Stamps used:
Nature Collage by Cat Kerr (20036)
Waybill/Invoice Background (19416)
Large Bird Flying Left (19001) 


Other materials:
- art journal (mine is a handbound one, 7.5 x 7.5 inch)
- Lindy's Gang Starburst Sprays (Tibetan Poppy Teal, Sea Mint Green, Sea Grass Green and Whale Watch Blue)
- watercolor
- Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
- marker (fine tip and brush nib)
- scrapbooking paper ("Letters to you" from ABstudio)


Hope to see your entry to the challenge! 

See you soon,

Guest Team Inspiration : Julia

Hello!

I wanted to make unusual and colorful postcards with unusual and fancy stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps.

Carved Xs 1 1/4 x 2 1/2
Plate 1448
I'm Weird 1 x 1 3/4

I stamped various funny characters on white paper and cut them out.

And prepared backgrounds for postcards.

 I took the gray paper, dyed it with acrylic paints and sprays, and then made holes in them with a special paper die.

On the reverse side I also decorated the cards with stamps.

Good luck!

Julia

Mail Art Monday!

Hello crafty friends! 

Tera here again to share a fun and simple
Mail Art Monday Envelope <3

 

If you know me, then you know mail art is my favorite thing to create! So, I am excited to get to share with you today! I decided to break the rules a bit with this envelope... Who says the envelope has to go long ways anyway? 

Stamps Used:

Deliver To

Bust of Man

Flower and Bird Frame

Other products:

A2 white envelope

distress ink (various yellows)

Archival ink (black)

Zig Clean color markers

I started by stamping the "bust of a man" on the right hand side of the envelope and again on a scrap piece of paper which I used to mask this off.  

Next I stamped the lower left part of the "flower and bird frame" stamp 

(yes, I cut my stamp apart... part of why I love buying my stamps unmounted. I know some of you will want to kill me for this, but it gets me extra use from my stamps... You could also mask that part of your stamp off when inking.) 

I then stamped the right side of "flower and bird frame" stamp. At this point I inked around the boarder of my envelope with the various yellows. 

Once my background was inked, I removed my Statue mask and begin to color all of the fine details. 

Super quick and easy!

Below you can see a "sample" address, and postage stamp... I am out of flower stamps so a trip to the post office is in my future ;-)

I hope you enjoyed this simple piece and maybe even find new ways to view some of your stamps... 

(I promise they don't cry when you cut them!)

Month Challenge Inspiration Art Journal pages

Hello Everyone!
Tera here again with some fun inspiration for this months challenge board.  

It feels like ages since I've played in my art journal.  
This piece was super fun, and I plan to journal on them later. :D Some days you just need those pre-made bases for when the moment hits! 

Stamps Used:

Girl with bird cage

Stitching

Writing Circles

Wire rings

Butterfly Specimens

Plate 1455

You can find the challenge Info HERE

I started with dylusions paints, a variety of stencils, and some Tim Holtz washi tape. I used gel pens and markers to add details

Next I stamped my main images ... Which of course begged for more doodling.
(I love these stamps!)

Next I added some of my "art journal-ish" fun stamps (yes I know I use these on almost everything, but what can I say, they are fabulous.... I linked to the whole plate also because if you are like me you will need them all!!! 1455 is one of my all time fav. plates!)

Detail Pictures:

Thank you for looking! I hope you feel inspired to create also!!

June Challenge - Flock o' Birds

It's time for a new monthly challenge -- and we're bringing on the PINK.

Be inspired by words like ... coral, pink, creamsicle, orange, spots, dots, birds, bird cages, FLOCKS of birds, text, numbers, invoices, crows, grunge, distressed, tan, gray, white and anything else you find inspiring from this graphic!

Don't forget the rules:

-Create a new project based on our inspiration board (it has to be posted this month, but you can certainly link up to other challenges as well!)

-Use at least one (but certainly more if you want) Viva Las VegaStamps! rubber stamps

(We are now allowing competitors stamps to be on your work, but please make VLVS! the focus of the project, thank you.)

-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.

And visit us back here for inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

Fly.

Hello!  Mary here with a simple way to mix up your basic stamped background.

I started by stamping the Sheet Music Background onto the smooth side of a sheet of watercolor paper with StazOn ink.  You could use any background or image stamp as long as it's a more solid image that covers a good bit of area.

Then, I punched out several circles from the image with a punch.  Dies would work well for this or you could mix it up with different shapes and sizes!

Finally, I layered the circles onto my background.  Here, I stitched them down and added a splatter of glitter for more texture and a bit of sparkle.

And here's a peek at my finished card all embellished and ready to go!

I LOVE the layered effect this background provides!  The white circles break up all that Distress Ink in the background and really show off the music sheet pattern of the stamp.

And, of course, I've used the 'fly' portion of the Get Cape Wear Cape Fly image, stamped onto vellum, and tucked under the bird embellishment to add my sentiment.

If you'd like to see another project I've used this technique on, check out THIS project.  With this one, I've done the reverse by adding pops of color to the diecuts and left the background white!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

xx Mary

Challenge Inspiration -- POSTCARD

Hi Folks! :)

DeeDee here today bringing you a little inspiration for our Monthly Challenge!

I'm a big fan of our nature related stamps, as well as the water color background in the challenge bit. I brought both together in preparation for inspiring you today. I put together this postcard for a swap we recently hosted through our facebook group! Find us @ Viva Las VegaStamps! Groupies and join in our swaps, share all your VLVS! goods, and participate in contests!

The postcard base is Canson watercolor paper. I created the background using Distress Paint by Ranger and water. Just put some paint down on a kraft mat, spritz with water, and run your paper through it. Dry once with a heat gun, and repeat for an even more mottled effect. I have found the paint a bit hard to stamp on, especially when water is added, because there are different concentrates of paint spread around the paper. TIP : After you're done working in the background, spritz it with a fixative and you'll have an easier time getting a nice even dark stamp on top! 

The stamp along the bottom is the Tree Background, giving the illusion our bird is flying high above the trees. To embellish this area I've used some gesso through an UmWowStudio Mask, some silks acrylic glaze, a little May Arts Ribbon (447 series, 363 series, BY series,) some Gaffer Tape, a Prima Marketing Finding, paper clip, staples, and a sewing machine.

And here you can see the gorgeous Large Bird Flying, stamped in Archival Ink by Ranger. I also punched some random holes in the card for a bit of contrast using my crop-o-dile.

So! Be inspired and join the Monthly Challenge to win some goodies!

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

Tangling with Stamps!

Today is the first time I have stamped any of the new TANGLE stamps from Viva Las Vegastamps! I had a lot of fun. 

The images are stamped on Kromekote Cardstock. I was very pleased with the detail of my images. 

I stamped and masked the Flying Bird, Pen Tips and Steampunk Alphabet "X" before I stamped the large Tangle from Plate 1424. Then I used my Tim Holtz Distress Markers to add a bit of color. 

 Masks of the images before stamping the Large Tangle / Zentangles.

Viva Las Vegastamps:
Flying Bird
Large Tangle From Plate 1424
Steampunk Alphabet "X"
Pen Tips (from plate 1424)
Kromekote Cardstock
Tim Holtz Distress Markers

I did add a little bit to the tangles... it was a lot of fun!!  I may have to try my own now!