Welcome to Viva Las Vegastamps! Today is the last day of JUNE... where on earth did the month go??? Susan here today with some more super fun cards. DID you TAKE my CHALLENGE I posed... remember a few weeks back I shared a couple birthday cards I entered into round one of the Gallery Idol Competition {click here to view post}? Well as promised, I have been stamping along with my hoards of Viva Las Vegastamps! completing each weeks' challenges. This week they will be announcing the 2013 Gallery Idol as JUNE MADNESS comes to a close.
I did not make the cut to round two, but had fun playing along just the same. I love to create to a challenge, because it pushes me to use things and work on themes I wouldn't normally do - "sort of the love of the hunt". For round two - the challenge theme was "Defining Dad" and I went off to rummage through my catalogue of Viva Las VegaStamps! For inquiring minds... I got so many stamps by ordering VLVS pound 'o rubber grab bags {you get so many stamps for your $$$}.
I used the Air Stampo #601 and this Standard Alphabet and Numbers to spell out my "I <3 DAD". I stamped plane and letters onto white cardstock using black Versafine Pigment Ink and embossed with Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder in preparation for coloring with my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink pens. I made two - one for good measure and in case I flub up the coloring. After coloring, I fussy cut, popped up using 3D foam dots, and finished off banner with a glittery green heart. Mounted on a blue card base with a matted patterned paper that looked like clouds in the sky... easy-peasy!
Now for the ROUND THREE challenge: "Make a stamped background". Okey-dokey! This one was pretty easy also, except this meant NO PRE-PRINTED patterned papers. No worries... I've got this.
Using the Cracked Background #16208, I stamped a few times to fill a section of lavendar cardstock with Milled Lavendar Distress Ink. Then I repeated on a slightly darker stock and also stamped the Fancy Border #18951 using a Stuart Superior magenta pigment ink and embossing with Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder to make it POP!
I stamped a background on my perfectly purple card base with the doily stamps {Large Doily #18847; Medium Doily #18846; and Small Doily #18845} and the Butterfly/Spotted Wing Small #9473 using Milled Lavendar Distress Ink. I really love the varied values I got when stamping depending how much I inked the stamps.
Challenge #4 was to "Make a card using only TEN embellishments". WHAT??!!! So easy - right? WRONG. This was a lot harder than you would think. This is really an exercise in LESS is MORE and tying everything together. I really needed to put my thinking cap on for this one, and I also enlisted a sketch from Unscripted Sketches to help keep me on track.
I had a few leftover colored stamped images from other projects using stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps! {Celebrate Early #9340; Party Streamers #130; and Cat Jumping Out of Cake #12072} so I double matted them with coordinating colors dictated by the "PARTY" embroidered sticker. I'm so happy with this card and I have another fun and festive birthday greeting for the card box! My Miracle Tape makes assembly with scraps super easy and it holds paper, ribbon and even textured things wonderfully. All the elements came together beautifully - the hard part here was only sticking to TEN embellishments... can you find them all?
Thanks so much for dropping by. HAVE YOU HEARD??? New plates are now available in the Viva Las Vegastamps! store!!! They are so awesome... you have to see for yourself.
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
