Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Sew Much Fun Scrapbook Layout



 Each summer, for the last 3 summers, my son and I have attended the annual 4H sewing camp. Even though he is often the only boy at the camp, this is something he looks forward to doing every year with me. He takes to camp the 1930s Singer Featherweight that my mother took with her to college to sew and that I learned to sew on! It's a fabulous machine and Will has sewn award winning projects on it!  I knew immediately these Viva Las Vegastamps! were perfect for this layout! I hope you enjoy!
For this project you will need:

Distress ink pads 
[Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen & Old Paper]
Versamark
Bazzill white cardstock
dry soft brush and stipple brush
ribbon & hardware

The background of the layout was constructed on a piece of white card stock. I stippled on layers of the lighter Distress inks and then stamped the entire background with the machine and notions stamps with the Versamark pad. I dusted the stamped watermarks with Viva Las Vegastamps! Ultra High Gloss Embossing Powder and heat embossed the images. I then stipple over the tops of the images focusing attention on the edges with the darker ink. I spritzed the entire page with water to subdue the color and wiped the tops of the embosses images. I then dried the entire page with my heat tool--re-warming the embossed places so that they would "hold on" to dry mica powders. I then dusted the images with Terri Sproul Mixers and wiped off the excess residue.
Next I created a simple background my rubbing the Antique Linen directly onto a page. I swirled a bit of Walnut stain into the background creating a marbled look. After drying that piece completely, I stamped with the walnut ink the tape measure stamp on the skinnier strip and the spools and tape measure on the journal box. Both stamped pieces were immediately dusted with embossing powder and heat set. 
Finally I heavily edged the journal square with my ink and dusted it with embossing powder as well to give that extra aged look.
The matte behind the photo was created by simply adding Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap directly to the paper and Stippling some Walnut Stain around the edge for emphasis. The ribbon was colored with the distress inks and a ribbon slide was added to the top ribbon to highlight the word sewn.
Thank you for looking at my scrapbook page! I hope you enjoy it. For more scrapbooking ideas, visit my blog!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Save the date

Here's a small card I made for a really close friend. 

It's small with the perfect space on the back for a quick note. 


"Save the date, we've got plans"



I stamped the

in Memento ink on kraft cardstock and embossed it with Ultra High Gloss EP by VLVS!

Add a little black cardstock for a border, and some distressing with vintage photo distress stain and ink and you've got a nice little addition to a package for a friend. 
For extra oomph I popped the stamped image off the background with a few pop dots. 

Hello Again!

Hello Viva las Vegas fans!
I'm back, with my wieners!

Are you excited?
I sure am!!!!!

For my first post, I have two projects to share with you.

One is a quick ATC, the other an art journal page.
I am SOOOO digging Mary Vogel's designs for my art journals!

Are ya ready?
First up, ATC


Here's what you need:
Black ATC (2.5 x 3.5")
Slightly smaller piece of patterned paper
Butterfly
Black ink (I used Memories Ink)
Markers
Scissors
Scrap of white card stock
Miracle Tape
Stamps from plate 1451


Cut your patterned paper slightly smaller than your ATC base.
Ink edges, and adhere to ATC using Miracle Tape, at an angle.

Stamp the girls on the ATC.
Stamp the girls, minus their legs, on white card stock. Color and cut out.

See?

Use Miracle Tape to adhere your cut out girls over the girls on the ATC.
Slightly bend the wings of the butterfly, and adhere to card.
Stamp words on card.

***************************************
****************************************
***************************************
Art Journal Page


Here's what you'll need:
Journal (mine is a Moleskine watercolor book)
Washi/tissue/masking tapes
Itty bitty hole punch
Scrap paper
Paint pens- white & black
Flower die cut
Stickles
Colored pencils
Thickers (foam letter stickers)
Scrap paper
White card stock
Watercolor paints/water/brush
Black ink (I used Memories Ink)
Miracle Tape
Stamps from plates 1383 & 1401



Cover page with strips of various tapes.
Burnish down well!

Paint page using watercolor paints.
I used green & yellow.
Dry.
 Once dry, draw a border around the entire page using a black paint pen.
Color in entire design with the black pen. Dry.
Once the border is dry, use the white paint pen to add dots and a white 
edge to the border. Dry.

Punch circles from scrap paper with itty bitty punch (I used glitter paper), 
and place them around the page.
 Add die cut flower in corner. 
Draw a swirl in the center of the flower using black paint pen.
Add STICKLES!!!

 On a scrap pice of paper, stamp a back ground stamp using watercolor paint. Dry.
Ink edges of paper with black ink.
Stamp three figures using black ink. Set aside.

Stamp the three figures again on white card stock.
Color with colored pencils and cut out just the bodies.
Adhere the bodies over the stamped images on the larger piece of paper.
Finish coloring as desired.

Add Stickles where desired.


Add letter stickers, and you're done!!

Here's your wiener!
Little miss Daisy Dog, waiting for mom to throw the toy!








Monday, May 28, 2012

How many languages do you speak???

Apparently I speak two..... 

1. Southern.....I was born and raised in Georgia. 
 I have been told that my accent is very pronounced.

2. Love...... according to the sentiment on this card. 
{giggle}

I have a new found love of flowers.  I remember a time when this wasn't true.  Though I have always loved Daisies {hence the name of my blog}.
I've always picked plants for the yard and house that are mostly green...{ie: ivy's, pothos, spider plants, etc....}.

Not anymore, now I want flowers and flowers and flowers. 
 Any and all flowers.
Funny though, I still have yet to grow daisies.....LOL They require a lot of sun and our yard is mostly shade....but one day!!!!!!!

OK, now to the real reason you are here.

Some Viva Las Vegastamps! LOVE!!!!!

Basic card with basic layering. 
I stamped the flower images with one of the images from
Plate #1403.....you can get it HERE
I loaded the stamp with ink and stamped several times before re-inking to get a lighter printing.....to get the illusion of a field of flowers.  I stamped with a brown ink and a yellow ink. 
The sentiment was stamped with a coral ink. 
Added some matching ribbon and you have a finished card. 




Until later, blossoms.........Gotta split.....TFL!!!!!!
Photobucket

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Mary Vogel Lozinak Link Up Party!

Welcome to our Mary Vogel Lozinak Blog Hop/Link Up Party!!




We are inviting all of you, our readers/subscribers/customers, to create a project using any Mary Vogel Lozinak image from Viva Las Vegastamps! for a chance to win one of NINE coupons to Viva Las Vegastamps! We ask that you post the project to your own blog/facebook/flickr etc.. Make sure Viva Las Vegastamps is mentioned somewhere in your post/description.. and then come link up here! (In the link list at the bottom of the post)

Be sure to visit every link as there are some prizes hidden on certain blogs!

Prizes up for grabs :
7 - $10 coupons to be given away to random comments on seven different blogs.
1 - $25 coupon given randomly to one person who links a project up!
and 1 - $25 coupon to a random comment on the VLVS! blog (This post right here with the link list) 

Just enter below! Can't wait to see all your creations linked up :) 
-please link to the DIRECT post and not your general blog-

Friday, May 25, 2012

Unplaining a Mini-book cover with Mary Vogel Lozinak stamps

Don't forget!  Tomorrow the Viva Las Vegastamps! blog hop featuring Mary Vogel Lozinak stamps begins!  If you've done any projects with her stamps, you are invited to post it on your blog, and join in!  

After you've viewed my little project, head on over to the blog post with the details.  We want to see your work!

I found this cute little mini-book at a thrift store for a dollar.  It's a 3x4 inch hardbound book and, of course, I had to have it.  Had to!

The covers seemed a bit plain to me so I pulled out a few of my Mary Vogel Lozinak stamps and made them unplain  (not a word? It is now, lol).



Stamps used:

Has anybody seen my head?-Item 18317 Plate 1384
Headless Unicycle Juggler-Item 18303 Plate 1384
Plumed Bird On Box-Item 18307 Plate 1384




Don't ever loose your sparkle.


Tomorrow is the Viva Las Vegastamps! Link Up! Blog Up! at Viva Las Vegastamps! blog, featuring the images by Mary Vogel Lozinak. I have been having so much fun using her images! Here is a little taste of what is to come for the blog hop!


Today My project is a canvas. Its 5 x 7 flat board canvas, That I got at Blick's. The first layer is a napkin. Napkins are so fun to play with and come in so many fun designs! I took the plain white layer off revealing the pattern. Most cases napkins come in 2 ply but some times they are 3 ply. So be sure to check before gluing down, otherwise the top layer,the pattern, will not be glued down to what ever you are gluing to. I glued the napkin using matte medium. "or you can use modge podge in matte.

After that dried I took some Alcohol inks in Watermelon, Sail boat Blue, and Citrus and dripped some of each color along the top edge of the canvas. Then I took a little spritz bottle that had some 91% rubbing alcohol in it. Then spritz some of that on the canvas causing the inks to run down and dripped. I moved the canvas around and added some more and did the same thing, til I was happy with what I saw. I learned this technique from one of my online friends, Barb. the I let the canvas dry.

I took a tree mask that was given on a RAK. I Sponged some gesso around the tree. i placed the ask in a couple of places, but I didn't like it. so, i put the mask back to where I first placed it and put gesso around the whole thing. That's what fun about playing with canvas. If you don't like something, or you mess up, you just paint or gesso over it. :) I kept the mask on where it was and did a layer of yellow craft paint. After that dried I used a little bit of yellow StarBright paint with a pallet knife and then wiped it around the canvas. It left a nice glittery effect. Of course its a pain to photograph with the glitter. :/ but it looks great in person! Here it is when the background is all done!

No matter how many times I took pictures of this I could never capture what it looked like in real life. but this shot is the closest I got! You can see the napkin I used in the tree. and some of the alcohol inks I used too.  

Now time to add the focal point to the canvas. I chose the peacock from plate 1398. I stamped him on tissue paper with Black Versafine ink pad. stamping with Versafine shows the fine details in this fab stamp!I glued it to the canvas using matte medium, careful not to tear the tissue. I then stamped on white cardstock the sentiment that is also on the same plate "Don't let anyone ever dull your sparkle." I thought it went great with the all the sparkle from the glitter paint. I cut apart the sentiment and glued the pieces down with Glossy Accents.  





I LOVE how this canvas turned out. I did take a little dab of craft paint and watered it down and with my finger painted over the image so that the white of the tissue didn't stand out so much. I know the pictures can not show the sparkle or the colors too well. I've been taking tons of picture of this piece in both day light and        
well...not night light. lol but more when the sun goes down and all is on is a bedroom light. And playing with the camera settings. Its been driving me insane! I really need to make a light box. :P 

Products used:
5x7 canvas
stencil
napkin
craft paint
alcohol inks
tissue paper



So if you like this project using Mary Vogel Lozinak be sure to join us for the Link Up! Blog Hop! This weekend! At Viva Las Vegastamps! blog

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Crown Fit for a Princess

I am so fascinated by Fascinators!!!  Since the Royal Couple are celebrating their first anniversary I thought it would be fun to create my own CROWN! 
I took about a quarter of the Creative Paperclay® from the bag. I spread the clay by hand out on transparencies.  Once it was pretty thin I used the rolling pin and shims to get a smooth surface on the Creative Paperclay®, about an 1/8 of an inch. Making sure it is long enough for the pattern. The crown is pattern I cut free  hand, measuring 11 inches in length.  Lay it on the Creative Paperclay®, with a cutting tool carefully cut around the edge of the pattern.    
Gently stamp the crown with swirls to give the crown decorative dimension. The set of stamps used are Viva Las Vegastamps! Swirl Plate# 1333.  With a little water create  slip on the two edges of the crown that need to be joined. Gently work the Paperclay® together at the seam.  Let it dry overnight.  Now the 
crown is ready to decorate!

For more projects visit my blog Dreaming of Castles Lyneen

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

A Dog of a Different Color

Recently I've had need for some cards for my friends with pets. Viva Las Vegastamps! has over 2500 animal stamps--many breeds of dogs and cats are represented--including some amazing sayings to go with them. This wonderful dalmatian stamp, bone, and sentiments came in a pound of rubber that I ordered and are perfect for these projects. I paired them with a whimsical Mary Vogel Lozinak flower background and created two quirky cards. They will brighten my friends' day and I hope they bring a smile to your day as well!
For these projects you will need:


foam squares
ribbon & silk flowers
Black Dye Ink and Spring Collection Distress Colors
versamark watermark pad & chalk
The bone was stamped on a thing strip with Versamark and then dusted with the Purple Pearl Mixer. The sentiment was stamped on a piece of white and Miracle Tape was used to adhere the pieces together. The foam squares were used to raise the strip up just enough to catch the easel.
The background was 2nd generation stamped using the flower background and the spring collection Distress Inks--a second generation stamping occurs when you stamp your image off once and then then second time. I love the pale ink showing through the stamped Dalmatian. For the scarf, I used the same ribbon as was attached across the card with Miracle Tape. I tied a not and then zapped the ribbon with the heat tool to melt the ribbon and make it crinkle.  Sakura Hobby Crafts 3D Crystal Lacquer was added to the eyes and nose to give them a real doggy gloss!

I loved the look of the flowers showing through the dog...I wanted to take it a bit further and I had this fun paw print ribbon in purple that would be perfect.


This time I stamped the flower background just once to get more vibrate colors. I once again stamped the dalmatian in black and then chalked my dog purple for a dog "of a different color" and added some Distress Ink dies to white flowers and stamped the sentiment on a small piece of card stock. The flowers were added to the sentiment with Miracle Tape. Again the eyes and nose were glossed with Crystal Lacquer. 


Don't forget that this month's challenge is FLOWERS--you could win a $25 gift certificate to be used in the store.

Be sure to join us this weekend for
 
Thank you for looking!
~leslierahye

Pre-order Plates - Introducing ZENTANGLES - DOILIES - and More!! (Giveaways, too!)

Check the promotions tab or just head straight to http://vlvstamps.com and check out our new Pre-order plates!! Get them now before they're back from the engravers for 20% off! 

We've got Zentangle, Doilies, New Mary Vogel Lozinak, Steampunk, Vintage, new people and new sayings!! Feast your eyes =)

 Are you following us via Networked Blogs? When that reaches 100 we'll draw from the followers for a FREE POUND O' RUBBER!! That's a lot of stamps!


and find us on Twitter - @VLVStamps

Monday, May 21, 2012

Mary is Blooming in May

Mary Vogel Lozinak is an incredibly talented artist whose images of whimsy and strangeness has become some of my most favorite VLVS images!  Coming up in a few days the VLVS DT and all who have created wonderful art with Mary images will be showcased with the "linked up" blog hop.

In honor of Mary, and the flowers blooming in my yard, here is a fun project using acid-free acetate, mica powder, and Miracle Tape Sheets.

Here is a close-up of the image from VLVS Mary V L sheet # 1401.  The mica powder adheres to the Miracle Tape Sheet.  I backed it in black to make the image pop even more!  I adore this image with its whimsical flowers,  The image isn't just flowers, but the little dots and embellished drawing makes this image perfect to stamp on acetate or paper using whatever media you want.

Here is the full card.  "Wild Thing" is from Mary's sheet #1402.  It is hard to photograph mica powders but I think you can see the beautiful shimmery metallics and how wonderful Mary's image works with this technique.



For the envelope I stamped the image and cut it apart and changed the look of the envelope to match the insert art I made. 

I have something totally strange for the blog hop!  Love Mary's birds and I have them giving some attitude.  Please check out the blog hop, add your own work, and enjoy the talents of Mary Vogel Loinak *

Cre8tivLea Yours as always - Lea

Steampunk Popcorn Tub Pen-holder


So how did this popcorn tub from Dollar Tree transform from red & white stripes to a cool Steampunk ensemblage?  Read on!
Supplies:
Viva Las Vegastamps! :
Plastic Popcorn Tub
12x12 sheet Tim Holtz Grunge Paper 
Ranger Archival Inkpad Black
Tim Holtz Distress Markers:Black Soot, Rusty Hinge, Dried Marigold, Wild Honey, Tumbled Glass, Scattered Straw and Shabby Shutters
Miracle Tape 1 inch
Miracle Sheet
Scissors 
Black Sharpie pen


Recently, I watched a live-show with Leslierahye and she did an awesome cover-up on aluminum cans.  It inspired me to eye these plastic popcorn tubs that come 2-for-$1 at Dollar Tree. 


I'd been wanting to try out the Ideaology Grunge Paper.  It's strange stuff.  It looks like cardboard, and feels like leather.  It's flexible the way a piece of leather would be.  I was curious to see how well it would work using stamps and Tim Holtz Distress Markers.  


Ideas collided, and my steampunk ex-popcorn tub was reborn as a pen-holder!


The steps:
1. Trace the side of the tub four times and cut out the pieces.
2. Stamp the images, choosing a crittur and an assortment of steampunk gears for each side.  
3. Color each piece with Distress markers, blending the colors with a waterbrush. (Note: I think the grunge paper is too rough for a fabric tip, so I used the hard plastic tip.)
4. Add tangles using the Black Soot Distress Marker.  Pick out details on the stamped images with the black marker so they'll be more 3D, and so the black of the inkpad and the black of the pens will work together.
5. Place the scalloped edge of each piece onto the sticky side of a Miracle sheet and cut the tape to fit the scallops.
6. Place strips of the 1-inch Miracle tape on the other three sides of each piece.
7. Pull the backing off the Miracle tape and stick the pieces onto the popcorn tub.
8. Black out any gaps at the corners using the black Sharpie on both the inside and the outside of the tub. 

 
Okay.  I admit it!  I grabbed the wrong stamp for this side, and ended up stamping a steampunk pig upside down.  Lol!  You just can't go wrong with steampunk pigs!




Tangle Pattern DuBloop


Note: For those unfamiliar with Zentangle or Steampunk, please check out this post for more information.


I created steps to a tangle pattern for use with this project.  The names for tangle patterns are meant for reference, and aren't supposed to bring an image to mind.  I thought this looked a bit like a doubled up loop, so DuBloop it is!



Patterns Used
My patterns: Woggle, Background #2,
Official tangle patterns: Beeline, Bales, Knightsbridge, Striping
Tangles by others: Sandra Steen Bartholmew's “Coop” pattern, from her book, “Yoga for Your Brain-steps not available online.

If you like tangle patterns that are loopy and swirly, check out Sue's Tangle trips and see what Certified Zentangle® Teacher, Sue Jacobs has come up with.


Be sure to to visit the Viva Las Vegastamps! blog for more projects, promotions and monthly challenges.  They change often, so keep an eye out for something new.  And if you haven't already received your free grab bag of rubber stamps, consider posting the Viva Las Vegastamps! widget on your sidebar.  The code and instructions can be found on the left sidebar of the blog.