big dreams

Here's an ATC I made for Marian that I forgot to post. The theme that Kendall had come up with was, "One of these things is not like the other". The stamp is from VLVS (yet another grab bag stamp). "Caroline" is closer to the other 'kats in the stamp, but I cut her out to make her stand out from the crowd. Had a lot of fun dressing her up with different trims. This was not an easy task since she's only an inch and a half tall. The background is watercolors. The words are computer-generated. (If you like the stamp - search VLVS for "meercat" instead of "meerkat" - he's got it spelled with a "c" - store link to the right>>>. And once again, I'm not affiliated with them, just a big fan... and I know a group of ladies who are fond of meerkats.)

new and improved

The other day Susan (aka Brad) gave me some really cool stamp sets from 7gypsies. One of them has all sorts (64 stamps!) of phrases like "Viewer Discretion Advised", "Some Assembly Required", "Exhibit A", etc., etc. So many fun ways these stamps can be used. For this card, I paired up some of them with some stamps from VLVS (if you're having trouble reading the words under the lady, click on the photo... it's worth the look).

Here's a picture of the stamp set. It's called Disclaimer. I put a yard stick next to it so you can see how large the set is. (I can't figure out how to rotate the photo; I had it going the right way when I cropped it in my editing program, but it flipped back over... hmm....)

what's that smell

Marian and I have been doing a 1-1 ATC swap each month, and Kendall has been coming up with some fun themes. This month is "What's That Smell?". I wanted to spare Marian my penchant for potty humor, so I tried to think of the stinkiest thing and came up with....  limburger! I don't even know what limburger looks like (when Jim eats it, I stay as far away as possible!), so I thought the easiest way to present it would be in a pie. Isn't this lady stamp just perfect?!! She's from VLVS, of course. I can think of so many ways to use her!

The pie is embossed and popped up. The "stink lines" I made by twisting tissue paper. Stamps: lady - VLVS; pie - Studio112; alpha - CTMH; frame - Martha Stewart; rivet thingies - SU.

And for those of you who don't know what ATC means - it's Artist Trading Card. The size is the same as a baseball card - 3-1/2" x 2-1/2".

new baby card

This is a card I made for Tammy, who just had a little girl - Rebecca. I know the envelope stamp is kind of weird (compared to the card) - but I was dying to use it - a grab bag stamp from VLVS. The feet stamp is from stampcraft, and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up.

handbasket casa

Today I have a chipboard house decorated with Viva Las Vegastamps for Susie’s Casa swap.

Front:
I had seen this distressed-looking lady stamp used on their blog and knew she would be wonderful for so many projects. She is stamped with black Versafine, embossed, and colored with pencil.

The “handbasket” stamp I found in one of my many grab bags. I decided to pair the two stamps, and go kind of literal with this one. For the basket I found this wonderful textured paper, and sketched out the shape I wanted. The handle is some trim—I put Miracle Tape on the back and curved it around a circle I had traced. The flames were done on watercolor paper for stiffness—I inked a craft mat (first with Distress Wild Honey, then Fired Brick), spritzed with water, and laid the paper down into the ink. Then I cut the flames freehand.

Back:
Both of these stamps I received in different VLVS grab bags, and I think they go perfectly with the theme.

Coordinating patterened paper is from a K&Co stack Charlotte. The chipboard house is from Red Lead.

Viva Las Vegastamps

And in case you're wondering how I know what stamps I have to be able to coordinate a piece like this (since I have hundreds of unmounted), sometime I'll post pics of how I organize my stamps - works wonderfully for me!



vlvs dog stamp - six ways

Here's another trading card I did for Jan. I made six inchies and stuck them onto an atc. I love this little dog stamp from Viva Las Vegastamps - he's so happy! I can't help but smile every time I look at his face!!!

Left to right, top to bottom:

I used a music background stamp, then some pearl-ex (mixed with Glossy Accents) for shimmer, then inked the edges (I think it was Distress Worn Lipstick). Doggie is embossed, then I added some tulle and pearls.

Stamped dog on muslin with Versafine Vintage Sepia, then did edges with Distress Rusty Hinge, and stitched with embroidery floss.

Used a gold leafing pen around edge, added some silver dots. Embossed dog on blue cardstock. His little party hat is cut from some packaging.

For the "adopt me" one, I mounted some wire mesh (using a tiny bit of E-6000) behind a frame I cut out. The tiny letters were printed from my computer. This is my favorite of the six. Except for Ricky (our $30 shopping cart dog), all our pets have been from the shelter or strays we adopted.

Here doggie is with his little sock monkey friend (stamp from Elaine Madrid). Both of them were embossed and colored with pencils. Background stamp is Stampin' Up.

Finally, we have our shy dog. Background patterened paper was gessoed, then inked with Distress Wild Honey. Everything else was done in the same ink.

happy valentine's day

Here are a couple of quick cards I made for my guys for Valentine's Day. For hubby: the birds are from a small clear set of stamps from Inkadinkado. For the boy: the little dog who's surprised that he's farting sparkly hearts is from Viva Las Vegastamps.

hey stampers

Calling all rubbah fiends. It's time for the annual Viva Las Vegas Stamps big sale - in honor of Super Bowl #46, just about everything in the store is 46% off. I'm so excited. (And I'm not associated with them at all - I'm not getting any kickbacks or anything - it's just my favorite stamp store, and I wanted to pass on the info to all my stamping friends.)

Here's the info from their email, with online coupon code:

This is the Viva Las Vegastamps! Sale

you wait all year for!

Just enter

SuperStamp

as your coupon

when you view

or edit your

Shopping Cart

and save 46%

off VLVS! Rubber Stamps

(Mounted, Cushioned or Unmounted)

Miracle Tape (not the Sampler)

and Rubber Grab Bags!

Sale runs through Monday

February 8th Midnight PST.

 

Of course,

be sure to check

out the great

deals in our

Bargain Basement

and Dollar Store

as well as our

stamps from

other companies

even though

they're not

included in

this sale.

 

There's a link over there to the right for VLVS. Happy shopping! And stamping!