Viva Las Vegas & StencilGirl Blog Hop

Before we start, keep in mind that I was humming Viva Las Vegas the entire time I wrote this blog. Since it is now stuck in my brain, I thought it should also be stuck in yours. See how I am?

These are the stamps I got from Via Las Vegas. They were all on one sheet and I cut them apart, but I probably won't mount them, I tend to be comfortable just grabbing them without a block and they work just fine. The quality and depth of rubber is terrific; these are well made stamps.

I started  on a blank journal page, this is one I had done with left over paint from another project, I had simply brayered it onto the page and added the white dots at the bottom. So it was ready for embellishment.

First up, I added several pieces of collage from my hand painted stash. You can see that I used Cascading Leaves stencil and Words to Live By, gluing them both down with my trusty Uhu glue stick. 

I used the largest filigree stamp in the upper left corner. This is a really gorgeous stamp and would enhance any piece of art, I think I will be using it a lot. The other collage parts are from napkins plus a strip of Washi tape.

This shot shows another stencil, Half Moon Slant. This stencil is one of my go-to regulars - I love how it creates a linear yet also organic border and the black helped to balance the piece. I enhanced the napkin parts with my Posca Paint Pens. 

But it needed a little something, hey, what about a bird!?! And yes, that was the perfect touch, a songbird from the Songbirds stencil. I am really happy with this quirky little page, see how I snuck another word in......Forget, from the StoryTime stencil. It had been a rough week for me, so my little bird will hopefully help me move on to better things. 

Hope you enjoyed this quick little step out. To follow along on the Blog Hop, here is the list for today:

Blog Hop Order-Monday

StencilGirl Talk

Mary Beth Shaw

Mary C. Nasser

DeeDee Catron

Glenda Tkalac

Viva Las VegaStamps!

Make sure you check back with StencilGirl Talk every day this week, so you can see all the projects. And be sure and leave your comments each day so you can be entered in the give away.

StencilGirl and Eileen Hull Inspiration Team Blog Hop

I met Eileen Hull through Maria through the internet, then finally in person at CHA this year. She is quite the dynamo, that girl has so much talent and energy she just blows my mind. And the things she designs!
At any rate, she sent me this Bird House, which is from a die cut she designed. The world of die cuts is intriguing to me and I can't even fathom how her brain must work since she designed this in a flat format yet it folds up to make something so darn cute. I used some painted paper to collage the birdhouse and the roof. Doing the roof I created a problem for myself (don't I always!?!?!?) when I folded it and the paper split. Uh, not what I had in mind

But since improvisation seems to be my middle name, I made it work and embellished the final project with my paint pens. All I need is a bird and I am good to go!

Next up are the rubber stamps Eileen sent. She has a good handle on what I like (!) because she picked this completely awesome set for me (thanks, Eileen!!) that I used on a journal page.

 

These stamps are super nice, excellent quality and I love the versatility. Here is my journal page before and after I added the stamped section.

I especially like how the stamp frames up my mystery handwriting. See, here's the thing......while it is ok in the "before" picture, I was bothered by the fact the writing was essentially the same size as the square/circle section, see what I mean? Not good design. By adding the 'frame', I think the "after" picture is more complete. I also added more stamping down at the bottom to give that area more weight.

Thanks, Eileen, for the chance to play with some of your toys, I like them a lot :)

Monday's Blog Hop Order

StencilGirl Talk

Linda Cain

Mary Beth Shaw

Shelly Hickox

Eileen Hull

Amy Bowerman

GIVEAWAY

All comments left for the entire week August 18th - August 22nd on all blogs in the hop will be eligible for the giveaway. One comment per blog post. 

Comments close Sunday, August 24th @ 11:59PM Central Time.

Winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 26th.

Stencil Girl The Book

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After I wrote Stencil Girl, I kept thinking of more and more projects involving stencils, I swear, it is like I have a disease (slaps self in head). At any rate, here is one of my 'extra' projects. 

The Copper Button Keeper

inspired by my friend Leighanna Light's beautiful work which is in the book

Supplies:

Piece of Copper

Novacan Black Patina

Matt Medium

Stencil, foam dauber

Q-tip or foam brush

Small canvas

Gel Medium (for glue)

1. Assemble copper, canvas and a stencil. Brush a strong glue on top of the canvas and apply to the copper. Cut around the edges and then 'wrap' the canvas with the sheet of copper, folding carefully and applying glue as needed. Allow to dry.

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2. Use foam brush to apply Matt Medium (over the stencil) on the copper covered canvas. This must dry thoroughly before you proceed. Once it is dry, use a Q-tip or foam brush to apply Novacan over top the copper. The design you have created with the Matt Medium will remain copper colored and the rest of the copper will turn black. This happens quite quickly.

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3. Play with embellishing as desired. I used a pigment ink pad to stamp some text across the tarnished copper, then I glued some fancy buttons across the front and added a ribbon behind. I love the instant gratification of using the Novacan and I'm so grateful to Leighanna for introducing me to this cool product.