THE STAMPS I LOVE AND USED!!

How many of us have all sorts of stamps sitting around that we love and don't use?  I am so guilty of that!  This weeks' Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is to use a stamp you love ... but don't use.

Stop by the blog and check out all of the really cool pieces that my design team buddies have waiting for you to see.  It's interesting to see all of the different styles of stamps and how they used them in their projects.

I have to admit...I have cheated just a little bit on this challenge.  I recently purchased Darkroom Door's "Fun and Games" stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.  So, I've not had it all that long...but I haven't used them yet!  And I do LOVE LOVE LOVE this stamp set! 

Every stamp in this set is so cool!  Vintage, nostalgic and I wanted to use ALL of them on this piece!  I almost did!

I started with a 5x7 canvas that I brushed with Studio Matte Multi Medium and then covered with 7 Gypsies Life Tissue Paper.  Then I heat set it.

I love teal mixed with browns or sepia tones, so I washed the canvas with Studio's Classic Teal paint mixed with water and heat set it again.

Next, I added a wash of Sable Brown over the canvas to antique it a bit.  Then I heat set it.  Next I rubbed some Graphite then Old Silver and then Copper Inka-Gold randomly around the edges and on the canvas.  It adds so much depth and richness to the canvas.  You will see the different in the next photo.  In the meantime, I had stamped all of my images and sort of laid them out where I thought I would want them to go on my canvas.  In doing that, I noticed a big blank area on my canvas that I didn't like.  What to do?

How about adding some of Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 White Embossing Paste using her Brick Wall Stencil?  LOVE it!  Okay...but now the white is really stark against my finished background.

More Sable Brown paint and a little Copper Inka-Gold rubbed on the textured bricks.  LOVE it!  In the process of putting my design together, I decided to add another smaller 2x2 canvas; covered the same way as my larger canvas to really give dimension to my piece. 

Here is that 2x2 canvas with the word "LIFE" on it.  The letters are from Tim Holtz' Mixed Minis Grungeboard set.  I first painted them with a Pitch Paint Dabber followed by touches of a Gold Paint Dabber.  Then I rubbed some Inka-Gold Old Silver over them.  Next, I glued them in place using Glossy Accents and covered them with Crackle Accents to really lift them off of the canvas.  The different suits of cards are glued behind the 2x2 canvas using Tim Holtz' Memo Pins.  I love the extra dimension and color they provide to that corner of the canvas.

I really wasn't able to capture how cool these look in person. They are dimensional and crackled.  The "i" is dotted with a Bingo piece from the set that has been covered in Crackle Accents as well.

The Bingo cards were stamped onto manila cardstock that was distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  That wonderful vintage red ink color is Archival Vermillion.  I then cut out the cards, distressed the edges with a Tonic Paper Distresser and then inked the edges with Gathered Twigs and touches of Black Soot.  I bent the cards up a bit, added another Bingo piece to one card and layered them onto the canvas.

The joker.  Isn't he great?  I love this stamp!  He was stamped onto manila cardstock that was distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Then I colored in the joker using my Derwent Watercolor Pencils.  I inked the edges in Black Soot and glued him into place.

Underneath the "LIFE" canvas are the words "ENJOY THE GAME".  I stamped them onto manila cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.  Then I cut closely around the letters.  The stamp set has those wonderful domino images.  So, I stamped them out using Jet Black Archival onto manila cardstock, cut them out, glued them onto chipboard for more dimension and then inked the edges with Black Soot.  Then I popped the words onto the top of each domino and covered the words with Crackle Accents.  When dry, I staggered them in place on the brick background.

Finally ... the chess pieces and dominoes across the bottom.  Originally, I just had the chess pieces laying across the bottom but they sort of died into the background.  But, when I added the domino strip across the bottom ... POP!  The chess pieces are stamped with Jet Black Archival ink onto manila cardstock and highlighted with the Inka-Gold Old Silver rubbed on their highlighted area.  Then they are pop dotted onto the dominoes.

Here is a different view of the canvas so you can see all of the dimension you can achieve by adding another smaller canvas, bending the Bingo cards, gluing the dominoes to chipboard before gluing them in place and pop dotting the words and chess pieces.

Now it's your turn to pull out that stamp that you love but haven't used!  Create something wonderful and post it to our challenge.  You could be our lucky weekly winner of a ...

$50.00 credit voucher to buy more stamps!!  Or whatever your heart desires!

You could also be selected as one of our TOP THREE entrees for the week...a nice honor!

Good luck and I can't wait to see what stamp you will use and how you will use it!

Here are the products available at Simon Says Stamp used in creating this canvas:

InLinkz.com

LET'S GET MESSY!!!

It's Monday and time for a new Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge.   

This week the theme is"Let's get messy"!

As I've shared with you before, this is so far out of my realm of a comfort zone, it's not even funny.  I don't know what it is; perhaps the fear of the unknown or the fear of feeling stupid when an art piece isn't working out like I want it to.  Do you experience that?  Doesn't that sometimes frustrate you?  I mean, you see other people making beautiful art that you really want to try but SOMETHING is holding you back.

Well, this year, I've vowed to face that fear head on.  What's the worst thing that can happen?  You absolutely hate it, start over and no on is the wiser.  Hmm...not such a bad thing, right?  

I jumped into the Dylusions Ink Spray waters head first with this piece.  I didn't hate it, I didn't start over.  I just kept spraying, stamping, stenciling and before I knew it, I had a pretty self expressive piece of art journaling on an 8x8 canvas.

For a first attempt at something like this, I must admit I am satisfied.  My friend, Ellen Vargo does amazing art journals.  While at CHA, she shared a couple of them with me and Ellen, I have to give a shout out to YOU because you are the inspiration behind this piece.

This canvas is all about layers: Dylusions Ink Sprays, Perfect Pearls Mists, Stamps, Archival Ink, Paint, Embossing Paste, and paper.  And it definitely qualities as a "messy" project.  But it is also SO MUCH FUN TO DO! I can't tell you the fun I had experimenting and just free flow letting it all hang out.

  

I began with an 8x8 canvas.  I used Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 Embossing Paste to create the textured edge and top from Dylusions' Chequered Dots stencil.  First I did it in white, but later I redid it in Black Embossing Paste.  You could actually skip the step in the white but I honestly didn't know where this piece was going when I started it.  And, the extra layer of white embossing paste gives more depth to the chequered dots. (Be sure to immediately wash your stencil after using paint or embossing paste with it!)

Next I lightly spritzed the canvas with water and then randomly sprayed Vibrant Turquoise, Lemon Zest and Bubblegum Pink Dylusions Sprays.  I heat set and repeat the spraying until I achieved the brightness I wanted.  Here you can see how the textured shows but it is much more interesting and provides great contrast when I covered it again in the black embossing paste.

Here are the chequered dots in the black.  I also scraped some embossing paste along some of the edges of the canvas.  The stylish lady was from a magazine.  I loved her black and white outfit.  It is perfect with my textured edge. I knew that I wanted her to be in this corner of the canvas but that is all I knew at this point.

Next layer is some "ghosting" techniques that Dyan Reaveley teaches. I simply laid her Letter Jumble Stencili down on the canvas and lightly sprayed a portion of the stencil with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Mist.  Then I lifted the stencil, turned it over and pressed it a couple of times onto the canvas, leaving those blotchy areas of gold spray.  You can either air dry or heat set the Perfect Pearls spray.  I heat set it and here is the result.  Love it!

I used Jet Black Archival Ink to do some random stamping of the squiggles from Dyan Reaveley's Background Love stamp set.  Aren't they fun?  

Next, I added some polka dots from Dyan Reaveley's Basic Backgrounds stamp.  These were done with Picket Fence Paint Dabber.  I also dipped the edge of the clear plastic cap of a Dylusion Spray bottle into the paint and formed the circles on the canvas. (Immediately wash your stamp after stamping with paint so that it doesn't dry on your stamp!)

Keeping in mind how I was going to situate my lady, I added this border from Dyan's Around The Edge stamp set.  I added the white dashes for more contrast.  Right now, it sort of looks like it's floating but when I put the lady in place, it all makes sense. Then I lightly sprayed Workable Fixative to seal the canvas before adding the lady with the Matte Multi Medium.  (Since most of the products I used on this canvas are water based, I needed to seal them to prevent any blurring or diluting of the colors before adding the multi medium.)

Here again is the finished canvas.  See what I mean about the stamped border in the center of the canvas?  Her foot rests on the line and it blends right into the canvas.  The words are my own and I generated them on my computer, cut them out and edged them with a permanent black Sharpie marker.

Here you get a closer view of the layers on this canvas: the embossing paste, the ink sprays, the ghosted perfect pearls mist, the archival ink stamping, the paint stamping and the lady and sentiment; which of course, are paper.

New from Tim Holtz this season are more Blue Print Stamps. This wheel comes from his Mini Blueprints 4 set.  I love it!   I stamped the wheel onto Ranger's Specialty Stamping Paper with Jet Black Archival Ink and heat set it.  Then I colored it in using Broken China, Worn Lipstick, Scattered Straw and Black Soot Distress Markers.  I cut it out, mounted it onto a piece of chipboard and inked the edges in black.  In the center, I added a Game Spinner with a Long Fastener and the spinner will spin.  I mounted it (and the lady) in place using Matte Multi Medium.

If you're overwhelmed at the thought of making a mess like this on a canvas, start small; an ATC card or a #8 manila tag.  Just play and create backgrounds first.  Then the rest will follow.  Have fun with this!  It really is so much fun to just MAKE A MESS!

Then enter your piece in our weekly challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  You could be our lucky random winner of a ...

$50.00 credit voucher.  You could also be named as one of the TOP THREE works of art for the week.  That is quite a nice honor as well.

Have fun and good luck! I can't wait to see your creations!

Here are the products available at Simon Says Stamp that were used in this canvas:

InLinkz.com