Art Rebel by Visible Image

 My three month stint as a guest designer for Visible Image came to an end in August, but I am delighted to be able to say that they have invited me to create as a member of the main DT. An offer like that I simply could not refuse as I have had the BEST time over the last few months using their amazing stamps and stencils. What an honour!

So, here is the first project of my new term. I am really feeling vibrant colours at the moment and the brilliantly quirky Art Rebel just lent himself to some neons. He's so much fun don't you think?

Here are my steps:

I stamped the main image onto a mop up piece of card and used Amsterdam acrylic ink to paint the glasses. When that was dry I used a mask to stamp on top of them.

I used Dylusions spray ink and Versafine Clair to create a background, along with Count Me In stencil. 

Once dry, I stamped and coloured areas with Posca pens.

I used acrylic ink on card to make mounts for the focal image, and stamped out the sentiment from The World Needs Art set to finish.

Thanks for popping by. I'll be back with more projects soon.

Lynda

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Santa Claus is Coming To Town!

I'm back today with another festive make for Visible Image and this time it's the turn of Santa Claus. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without him now would it?! 

A super quick step by step for you:

1: Use a circle mask to create a moon and spray watercolour card with Dylusions ink to create a night sky. 

2: Stamp the snow dots stamp on the sky using white acrylic paint.  Use gesso inside the moon to brighten it.

3: On kraft card use the chimney stamp upside down to stamp a roof, then add the chimney on top. Cut out. 

5: Colour and fussy cut Santa and his list and the sentiment. ( I used copis for this). Glue  fake snow on his suit to create fur. Glue roof to the card and apply Cosmic Shimmer Fluffy Stuff and glitter to the roof line and heat until it bubbles. 

6: Stamp inside the card before adhering Santa to the roof with 3d glue gel. 

I really am loving working with the new Christmas release right now. They are so much fun! 

Lynda

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Through the Storm

 Wow it's just come across really stormy here in Hampshire this afternoon and the heavens have opened. A perfect moment to be sharing this card for Visible Image. 

I created this from a mop up card that I had from a previous project, using Amsterdam acrylic ink. The combination of blues and greys just screamed 'sea' to me. 

I used the strobe stencil and swiped some gesso through it to give a white base for some rays of sunshine. 

I swiped yellow and orange paint over the top when dry, and stamped and heat embossed the sun from the Look Forward With Hope set in the centre. 

I stamped some clouds from the same set, and painted with acrylic ink. For this I used my stamping platform, as once I had painted I wanted to re stamp the detail over the top. 

I added some waves with paint to create the stormy sea. 

The final step was to stamp the sentiment  and fussy cut some paper boats from the Destination Unknown set and pop them in the sea to bob about. 

I added the rest of the sentiment inside the card.

As if by magic as I uploaded the final image here , the rain stopped, the clouds lifted and the sun came out. How bizare is that!

I'll be back soon with more Visible Image inspiration for you.

Lynda

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Snowman Jack by Visible Image

It won't be long now before summer is over and our thoughts begin to turn to the festivities ahead. And as all crafters know, Christmas comes early when you make your own cards and decorations. 

This week I have been having fun with some of the new Christmas release stamps from Visible Image . They are just gorgeous and there is something for everyone, whether your style is inky and grungy, or more cute. I love them all, but I must admit, it's the characters that got me really excited so my first project to share is the fabulous Snowman Jack .

This was a really quick and easy card to make. First I stamped a scene on watercolour card.

I knew I wanted a distress oxide background with a snowy lightly mottled sky, and drawing gum enabled me to mask the areas I wanted to keep white before dipping my card into the wet ink. 

When everything was thoroughly dry, I removed the masking fluid with a rubber and coloured the images in with Zig Clean Color markers, stamped and embossed some snowflakes, and then applied Fluffy Stuff with glitter over it to add dimension and sparkle to my snow .

Jack's penguin pal was so cute that I decided he needed a project of his own, so I made a quick gift tag to go with my card, colouring him in pencil on a kraft tag. 

I normally struggle to feel festive this early in the year, but these stamps are clearly having an effect on me as I caught myself singing carols yesterday- my husband was not impressed haha but it'll be here soon enough so I say just embrace it!

Lynda

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Mindful Moments

We could all do with a little calm and mindfulness in our lives, and for me personally this week I most definitely could! It's been a hectic week, not only as school's out for Summer ( and I am a childminder so it gets very busy here), but also having had a weekend of dance shows for my daughter ( which were AMAZING!), during the running around for which I managed to prang my car, then later that day damage my knee, it's safe to say my week has not gone too well!  

Sadly I also had to attend the funeral of a dear friend and fellow crafter Erika, who I actually first met through the Visible Image fan page on Facebook. She adored all things Visible Image, and she was absolutely thrilled for me when I told her I had a much coveted spot as a guest designer on the team. She was so supportive of everything I do, and although I only had the pleasure of knowing her in person for a few years, she had become a very good friend to me.  I will miss our inky play dates very much. 

This piece I am sharing today I dedicate to her memory and I hope wherever she is it is tranquil there and she is at peace . 

I stumbled across a window picture frame covered in stickers while rummaging in a charity shop and decided it would be great to alter so I parted with a few pennies and brought it home as I do love to upcycle. 

Once cleaned of stickers I rubbed it down with some sandpaper and painted it with chalk paint. 

While the paint was drying I created a scene with distress ink. I stamped the main image from the  set Mindful Moments  set onto a mop up piece of card with oxide inks on and fussy cut it out. I framed her by stamping branches from the tree in the Tree of Life set around the top and colouring in the leaves. The doves are from the Guardian Angel set. I just love how all Visible Image stamps are so versatile and you can mix and match sets for maximum creative options. 

To decorate my frame, I used the Tree of Life stamps. On the front I stamped the tree in the centre, and grounded it with a light dusting of Versafine ink and a mask. 

The small flowers in the Creative Chaos set added to the base helped add a feeling of depth, and again I added a dove to tie it in with the image inside. 

Inside I stamped the tree again, effectively creating the back of the image that I had stamped on the front. I added some of the other element stamps in the Mindful Moments set, and coloured the flowers with Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens to add a pop of colour. 

Thank you dear Erika for your friendship, support , positive energy and all round awesomeness. 

Miss you

Lynda

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We're Off To See the Wizard

Who loves the old classic The Wizard of Oz? I sure do , bt then anything with witches and wizards always gets my vote! 

Today I'd like to take you for a wander along the dusty old yellow brick road, as I share with you how I created this piece of artwork using the brilliant Oz characters from Visible Image . They all have so much character don't you think?

I have made a few cards with individual characters , but I wanted them all to feature together in a piece, and with my trusty drawing gum I was able to achieve this easily. On an 8" sheet of mixed media card I first stamped Dorothy and Scarecrow. I used the gum to fist mask Dorothy, and when it was dry I was able to stamp the Tin Man. The next step was to mask both him and Scarecrow, and stamp Cowardly Lion between them so that he appears behind. 

I sketched some simple scenery in behind them, and set to work painting with watercolour paints. I always tend to do my backgrounds first, as that way if I mess it up and I'm not happy with it I haven't wasted time with detailing the main images, which can be really frustrating ( trust me I have learned that the hard way!) 

To create the brick road I first painted it yellow ( of course!) , and then used a watercolour marker to add the detail , before softly blending the lines with water. 

Of course all paths lead to somewhere, and in this case The Emerald City. But first there is a poppy field to negotiate en route as I recall so I popped that in with some red marker dots, to create the illusion of one in the background. On the brow of the hill I drew the city, sitting proudly under the all important rainbow. 

I added some definition to the hills with pencils, and then set about colouring the characters with alcohol markers, which really brought the whole thing to life. 

This really was so much fun to do and I am thrilled to be able to share it as a member of the Visible Image guest DT. I guess that just goes to prove that, just like the sentiment says,  dreams really do come true. 

Lynda

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Guardian Angel by Visible Image

Today I am sharing two projects using the fab new Guardian Angel stamp set.  I've recently bought an Alcohol Ink Lift pad so wanted to try it out with the angel to see if I could create a ghostly effect.

First I created a backing paper on Yupo paper with alcohol inks. Then I lifted the image using the ink pad creating a negative effect, and then stamped the positive image onto a plain piece of card stock ready to use on my second project. 

Using some of the smaller stamps in the set I lifted more ink from another larger piece of inked Yupo, again stamping the ink onto the white card stock ( waste not want not as my mum used to say!).

I really like the surreal effect this gave, and the sentiment from the Stay Weird set was the perfect addition to complete the card.

I used the card that I had stamped the positive image on to for a second card, teaming it with another sentiment from the Stay Weird set. 

This stamp set is so unique and I really love that it can be used without the wings as I think that makes it such a cool image for cards for teen lads. It has fast become a favourite in my collection. 

Lynda

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