VLVS! Blog Hop + Alice In Wonderland MiniBANNER

Welcome to my stop in the blog hop!! Hope you are enjoying all the wonderful blog posts you've seen using Viva Las Vegastamps! stamps!

I'm super glad to have you visit me HERE at my blog, instead of the VLVS! Blog.. but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing you there, too. =)

Here is a reminder of the order in which you should be participating and the links in case you need them =) :
Viva Las Vegastamps! Blog - you.probably.started.here
Terri Sproul
Chris Hurley
Kim Prince
Rebecca Parsons
Joe Morgan - you.came.from.here
DeeDee Catron - you.are.here
Jennifer Bliss - go.here.next
-don't forget to leave comments on everyone's posts and follow each blog to be entered for the pound o' rubber prize! SO.MANY.STAMPS.

I try really hard to show you completely different uses for stamps each time I share with you @Viva Las Vegastamps! ... and today is no exception! I've put together for you a mini banner featuring two of my favorite Alice in Wonderland stamps that VLVS has to offer; the Mad Hatter (1.75" x 1.75" - $7.50 mounted) and the March Hare (2.75" x 3.25" - $10 unmounted).


Here are their close ups:


and




and here is a photo of the whole thing:



Supplies include 3 lines by Echo Park; Little Boy, Walk in the Park, and Be Mine, brads, a black pen, white lace, hot glue, the Viva Las Vegastamps! stamps, twine, a yellow net, floral beads, momento tuxedo black ink and distress stain.

Here are my tow favorite banner pieces up close:


|Enjoy! And thanks for stopping!! Don't forget, you are going to Jennifer's blog HERE!!

Woohoo!

Made SketchyThursdays Fave today! =) Go check it out!

Nom Nom - Sketchy Thursdays

Ok so I forced myself to get this done so I can submit it to SketchyThursdays --- I LOVED the sketch and had been thinking about the inking ALL WEEK.

And as you've probably recently noticed.. I can't get over Inking, Doodling, or BANNERING. It's terrible. I'm addicted --- good thing I'm pretty good at all three, eh? ;) Just kidding!.. maybe.

Here's my layout for the sketch!


I may or may not have added the pictures digitally.. forgive me, would ya?



Supplies: white cardstock, black sharpie, manilla tags, distress inks, Viva Las Vegastamps! Miracle Tape. Yup, that's it ;)

A lack in progress - rainbow layout

I love the sketches @ SketchyThursdays --- but sometimes a week isn't enough time for me to get a LO done --- which happens to be the case in last weeks sketch.

But I'm lovin' the progress so much that I wanted to share what I have done so far!



So far it's just white cardstock, manilla tags, black pen and distress ink! I think it's gonna be a good one when it's finished!

Summer ATC + Viva Las Vegastamps!

I couldn't get over the tag that I worked on for Studio L3 using the TH technique and Viva Las Vegastamps! Stamps --- so I went ahead and did a set of ATCs for the CropChocolate Summer ATC swap with the same theme...



I left off the TH stamps and used only the VLVS stamps because it seemed more cohesive.. and instead of using saddle brown stazon I went with black Momento --- done and done!! A lot of work went into making these... I sure hope it shows through.


Here is a closeup of my favorite part of the ATC.. it shows how the wonderful distress inks blend together and then the splash of red.. GORGEOUS.

P.S. I used Viva Las Vegastamps! ultra fine embossing powder to create a resist.. then inked.. then ironed it away for this amazing batik effect... you NEED this Embossing Powder!!!!

I'll be sharing them on the VLVS blog on WEDNESDAY with details on the techniques -- so be sure to stop over there and see!

Supplies: Viva Las Vegastamps! (Embossing powder, Ferris Wheel Stamp, Jester Stamp) Distress inks (Barn Door, Mustard Seed, Black Soot, and Spiced Marmalade) Momento Ink (Tuxedo Black) and a heat gun!

Tim, A Tag, and a New Technique!

I've been following this blog Studio L3 for a while.. and every Monday she hosts a "Grungy Monday" where she inspired everyone to get inky and dirty working on something --- well this week's was super fascinating.. a really old technique by Mr. Holtz himself all the way from TWO THOUSAND EIGHT! and I HAD to play!!



This is the one where TH uses an embossing powder on an image.. inks around it and then melts the powder off with an iron - leaving a super fantastic image similar to a silk batik! It's VERY nice. I couldn't get over how wonderful the bright orange and red looked -- so that's where I took my tag.

I also got these great stamps from Viva Las Vegastamps! that I've been dying to combine.. so here's the tag:



and I'll be basing an ATC off of this tag VERY soon! Stay tuned!

Supplies: Manilla tag, Distress ink (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door), StazOn (Saddle Brown), Viva Las Vegastamps! (Jester and Ferris wheel), TH Stamps (Ticket, reel and letters), Miracle Tape from Viva Las Vegastamps!

Dunce is only part of the Journey..

I put together a Dunce hat for my CropChocolate monochromatic submission this month.. I'll also be submitting it to Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge for their weekly challenge, this one is distressed and or torn edges.



Supplies: EP's little boy paper, MM Autumn Splendor locket, manilla tag, TH stamps, a label maker, twine, distress ink, StazOn ink, hot glue, Miracle Tape by Viva Las Vegastamps, metal, alcohol ink, and TH butterfly die.



I had big plans for this. it didn't quite turn out what I had in mind, but still pleasant!

A little bird told me..

Here is the card I made based off of the inspiration from those amazing gals @ the Polkadot Door!



I took the nest quite literally and made my own sort of nest embellishment to cradle a couple of cracked hearts. The twigs I gathered from the neighbor's yard, hopefully they won't mind. lol. I stayed with the brown monochromatic scheme.. the BIRD letters are from a TRAVEL scrabble game.. which is totally my new love.. because they're even thicker but loads smaller face wise.



There is TONS of dimension in this card -- everything has a 3d effect.. whether it's thickness, foam, or glaze. ♥

Supplies: KnCO paper, jillibean card base, twigs, Don Juan cricut cartridge, twine, Saddle Brown StazOn, travel scrabble tiles, Vintage Photo distress ink, Chatter Box Botanico stamps, old book page, brown Sharpie pen, manilla tag, Crackle Accents, hot glue, Miracle Tape from Viva Las Vegastamps!, and a KnCO adhesive gem.

Have you seen what they're doing..

.. over at the Polkadot Door Designs Blog?? They have the GREATEST inspirational blog hop each month that I've EVER seen.

It is by far my favorite little corner when I'm in need of a kick in the right direction. Here is this month's inspiration:



That's what I'll be doing today! Check them out!

1.. 2.. 3 - A layout!

This layout is all about accomplishments... mine and Gabe's!!

I knocked out THREE projects with one in this beauty, and I thank goodness... because right now I have A LOT of stuff on my plate!!



FIRST - I'll be submitting this to Sketch Thursdays for the July Guest Designer spot -- I was nominated once before (barely beat by the other gal, I swear!) and just recently I got SKETCHY THURSDAYS FAVE!!! which is ABSOLUTELY amazing. I feel super honored.. the amount of fantastic work that gets submitted there is astounding!! The requirements for this current submission were to follow the sketch (creatively speaking, I turned it around flip flopped it and moved a couple things about..), and to take inspiration from two of the three photos they had present.. I took inspiration from the bowl of cherries, that neutral background with the pop of color from the cherries was SO gorgeous! and the 2nd photo of the frozen fruit bars had this amazing golden yellow color that I used.

SECOND - Rachel from CropChocolate asked me to join in on a scraplift challenge; and from the previous 12x12 I took the size, the scallops and the super pretty light blue color.



THIRD - I'll post this LO over @ BigScrapDeal on Monday because I used the Cosmo Cricket line that they have at a SUPER LOW price! so be on the lookout MONDAY for that and all the juicy CHEAP details!




And Gabe's Achievement: HE ROLLS OVER LIKE A PRO!!! 1.. 2.. AND THREE! Bam he's over. no messin' around with this kid. He's been using it to get around the living room floor.. from one side of the room to the other. LOVE IT.

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket THE BOYFRIEND (paper and chipboard), Distress Ink (Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint), Pebbles brad, Making Memories brad, Stretch Your Imagination Cricut Cartridge, Echo Park alpha stickers, Stroll Thickers, Studio G Alpha stamps, Mustard StazOn, Brown Sharpie pen, Miracle Tape from Viva Las Vegastamps!, water and a jar!

Halloweenie come a liittle early

I.love.Halloween.

seriously, who doesn't?!

but I REALLY love Halloween.

and Wayne from Viva Las Vegastamps wanted some help showcasing some of their Halloween stamps for an upcoming ad in Rubber Stamp Madness.

so I volunteered.

and here are the 2 pieces I made him.



Products Used:
kraft base - jillibean soup
paper - making memories
ink - distress by ranger; spiced marmalade, black soot
ink - Momento
stamp - Viva Las Vegastamps
manilla tag



Products used:
kraft base - jillibean soup
stamp - Viva Las Vegastamps
ink - distress by ranger; peeled paint, black soot
ink - momento
manilla tag
photo corners
recycled cardboard

I did some of the old "lay down lots of ink on your craft mat, spray it with water, and dip your tag in it" routine. Which I LOVE for the marbled color effect. I did a bit of color splashing here and water splashing there... then when dried I stamped with a nice permanent ink both of the wonderful images from VLVS!

I'll be posting these on the VLVS Blog tomorrow =)

-DeeDee

Blog a little empty...

I know I know.. I've been absent.. but I've been so busy!! Between couponing, gardening, filling my Etsy Shop and trying to fulfill design team spots I haven't had much time to sit and do tons of crafting...



But I will have some new stuff to post SOON! and some super exciting stuff too!

Be ready for a Viva Las Vegastamps! BLOG HOP at the end of June!!! if you're sure to visit each blog and leave a comment you'll be entered for the CANDY - yum yum! Tons of unmounted rubber stamps! YAY!

This month I was chosen as a Guest DT Member @ CropChocolate (Where they're currently narrowing down team members, so this is a move in the right direction!) So be prepared to see that coming up!

I'm also working on entering the Challenge over at the Polka Dot Door Designs blog.. you really ought to check out what these girls have to offer, it's AMAZING STUFF!

AND THE JUNE/JULY ISSUE OF READY.SET.CREATE CAME OUT!! GO SEE WHAT THOSE GALS DID WITH uMwOWsTUDIO PRODUCT!

that's all I'll share for now, I think.. because I'm going to go get crafty!!

P.S. .... the flower images are all new additions to the Shop!!