Quirky Cats Artist Trading Cards - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio collage sheet

Hi everyone! Did you see the new collage sheet which was released by Vera Lane Studio last week? It's called Quirky Cats and comes with two collage sheets of wonderfully coloured cats and a few bird friends. They are quick to cut out and come in various colour combinations and sizes. I am smitten! I decided to make a trio of artist trading cards featuring a few of the images.

The first one combines one of the smallest cats and his bird friend who I placed on top of his head. The background is an ATC (2.5x3.5) card which I used to mop up overspray from a Lindy's session. Stamping and doodled stencilling plus a piece of washi to ground them added to the design.

The second ATC started as a remnant from a gel printing session using acrylic paint topped with a stencil. Doodling was added to the circles and a little stamping was scattered across the card. Washi tape grounded one of the medium cats and his birdie friend.

The third ATC features one of the largest cat images. The background started as another inky mop-up card. Stamping and doodled stencilling added patter and washi tape grounded the Quirky cat. Like all of the others, Black Big Brush Pen edging, a doodled border, and a puffy heart sticker were added to finish the design. The sayings,like the images, were popped up on foam tape to add dimension.

Once again, thanks for joining the Quirky Cats and me today.To check out the other fabulous collage sheets and images by Janet Klein, be sure to stop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop. While you are virtually out and about, pop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group where there is daily inspiration and awesome peeps!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Happy Hands art journal page - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! Yesterday marked the new release of the Stitches digi set at Vera Lane Studio. Oh my word, I love these images. I have been sewing since my early teens and think these are the cutest images. I immediately thought of my friend, Jane, who is an avid and talented quilter. I chose to combine two of the images, the girl with her eyes blissfully closed and the spool of thread, to star on my art journal page today.

I coloured both images with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cutting each leaving a narrow white border. I then glued the images together where they overlap and matted them with black cardstock. The new "merged" image was fussy cut again leaving the narrow black border. White Posca paint pen was used to add the little design on her outfit.

I wanted a quilted background for the 6x6 watercolour page but I also wanted vibrant colours. Three Distress Oxide Inks (Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio, Wilted Violet) were added one at a time to a small gel plate and spritzed with water. Using a waterbrush, the colour was then added to the appropriate squares in the 9-patch design. Stencils were added over each square and the ink was removed using a baby wipe. On a few of them, the design was too small for this to be effective so I sponged through the stencil openings with white gesso. I wanted the texture and to break up the solid colour. The lines dividing the patches and the faux stitching along the lines was doodled with black pen. I love how that turned out!

The wording was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black. The saying, which I have always felt to be true, seemed to suit her expression of crafter's bliss. To ground her, a strip of zigzag cardstock was fussy cut and placed below the thread. I thought it looked like rickrack. Three enamel dots were added to the top left corner to add another pop of black and balance the design.

Thanks for stopping by today. You can check out Stitches as well as a plethora of fabulous and inspiring images in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop. We would love to have you drop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group to say hi. There is always wonderful inspiration and friendly chats happening there.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Practice Kindness Artist Trading Card - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! While I was on the Kindness theme from my art journal page posted earlier today, I decided to create an artist trading card as well. I used Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils to colour one of the images from the (available upon request) Back to Back set by Vera Lane Studio which is also available as a pre-coloured collage sheet. The background was created as a mop-up card when I was creating the background for my Kindness post card. I added some black circles drawn using a circle template and a piece of washi layered over black to ground her. A little black faux stitching and black Big Brush pen were used to finish the edges and frame the card.

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to pop by the Vera Lane Facebook group to say hi and the VLS Etsy shop to check out the fabulous images there.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Kindness is a Gift - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! We have a Kindness post card challenge going on this month on the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group. With the kindness theme in mind, I created an art journal page, hoping to inspire people thinking about playing along. I chose to feature one of the images from Be You by Vera Lane Studio as the focal image for this page, colouring her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, and matted with black cardstock to create a second border.

The background started with Turquoise and Violet Brushos being sprinkled onto watercolour paper, and then spritzing them with water to activate the pigments. The background was then covered with 3 strips of drywall mesh to tone down the brights. A vintage book page was die cut  using a Tim Holtz die and fussy cutting next to the pattern. It was then matted with black and fussy cut again. A doily was tucked behind the die cut to ground it as well as the image.

The wording was printed onto white cardstock, cut into sections, and matted with black cardstock.

Tiny pink hearts were added to the doily and a little doodling, including a page border, and outlining were added with black pen. To create a better balance and create a diagonal flow, two strips of black cardstock were cut into fishtail flags and added to the bottom right corner. White washi tape with black hearts was adhered to white cardstock to help the pattern stand out, and then layered over the flags as well as under the word kindness.

Thanks for popping by today. We would love to have you join our Kindness Post Card Challenge on the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group. You can find fabulous images in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop or you can use Janet's stamps from AALL & Create. Come up with a design that connects to the theme of Kindness and post your photo in the album. Easy Peasy!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Uniquely Me - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! Because I love the new release by Vera Lane Studio called Cat and Canary so much that I created two projects for today. I did the art journal page posted earlier using the standing cat and the canary but I couldn't resist the sitting cat. I made an artist trading card  so she could have her own stage. I coloured Cat to look like a calico cat using Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. I love her flower eye...so cute! She was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black, and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border.

The background was cut at 2.5 x 3.5 inches from a previously created gel printed paper where I had used acrylic paint. Circles were added with a black pen and a circle template. The grid stamping was done with Forget-Me-Not Archival Ink and a VLV stamp. A VLV number stamp was also applied to the background using Jet Black Archival. To pull the pink from her flower and nose, a length of dotty fabric washi was adhered along the bottom edge, grounding her. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the card before Cat was added popped up on foam tape.

Thanks so much for visiting today. You can check out the Cat and Canary image as well as all of the other wonderful images at the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop. We would also love if you popped by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group where we have a fun Kindness Postcard challenge going on for the month of April. Hope to see you there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

I promise...inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! Yesterday marked another fabulous new release at Vera Lane Studio. The image set called Cat and Canary has 3 of the cutest images plus two awesome sayings. For this art journal page, I combined the standing cat and the canary, stacking them because they are buds.

Cat and Canary were coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. They were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black cardstock, and fussy cut again leaving a narrow black border.

The background is crazy busy! After priming the page with a layer of white gesso, Wilted Violet and Peacock Feathers Distress Oxides were loaded onto a small gel plate, one at a time, and then spritzed with water before being smushed onto the page several times. Once dry, the Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide Ink was added through Carabelle Studio Weft Fabric and Numbers Stencil in several places. Both a 49 & Market Chevron stamp and a VLV numbers stamp were added to the background. To bring back some white and calm down the colour, three pieces of white cardstock were torn, stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink and a Wendy Vecchi stamp, and then edged with Twisted Citron D.O.and Jet Black Archival Inks.

The wording was printed on white cardstock and matted with black. The cat was grounded with three lengths of washi tape overlapped. Three small hearts colorized with the three Distress Oxide Inks were placed to tie the white pieces to the background. A doodled border and outlining were done with a black pen before Black Big Brush pen was added to the page edges to frame it.

Thanks for joining my two friends and me today. It made us all happy. You can check out the Cat and Canary image as well as all of the other wonderful images at the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop. We would also love if you popped by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group where we have a fun Kindness Postcard challenge going on for the month of April. Hope to see you there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

April Kindness Postcard Challenge at Vera Lane Studio

Woohoo! It's April and that means a brand new challenge in the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group and this month I get to host it. I decided on postcards (3x5 inches or 4x6 inches) and the theme of Kindness because we all could use a little more (OK...a lottle) of that right now. It could be kindness to yourself, to others, or to animals...anywhere your muse takes you. I chose the first and last from the list above, featuring the sweetie from the Joyful digi set. She is feeding the birds which is kind to them but also brings her peace and warm feelings so that's kind to herself as well. There are so many Vera Lane Studio images and combinations that would fit this theme

I coloured Joy and her bird friends with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. Each image was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and again a second time once matted with black cardstock.

I kept the background light and simple, choosing to add Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide to the top using drywall mesh as a stencil. The bottom was done in the same way using Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxides for colour. A small double heart stamp and some script stamping were added to the sky section using Forget-Me-Not Archival Ink. To ground Joy and her buddies, a length of leafy washi was adhered to the bottom edge of the postcard. The birdseed was created with tiny holographic star sequins. Love how they catch the light and change colours!

The saying was printed onto white cardstock, cut into sections, and matted with black. The same black was used to mat the postcard, creating a border around it.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope that you are all staying safe and are practicing kindness every chance you get. We would love to have you join the Kindness Challenge on the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group. Pop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to check out all of the fabulous images. There's sure to be a bunch that will inspire your Kindness Postcard.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Keep Your Head ~ inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! I'm here today with an art journal page featuring one of the new release images from Lil Queen of Hearts by Vera Lane Studio. I combined her with a saying which seemed appropriate for her as well as for all of us during this unsettling time.

I coloured Lil Queen with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, adding a little silver gel pen beside the spots on her fur trim. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black cardstock, and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border. I just love this image...she's so cute!

The 6x6 watercolour paper background was generously loaded at the top edge with Lindy's Rudolph's Nose Red and then Witch's Potion Purple Starburst Sprays. I used a waterbrush to encourage the drips to run down the page. Once those layers were dry, Candied Apple Distress Oxide Ink was applied through TCW Plaid Fringe stencil to tone down the white between drips as well as adding more texture. Hearts were die cut from German book pages and coloured with Festive Berries Distress Oxide Ink. They were edged with black Big Brush Pen before being adhered to the areas around Lil Queen. A length of black and white checked washi was glued to a strip of white cardstock and placed at the bottom of the page to ground the Queen. There's something about black and white check that always reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

The saying was printed onto white cardstock, cut into sections, and matted with black. Black circles were created with a hole punch and scattered around the background. Black Pitt Pen was used to doodle some plus signs and a wiggly border around three sides of the page. The page edges were inked with black Big Brush Pen to serve as a franme for the page.

Thanks for joining Lil Queen of Hearts and me today. We are always glad for the virtual company. We hope that you are able to stay safe and keep your head even when others are not. If you are looking for inspiration, pop over to the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to see the plethora of fabulous images. If you want inspiration and company, visit the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group. It's a great place to hang out and you'll be among friends :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Hello Spring artist trading card - inspired by Vera Lane Studio images

Hi everyone! We had a Hello Spring Swap which has now become a Hello Spring Challenge going on in the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group. I have created a fun little card featuring two Vera Lane Studio images as a kind of inspiration piece for the Challenge since the DT are not eligible for the prize. I used one of the Fleur Fairy images as well as a bird from the Birdy set.This image is called FairieFleur and she was coloured with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils before she was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. She was then matted with black cardstock and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border. Foam tape was added to the back to pop her up off the background. The tiny bird was printed onto a scrap of pink patterned paper and shaded with a waterbrush loaded with Inktense pencil.

The ATC background, which is 2.5x3.5 inches, was cut from a gel printed paper. The black tracks were created by running a toy car through black paint and then printing the design on the gel plate (so fun!) Jet Black Archival ink was used to stamp the rings. Three tiny flowers were punched from yellow paper and inked with  a deeper yellow to shade the petal edges before a tiny peatrl was added to each center. The saying was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black. Black Big Brush Pen was used to edge the card creating the look of a frame.

Thanks for joining Fairie Fleur, her bird friend, and me today. We appreciate that. Be sure to pop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to meet all of Fleur's other friends. They will keep you distracted and creative in this difficult time. Come by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group to say hi and see all of the gorgeous Hello Spring Challenge entries. We'd love to have you play along, too.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Chessie's Advice ~ inspired by a Vera lane Studio image

Hi everyone! I decided to have a little Alice in Wonderland fun with today's art journal page. Last week, Janet from Vera Lane Studio released a fabulous new digi set called Cheshire Cat, Mouse, and Toad and I chose Chessie to star on my page.

 I coloured Chessie in Disney colours  using Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, and adding some Clear Wink of Stella to make his grin sparkle. He was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black, and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border to help him show up against the background.

The background (6x6 inch watercolour paper, was spritzed with Lindy's Drop Dead Gorgeous Green and Jack in the Pulpit Teal Starburst Sprays so there is quite a shimmer to the page. The circle in the center of the page was created by applying Jet Black Archival Ink to Carabelle Studio The Geometriks #3 stamp. Extra dots were added outside the circle with the same ink and a Rubber Moon Inksplat stamp. Olive Green Archival Ink was used to stamp two of the leaf stamps from Bo Bunny Simply Flowers set to create the foliage at the top. A few of the leaves were coloured in with a Zig Clean Colour Brush pen to add variety. A tree limb was cut from kraft cardstock and shaded with Neocolor II crayons and water. A Neocolor II crayon was also applied with a waterbrush to shade inside the circle and beneath the branches, as well as around the page edges.

Small white flowers were punched from cardstock. The centers were coloured with Gelatos and water and the outer petal edges with Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide Ink before the enamel dot centers were added. Tiny leaves were cut from dotty cardstock and shaded with Olive Archival Ink before being adhered to the branches and limb. The wording was printed on white cardstock, matted with black. A scribbly border was added around the outsides of the page and the edges were darkened with Black Big Brush Pen to finish the page.

Thanks for joining Chessie and me today. We are glad that you virtually joined us :) When you get a chance, pop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to see Cheshire Cat's friends and relatives. There are so many images to spark ideas and keep you busy while you stay home. Stop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group for a chat or a look-see, too.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Happy St. Patrick's Day - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! Happy St. Patrick's Day to those who celebrate, Irish or not...LOL I created a sweet little artist trading card to spread good wishes and maybe a little luck on March 17. The digi set by Vera Lane Studio is called Irish Luck and comes with three images and three sayings. I coloured Delaney with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, making her a beautiful redhead in the process.She was fussy cut leaving a white border, matted with black, and fussy cut again leaving a black border.

The background began with a piece of green and white patterned paper adhered to chipboard. It was inked around and had circles stamped with Fern Green Archival Ink. The circles were shaded with Inktense pencil activated with water. White Texture Paste was scraped through TCW Tiny Circles stencil and then brightened with white paint pen once dry. The saying was printed onto white cardstock matted with black and the shamrock in the top left corner was created with puffy heart stickers and a gel pen. A simple border was doodled around the edges which were then darkened with black Big Brush pen. Delaney was popped up on foam tape to add some dimension.

Thanks for joining Delaney and me today. We hope you have a lovely St. Patrick's Day and that you "get your Irish on"! Check out Delaney's friends in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop and pop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group for lots of inspiration and good company.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Alice will decide - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! Oh my word, did you see the new release by Vera Lane Studio yesterday? It's called Alice and White Rabbit and I am smitten! I love anything Alice in Wonderland but these two are absolutely adorable.I decided to create with them one at a time and today it's Alice's turn.

I coloured Alice with my usual mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. Tiny pearls were added as buttons on her dress before she was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. Alice was matted with black cardstock and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border to help her stand out against whatever background I created. You know me...there's never a plan :)

I first added a layer of white gesso to the watercolor paper background because Distress Oxide Inks behave differently on gesso and it's fun to change it up. Salty Ocean and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide Inks were applied to the background blending to a pretty green where they overlapped. Carabelle Studio Weft Fabric and Numbers stencil was laid over the now dry Distress Oxide and a baby wipe was used to remove the colour through the holes. Once dry, a Viva Las Vegas stamp was applied loosely using Manganese Blue Archival Ink and no block. A strip of black and cream dotty paper was glued across the bottom of the page to ground Alice. Before she was adhered to the page, a small version of a AIW page, A TH A card, and an Alice Tea Party ticket were inked with Coffee Archival and layered to form a collage with her as the focal.

The quote from Lewis Carroll's Alice was printed onto white cardstock and matted with black. A strip of checked washi was added under the first sentence to add emphasis. A tiny rub-on was added to the left of Alice's legs and two black enamel dots accented the sides of the dotty strip. To finish the page, a black border was doodled around the edges which were then edged with black Big Brush Pen to create a frame.

Thanks for joining Alice and me today. We are delighted you did that. When you get a chance, check out the Alice and White Rabbit set in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop and be sure to return on Wednesday this week...just sayin'. We would love to have you join us on the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group where this week you are sure to see more inspiration from this set. We have an ATC swap going on for March with the theme of Spring that we'd love to have you join as well.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Ladies' Faces ATCs - inspired by Vera Lane Studio images

Hi everyone! For my second DT post today, I decided to play with two more of the four Ladies' Faces digi stamps from Vera Lane Studio. I absolutely love this set, having already created an art journal page with one of them when it was first released. Three down...one to go.LOL This time I decided to create two artist trading cards.

The ladies were coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cutting them leaving a narrow white border, and a second time leaving a narrow black border. Foam tape was used to pop them up once they were adhered to the backgrounds.

The cards themselves were cut from thin chipboard covered with scraps left from a  background making session done at an earlier time. As near as I can tell, they are mainly Lindy's Starburst sprays mopped up with white cardstock. Stamping and stencilling with Jet Black Archival, as well as Texture Paste, and gesso rings were added to the cards. To ground the two ladies, a strip of checked washi tape adhered to white cardstock was added to the bottom of each card. The words are Chit Chat Stickers matted with black and popped up with foam tape. Black Big Brush pen was used to darken the outside edges, both to frame the cards and to disguise the layers of different papers.

Thanks for joining the Ladies and me today. When you get a chance, pop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to meet all of their friends. We'd love to have you join us on the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group as well. There is always something new to inspire you and the company is wonderful :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Wink ~ inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! Wow! Full moon, time change, and Friday 13th all in the same week...that's a challenge but no worries...this sweet image from the Daisy and Wink set by Vera Lane Studio has a wonderful strategy for dealing with all three and she's sharing it today on an art journal page.

I coloured Wink with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cutting her to leave a narrow white border. She was then matted with black cardstock and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border which helps her stand out against any background.

Colour was added to the 6x6 inch watercolour paper with Picked Raspberry and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide Inks. Jet Black Archival Ink was sponged through AALL & Create Lotza Dotz stencil with white Posca Paint Pen dots added inside some of the circles and black pen added as messy outlines. |A Viva Las Vegas background stamp was applied in a few places using Magenta Hue Archival Ink. The same ink was used to stamp some script to add more texture. Black gesso lines were added with a gift card once the two strips of washi were adhered to ground Wink.

The wording was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black. Once it was in place and Wink was situated, pieces of drywall mesh were added to add still more texture in three places. A die cut star topped with a threaded button and matted with black cardstock was adhered to the top left corner to balance the design. The page was finished by edging the page with Neocolor II crayon activated with a waterbrush, as well as a doodled border and black Big Brush pen to darken the page edges.

Thanks for joining Wink and me today. You can find Daisy and Wink as well as a plethora of other fabulous images in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop. Pop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group for more inspiration. We have a Spring ATC swap going on for the month of March and would love to have you join us.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Captured!

Hi everyone! A while ago, I picked up these cute little mason jar tags on clearance at Michaels. I had no idea what I would do with them but the price was right and I always enjoy the challenge. They are  approximately 2 x 3 inches big which turns out to be the perfect size for the tiniest TH Paperdoll figures.

I first inked the outside edges with Coffee Archival and then used Inktense pencil and water to shade under the rim and between the white lines on the jar rings. White coloured pencil was used to highlight. The backgrounds were stamped and stencilled with Coffee Archival Ink or Gesso. To ground the people and give a little interest behind them, tiny collages were made with the smallest of scraps of vintage papers and washi tape, all of which were edged with Coffee Archival ink.

The people and the outside edges of the jars were edged with black Big Brush pen to help them stand out against the kraft background. To finish the tags, TH Remnant rub words were added as well as a number stamped die cut tag attached with glue and baker's twine. I think they turned out so cute!

Thanks for stopping by!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie