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

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

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

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

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

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

Contessa ATCs - inspired by a Vera Lane Studio collage sheet

Hi everyone! I love working small so every once in a while I want to satisfy that craving with ATCs or ATCoins. The collage sheets available in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop are ideal for those times because the images are sized perfectly and they are beautifully coloured. I chose two of the images from the Contessa Collage Sheet to star on two separate ATCs. I added a little pencil shading to the images (not that they need it) to add my own voice to them and then fussy cut them once leaving a white border and once after I matted them with black cardstock.

The backgrounds come from a stack of scraps from previous gel printing or spraying adventures. I like to have a bunch of backgrounds pre-cut in either ATC (2.5x3.5 inches) or Coin (2.5 inch diameter circle) size and then I can add detail when I choose the focal later on. I then add stencilling, stamping, Texture Paste, washi or extra scraps to make the backgrounds interesting. Often I doodle and add black Big Brush Pen to the edges to frame the card.

Thanks for visiting the Contessas and me today. We appreciate that. When you get a chance, pop over to the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to see all of the other collage sheets as well as the fabulous digi images ready to colour and make your own. Stop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group and say hi while you clicking about. We're a friendly group :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Lil Houses Projects ~ inspired by Vera Lane Studio collage sheets

Hi everyone! Last week, Vera Lane Studio released two collage sheets called Lil Houses. Let me just say right off, that I could live in any one of these quite happily. They are so detailed and cute with all of the quirky details I love. These houses come pre-coloured and each sheet has a different size so they work beautifully for so many projects. I decided to create a set of 3 artist trading cards as well as a welcome card.

The background for the card was spritzed with Heidi Swapp Ocean Color Shine to give the sky some colour. The ground was cut using the shape of a Dylusions stamp plate as a guide for the curves. It was fussy cut and matted with black both top and bottom. The houses were cut from the smaller collage images, matted with black and adhered with foam tape to pop them up. The little paths leading from the houses were created with washi tape adhered to white cardstock.

The wording was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black. The tiny clouds were printed from the Keep the Light image set onto French text paper, fussy cut, and matted with black. To finish the card, a faux stitched border was added to the outside to frame it.

The three atcs were constructed using the larger Lil Houses images. They were each fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, and matted with black. Foam tape was used to pop them up.

The backgrounds were cut from scraps left from other projects with a little additional stamping and stencilling to make them more interesting. The black and white washi tape was added to each one, varying the placement or the depth. The two houses with chimneys were given "smoke" details and the other one was given photo corners.

All three were finished with some black doodling around the edges as well as black Big Brush Pen to unite the background layers so they read as one. Small Chit Chat stickers matted with black cardstock provide the wording for each one.

Thanks for dropping by today to visit our neighbourhoods. That was awesome of you.  When you get a chance, be sure to pop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to check out the Lil Houses collage sheets, as well as the other fabulous ones. They sure do make for quick and easy projects that are as cute as a button. Stop by the VLS Facebook group, too. We would love to see you there and there is a Stripes Challenge going on this month which I would be delighted if you joined.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Ghostly ATCs ~ inspired by Vera Lane Studio images

Hi everyone! My second DT project for Vera Lane Studio is a sweet set of Halloween artist trading cards (2.5 x 3.5 inches) featuring the images from the Trois Fantomes set. This is an older set which is timeless and so darn cute. They play well together or are quite content to star on their own. Each one makes me smile!

The fantomes were coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. I did not mat them with black as I usually do because I have some black sections on all of the backgrounds plus they showed up very well without the extra matting. Foam tape was attached to the backs of the images to pop them up.

The atc backs were cut from cereal boxes to give them strength and then were covered with sections from both sides of the same Halloween paper from a double sided DCWV mat stack. Only one 6x6 paper was used for all three.

They were treated as a set of atcs by keeping the paper the same although the mix was different. Simple doodled borders and Coffee Archival Ink edging was common to all three, as was a punched star detail on each. The wording from each was cut from a Lisa's Altered Art Halloween collage sheet.

Thanks for visiting the Trois Fantomes and moi today. They hope you weren't too frightened by their scary costumes :) To find these and a plethora of other fabulous images for Halloween or any/no occasion, be sure to pop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop and stop by our Facebook group when you get a chance, too. Both are lovely places to hang out!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Journal Faces Collage Sheet ATCs ~ inspired by Vera Lane Studio

Hi everyone! Last week, the most gorgeous set of collage sheets was released by Vera Lane Studio. They are called Journal Faces Collage Sheets and they come in different sizes and colourways, each one so beautiful. I decided to create an artist trading card set with three of them.

When I have small scraps of background left from other projects or if I have left over paint or sprays, I see if I can use them as atcs or artist trading coins. I have a stack pre-cut and adhered to cardboard backings so they are ready to go. Often these blanks will have stamping, stencilling, or Texture Paste already on them but if not, I add to them when I have the materials out for another project.

I add the fussy cut image with a white border to a piece of black cardstock, and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border. Often, I use my coloured pencils, black Pitt pens, and white Posca Pen to add or enhance details on the images, adding my own artistic voice to them. These particular faces were popped up on foam tape to add dimension.

Then it's a matter of adding a word or words like these rub-ons, a doodled border done in black pen, and a little shading with an appropriate ink to the outside edges of the cards. Black Big Brush Pen finishes off the edges and hides the layers of white and gray.

Easy Peasy! Thanks for stopping by today. You can find these and many other beautiful collage sheets at the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop, or if you are in the mood to colour, there are images ready for that, too.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Collage ATC Junk Journal

Hi everyone! In my continuing effort to use things up and reduce my scrap pile and box of bits and bobs, I created a little atc sized (2.5 x 3.5 inch)junk journal book which I fastened together with binder rings. Each page was first cut from chipboard packaging and then collage was added to each side to create backgrounds.Above is the first and last page. I'm still pondering covers.

The wording came from either TH rub ons or Chit Chat Stickers. There is not a lot of real estate on these little cards so these were ideal.

I used the smallest of the Idea-ology Paper dolls and tiny die cut tags and bits of punched borders.

Extra stamping and stencilling provided pattern and texture to the plainer parts of the backgrounds.

The papers run the gamut from scraps of designer paper, coffee dyed paper, corrugated coffee sleeves to embossed scraps, and ephemera. Texture was also added with fabric scraps like burlap or cheesecloth.

There are bits of black accents on each page as well as the occasional pops of bright colours. All pages were finished with a doodled border, Coffee Archival Ink and black Big Brush Pen on the edges.

It was a delight to create and fun to look through, as well as making the tiniest dent in my stash. It makes me feel so noble to use those teeny tiny scraps I saved. Like James Burke says, "It's not hoarding if you use it in a journal."...LOL

Thanks for stopping by.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Got Boo ATCs ~ inspired by Vera Lane Studio images

Hi everyone! I have a super quick post today. When I saw the adorable Got Boo images set by Vera Lane Studio, I couldn't wait to play with them. I decided to make two artist trading coins featuring one of the girls and one of the sayings on each. I love them! The girls were coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, and then matting with a narrow black border. I went with my favourite Halloween colour palette for both, but changed it up so they look slightly different.

I kept the backgrounds really simple, relying on patterned paper both for the background and for the borders at the bottom of each atc to ground the images. The sentiments which come with the set were cut apart and matted with black cardstock. The saying with the pumpkin faces was layered onto a scrap of cheesecloth...just because :)To finish the atcs, the outsides were inked with black Big Brush Pen and a border was added to each with a black pen. Epoxy stickers were added to both atcs to complete the designs. Easy peasy designs but so fun to do!

Thanks for stopping by today. The girls, their little friends, and I are delighted you did. If you get a chance, pop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group and check out Stephanie's September postcard swap. It will send you directly to the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to find the perfect image to describe you:)

ATCs and ATCoins ~ created with Vera Lane Studio Sweet Dreams Collage Sheet

Hi everyone! I love the collage sheets in the Vera Lane Studio shop. They are super versatile, have a wonderful variety of images, and make for some cute and quick creating. Usually when I work with a collage sheet, I like to add my own voice to them either through shading/highlighting or with extra pen work. They definitely don't need it but it's something I like to do.

From the Sweet Dreams collage sheet, I chose three of the larger images which are an ideal size for ATCs and paired them with pre-cut ATC backgrounds. I also chose three of the smaller images which suit the ATCoin size. When I have extra scraps from a larger background or mop-up cards from cleaning up extra paint, sprays, or inks, I cut them into artist trading card (2.5x3.5 inches) or artist trading coins (2.5 inch diameter) so that I have a stack ready for choosing when I'm ready to create.

I add stamps. stencilling, and scrappy bits like the music paper above to create the design I want.

I also add words like the ones cut from the same collage sheet or maybe from rub-ons.

I might add die cut like the grass or punched elements like the hearts above or the star on the Sweet ATC.

I might add wings or a fussy cut border to change things up.

And I always add a doodled border and black Big Brush Pen to help frame them.

To see more of the fabulous collage sheets in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop, just click on the link. There are so many wonderful choices just waiting for your imagination. I find them irresistible!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Star and Heart - new releases by Vera Lane Studio

Hi everyone! There is a new release in the Vera Lane Studio shop called  Heart and Star. Oh my word, they are the cutest little sweeties. I created two projects, one for each of the two images and used one of the two sayings that come with the set. Star is featured in an art journal page and Heart is starring on her very own ATC.

Both Star and Heart were coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils with the exception of Star's hair which was paper-pieced from mop-up book paper. The stars on her head were printed onto scraps of ink sprayed papers and shaded with coloured pencil. The images were fussy cut leaving my usual narrow white border, matted with black, and fussy cut a second time, leaving a narrow black border.

The art journal page is 6 inches square. It was spritzed with Lindy's Cotton Candy Pink Starburst Spray and once dry was stencilled using Studio Light Mask MB03 and Magenta Hue Archival Ink. Tiny Xs were added in a few places with black pen using an Alexandra Renke stencil as a guide. Crafty Individuals Script stamp was added here and there with Deep Purple Archival Ink.

To give Star a place to stand, wide washi tape, matted with black, was placed behind her. This was layered with a strip of book text muted with white gesso and a black negative piece which was left from punching a scalloped border. 

The sentiment was cut into individual words which were matted with black. The scalloped border was added under the word begins both to add a second pop of black, and to emphasize that word.  Small stars and a cluster of stars were die cut from the same paper scraps as the stars in her hair. These were shaded with coloured pencil, highlighted with Posca Pen, and outlined with black pen. The page was finished with a doodled border and edging with black Big Brush Pen.

Heart's ATC background was a mop-up 2.5 x 3.5 inch rectangle of white cardstock. It was stamped with Wendy Vecchi Open Dots stamp using Deep Purple Archival Ink. Torn book text scraps were adhered over the background and the text was pushed back with white gesso. Heart was popped up on foam tape and strips of washi tape weree used to ground her and pick up the heart colour. Another pop of pink was added with an epoxy heart in the top left corner. The tiny TH ChitChat stickers were matted with black and glued next to Heart. The ATC was finished by inking the edges with Deep Purple Archival Ink and edged with black Big Brush Pen.

Thanks for popping by today. Star, Heart, and I appreciate that. When you get a minute, stop by Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to check out these beauties as well as the other fabulous images and collage sheets. Come and visit the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group, too, where there is new and wonderful inspiration daily. 

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie