Life is an Adventure | Viva Las VegaStamps

Hi everyone!
I'm here today to share my latest design team creation for Viva Las VegaStamps which is my take on the VLVS Monthly Challenge. If you haven't already seen the June inspiration image, it looks like this...

"Let's play with LIFE. Be inspired by nature, the tree of life, trees & roots, stars, star charts, the heavens & earth, above & below. Think tandem but opposite. Yin & Yang."

I was super inspired by the tree image, and I knew I wanted to create something featuring a tree and incorporating the word "life". I was also inspired by the neutral palette of the image, so I grabbed my altered book art journal to play and this is what came out...

I did my best to document my process as I went along (although sometimes I get so lost in the creative process, I forget to take a picture!) 

1. I started by adding some Colour Blast white heavy gesso to my book page. This was not only so I could prime the surface, but also so I could strip the yellow tint to the paper back a bit.

2. I then took some old music paper and another sheet of book paper tore up some small pieces. (I wanted to add some extra interest to the page, as the one I was using was the dedication page and didn't feature much text.)

3. I collaged the pieces onto the page using matte medium.

4. I then rubbed a little extra gesso over the collaged pieces using my finger to help them blend in.

5. I felt like using a different colouring medium, so pulled out some water soluble wax pastels in raw sienna, burnt sienna and black and added some colour to the page.

6. I then used a water brush to blend and soften the lines I had drawn.

7. I used the Stitching Lines stamp to create structure in my foreground.

8. I then used the Doodle Dots stamp to add some interest to the sky.

9. I then stamped out my feature images onto some tissue paper. I chose this method as I wanted to ensure I had a good, clean image rather than stamping directly onto the book. It also gave me the ability to shuffle the images around to decide on placement.

The stamps I used were:

- Weathered Tree

- Banksy Balloon Girl

- Flock of Geese

10. I adhered my images to the page using matte medium, then took the pastels and added a little shading and colour around them.

11. I added the quote using the Choose Your Own Adventure stamp, then added the remainder with a black pen.

12. I finished with the second part of my quote in the bottom corner. For continuity, I used the word "choose" from the same stamp, then simply added the word well in pen.

I really love how this page turned out, despite the fact it is quite a departure from my usual preference for colour; and I can't wait to see how this month's challenge inspires all of you!

To enter, make sure you link up your entry via this post HERE before the end of the month.

You could win a project spotlight on the VLVS blog AND some new rubber! So what are you waiting for? Get busy!!

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to get inky too! X