Artistic Outpost

Amour C'est Magnifique!

2012-01-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

Amour c'est magnifique! Here is a card that can be used at any time of year and not just Valentine's. All the stamped images are from the Paris Exposition stamp set. I love all the images on this set, especially the hot air balloons, which I have turned into a floating heart on this card. I had a super time dressing up Madame. She is wearing a vintage, zebra printed, mink stole with a diamond brooch brad. She has the perfect shaped head for millinery, so she had to have this black burlap cloche, because it donned a huge grosgrain rose. Even Coco would approve!

The balloons were stamped on transparency with StazOn and colored in with permanent marker. The Eiffel Tower is stamped with Distress Ink and crackled over, along with the Amour. All the background images on the craft paper are Distress Ink stamped and heat embossed with clear UTEE, which the picture is not showing at all. Watercolor pencils were used on Madame and the sky, and all of Madame's make-up was done with Glaze Pens, as well as her gorgeous blue eyes. Distress Ink borders all of the cardstock. I created the rose by tying lose knots in the ribbon and gathering it into a circle, finally adhering it at the bottom.

I hope you experience some joie de vivre in your crafting today!

Anita Houston, Guest Designer

Robin Triptych

2012-01-27T05:41:00.023-06:00

I am sharing a fun triptych featuring the robin from the Birds of a Feather plate. I mixed in images from Whimsical Melange, Songbirds, and Home.

The stamps include: Artistic Outpost - Home, Birds of a Feather, Whimsical Melange, Songbirds. Other products: Ranger distress inks - Walnut Stain, Rusty Hinge, Glimmer Mist - Jazz z Blue, Watercolor pencils, Ranger Archival Inks - Black, Coffee, Stampendous Bronze Glass Glitter.

I used a triptych template and modified the shape to follow the lines of the house. The background was stamped multiple times using the script from the Birds of a Feather plate. I added a touch of glimmer mist to give a hint of blue.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

I'm Late, I'm Late I'm Late.......

2012-01-26T05:07:00.001-06:00

I have created a card once again with the fabulous Wonderland Collage coupled with the Weathered Clock die.

I thought the Weathered Clock worked pefectly with the Rabbit image and the sentiment I'm Late. I also think the Rabbit would work so well for Easter Cards. A little dimension has been added with the addition of circular fragments. My background has been stamped repeatedly with Couriouser and Curiouser and then sponged with broken china ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy your day.

Guest Designer: Tracy

Ready for a Little Football

2012-01-25T01:00:00.001-06:00

Football is almost at it's end and I couldn't let the season go by without posting this great, vintage image from the Cutie Pie set. My pennant tag is fast and easy today, just water colored with distress inks....and isn't it adorable!

Gerrie Johnnic

Please Be My Valentine!

2012-01-24T06:00:00.008-06:00

Hello! Yvonne Garner here with my very first post as a Guest Designer with Artistic Outpost. I am so excited and honored to design for Artistic Outpost for the next several months. Since the very first time I saw Artistic Outpost's stamps, I have been drawn to their vintage style. I especially enjoy how many of the stamp plates can be intermingled to make unique projects. For this first post, I have combined images with the Cutie Pie plate along with an image from the Think and Wonder plate. A doily, some vintage buttons, bits of twine and watercoloring with Ranger Distress Ink in Festive Berry complete my card.

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Yvonne - Guest Designer

Happy Belated Birthday!

2012-01-23T07:16:00.000-06:00

Hi ,Lisa here today, sharing a card created with the White Rabbit image from the Artistic Outpost Wonderland Collage plate. Don't you think he works great for a belated birthday card!

The background was created with Staedtler Chalks using the Chalked Emboss Technique. White Rabbit was stamped in Ranger Coffee Archival on Confetti card stock, then colored using Statedtler Karat Aquarell Watercolor Pencils, blending wtih Gamsol. I added some Chalk Pastels to fill in the background behind the image, and clear embossed both panels.

Have a great day!

Designer - Lisa Somerville

It's a Lovely Day

2012-01-21T23:24:00.004-06:00

Linda Coughlin here and it is definitely a lovely day as it's my first post as guest designer here at Artistic Outpost. I'm a long time admirer of Artistic Outpost stamps and I'm so excited to be joining this amazing team and fantastic company for the next few months. For my first post, I chose Lovely Day and have used soft, spring-like colors blended in with vintage style and distressed elements to support the artsy feel of these wonderful Artistic Outpost stamps.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Linda Coughlin, Guest Designer
The Funkie Junkie

Steampunk Tag

2012-01-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

The images were stamped with Archival Ink, cut out, colored with watercolor pencils, and layered under embossed metal. Highlighting was added with Glossy Accents.

Hello everyone. I am Anita Houston. I am super thrilled and honored at the same time to be apart of Artistic Outpost as a Guest Designer. The AO stamp line is unique, vintage, and super detailed. I fell in love with them the first time I saw a set and had to have it. I used this set, "Steampunk", to create this keepsake tag that I will put in my personal scrapbook to remind me of this special milestone. I hope I can inspire all of you, with the projects I make using these gorgeous stamps. I hope you have a wonderful creative day!

Anita Houston, Guest Designer

Going Places

2012-01-20T19:16:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday!

I covered the entire box inside and out with piece of map from an old Atlas I purchased at a garage sale. I distressed it with white acrylic paint and brown dye ink.

I stamped a variety of the Artistic Outpost Route 66 and the Home stamps using brown ink. I colored them using watercolor pencils and waterbrush. I added sentiments from Artistic Outpost Huck Finn plate and the Route 66 plate.

I finished it with some strips of leather to make a frame on the cover.

Have a wonderful day!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Wonderland

2012-01-19T05:09:00.000-06:00

I have created a card using the wonderful Wonderland plate.

I love these images from Wonderland, ideal for male or female cards. I love adding parts of an image to my pieces as highlighted with the use of Fragments in one corner for dimension.

Thanks for stopping by, Tracy x

Designer: Tracy Evans

Sneak Peek #3 for February Releases

2012-01-18T11:02:00.001-06:00

Our last two collections for February include Charles & Amelia and Industrial Elements. I'm so excited with all four of our February Releases. Charles & Amelia, Industrial Elements, and Diesel Punk are all meant to be used together. We'll let you know when these are available for retail purchase from our website. Retailers who are interested in carrying these lines, should email us at artisticoutpost@gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by,
Robyn

Sneak Peek of February Releases #2

2012-01-16T18:53:00.000-06:00

We visit the city across the pond again with London Elements. Designed to go with our Loverly London and London Underground collection, this collection features images to further embellish and provide wonderful backgrounds for your Anglo-inspired designs.

Sneak Peek of February Releases #1

2012-01-15T19:53:00.002-06:00

Though we still love steampunk, at the Outpost, we decided to hit the fast forward button for technology and move on into the "diesel" age. Motorcycles and roadsters and the guys and dames that drove 'em are highlighted on this collection coming your way in February!

2012 - It's going to be a great year!!!

2012-01-13T20:13:00.001-06:00

2012 brings with it new releases from Artistic Outpost. We have had a blast designing new collections of vintage, edgey, and FUN stamp collections beginning with a release of FOUR new sets in February.

Here is a sneak peek at what the first half of 2012 has to offer.

Over the next four days, we'll show you one of the four new collections available soon.

Excitingly,
Robyn

I'm Late

2012-01-13T06:08:00.000-06:00

I loved mixing the images from the Wonderland Collage plate to create a fun card about time with Alice and the rabbit. It would be a fun card for a late birthday card.

The only other stamp that is blended in the background is the ledger from the Ephemeral Backgrounds.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Introducing the 2012 Design Team and 3 Month Guest Team

2012-01-12T00:19:00.002-06:00

Artistic Outpost is thrilled to welcome back the following Designers

We are also excited to welcome the following Guest Designers who will be joining us for the next three months

Please help us in welcoming these talented designers! Each designers name is linked to their personal blogs, so be sure to stop by and give them a warm welcome! We can't wait to share their artwork with you using our new and past collections!

Vintage Circus

2012-01-11T00:52:00.001-06:00

The Circus is here in the Suncoast of Florida.....what wonderful memories I have of the Big Top. I choose the collage from the Vintage Circus set to reflect on fun, family times. The center piece is done using the Cracked Glass Technique.

Gerrie Johnnic

Be Good for Something

2012-01-10T10:04:00.000-06:00

A quick and card using the sentiment from the Artistic Outpost Typography plate; sketch inspiration is from last weeks Mojo Monday Sketch. The sentiment is stamped in Black Archival on My Minds Eye paper, I love the way the sentiment looks in the bracket/floral frame. To embellish my card, I added a Butterfly cut from the MME papers using Cheery Lynn Designs Exotic Butterfly Die and some Zva Creative Flourishes in Topaz.

Designer - Lisa Somerville

Artistic Outpost 2012 Referral Program

2012-01-07T13:12:00.000-06:00

We're excited to let you know that starting in February, we are revamping our Referral Program for 2012. Each month we will post a challenge theme here on the blog along with inspiration from our Design Team. To participate in the challenge, you'll need to you use Artistic Outpost images along with the theme to create your project, and add your link to the Monthly Referral Program post. The challenge will be open for the entire month, and you'll be able to enter as many times as you wish. At the end of the month we'll have the Random Number Generator pick the winner, and post the winners name here on our blog. The winner of the monthly Referral Program will receive an Artistic Outpost Prize Package! Watch for more details to be posted along with our first Theme Challenge on February 1st!

French Flight

2012-01-06T10:27:00.000-06:00

A clean and simple card using the lovely images from French Flight. The images are all stamped in black and colored with a touch of green and blue. I added a few touches of clear acetate on the images to create depth.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Suzz

Time is a Circus

2012-01-02T10:52:00.000-06:00

Who doesn't love the Circus! All stamps are from the Artistic Outpost Vintage Circus Plate, stamped in Black Archival. For the backgrounds, I used the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique, using both Ranger Distress Ink (Tattered Rose) and Distress Stains (Wild Honey, Fired Brick and Broken China). On the panel with the boy, I went back and colored using the inks and an H20 Brush to add more detail.

Designer - Lisa Somerville

December Referral Winner

2012-01-01T18:57:00.000-06:00

A special thank you to those who played along with our December Referral Program! We know how busy the holiday season can be and are thrilled to have had you all play along!

We had the random number generator pick the December winner...

Congratulations Erika! Please email me by 1/14/12 to claim your gift certificate.
Watch for details on the January Referral Contest to be posted soon!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T02:23:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year to One and All!

Card Details: I started my card by creating a background of clocks from the Whimsical Melange set. I embossed them in white on brown cardstock. I stamped one additional clock and embossed that in clear EP to add to my collage.

The male collage is stamped from the Apothecary set. His little party hat and the party banner were stamped from the Whimsical Melange set as well. I added the polka dots to his hat with a black marker.

Designed by: Louise Granlund

I think I can Fly

2011-12-30T05:37:00.000-06:00

The image of the man trying to fly with his constructed wings reminded me of a dragonfly which inspired this card. He is floating around amongst the wonderful images on the French Flight plate. The Paris Exposition is a perfect complement to this set and I added the Eiffel Tower in the background.

The images were stamped using a brown water resistant ink on pattern paper. I added colors using watercolor pencils and a water brush. The balloon was stamped twice and pop dotted to give depth and the wings on the man are also layered with acetate wings.

Have a wonderful weekend! A Happy 2012 to you!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

The last of my Christmas tags

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

Yes the Christmas season is behind us but I have one more tag to share

Using the stamps from Frosty and Friends.

I wish you all Health Happiness and a New Year full of Stamping.

See you in 2012.

Happy New Year

2011-12-28T00:05:00.001-06:00

Here we are, just days from 2012, so I thought I'd send New Year's greetings with my post. I used stamps from several sets today. The focal image, the door, is from Windows and Doors. I just stamped the doorway, added a little color with Copics, and highlighted with picket fence distress stickles for a touch of snow. For the background I stamped the snowflakes from Snowy Woods several times with tumbled glass distress ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I inked the whole background panel with iced spruce and stormy sky distress ink and embossed with clear powder again. The bottom snowflake border was die cut. I then stamped and colored the fawn and snowman from Frosty and Friends and cut them out. I die cut the banner and used my Dymo tape printer for the sentiment.
I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year!
Barbara Washington -- designer

Country Roads

2011-12-27T06:34:00.001-06:00

Living in Iowa (and growing-up in Missouri), I never tire of the rustic images from the Home & Outpost sets.

I painted my landscape with glimmer mist ... I love the subtle shimmer and how the white spaces from the background paper that show through look like wispy summer clouds.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

Happy Holidays from Artistic Outpost

2011-12-25T00:06:00.002-06:00

From all of us at Artistic Outpost, we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas! We have many wonderful new plates coming your way in 2012!

Happy Holidays!
The Artistic Outpost Team

Christmas Wishes!

2011-12-23T07:34:00.000-06:00

I wanted to try out a technique I had seen where you coat your image in bees wax after you finish stamping and coloring. I stamped the Snowy Woods Christmas door using a black water resistant ink. I then colored with a touch of watercolor and blended with an aquabrush. While I was doing that I had heated up bees wax in a meltpot waiting for my image to be finished. I cut my image to size and then dipped it into the bees wax. I held the image with my tweezers and had to dip it in and move the tweezers to cover the entire surface.

I then let it dry and when it was dry I used my heat gun to heat up the was and dabbed off any excess using a thick wad of baby wipes to ensure I didn't burn myself. :)

After it was dried I highlighted with a touch of white gel pen and some sparkle on my wreath.

The sentiment is from Frosty and Friends and stamped on white cardstock which was sponged to coordinate with the image.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Santa's Steampunk Toy shop

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Steampunk might be a strange theme for Christmas,

But when Tim had his challenge for the 12 tag's of Christmas

I knew right away what I wanted to do!

I stamped up the three gents from French Flight,

Added A Santa and Elf hats on top of their heads and created

A Santa's Steampunk Toy Shop.

Hope you all Enjoying the Christmas Season!

Happy Christmas

2011-12-21T00:01:00.002-06:00

This week I created a Christmas tag using the stamps from Snowy Woods. I cannot let Christmas pass without using the stamps from this collection several times. I've always been a lover of vintage Santas. Santa was stamped in India Ink on watercolor paper and colored with markers. I cut out the face using a circle die and used him as the focal point of my rosette. The sentiment, also from Snowy Woods was stamped on a die cut tattered banner which was colored with old paper distress ink and edged with vintage photo. The background snowflakes, also Snowy Woods, were stamped with broken China distress ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. The tag was then covered with iced spruce distress ink and embossed again with clear embossing powder. The greenery was die cut using Core'dinations paper. The bling in the corner was a gift to me. All of the techniques used were based on Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas 2011.
Sending warm wishes to everyone for a wonderful and Happy Christmas.
Barbara Washington - Designer

Songbirds on a Metronome

2011-12-20T06:36:00.003-06:00

This card pairs the beautiful Songbirds with a light blue, grey, and ivory color palette inspired by last week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-19T15:53:00.000-06:00

Inspired by Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas last week, here's another tag I created with Artistic Outpost's Sleigh Ride, Ephemeral Backgrounds, and Think and Wonder plates.

Using the Resist Technique, I stamped the trees from Artistic Outpost's Sleigh Ride set in White Snowcap and heat set. To add the color to the tag, I smooshed lines of Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough, Festive Berries and Crushed Olive onto my non stick craft sheet sprirtzed then smooshed the tag. Doing it this way allowed me to have more of a scenic looking background. The Post Card text is from the Ephemeral Background plate, the sweet children are from Think and Wonder. The children are stamped on Vanilla card stock in Coffee Archival then colored with STAEDTLER Marsgraphic Markers and Karat Aquarell Watercolor pencils. I roughed up the edges a bit to add some dimension then adhered them to the tag using 3L Adhesive Sheets.
Happy Holidays!

Designer - Lisa Somerville

May Your Christmas be Merry

2011-12-16T09:39:00.000-06:00

Another tag to share using the wonderful children from Sleigh Ride.

The background is created by mixing the Ranger Distress Stains - Picket Fence, Faded Jeans, Broken China. I added a dusting of brown chalkboard mist to the surface and distressed with vintage photo. The music (Artistic Outpost - Ephemeral Backgrounds) was stamped using the weathered wood Distress Stain. The children are from Artistic Outpost - Sleigh Ride and are stamped in black ink and watercolored to coordinate. The snowflakes are die cuts from acetate and painted with the picket fence distress stain. I added a row of glitter around the edges behind the snowflakes. The little tag contains a sentiment from Artistic Outpost - Snowy Woods and uses the same background as the main tag.

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Frosty Tag

2011-12-15T09:36:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays

I created this Frosty tag for the 12 Tags of Christmas

using the Frosty & Friends stamps

with a retro feeling.

Sending Christmas Wishes

2011-12-14T00:01:00.003-06:00

Each year I have my favorite go to stamps at Christmas time. This year it is definitely the stamps from Frosty & Friends. A short time ago I was challenged to make a card using the twisted easel technique (Technique Junkies). I decided that Frosty and Santa were the perfect images for this technique. The result is a Christmas card which will fold flat so it can be sent through the mail, but when it is standing, it makes a perfect home decoration. This one will be sitting on my fireplace mantle.
Barbara Washington--Designer

Out of Print Birthday Adventure

2011-12-13T00:46:00.000-06:00

I used the fun image from Artistic Outpost's Adventure set, together with papers from Basic Grey's Out of Print Collection, for this masculine Birthday card.

I added a bit of color to the dog's tongue & eye with colored pencil, as well as a green brad to the compass to pull out the green in the background paper.

The layout is this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

Bring on the Bling!

2011-12-12T12:46:00.000-06:00

Hi, Lisa here today sharing a few more holiday tags, inspired by Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas.

Stamps - Artistic Outpost Think and Wonder, Ephemeral Backgrounds, French Flight, Whimsical Melange

Stamps - Artistic Outpost Snowy Woods, Ephemeral Backgrounds

Stamps - Artistic Outpost Snowy Woods

Thanks for stopping by!

Designer - Lisa Somerville

Joyeux Noel - Tag

2011-12-09T09:31:00.000-06:00

I too have been very inspired by the tags and created one using an embossing folder, gold embossing powder and distress inks. The focal point is the beautiful Santa from Snowy Woods placed inside of at timepiece. After all Santa is timeless. :) The background music is from the lovely Ephemeral Backgrounds.

The sentiment is also from the Snowy Woods plate and is stamped on white cardstock with the music background.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Playing with 12 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Hi Lynn here.

Have you been following along with Tim's 12 tags of Christmas?

I have ! Here's my tags from day 6 and 7.

Tim didn't do any stamping on day 6's but I though my tag called for a little text

Stamped Joyeux Noel from Snowy Woods plate.

My day 7 tag. Didn't have anything Tim used so made it my own.

Stamped the text and holly sprig from Snowy woods plate.

Par Avion

2011-12-07T00:05:00.001-06:00

The stamps in the French Flight collection are fabulous for collaging. My card was done using the antique bookplate technique from the current TJ newsletter. I stamped the script three times for the background. I overstamped using the balloon man and the sentiment stamps. The border was hand drawn and the edges of the panel were distressed. I think the antique look goes so well with these vintage stamps.
Barbara Washington--Designer

Steampunk in Paris

2011-12-06T06:38:00.001-06:00

I loved fabulous paper from Graphic45's Steampunk Collection, so I added several stamps from French Flight, Paris Exposition, and Steampunk to create a whimsical one-layer monochromatic collaged scene.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

Holiday Tags

2011-12-05T11:08:00.000-06:00

Inspired by some of Tim's 12 Days of Tags, here's a few I've created using Artistic Outpost Stamps

Details:

Stamps - Artistic Outpost Frosty and Friends

Ink - Ranger Coffee Archival, Distress Ink Gathered Twigs, Iced Spruce, STAEDTLER Karat Aquarell Watercolor Pencils

Card Stock - Core'dinations, Vanilla, Chocolate, Olive

Other - Tattered Pinecone Die, eCraft, Hot Glue, Tinsel Embossing Powder, Prima Distresser, Seam Binding, Non Stick Craft Mat, Spritz Bottle, Heat Gun, Dimensionals, Music Sheet, Stickles, Dazzling Diamonds, SCAL software, Gamsol

Details:
Stamps - Artistic Outpost Sleigh Ride
Ink - Ranger Black Archival, Stone Wash Alcohol Ink, STAEDTLER Marsgraphic Markers, Karat Aquarell Watercolor Pencils, Peeled Paint Distress Stain
Card Stock - Clear, Manilla Tag, Olive, Black, Vanilla
Other - Ink Blending Tool, Blending Solution, Seam Binding, Pine Cones, Tinsel Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Non Stick Craft Sheet, 3L Adhesive Sheets, Gamsol, Blending Stumps, Xacto Knife

Designer - Lisa Somerville

Flight Tags

2011-12-04T02:31:00.002-06:00

I love the way the colors came together in these French Flight tags. I incorporated lots of stamping with the new FF release and added my tags to a 7 Gypsies ephemera card.

Artistic Outpost December Referral Program

2011-12-03T18:21:00.000-06:00

When you create artwork with Artistic Outpost images and upload to an online gallery/album/or blog - you could win a $14.00 Gift Certificate to the Artistic Outpost Store . To be eligible for the Artistic Outpost Referral Program, each time you upload a creation using Artistic Outpost images, include stamp credits with an active link to www.artisticoutpost.com/ then leave a direct link to your creation using Link Tool feature on the months Referral Program post here on the Artistic Outpost Blog to be entered into our monthly drawing. Please try to limit your projects to Artistic Outpost images only.

Note, links left here on the Artistic Outpost Blog need to include a direct link to the project you have uploaded. Projects can be posted on blogs or online galleries, but links left on the Referral Program post must be direct links to your projects. Links left with general links to galleries/albums/blogs will not qualify as our time is limited and we cannot search through pages of entries to see which upload uses Artistic Outpost images.

Please use this post to leave your links for December, all links must be posted by 12/31, 11:59PM CST to be eligible for the December Referral Program. The winner will be chosen through a random drawing and will be posted here on the Artistic Outpost Blog, be sure to check back in January to see if you've won. Remember entries must be for the current month in which you are posting. We're looking forward to seeing your creations using Artistic Outpost images.

**Artistic Outpost reserves the right to remove non direct blog links

Artistic Outpost November Referral Winner

2011-12-03T10:22:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much to those of you who submitted your wonderful cards to our November Referral Contest, we love to see what you create with out stamps!

We had the random number generator pick the November winner...

Congrats Ali! Please email me by December 14th, to claim your Artistic Outpost Gift Certificate!

Watch for the December Referral post to be up later today!

2011-12-03T08:16:00.001-06:00

Here's a monochromatic Christmas card

created with images from Snowy Woods.

I used Raisin ink for stamping. To my larger

St. Nick, I added a touch of color to his face with Copic markers,

and completely colored his coat. The twigs are coated with

Distress Stickles with dimensional paint dots.

The dark red mat was stamped with the fern branch.

I used Distress inks to age it all.

Have a creative Saturday!

-judy

Designer: Judy Hayes

A Vintage Star Decoration

2011-12-02T06:29:00.000-06:00

This star is a recycled star decoration from birthday decorations. It was turned over and used as the base for my vintage star decoration. It measures around 12" x 12" from point to point. :)

I started with two layers of pattern paper on the bottom. I distressed them with dye inks and acrylic white paint. After that the edges were glittered with crushed glass. I then created a circle for the center and framed it with some crepe paper glimmer misted in the blue tones.

The center circle is stamped using the map from Route 66 and the wonderful Santa image & sentiment from Snowy Woods.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Santa ATC

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

In need of a quick ATC?

This can be done in the wink of Santa's eye.

Start with some DP. Stamp Santa image from Snowy Woods plate.

Color in with markers.

Add a few springs of greenery and some trim and its done easy peasy!!!

Happy 176th Birthday, Mark Twain

2011-11-30T10:06:00.000-06:00

As Google reminded me this morning, today is Mark Twain's 176th birthday. In his honor, I thought I would post this beeswax collage I created using our Huck Finn stamps and one of my favorite quotes from his "autobiographical" book "Life on the Mississippi". "Now and then we had a HOPE that if we lived and were good, GOD would permit us to be PIRATES." I know my five year-old thinks it would indeed be divine to be a pirate.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Samuel Langhorne Clemens!

Have a great Wednesday,
Robyn

Dare Devils

2011-11-29T06:15:00.000-06:00

I love these three dashing gentlemen from the new French Flight plate ... so awesome for a masculine card.

I combined them with other images from French Flight & Paris Exposition. Paper is from 7Gypsies.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

French Flight Matchbook

2011-11-27T05:50:00.003-06:00

I loved creating this matchbox mini book from the French Flight stamp set. A lot of cool stamps for collaging!

Man in Motion

2011-11-25T05:14:00.000-06:00

The French Flight plate is all about man and his attempt to fly. I used the daredevil in his hot air balloon to create a collage of the fun images.

I stamped the images using black ink on a variety of pattern papers. Cut out the images. Distress the edges with distressing tool and sponge. The main in the hot air balloon was stamped onto the background first and on a separate pattern paper. Cut out the second image and pop dot on top of the background image. The balloon is hand drawn and accented with lace and twine.

Have a wonderful weekend. Don't forget about the special going on now until November 30th!

For every $25 you spend, we'll send you a special gift code for $5 (GC must be used by March of 2012). Better yet! These gift codes stack! If you spend $50 you will get a $10 certificate, spend $100 get a $20 certificate! Remember, in the US you get free shipping when your order totals $50 ($250 internationally). Offer ends November 30th, 2011.

**Gift Codes will be emailed to you in December.

***Please note if you order more than 6 sheets of EZMount cling foam, free shipping will not apply. These items are bulkier and require extra shipping costs.

Happy Shopping!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Deer Greetings

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

I've been busy trying to get my Christmas tags done for the year.

My how time is flying by.

Today I'm sharing a tag I made using stamps from Frosty & Friends.

The little Retro deer image brings back memories of Christmas's long long ago.

Wishing all who celebrate a most Wonderful Thanksgiving

filled with family and friends.

Thanks and giving!

2011-11-23T16:43:00.004-06:00

Recently, I read an article about how small companies should compete with the big Black Friday sales from the BIG stores. The gist of the message was that we shouldn't as it's a David and Goliath battle. (Give me my sling shot!!!)

It's not our low low prices that make you shop with us. It's our stamps. It's the inspiration of our Design Team.

Ok, and yes, sometimes it's a sale!

This year we will again provide you with an opportunity to shop with us, and reward you with a "gift code" to be used next year! On the freshest stamps of 2012!

For every $25 you spend, we'll send you a special gift code for $5 (GC must be used by March of 2012). Better yet! These gift codes stack! If you spend $50 you will get a $10 certificate, spend $100 get a $20 certificate! Remember, in the US you get free shipping when your order totals $50 ($250 internationally). Offer ends November 30th, 2011.

**Gift Codes will be emailed to you in December.

***Please note if you order more than 6 sheets of EZMount cling foam, free shipping will not apply. These items are bulkier and require extra shipping costs.

THANK YOU for shopping the small businesses of the crafting community. Thank you for shopping our retail partners! Many local scrapbooking and stamping stores carry our stamps, and we would love for more to pick up our lines.

We are truly thankful for a wonderful 2011. We love our customers, and we love this creative community of which we are grateful to be a part!!!

- Robyn, Steven, and Shelley

Creme de la Creme

2011-11-23T12:53:00.000-06:00

This is another wonderful image and sentiment from the newly released French Flight. I used the stacked nesties technique as background panels and then adhered the nesties to Cuttlebug embossed background. I think these handsome gentlemen deserve a refined background, don't you!
Barbara Washington -- Designer

Par Avion

2011-11-22T06:14:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun creating single-layer stamped collages with the new French Flight stamps.

I started with paper from the 7 Gysies Lille Collection began stamping in black, red and golden yellow. I added additional images from Paris Exposition and Whimsical Melange to complete m collage.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

French Flight Mini Book

2011-11-20T02:45:00.000-06:00

A little mini book I made from French Flight.

So easy to create collaged pages with these stamps.

My book includes a pull out tag as well.

C'est Magnifique! Tag

2011-11-19T17:19:00.001-06:00

This balloon image from French Flight is stamped on a #8 manilla tag.

I stamped and cut a mask to put over the image so I could stamp the background.

I used Distress inks on it, too. The main image is colored with

Copic markers. It looks like a separate piece added to the tag but it's not!

The verse is from Paris Exposition.

Thanks for visiting!

Judy

Designer: Judy Hayes

Why Fit in When you Were Born to Stand Out?

2011-11-18T05:56:00.000-06:00

When I saw the three adventurers and inventors in French Flight I thought it would be fun to create a crowd using them and then make one of them pop out. I stamped two masks of the men to use when creating my crowd.

And the sentiment from Think and Wonder is the perfect sentiment that works with my gentlemen who stands out. I thought what a great card for a person graduating or getting a promotion!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

French Flight

2011-11-17T08:29:00.001-06:00

You know I can't decide if I like playing with lace or rust better!

My Rusty things hanging was inspired by the Newest stamp release

French Flight

I used an old book cover for the base, rusted up some hardware, wings,

a frame and even some lace. yes you can rust lace!

A french tag from my blog friend Liz and some book pages.

Artistic Outpost Releases French Flight

2011-11-16T00:01:00.002-06:00

French Flight is the newest addition to Artistic Outpost's catalogue of unique vintage inspired stamp collections.

In the late 1700's , two French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier launched the first manned balloon from the from the center of Paris and flew for a period of 20 minutes. In 1793, Jean Pierre Blanchard became the first to fly a hot air balloon in North America, yet another French adventurer!

This stamp collection pays homage to these adventurers. Fun and quirky, with a little bit of steampunk thrown in for good measure, French Flight is pure creative delight.

This collection is now available in our store, in both unmounted rubber sheets or pre-mounted on EZMount cling foam and hand trimmed on a clear cling storage card!

Be sure to stop by and visit our talented Design Team Members Blogs for inspiration using this newest release:

Gerrie Johnnic * Lisa Somerville * Judy Hayes * Lynn Stevens * Barbara Washington * Stephanie Severin * Suzanne Czosek * Louise Granlund

What Makes You Happy

2011-11-15T06:34:00.000-06:00

I love this smiling little farm boy from Country Life paired with this sentiment from Typography.

I added a bit of colored pencil to highlight the image ... he reminds me of what my Granddad would have looked like when he was young.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

We Remember

2011-11-14T08:38:00.000-06:00

Hi , Lisa here today sharing a card created with one of the wonderful images from the Artistic Outpost Hero plate. The image is stamped in Black Archival on Watercolor paper. To create the background, I used the Watercolor Distress Technique, then colored the image with Distress Inks and an H20 brush. The fab coordinating paper is from Bo Bunny - just perfect for this image!

Be sure to stop back here on Wednesday, as Artistic Outpost will be releasing our last plate for the year.

Designer - Lisa Somerville

Life is Good

2011-11-12T15:11:00.001-06:00

Here's an all purpose card created with stamps

from Typography (verse) and Think and Wonder (image).

These kids with alphabet are one of my favorite stamps!

I simply stamped them in black, added a touch of color to their faces,

cap and shirt with Copic markers and also added red to the alphabet.

The verse is stamped in black and clear heat embossed.

I added dots of dimensional black paint to accent the shaped label.

Life is good!

Happy Creating!

Judy

Designer: Judy Hayes

A Bundle of ATC's

2011-11-11T07:17:00.000-06:00

When I create I go through a process of trying different images in my design. This results in many images that don't get used. A few weeks ago I decided to go through my scraps and create ATCs. Here are a few using some wonderful Artistic Outpost images:

These sweet girls from the Birds of a Feather plate are lovely. The clock and time flies are rub-ons and the family sentiment is a sticker. The sisters are stamped using black archival ink. They are colored with distress inks. The ribbon is seam binding died with glimmer mist.

The next image is from the beautiful Bluebird plate.

Stamp the image on white cardstock using black ink. Color with color pencils and glimmer mist. Emboss with clear embossing powder to create the cracked glass effect.

The last ATC uses the Lovely Day plate with a computer generated sentiment.

Beautiful image of the lighthouse and the field of poppies. I layered the windmill using acetate. A little fluff for the clouds to create a beautiful spring day.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Relax and Read

2011-11-09T00:05:00.001-06:00

This week my card features a stamp I just love from Favorite Book. She reminds me of me when I was growing up. I'd find a comfy chair and spend hours with my nose in a book. The background of the card is made up of ticket shapes. The word tickets go so well with the reading theme and the designer paper tickets are just pretty to look at. Hmmm, now that I've shared my card with you, maybe I'll find a nice place to relax and read a good book.
Barbara Washington -- designer

Be A Good One

2011-11-08T06:35:00.001-06:00

I combined sentiments from Typography & Adventure with the cool banner from Whimsical Melange for this fun birthday card.

I used a stylus to punch holes in the pennant flags, and then stringed them on brown cord before attaching to the card.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

Born to Stand Out

2011-11-07T10:06:00.000-06:00

Don't you just love the Daisy image from the Artistic Outpost Gatsby plate! Here I've paired up sweet Daisy with some wonderful papers from Prima and a Mojo Monday Sketch, stamping the image and sentiment in Black Archival on scraps of the Prima paper. I know what your thinking, the sentiment from Think and Wonder doesn't come like that, and you are right! I simply snipped the words apart and used a Stamp-a-ma-jig so that the text would fit with the sketch! To embellish and a bit of color, I added some flowers and pearls.

Designer - Lisa Somerville

London Postcard

2011-11-04T06:20:00.000-05:00

How about a postcard from London? The images from Loverly London, London Underground and Ephemeral Backgrounds blend together perfectly to create a fun postcard from London.

The background was stamped using the ledger stamp and a grey dye ink. Then I added in the Postcard stamp across the top using black ink. I hand drew the line using a ruler to separate the sections.

The tower was stamped in black ink and lightly colored with a light coppery brown. The London was stamped in red ink. The red lines on the bottom and side are from the Underground stamp. I masked them off. I smeared a light coat of white paint which pulled some of the red into the postcard for a distressed effect.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Christmas Tag

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Lynn here and I don't know about you but I've barely started my Christmas cards yet.

This year I'm going to be concentrating on doing some tags.

Here's one I created with the Frosty Friends stamps

a bit of lace and those yummy fabric flowers.

Let the season begin!!!

Puttin' on the Ritz

2011-11-02T00:05:00.002-05:00

Around where I live, November seems to be the month of fashion shows. In fact, at our church, my daughter will be participating in one very soon. I think that's what inspired me to pull out my flappers and create this card. The stamps in Flapper Fashions are so chic and stylish. They are a lot of fun to work with. I thought these ladies looked so at home in the Tim Holtz artful dwellings die cuts. The background was colored using Pan Pastels and then embossed in embossing folders.
Barbara Washington - Designer

Glowing Bluebird Birthday

2011-11-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

I love how this image from the Bluebird Plate works with this lovely Pleasant paper from Authentique's Glowing Collection.

I added a Happy Birthday sentiment from Adventure together with champagne pearl flourishes and a little blue colored pencil to highlight the sweet little birthday birds.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

Artistic Outpost November Referral Program

2011-11-01T19:10:00.000-05:00

When you create artwork with Artistic Outpost images and upload to an online gallery/album/or blog - you could win a $14.00 Gift Certificate to the Artistic Outpost Store . To be eligible for the Artistic Outpost Referral Program, each time you upload a creation using Artistic Outpost images, include stamp credits with an active link to www.artisticoutpost.com/ then leave a direct link to your creation using Link Tool feature on the months Referral Program post here on the Artistic Outpost Blog to be entered into our monthly drawing. Please try to limit your projects to Artistic Outpost images only.

Note, links left here on the Artistic Outpost Blog need to include a direct link to the project you have uploaded. Projects can be posted on blogs or online galleries, but links left on the Referral Program post must be direct links to your projects. Links left with general links to galleries/albums/blogs will not qualify as our time is limited and we cannot search through pages of entries to see which upload uses Artistic Outpost images.

Please use this post to leave your links for November, all links must be posted by 11/30, 11:59PM CST to be eligible for the November Referral Program. The winner will be chosen through a random drawing and will be posted here on the Artistic Outpost Blog, be sure to check back in December to see if you've won. Remember entries must be for the current month in which you are posting. We're looking forward to seeing your creations using Artistic Outpost images.

**Artistic Outpost reserves the right to remove non direct blog links

Artistic Outpost October Referral Winner

2011-11-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much to those who played along with the October Referral Program here at Artistic Outpost, we love to see what our customers are creating with our images! We had the Random Number Generator pick this winner....

Congrats Miss Iowa! Please email me to claim your Artistic Outpost Gift Certificate!

The November Referral Post will be up shortly! Thank you for your support of Artistic Outpost!

Joyeux Noel

2011-10-31T19:47:00.000-05:00

Hi Lisa here today, sharing one of my favorite images from the Artistic Outpost Snowy Woods plate. I just love this image for Christmas cards, all you need to do is add a bit of color for a quick holiday card! Here I've paired up the image with papers from My Minds Eye, dying some Seam Binding and added Jingle Bells for embellies!

Don't forget today is the last day to enter your Artistic Outpost projects for the October Referral Program!

Designer - Lisa Somerville

Snowy Woods Ornament

2011-10-28T08:16:00.000-05:00

Hi Lisa here today, sharing a quick and easy Christmas Ornament created with an image from the Snowy Woods plate.

Directions can be found in the December issue of Crafts 'n Things.

Designer - Lisa Somerville

Halloween Night

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Its almost here, the night when all the ghosts and goblins do their

Trick or Treating. My last card of the Halloween season

is dedicated to that special night Oct. 31st.

Stamps from the Vintage Halloween and Haunted Halloween plates.

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween everyone.

If You Dare...

2011-10-26T00:05:00.001-05:00

You're invited to come and visit...if you dare. This haunted house from Haunted Halloween is very inviting -- if you're a ghost. I kept the image in black and white to maintain that eerie feeling. I used the torn frame technique from Technique Junkies to frame the image. The sentiment is stamped and mounted to a mesh ribbon. The background is a piece of designer paper from Graphics45.
Have a safe and fun Halloween.
Barbara Washington -- Designer

London Abundance

2011-10-25T06:12:00.000-05:00

I created a collage using 7 different stamps from Loverly London & London Underground on a piece of 7Gypsies Lille Paper.

The "Keep Calm" sentiment was stamped in Versamark on ivory cardstock & clear embossed before sponging with red Distress Inks.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

The Witches Cauldron

2011-10-24T02:00:00.000-05:00

The Witches Caldron
"Eye of newt, and toe offrog,
Wool of bat, and tongue ofdog"
"Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing"
"For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and babble"
"Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and caldron bubble"
William Shakespeare

Just envison this adorable little Witch stirring the cauldron, mixing up her special receipes Design your Halloween crafts with Artistic Outpost Rubber stamp sets: Haunted Halloween and Vintage Halloween.
Be sure to stop by our Gallery and see more amazing ideas
connie paxman

You are braver Tag

2011-10-22T11:43:00.002-05:00

I created this tag with a verse from Typography

and frame from Whimsical Melange. I stamped

and heat embossed the frame in black. I freehand cut it out.

I cut the openingwith a deckle edge die template,

perfect size for the frame.

I've also used the music stamp from Ephemeral Backgrounds

on the tag. Then added lots of inks and distressing

with Distress inks. I even colored the seam binding

with Distress inks.

Happy Stamping!

Judy

Designer - Judy Hayes

Fine & Dandy

2011-10-21T05:00:00.002-05:00

The Typography sentiments work so well with many different types of card. The verses inspired me to create an anniversary card.

The dandy gentleman and lady from the Loverly London plate paired together with a bit of finery make a lovely couple. The background is the flourish from the Whimsical Melange plate stamped in a pattern.

The ribbon and doily were glimmer misted in blue to coordinate with the colors on the card. Everything was framed with black to pop the lighter color.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Halloween Trick

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Its Halloween time but its not always about the Treats.

Here's a little trick you may want to try.

Have a neighbor who's dog barks all night?

Or maybe it sounds like world war 3 next door.

"There goes The Neighborhood" door Knocker might be just the thing

to hang on their door this Halloween.

All in good fun of course!

Stamps are from Vintage Halloween and Haunted Halloween plates.

Life is Good

2011-10-19T00:05:00.001-05:00

This week I was in a bit of a retro mood as I was creating my card. I started with my image from Generation Redux and paired it with the sentiment from Typography. The image was colored using Copics and then cut using a Spellbinders die. I used ivory Flower Soft on the flowers behind her. The image is mounted on a doily die cut (Cheery Lynn). The background is a piece of designer paper from My Mind's Eye.
Yes, life is good.
Barbara Washington -- designer

Carry Beautiful With Us

2011-10-18T06:17:00.000-05:00

This card features a favorite sentiment from Lovely Day stamped in Coffee Archival ink on the border of an aged piece of sheet music. I love the variation in color and how the ink sinks into the aged paper.

The dotted texture stamp from Generation Redux was used to add some subtle color to the Romance paper from the Bo Bunny Gabrielle Collection.

The butterflies were die cut from stiffened foam and then embossed with a brocade embossing folder for subtle texture.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

InLinkz.com

Witch's Potion

2011-10-16T00:38:00.002-05:00

A mix of Apothecary and Whimsical Melange stamps brought this Halloween creation together. Notice how I added some little witch hats to the camoes in the frame? A fun touch to an already fun stamp! I framed it with some cool spider web paper and then added a witch's broom hanging from my ribbon to complete my piece.

Life is Good

2011-10-14T06:06:00.001-05:00

I have two cards to share today from Favorite Book Whimsical Melange and Typography. These images bring back wonderful memories for me as I spent a good portion of my childhood in the library and reading. I love the sweet images reading their books. I think Life is Good if you have a good book nearby that can take you away in an adventure.

Have a wonderful weekend and go the library and check out a good book!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Christmas gift bag

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Have you started yet? I keep seeing great Christmas art on so many blogs.

Here's A little fabric Christmas bag I made using the new Stamps

Frosty & Friends.

A vintage Christmas hankie, doily and buttons

are the finishing touches for the gift bag.

In the Spirit of Halloween

2011-10-12T00:05:00.001-05:00

The haunting season is upon us so I decided to pull out my recently released Halloween Treats stamps and play a bit. The witch happily oversees the owl who is responsible for guarding the Halloween tonic. Looks like the makings of a very interesting party. My background, from one of Tim Holtz's Halloween texture fades, says it all. Barbara Washington -- designer

Blue Songbirds

2011-10-11T06:20:00.003-05:00

This card combines Authentique papers with stamps from the new Whimsical Melange & Typography sets, together with the row of birds from Songbirds.

I used blue colored pencils to spotlight one of the birds and add a little color to the frame.

Designer ~ Stephanie Severin

Spooktacular Witches

2011-10-10T15:32:00.000-05:00

October is the popular month for celebrating Fall and the festive spooky season.
Jackolanterns, Witches, Goblins and carved pumkins cultivate landscape of the moon month.

Artistic Outpost has two stamp sets that will redefine your artistic cue to create those Halloween crafts...
Haunted Halloween and Vintage Halloween are wonderful to design and interchange with other Artistic Outpost stamp plates.
thanks for stopping by Artistic Outpost Blog and be sure to check our Gallery for more creations with these wonderful stamp sets.
Connie Paxman

Halloween Treats

2011-10-08T13:06:00.001-05:00

With Halloween just a few weeks away, here's some ideas using the Artistic Outpost Halloween Treats plate for some spooky candy holders and a sweet cupcake treat holder!

What little goblin wouldn't want to receive treats in these Halloween holders!

ETA - the various containers were created using templates from Creations by AR, cut with the eCraft, feel free to email me if you need direct links to the patterns.

Designer - Lisa Somerville

Explore and Discover

2011-10-07T06:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!

How about exploring and discovering new places? With the Artistic Outpost stamps you can travel to London, Paris and lots of other fun places. I pulled together a variety of images to create a masculine card for an explorer.

The sets used include: Artistic Outpost - Steampunk, Huck Finn, Paris Exposition, and Loverly London.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Suzz

Designer: Suzanne Czosek

Halloween ATC

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I needed to make a Halloween ATC for a certain special someone.

I decided to pull out my Artistic Outpost

Halloween Treats and Vintage Halloween stamps.

Colored in with markers, a little bling and a creepy spider.

Hope she likes it!

Won't That Be Fine

2011-10-05T00:05:00.001-05:00

I just love the new Typography stamps. They are so versatile. Here I stamped a sentiment from the Typography sheet on a die cut basket. The basket is layered over die cut lace and filled with flowers. A couple of rhinestone flourishes finish off the card. The sentiment says it all.
Barbara Washington - Designer

Prescription for Life

2011-10-04T06:37:00.000-05:00

This card combines images from Apothecary & Typography with 7Gypsies paper.

I cut the globe apart from the sentiment, so I could stamp it repeatedly to create my background. Next I stamped the sentiment from Typography inside the Prescription pad from Apothecary to create my prescription for life ... what a great reminder.

Designer: Stephanie Severin

Let's Read

2011-10-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

Hi, Lisa here today sharing a quick card made with the sweet little girl from A Favorite Book. The image is stamped in Black Archival on Vanilla card stock, colored with Markers and cut using the Double Emboss and Cut Technique from the October Technique Junkie Newsletter. Papers are from Graphic 45.

Designer - Lisa Somerville

An Erie Moon

2011-10-02T13:47:00.000-05:00

I had some fun creating this for Lisa's Blogger Challenge sketch. Just luv how the background came together.

I embossed the background and then used Distress Stains and inks.

Gerrie Johnnic

Do More Of What Makes You Happy!

2011-10-02T07:07:00.000-05:00

I've combined a few of the Artistic Outpost sets to create this 6x6 chipboard piece. The sentiment is from Typography, the young boy is from Favorite Book and the banner is from Whimsical Melange. I added the letters in my own writing for the banner and then added some Glossy Accents to give it a dimensional effect.