VanGoghChica Studio

Hola, friends. It is I — Bimini. Black cat. Muse. Visionary. Creative Director of BiminisBoutique (my mama assists).  My mama, VanGoghChica, has once again handed me the keyboard. She says I have “things to say.” She is correct. First, yes — we are collaborating on my eBay boutique. But let us be clear: I am the Creative Director. Mama handles opposable thumbs and shipping labels.  You may have seen the caricature our dear friend Gracie created of us. We are shown in full art mode. Mama in her collar. Me in my sleek authority. Now, between us, Mama is having another neck surgery this month. Soon she will shed that collar. But honestly? She rocks it. Collar, walker, fierce brown girl spirit — all of it. I approve. Now. The first pieces I have placed in my boutique are very dear to my velvet heart. As Mama’s daughter (yes, species is irrelevant), her concerns are mine. She is the daughter of Peruvian immigrants. A brown baby boomer growing up Spanish-speaking in the U.S. ...

Have you ever liked fashion or art that was made up of elements you would not think "go together"? Have you ever heard someone describe something as "beautifully ugly"? I can not tell you why or how but sometimes you can go afoul of basic design principles and come out with something appealing. Well, I set out to create a visually pleasing card with elements that normally clash. I think I succeeded in designing a fun card that illustrates this point. I used non-analogous and non-complimentary dominant colors of purple and green and mixed vintage style florals with a modern graphic of thick stripes.  The sentiment set I used was perfect as it paired a lilting cursive "You" with a modern computer-ish block type. And the end result... I like it! it's quirky and fanciful. Supplies Altenew's Scalloped Ornaments layering stamp set. This set is not  available anymore but there are several other Altenew layering stamp sets to choose from. Altenew's  Y...

I love  working color onto surfaces in interesting ways.  So playing with watercolor in unconventional ways was fun. I made a couple cards using watercolors in loose and surprising ways. These techniques require you leave your perfectionism at the door. I will go over one of those methods here. Supplies Altenew's  Nostalgic Florals  stamp and die  set Altenew's Garden Gala stamps. At the time of this writing, the Garden Gala set is only sold to subscribers of  Craft Your Life membership plan . Subscribers got early access to this March 2026 set. It will not be available to non-subscribers until next month. Altenew's  metallic watercolor set Altenew's  solar white card stock Altenew's fresh dye inks in  azurite ,  ultraviolet ,  volcano lake  and fresh lemon Altenew's  crisp ink in parrot Altenew's  permanent black pigment ink Watercolor paper, preferably  hot press Watercolor brushes - I used a number 9 round tip...

  When I first started making cards, it was all I could think of to find pretty paper and an interesting stamp to ink a pretty  card. Hey, we all start somewhere. Nowadays, I like more interesting designs and I love creating eye catching backgrounds. This tutorial shows you how to create a background of falling ombre colored flowers.  Supplies Altenew white cardstock Altenew Nostalgic Florals outline stamp set Altenew Shades of Purple fresh dye ink set Altenew pure white embossing powder Altenew blending brushes  (You will need four) Altenew glue tape Altenew foam tape Altenew clear sequins Die cutting machine Heating tool Washi tape Vellum (or tracing paper) Cornstarch Cute an A2 (4.25"X5.5") folding card out of white card stock. Also cut a slightly bigger  (approximately 1/8"  bigger on each side) piece of card stock (any color). Select the single blossom stamp and die from your Nostalgic Floral set and begin making your stencil. To do this, you will cut...

Are you interested in junk journaling? What is the difference between junk journaling and scrapbooking? Click here to watch my video discussing this very question. I also go through some of my journal pages.

 

 

 Have you ever received a fancy card with letterpress type? With letterpress, the paper is textured and you can literally see the printing process. It denotes an important and special feel to the card. Letterpress is officially done at a printers; but I have a trick to make a faux letterpress card.  This trick is actually multi-step, requiring agile fingers and patience. I will show you a tip to make it go smoother. It took me several tries to figure it out but I am happy to pass it along. But first:  Supplies White cardstock Altenew Butterfly Dreams layering stamp set Altenew Fancy Hello Die Altenew fresh dye ink sets in Golden Sunset  and Sweet Dreams Die cutting machine Spray adhesive Vellum The first thing you will do is die cut five fancy hellos from card stock. Then you glue each fancy hello on top of each other, making one thick fancy hello. For me, this was harder than it sounds. I have neuropathy in my non dominant hand and this creates numb fingertips and ...

Here you can View my YouTube video that is a check in which focuses on my art journal pages. Here are pictures of my art journal pages that I show in the video.

I made another card illustrating how repetitively stamped backgrounds can create a visual rhythm to your design. This simple layout had me stamping, blending, cutting and glueing. I felt like a school kid with my big glue stick. Now, when you look at my supply list, you're going to smack your head when you look at all the inks. Rest assured, you only need a red, a green and a black. I like to mix colors. I often use different shades of a same color to create small variations. Another tip I can give you regarding supplies is to purchase coordinating sets when you can. Especially for beginners, this actually lessens the amount of supplies you're going to need because most of the main elements will be included.  Supplies Altenew Mini Delight One in a Melon stamps and die set Altenew fresh dye inks in frayed leaf, olive, crimson, coral berry, permanent black A striped stencil Two Altenew blending brushes Altenew Glitter cardstock set 3"X6" White cardstock Altenew  Sciss...

Check out my first video on my You tube channel. A friendly hello and a mini haul for my card making adventures.