Frankenstein Puppet Treat Bag by Lynn Dionne

Happy Wednesday Ai Fans!!!

Watch video tutorial here!

 Art Impressions has a brand-new set available that is part of their puppet series and it's the Ai Frankenstein Puppet Set (6120). It is the most adorable die set for all of your Halloween projects!

Let's begin by creating a background for the puppet using a fun Spiderweb Background Stencil Set and some Tim Holtz Oxide Inks in Black Soot, Seedless Preserve, Wilted Violet, and Villainous Potion. We can also spatter this panel using the Tim Holtz Distress Spritz in Seedless Preserves and Hickory Smoke. This will give a bit of shimmer!

We can attach this stenciled panel to some black glitter cardstock and add a few black borders along the bottom of this panel by quickly tearing the edges for a spooky look!

Now we can get to the fun part of die cutting the pieces in a variety of cardstock colors that are needed for the little Frankenstein and ink around the edges of each of the pieces using the Tim Holtz Black Soot Ink. This finishes off the pieces nicely! I used colored cardstock, but you could certainly die cut all of the pieces using some white cardstock and color them with your markers or ink pads.

I'll show you exactly how to put this little guy together in the video. For the eyes and eyebrows, I thought I would grab those pieces from the Ai Santa Puppet Set. This is an easy way to add these if you are not keen on drawing in your own. Now for the nose and mouth I did use a black pen and draw those in because it was fairly simple.

Let's glue everything together to build Frankie and add a bit of color to his cheeks, some highlights with a white gel pen, and black stitching around the cuffs and collar.

For the sentiment, we will be using the Ai Spooktacular Set (6111) and die cutting a stitched oval from the Ai Portfolio Template Die Set (5952). Now we can add some Lime Tinsel Embossing Powder around the edges of the oval and heat set the for a sparkly look!

From that same Ai Spooktacular Set we will stamp, color and die cut the cute little spider. For the coloring we will use the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens in the following colors: Blender, Sugared Almond Pink, and Gray. Let's add the spider to the sentiment and attach to the panel.

Next, to create the bag we will use a product that you all probably already own because it has been around for a very long time but is one of those products that I have reached for several times throughout the years. It creates a variety of bag sizes, and we will be using the large size today which will fit this panel perfectly. For paper we will use an ombre' 12"x12" paper in a variety of purples and lavenders. I will show you exactly how to use this nifty little punch tool in today's video!

To finish off the bag we will add some lime green twine by wrapping it around a few times and tying a pretty bow!

Thank you so much for joining me today! Have a fun and crafty day!

Ai Frankenstein Puppet Set (6120)

Ai Santa Puppet Set (5931)

Ai Spooktacular Set (6111)

Ai Portfolio Template Die Set (5952)

Ai Nested Rectangle Die Set (5724)

 

Boo Bottle! by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Have you checked out the new Keep it Contained challenge?

There are so many fun choices. You can make a gift card holder, a treat box or gift or goodie bag. Use a stamp or a die that's a container, like a barrel, crate, pot, vase or basket. One of our DT members used a watering can and a wheelbarrow. (super cute!) Or, you can repurpose something like I've done. I spray painted a seltzer water bottle that I liked, and decorated it to put on my mantel.

I like that it's a little bit spooky, a little bit cutesy.

I used the new 6111 – Spooktacular Set.

6111 – Spooktacular Set

The web is from 5462 – Web Dies Set.
The bats are also from the Spooktacular set. I used the die and didn't

stamp them because I just wanted the "idea" of the bats in the background.

They aren't meant to stand out on my project. I bent their wings up to give

the illusion that they are flying.

The ghost has pre-scored lines on him when you die cut him.
This allows him to be popped up on a page or
used as a pop-up feature on the inside of a card.

I used a tag from 5132 – Tag Stitched Dies.

 

 

I have a small bottle collection. I just can't recycle something that I find interesting

and think I may be able to repurpose in the future. I hope I've inspired you to give

something like this a try. It's much cheaper than HomeGoods...lol!

 

   

Frankenstein treat box by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

The current challenge going on right now is "Keep it Contained". That includes a LOT of options for you, so I sure hope you join along! I created a simple little box by using 5805 Mini Journal Box Dies. I love making little treat boxes for the grandkids! I couldn't help but use the amazing new 6120 Frankenstein Puppet Set! Oh my word!!! I am going to have so much fun making a bunch of these! Isn't he the cutest? I didn't want a card, I just wanted him to stand up and be on a wobble. So I grabbed the oval nested and scalloped dies, glued them together and then just cut off a bit of the bottom so it was flat. Then to make it stand, I grabbed the easel die from 5901 Mini Rectangle Frame Dies. I added a few little touches like the fence and ghosts to enhance it. It's so much fun to see him wiggle around when you touch him! You can die cut his face and hands out of colored cardstock if you want. But personally I like to cut it out of my Copic friendly cardstock and color him with markers. I just like the way it looks. 

This shows the easel stand and wobble. 

So that's it for me today! I hope I was able to inspire you to grab your paper and glue and join in our "Keep it Contained" challenge for a chance to win a free set of your choice!! Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit and until next time - stay crafty!!

Copic markers used:

YG01, 03, and 05

C1, 2, and 3

I added a little pink chalk to his cheeks

Wild Buck Foundation and Happy Halloween by Gennette Houghton

 

Welcome to Watercolor Weekend. I love nature scenes, especially ones that have animals.  The 6067 Wild Buck Foundation definitely fits that bill.  Living in the country allows me to watch all kinds of animals, including deer. Surrounded by open fields, summer is one of my favorite times to watch the deer out in the pasture as the mom’s take their babies out to graze. As the months go by, I get to watch them grow and lose their spots.  I also get to watch the bucks grow their horns, everything from spikes to full racks.  

My first card was a big hit with the men in my family.  I started with inking my stamp with Distress Ink Pumice Stone, I find this easier with the bigger stamps, and after stamping off once I find little color transfers when water is added.  I then took a piece of acetate that I have cut down as a guide that is 2 ¾ by 4 ¼, and traced an outline around my stamped image. Using Post-it tape, I masked off the edges so that the scene is contained to work with the image.  This gives it defined edges, which also allows you to have a white border to set it off.  I started with the sky by adding in 526, so I don’t have to compete with the foliage once that is put in.  I then added 565 to shade the mountains, leaving white highlights to give them shape. 177 was used on all of the ground areas.  For the roof I started with 947 and then added streaks of 969 to give the look of texture.  027 was used on the walls and also added darker lines with the same color for texture.  For the windows I used a mix of 565 and N15, which creates kind of a smoky blue.  The window trims and the lines for the panes, 969 was used. I then added shadows in with 565.  For the rocks I used a mix of 565 and 969, and then went over areas with 249 to give a more natural look.  526 mixed with some 565 was used for the water, adding more 565 along the edges of the banks, and rocks to give a shadowed look in those areas.  I used 969 on the tree trunk, adding more color along the edges to help define its shape. A black micron was used on the eyes and nose of the deer, leaving a highlight on both.  I started with 992 on the antlers adding a touch of 969 along the edges. For the body I used 977, I then went over the top of this with a bit of 947 to brighten it up a bit.  969 was used to darken the shadowed areas.  

Now it’s time to put all of the foliage in, I used my favorite grass from 5826 WC Large Tree Set 2 in 177, for areas I also added a touch of 969 to the stamp.  5372 Mini Foliage set, I used the bush line stamp in 177, the pine tree in 249, and then 2 more of the bush line in 249 in front of the pines.  To the right of the house I also used, from the same set, the miniature grass in 177. For the tree I started with the large foliage from 4051 Foliage 1, inking only about 1/3 of the stamp in 126, for coverage over the area. I then used the vine from the same set in 177 over the area I stamped in 126.  From the 4964 WC Branches Set, I inked the branch in 969 and placed it next to the rocks by the deer, and used the small vine from 5126 WC Foliage Set 4 in 177 to add in the leaves.  I then used our favorite white paint, Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White, to add in flowers. I may have went overboard a bit, but that’s okay, because flowers and green will be gone here soon. 

For my 2^nd card I decided to make a Halloween card. I used 5037 Halloween Magic Set and stamped it in permanent black ink on watercolor paper.  Keeping the image closer to the bottom to fit the design I came up with. I used 993 for the orange, Marvy 108 for the purple, and N15 for the black. I went over the spider webs and spiders with a black micron, I also used a sentiment in the set and just inked the “HAPPY” in N15 and placed it just to the left of the image.  From 5456 Spooky Wagon set I also stamped out the sign on a separate piece of watercolor paper in 969, and added one of the spiders to the Halloween image on the bottom right. I finished coloring the sign in 969 and die cut it out with the included dies.  I added shadows to the main image with N52 and 565.  I then stamped out 5778 FB Frog Costume on another separate piece of watercolor paper in N49 and stamped off once.  I started with a black micron to go over the details of the faces and pumpkin. For the costume I used 133 as the base, darkening the contours with 126 and added some shading with 969. I added some dots of 177 all over for texture.  The pumpkin I started with 993, adding in 933 for the contour and N15 for the eyes, nose, and mouth.  For the skin tone I used 850 for the base, 910 for the contours, a little bit of 969 for shading, and 772 on the cheeks. 879 was used on the little section of hair.  I also used a little bit of 565 to shade just under the frog mouth.  I then die cut the image out with the included die. I matted my card with the main image that I cut down to 4 ¼ by 5 ½. Using 5849 Halloween S2 Paper Pack, I used and envelope edge die to cut out a section of paper and matted that to my card. I then popped up the little boy with foam tape and glued the sign down behind him, completing my card. I hope you enjoyed my cards today and thank you for joining me. Until next time, Create….Share….Inspire!

Bible Art - Bookmark by Janet

Today I stepped a little out of my comfort zone to try a bite-sized project using watercolor painting the Ai way! I'm not half as skilled as our WC Design Team but when your art is as little as on this bookmark, having perfect skills don't matter. It's just an element and not the primary focus of the project.

The bookmark is created using the 6043 - Bible Bookmark Dies. The set includes three scripty words of faith and I chose to use Jesus on the bookmark. There are many pieces in the set so you can use your own creativity to give these your perfect touch. At the bottom of mine, I stamped the bird from the 5992 - Dwelling Animal Set 2 and the tree is from 5989 - Dwelling Foliage Set. The stamps in the Dwelling sets are so perfect as little accents and their size makes them simple to paint using Tombow markers, water and a brush. 

After completing the bookmark, I made the tassel for it out of baker's twine. I haven't made one in decades so I had to really think about it. It turned out well and is perfect attached to the bookmark.

I liked using this die set so much, I immediately made another bookmark and I think these will be great little gifts tucked into Christmas packages this year or inside a card. They'll fit nicely into bibles and other books. What do you think? Would these make good gifts for the book lovers in your life?

Thanks for joining me here today. As always, don't forget to find your favorite stamps, dies, papers, and accessories at the Ai Store! You'll always find something that calls to you. 

Happy Crafting!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest 

Hop Into Halloween! Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday Art Impressions Friends!

Tasha here sharing a Halloween card featuring the new 6112-Pumpkin Parade Set. Fall and Halloween cards are so much fun to create, and I just love the little critters included in this set!

For my project, I used the sweet bunny trick-or-treater along with several candy corns. The coordinating dies made it super easy to cut out all the stamped images; and I really like that this set even includes dies for the sentiments!

For the background, I created a Halloween night scene with a purple sky, a lime green grassy border, and enamel stars. To bring in more color, I added a gold glitter frame layered with orange, yellow, and white cardstock (just like candy corn)! I also used a piece of candy corn patterned paper from the Halloween S2 Paper Pack for extra festive detail.

Lastly, I embossed the “Trick or Treat” greeting on black paper and matted it with orange cardstock to finish the design. I hope you enjoyed today’s card and are having a wonderful day! 🎃

Keep it Contained Challenge #414 Week #1

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to the Art Impressions

Keep it Contained challenge!

We want to see your handmade projects featuring a container.

These can be (but are not limited to) 

Stamped or die cut containers like vases, pots, crates, barrels etc., repurposed containers, handmade gift boxes, bags, treat holders or gift card holders. Anything that can "contain" something.

Tasha is our Featured Artist for this fun challenge.

After checking out her amazing project, be sure to scroll down

to see who won our In the Navy challenge.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Hi everyone! 

For the Keep It Contained Challenge, I created a Halloween gift card holder featuring the new 6112-Pumpkin Parade Set. This little holder is perfect for any occasion and so much fun to decorate!

Step 1: Cut a piece of purple cardstock to 4" x 8" and score it at 2" and 5-1/2".

Step 2: Cut two pieces of star pattern paper for the center panel (front and back). The center section is 4" x 3-1/2", so cut your papers slightly smaller for a border.

Step 3: On the inside lower panel, add strong tape only along the sides to create a pocket for the gift card. You can use either the shorter or longer flap for the bottom (I used the shorter one).

Step 4: Cut a white cardstock piece for the top front panel (2-1/2" x 4"), again trimming it slightly smaller for a border.

Step 5: Blend Distress Oxide Ink with a cloud stencil to make a soft purple sky.

Step 6: Die cut a grassy border from bright green paper.

Step 7: Cut another piece of the same green paper for the lower front panel (2" x 4") and ink the edges for extra color.

Step 8: Glue the grassy border to the bottom of the cloud panel. Attach the green piece to the front bottom panel.

Step 9: Use a small circle die to cut a notch from the bottom panel (do this before removing the score tape).

Step 10: Remove the tape backing and fold up the card to create the pocket.

Step 11: Stamp one of the cute Halloween critters and candy pieces from the Pumpkin Parade Set, then color them with Copic Markers. I added glitter to the candy for some sparkle!

Step 12: Attach the mouse with foam tape and glue the candy into the pumpkin wagon; it’s the perfect “container” for this challenge!

Step 13: Emboss the “Pumpkin Parade” greeting on black cardstock, then layer it on orange paper to match the Halloween colors.

Step 14 (Optional): Add enamel stars to the sky and use a small Velcro square to keep the holder closed.

I hope you enjoyed today’s project and feel inspired to join the Keep It Contained Challenge! 

Thank you Tasha for the adorable Gift Card Holder idea and tutorial.

Now let's see who won our In the Navy challenge.

For our Top Spot we chose:

Sue V.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

Be sure to grab our badge to display on your social media too!

Our Lucky Random Winner was:

Gail T.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

Be sure to grab our badge to display on your social media too!

Congratulations to our winners!

We hope you had fun with that last challenge and that you enjoy this one. We always LOVE seeing what you create and treating a couple of people to a shiny new stamp set!

Be sure to enter your creation for the chance to win a free stamp set from Art Impressions. 

We award one Top Spot and one Lucky Random Winner, and each will win a free stamp set from Art Impressions.

✻ Please make a new card or handmade crafty creation. You can make any item you wish; this is not limited to cards! (unless specified)

✻ Limit two submissions per person.

 ✻Please include your first name and last initial on your submission. You may include your entire last name, but it's not necessary.

✻We love to comment on your entries, but keep in mind if you use a private group or a platform that you need to sign up for, we probably won't be able to.

✻ The Ai Challenge is open to everyone, international submissions are welcome!

✻ Include a link back to the Ai Blog or grab our button on the top right of our sidebar!

✻ Share the Ai love if you can, by clicking and commenting on your fellow crafters.

✻ Make sure to get your link up by the deadline to enter your creations.

✻ Good luck and happy stamping! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter