Letters to Santa Accordion Fold Card by Lynn Dionne

Happy Wednesday Ai Fans!!!

Watch video tutorial here!!!

Today we will be playing with a wonderful new set from Art Impressions! It is the Ai Santa's Workshop Set (5930) and it includes several cute little elves, Santa, envelopes, packages, a cute little elf house and several fun sentiments! This set also includes the coordinating dies which is always a bonus!

I recently did a card and video using this fun set and turned the little Christmas Elves into Woodland Elves. This card mixes some Christmas, Fall & Halloween Stamp Sets together for a fun look! I will link that down below for you if you would like to check it out!

To get started we will create a red/white/blue striped background using some paper strips. This is a great way to use your paper scraps. I thought it would be fun to create a postal "Letters to Santa" theme and this striped background will complement the postal theme perfectly!

Next, we can create the card base using some Kraft cardstock. We will create two A2 top folding cards and glue them together to create the accordion design. We can also add some white ink and white spatters to this card base to give it a softer and snowier look!

Now we can die-cut 3 of the snowflake frames from the Ai Snowflake Frame Set (5782) and we can also cut out the additional snowflakes from this same set.

To create the pretty blue sky, we will be doing an ink smooshing technique that is so much fun and so easy to do! I will show you exactly how to do this in today's video!

Let's attach the sky background to the snowflake frames and attach this to the striped background that we created earlier. Now we can attach each of these three panels to the card base.

We will also stamp, color and die cut all of the images including some extra envelopes and packages. All of the coloring today will be done using the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens in the following colors: Blender, Flesh Colour Sugared Almond Pink, Deep Red, Geranium Red, Yellow, May Green, Deep Green, Blue Gray, Deep Blue, Beige, Sand, Lt Gray, Mid Brown, Gray, Warm Gray 6. Once this is done, we will layout and assemble the pieces onto the card panels. This is the fun part...just deciding where you want all of the little images to appear in your scene!

Using the snowflakes that we die-cut, we can add them to the snowflake frames and to the inside of the card. We will stamp a sentiment here as well from the Ai Joyful Snowman Set (5802) and it will say "It's the most wonderful time of the year". This will be a great place to write a little message and sign your card.

Finally, let's add a bit of red and white twine and tie a pretty bow!

Here is that video that I mentioned earlier:

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

Ai Santa's Workshop Set (5930)

Ai Snowflake Frame Set (5782)

Ai Joyful Snowman Set (5802)

Ai Watercolor Travel Box (4924)

Dr Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White Ink

Steel Die Cutters (5765)

Deer Shaker Card for Under the Dome Challenge by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Welcome to the Under the Dome Challenge at Art Impressions. 

I had so much fun making this shaker dome card. It's got a masculine feel, but I as a woman, would also LOVE to receive a card like this.

I used a bunch of Art Impressions products and you can find them all linked below.

I live in the country and seeing deer is a daily occurrence for us. I love watching them stroll through our yard. It's hunting season and we always breath a sigh of relief when we see our regulars show up the next day.

Hello Fall by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI fans!!

Hope you're having a wonderful start to your week! I've got one more fall card to show you today before you start seeing all Christmas cards from me. LOL! I used the absolutely adorable set #5507 Harvest Together Set. These are the cutest scarecrows I've ever seen! I started by stamping the image onto a Copic friendly paper and then coloring her with the markers listed below. I really like the color she turned out cause she looks like she's made from a potato sack!  I made the card super simple by using a die in my stash to create the scalloped card. All you have to do is score and fold your cardstock in half for your card base. Place your die with the top cutting edge just above the fold of your paper. Cut it out and you have your card base. Then use a complete die cut on top of the card base so you have the decoration on the top of the card as well! So simple to do and I feel it really adds a lot to the card. The Hello Fall die cut is from #5592 Harvest Journal Die Set. 

That's it for me today. Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit and until next time - stay crafty!!

Copic markers used:

Y15, 17, 35, and 38

E33, 35, 37, 40, 41, 42, 55, 81, 84, 93, 95, and 97

YG93 and 95

R02, 32, 35, and 37

Gather Together and Merry Penguins cards by Diane Mason

Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!

 

Hello, AI Watercolor Friends! It's that wonderful time of year - Thanksgiving is on its way, and Christmas is just around the corner. Today, I'm excited to share two festive cards with you. The first is a quick and easy Thanksgiving card, perfect for the season. The second is a playful, interactive Christmas shaker card featuring the adorable penguins from the newly released 5929 – Christmas Train Set.

Gather Together card:

For this quick and easy card, I selected the chair stamp from 5593 – Harvest Scenes Set. I love the beautiful colors of autumn and thought this scene would look so pretty paired with the patterned papers from the new fall paper pack (5973- FALL S2 PP).

I inked the image with the usual combination of 565/969 and stamped it off once before stamping it onto my Canson XL watercolor paper. With a damp brush, I pulled some color from the image to add shadows and dimension. I added a little 565 to the white chair for added shadows. For the birds, I painted 947 for the wings and 933 for the tummies. I wanted to give the watering can an old and weathered look. I used N52 to shade the watering can and a touch of 565 to deepen the shadows. For the rust, I dotted on some 947 here and there and blended some of the dots with a damp brush. I painted the red stripes with 856. I made sure the stripes curved upward for proper perspective since you could see the bottom of the watering can. I left the milk can white and added a little more 565 for contours. The handle was painted with 947.

The green pumpkin was painted with 228. I really like this green, it’s similar to 177 but has a grayer undertone. I added 993 for the yellow highlights. For the orange pumpkin, I used 933 for the base and 933/947 to shade the pumpkin. Both stems were painted with 969. I painted the wooden basket with 947 and 969.

Before adding the flowers and foliage, I brushed in a sky with a watery mix of 565. I added vines to the milk can using the vine stamp from 5126 – WC Foliage Set 4 inked in 177 and dabbed with a damp brush. Next, I added flowers to the wooden basket. I used the daisy bunch stamp from 4052 – Flower Set and stamped in 933 and 856. Using the same vine stamp, I added some foliage below the flowers and dabbed the vines and flowers with a damp brush. I got a little carried away with the flowers, so to tone them down a bit, I dotted in some tiny white flowers with Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White.

I added a shadow under the chair and near the basket and milk can with 565. I used a brown TwinTone marker to add fine details to the scene. The painting was die-cut with a stitched rectangle die and matted with patterned paper from 5973 – FALL S2 PP. The “Gather Together” sentiment is from 5600 – Harvest Sentiments Set and was heat embossed in gold.

You all know I like to decorate the interior of my cards. The sentiments are from 5600 and the fall leaves are from 5598 - Harvest Set. The leaves were painted with 947, 228, 177, 856, 933, and 993.

Merry Penguins Shaker Card:

I think the little penguins from the 5929 – Christmas Train Set are so adorable. They look so excited and happy, and ready to shake up some fun!

I stamped the four penguin images, and an extra sitting penguin for the interior of my card, with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto my watercolor paper. Versafine ink is permanent once dry, stamps clean sharp images, and works perfectly for watercolor. It is also easy to remove from your stamps. I shaded all the white areas with N52 and a little 565. For the hats and scarves, I used 526 and decorated the scarves with a white gel pen. The bodies were painted with N25 and the beaks in 933. Rosy cheeks were added with a watery mix of 856. I then die-cut all the penguins and set them aside.

For this slim-line card, I cut a 7 x 8 ½ inch piece of white cardstock and folded it in half for the card base. I cut a 3 ½ x 8 ½ inch piece of shimmery white cardstock and adhered it to the card front. Next, I added a 2 ¼ x 8 ½ inch piece of blue cardstock to the center of the card. For the MERRY shaker windows, I created a template using a piece of white cardstock and the letter dies from 5072 – Block Letters Die Set. Since there is only one “R” die, I used an “N” die as a placeholder for spacing. I used a strip of removable tape to hold my dies in position, removed the “N”, and die-cut a template from the white cardstock. I added the second “R” to the template and ran it through the die-cutting machine again. Next, I cut a 2 x 8 ½ inch piece of blue plaid patterned paper from 5964 - Winter Woodland Cover Paper Pack. I positioned the template over the plaid strip, aligned the letter dies in place, and die-cut the windows for the shaker. Using a pencil, I lightly traced the letter openings onto the blue cardstock to mark where the shaker wells would go. Then, I used foam tape to build the wells and filled them with a wintry mix of beads and sequins. I added clear acetate to the back of the letter strip and carefully adhered the strip over the shaker bits. I used a die-cut 'R' as a guide to position and adhere the inner pieces of the letter, securing them in place.

Next, I glued the penguins onto the card and added a touch of sparkle by scattering die-cut silver glitter snowflakes from the 5782 - Snowflake Frame Die.

For the inside of the card, I adhered a ½ inch strip of plaid paper along the bottom edge and placed a sitting penguin on top for a fun finishing touch. The “Merry Christmas” sentiment is from 5953 – Woodland Critters Set. Let the merry-making begin and shake, shake, shake!

Thank you for stopping by for Watercolor Weekend. I hope today’s cards have inspired you to create some cards to share with your friends and family this holiday season. Until next time, wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving and, as always, Happy Painting!

Christmas Town Matchbook Magic! by Janet

Hi everyone! Did you hear that Art Impressions has collaborated with Simon Says Stamp to create a brand new matchbook card set that's exclusive to Simon? This is an outdoor scene in the village theme. It is absolutely adorable and so fun to color. 

This card goes together like all the matchbook cards. What is unique is that it's an outdoor scene instead of an indoor one. I like it and hope we'll see more of them in the future. To make it, you'll need to head over to Simon Says Stamp to pick up the 5950 - Christmas Town MBE Set. It can only be purchased on their site and once it's gone, it's gone. You'll also need 5317 - MB Template Dies. This is used for every matchbook card so if you have it already, you don't need another one. I also highly recommend you pick up 5318 - MB Envelope Dies. This makes the perfect envelope for all the MB cards.

For my matchbook card base, I cut a base using the Template Dies out of a pattern included in the 5963 - Winter Woodland Paper Pack. Then I stamped, colored and cut out the interior pieces of the scene with the Christmas Town MBE set. I cut a few mini snowflakes in silver glitter cardstock as well. Then I folded all the elements on the score lines made by the dies and glued everything in place. I just love this scene and how cheerful it is!

Thanks so much for joining me here at the blog today. Don't miss out on this one! Make sure you pop over to the SSS store and pick up this set along with any other MB templates you might need. Then get creating! And as always, please visit the Ai store for the sets I used and all the things you need for your card, journal, and tag making projects. Happy creating!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest  

Winter Wishes! Card by Tasha!

 Happy Friday Art Impressions friends! 

Tasha here sharing a card inspired by the current "Under the Dome" Challenge. This challenge is all about shaker cards and I thought is was a great time to make a Christmas shaker card.

My project features one of the penguins from the new 5929-Christmas Train Set. This set has several cute penguin stamps to choose from and this little guy was the perfect size to fit inside the plastic dome. I also created a little snowy background before adding the winter themed sequins; these colors are so pretty!

After my shaker was completed, I added a sparkly silver glitter layer, a scalloped red frame, and layers of black card stock, silver glitter paper, and a candy cane pattern paper. I also attached a snowflake pattern paper from the 5963-Winter Woodland Paper Pack to coordinate with the scene.

Lastly, I added a simple "Winter Wonderland" greeting before adhering the card to a white card base.

Thank you for checking out today's card and I hope you will join in this fun challenge!

EXCLUSIVE Simon Says Stamp/Art Impressions Christmas Town MBE

 Hello Ai fans!

The Art Impressions/Simon Says Stamp 2024 Exclusive is HERE!!

5950 - Christmas Town MBE can ONLY be found at Simon Says Stamp and ONLY until it's sold out. The Matchbooks are a fabulous series of tiny little scenes. You need the 5317 – MB Template Dies to create a Matchbook scene, but you can certainly use the set without the template to create cute little cards as you'll see from some of our Design Team members.

Art Impressions LOVES collaborating with Simon Says Stamp.

Be sure to head over and get your exclusive set before they are gone forever.

DIANE MASON

DORI MENDIOLA

GENNETTE HOUGHTON

KAREN DAY

LYNN DIONNE

RENEE MATARESE

SHARON CAUDLE

TASHA JORGENSEN

JANET AXTMAN

Tina Smith

Caly Person

Nina-Marie Trapani

Thank you for all of the wonderful inspiration from the Art Impressions Daily Design Team, The Art Impressions Watercolor Design Team and the Simon Says Stamp Design Team.

Remember, this set is a LIMITED TIME Exclusive. Once it sells out, it's gone forever.

Get yours now so you don't have UN-Buyer's Remorse! lol...

Under the Dome Challenge #391 Week #2

 Hello and welcome to week #2 of our Under the Dome Challenge.

What cute cards we're seeing already!

Remember, these do not need to be cards. Ornaments or any "shaker/dome" type craft will do.

We're looking for snowglobes/domes, shaker cards or even just stamped snowglobe cards.

Last week, Janet was our Featured Artist and you guys LOVED her sweet little snowman dome.

Now we have the rest of the Design Team cards. As I looked through these I felt like every one of these cards could be used for a man, woman or child. How perfect is that?

First up we have Dori.

Sharon used a Santa Circlet.

Lynn has a faux shaker and tutorial.

Tasha has a penguin!

She used 5808 – Snow Globe Shaker Dome

5929 – Christmas Train Set

5963 – Winter Woodland Paper Pack

And, my card can be found here.

✻ 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. You will receive extra votes if you use Art Impressions stamps!

 ✻Please include your first name and last initial on your submission.

✻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