Art Impressions Blog

Sunday, November 15, 2026

A Winter Welcome: Watercolor Christmas Creations by Simone Carr

Hello AI Friends!

Today I am sharing a fun and easy mixed-media card technique, watercolor faux ripped paper! Using just some printer paper, watercolor cardstock, and Tombow markers, you can create the illusion of torn paper.

I started by taking a piece of printer paper and ripping it unevenly across to get a natural torn edge. I laid the ripped printer paper onto my watercolor cardstock. Before taping it down, I checked to make sure my stamp would fit comfortably inside the open space. Once I was happy with the placement, I taped the paper securely in place.

Using a damp brush with N65, I lightly brushed right along the torn edge of the printer paper. To give the faux tear extra definition and contrast, I took 569 and N25 on my brush and traced right along the outline I had created.

I then stamped my image into place and colored it using the Tombow markers listed below. I brushed in the sky, and once it was dry, I used my stamp positioner to stamp in the trees.

I added Bleed Proof White to the trees, and once that was dry, I came back in with Tombow 565 to add all the shadows. I covered the painted portion of the card and splattered some gold paint for a little extra sparkle.

I finished by stamping my sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne and assembling the card onto an A2 card base.

I hope this inspires you to give the watercolor faux ripped-paper technique a try!

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies

5566 Christmas Sentiments Set
5063 Double Stitched Rectangle Die
6126 Light of the World
5010 Tree Set 1
5372 Mini Foliage

Paper

Printer Paper
Canson Watercolor Paper

Inks & Mediums

Distress Ink Lost Shadow
Versafine Clair Nocturne
TwinTone Brown
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White
Winsor & Newton Gold
Foam Tape

Tombow Markers

Trees – 177, 249
Church – N89, 969, 025
Houses – 990, 553, 528, 025
Sky – 062, 761, 628, 451
Shadows – 565
Ripped Paper Look – N65, 569, N25

For my second card, I wanted to create another fun Christmas design featuring a snowman and a stack of cozy cups!

I started by using my stamping platform to help position the snowman and the stack of cups. I placed the stack of cups onto my watercolor paper, then positioned the snowman on the cup where I wanted him to sit. I closed the lid of my stamping platform so it would pick up the snowman stamp.

I removed the cup stamp, inked the snowman with Distress Ink Lost Shadow, and stamped him onto the watercolor paper. I also stamped him onto masking paper so I could cover the image when stamping the cups.

With the snowman stamped in place, I began coloring him using my Tombow markers. Once the coloring was complete and dry, I used my stamp positioner to stamp in the details on the cups and the greenery next to the snowman.

The Tombow colors I used for each element are listed below.

I hope this little snowman inspires you to bring out your favorite stamps and create something fun for the holidays. Thanks for stopping by, and happy crafting!

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies

6024 Tea Time Set
5954 Woodland Bears Set, Small Snowflake
6259 Let It Snowflake
5566 Christmas Sentiments Set
5065 Double Stitched Oval Dies (3rd and 4th Largest)
5829 WC Holly Set
5828 WC Poinsettia Set
5472 Christmas Wreath Set

Paper

- Canson Watercolor Paper

Inks & Mediums

Distress Ink Lost Shadow
Masking Tape

Tombow Markers

Snowman – 933, 026, 192, 856, 565, 969
Cups – 403, 026, 192
Greenery – 117, 249

Saturday, November 14, 2026

Thanksgiving Place Card Frames and Let It Snow Card by Diane Mason

Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!

Hello, my Ai Watercolor friends and fans! I have two holiday projects to share with you today featuring some recently released sets. The Thanksgiving place card frames use the 6254 – FG Thankful Border images in a new way. My second project is a Christmas card showcasing an adorable little snowman from 6259 - Let It Snow Story Tile Set.

At our house, we are still finishing off the Halloween candy – but, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before you know it! So, there’s no time like the present to get going on your holiday projects!

Thanksgiving Place Card Frames:

Instead of just name cards for the Thanksgiving table, I thought it might be fun to be a little extra and turn the place cards into small framed gifts for the guests to take home. I used the 6121 – Storybook Template die for the boxed frame.

Colors and Supplies Used:

Paper: Canson XL Watercolor Paper

Kraft colored paper for the box

Patterned Paper: 5962 – Classic Christmas Paper Pack

Brushes: No. 4 round brush, No. 0 round brush

Stamps & Dies:

6254 – FG Thankful Border
4051 – WC Foliage Set 1
4052 – WC Flower Set 1
6271 – Flower Set 7
5600 – Harvest Sentiments Set
6121 – Storybook Template Die
5783 – Fall Leaf Frame Die Set

Ink for stamped images: Versafine Vintage Sepia

Tombow Dual Brush Pens: 025, 026, 177, 173, 526, 565, 772, 856, 837, 910, 912, 933, 947, 969, 977, 990, 992, 993

Other: Brown TwinTone marker, Black Micron Pen, and Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White (dots on mushrooms and flower centers)

Stamping:

To begin, I traced the interior section of the oval with a pencil onto a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper to establish my workspace. I did this for both images. Using this as a guide, I masked the area outside the oval and only inked half of the stamp (first the left side, then the right side) with Versafine Vintage Sepia and stamped onto my watercolor paper using a stamp platform. I did this for both frames.

Colors and Stamps Used:

Fence and posts: 177 and Brown TwinTone

Pumpkins: 933, 993, 925, and 177 (stems)

Mushrooms: 856, 837 (caps), 990, 992 (stems)

Grass and vines: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1)

Basket: 990, 992 (basket), and 856 (red band)

Tree: 977, 969, Brown TwinTone (tree), 025 and 177 (tree leaves – vine 4051)

Leaves on the ground: 993, 933, 856,177

Ground: 977, 969

Flowers in Basket: 856, 177 (flowers from 6271), 025, 993, 177 (daisy bunch – 4052)

Apples: 173, 177, 856, 837, 025, 993

Scarecrow: 910, 912 (face), 025, 026 (shirt, hair and stuffing), 177 (pants and hat band), 990, 992 (hat), 856 (patch and neck tie), 933 (patch and nose), 772 (cheeks), 969 (shoe and belt)

Sky: 526

Sentiments: 177 (from 5600 – Harvest Sentiments Set)

Frame Box Assembly:

I die cut the box and an oval insert from kraft colored cardstock. The decorative pieces were all cut from patterned paper (5962 – Classic Christmas Paper Pack) and adhered to the assembled box. Next, I adhered the kraft oval frame insert to the painting and added foam squares to attach to the inside front opening, giving the painting an inset look. I printed the names in green using a font from my computer on to white cardstock and die cut the tags. I tied the tags on to the box using twine, and popped up the Happy Thanksgiving Sentiment with foam squares.

Back side of the Frame:

I stamped the sentiment from 5600 – Harvest Sentiments Set with 177 onto a white cardstock oval. I die cut the leaves and sprigs from watercolor paper, painted them with 856, 025, 993, 933, 177, and 977 (5783 – Fall Leaf Frame Die Set). I added veins with a Brown TwinTone and attached them to the frame with glue.

The new Countryside Series stamp sets are so fun to use the conventional way, but I really enjoyed using them in a slightly different way by separating the border image into two parts. It was also fun to find new images to fit inside the Storybook Box. I think the place card frames turned out very nice and will look very festive!

Let It Snow Card:

My bonus project features one of the adorable snowmen images from 6259 – Let It Snow Story Tile Set. This little guy is doing a great job lighting up his tree! The snowmen images are perfect for using with the Story Tiles die, but look so cute on their own also!

I die-cut a piece of white shimmery card stock with the 5782 – Snowflake Frame Die and also die cut some snowflakes with the dies included with the frame. Next, I inked the snowman image with N52 and stamped it on to a piece of Canson XL Mix Media paper. I chose this paper over watercolor paper because it is whiter. It is also thinner than watercolor paper, so you have to be careful to not use too much water or the paper will ripple and not look as nice.

Colors used: 025, 177, 195, 249, 526, 526+565 (sky and snowbanks), 555, 565, 772, 856, 933, 925, 993, 947 and Dr. Ph. Martin’s for the snow. I used 526 for the Let It Snow sentiment.

The A2 card front was matted with red cardstock and patterned paper from 5853 – Christmas Magic Paper Pack. The painted image was popped up with foam squares and snowflakes were attached to the frame with glue.

For the inside of the card, I die cut a stitched rectangle frame from white cardstock and stamped the sentiment and snowman in 526. And for a nice little touch, I added a few snowflakes too!

Thank you so much for joining me for Watercolor Weekend! I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s projects and possibly learned how to use your stamp sets in different, creative ways. Until next time, and Happy Painting!

Barn Journal - Pages 2 and 3 by Janet

Today I'm sharing the 3rd page of my Barn Journal. This page features the stamp set 6264-Pumpkin Patch. The little pig is super cute! Also a pumpkin and birdhouse element from 6274-Country Barn Accessory Set decorates the pages. The cool thing about this set is that it comes with pre-printed fall images and dies that perfectly cut them out.

Here is the cover and the barn box. The journal compression fits in the box so that it stays in the box but easily pulls out, even after the journal is stuffed with 3D elements.

Here are pages 1 and 2.

Next week, I'll be back with more completed pages. I can't wait to finish it!

Thanks for stopping by and spending time with me and Art Impressions today. Please visit the Ai store to pick up your favorite stamps, dies, papers, accessories, and supplies, including all the supplies I used in this journal and box set.

Happy Crafting!

Friday, November 13, 2026

Sending Christmas Cheer! Card by Tasha

Happy Friday Art Impressions friends!

Tasha here sharing a holiday card featuring the adorable little elf from the 6104-Christmas Keepsake Set.

I just love this sweet little elf and thought he would look so cute sitting next to a Christmas tree! The tree is from the 5954-Woodland Bears Set, and I think they look great together.

I stamped the images in black ink and colored the elf with Copic markers. I kept the traditional Christmas colors with lots of red and green. For the background, I used some fun Christmas stocking pattern paper and added layers of red, white, and kraft cardstock.

I also added a sparkly silver glitter frame for a little extra Christmas sparkle! To finish the card, I used the Christmas Cheer greeting from the Art Impressions and Simon Says Stamp exclusive set.

I had so much fun putting this card together, and I just love how cute this little elf looks!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, November 12, 2026

Hey Pumpkin Challenge #440 Week#2

Hello AI Fans!

Welcome to week #2 of our

"Hey Pumpkin"

challenge!

Show us your Fall or Thanksgiving themed crafty creations.

They don't have to be cards. Place cards, gift bags/boxes, fall décor;
anything works as long as you use something from Art Impressions to create it.

Our Featured Artist for this challenge is Sharon.
Last week she shared this fun, dimensional card and you can find her
original post and lots more photos HERE.

Now let's see what the rest of the Design Team created to inspire you.

Now...get creating those fabulous fall creations!
You might be the next winner of a free stamp set.

Here are the rules...

✻ Please make a new card or handmade crafty creation using either stamps, dies and or designer paper from Art Impressions. You can make any item you wish; this is not limited to cards! (unless specified)

✻ Limit two submissions per person.

✻Top Spot Winner and Lucky Random Winner each receive a free

stamp set from Art Impressions

✻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!

On The Farm Pumpkin Patch!

Hey Everyone! Ok, ok!! I know technically the Pumpkin Patch is probably closed now, BUT, it is still fall (and pumpkin season) so I could not resist making this card and using this stamp. This stamp is available at Art Impressions along with many other farm themed items. I LOVE this release and was so excited to start working on some fun cards and projects.

For this card, I colored the image with my Copic Marks and added some little fun floral details with my gelly roll pen. I drew in the background of the fields (as seen on the cover art work that comes with this stamp) I used adorable new papers from this release called Country Barn. I then added a few enamel dots and some ribbon from my stash and that is it!

Oh, I also added these adorable garden shovels and rakes that I found on amazon. It comes with a pack of 4 pieces and was $5. I thought that was a great deal and they go great with this card theme.