Adirondack Chairs by the Falls by Guest Designer Dawn Wagner

 Celebration Hi!

I return for another round of painting fun!

 


America has its 250th Anniversary this 4th of July. I decided to create a celebration scene with the June Throwback. I used the following sets: 6234-Woodland Falls Throwback, 6236-Rocky Falls, 6225- Adirondack Chairs, 5009-Mini Flowers, 5373-Lg Tree Set(leaves only), 4051-Foliage and 5476- Foliage 5. I used Canson watercolor paper, #4 and #0 brushes, Tombow colors 969, 565, 177, 158, 133, 856, 990, 992, 526 and N35. TwinTone colors chocolate, Prussian blue, emerald green, blue and navy. I also used KingArt 132-Blue, and Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White. I inked the woodland falls stamp with 969 and 565 in the areas I was going to use for my scene. I did not use the entire scene because I wanted to add the lower falls to make the waterfall cascade longer. I used a stamp positioner to add the lower falls to the scene. I penciled in rocks on the left by the tree to complete the picture. Using the #4 brush with only water, I started pulling color from where I thought the darkest shadows of the rocks would be. I used N35 fine tip to deepen the darkest shadows and then used multiple color and many layers to the rocks to give them a more realistic look. I pulled color from the lines of the tree and went back in with the chocolate TwinTone to darken certain areas. I used the leaves from the tree set to make the background leaves and the leaves from 6234 for the darker foreground areas. I added the Adirondack chairs to the bottom of the waterfall using 969 and 565. I did stamp off once to lighten them up a bit. I added the American Flag to them for a patriotic look. I added some grasses and mini flowers under the tree and around some of the rocks. I used multiple blue colors in the waterfall to create some depth and flow appearance. I used Ph Martin’s to add some “churning” of the water at the bottom of each cascade, and some running down the waterfall. I was thinking the scene looked incomplete with the chasers just sort of floating in space there, so I added a shoreline and some sand to ground them into the scene. Sometimes I have a hard time trying to figure out just how to include and ground things into the project. That’s when I thought I needed to add some foliage and flowers by the chairs to complete the look. Okay, to be honest, I really wanted fireworks above the waterfall, that was my intent, but I was not confident enough to add them without messing up the rest of the scene. I will practice those at a later time. Thank you for following along and hope you had a great 4th of July!

Focus on Faith with Sara Furr: New Mercy Set

 Blessings, my dear friends, and welcome to the first edition of my "Focus on Faith" for the month of July!



This week I have two creations to share with you using the brand new, and very lovely, "Mercy set", along with some new die sets.

My first creation is a simple, yet elegant, watercolor. 

I die cut a piece of Canson XL Bristol Smooth cardstock using a label from the new #6233 die set to create a focal piece to stamp my bird and sentiment. **professional tip- be sure to use an embossing mat to dry emboss the die cut after cutting to give a clean, crisp and embossed edge to your die cut. 

I used Black Versafine ink to do my stamping in my MISTI stamping tool. I then watercolored my image with dye ink markers, adding in light washes of color to each section and going back in with a full strength ink to add in depth and shading.

 Once my image was colored, I added a light wash of blue in the background for a tiny bit of sky and let that dry. I then went back with a damp brush and pulled some the green color from my leaves out into the background . I then added a bit more green in splotches for more background interest.

Simple, easy, and oh so lovely! Don't you think? I just love this sweet image!

 

I created 2 mats of a light and dark peach colored cardstock. I embossed the darker peach with an embossing folder to add texture and interest to the panel. I distressed the edges of both panels with the edge of a scissors and adhered them together. I wrapped, and adhered a piece of pretty white lace towards the bottom of my panel, and then popped up my focal piece with foam tape and mounted it to the right center of my embossed background panel. 

As a final touch of softness and interest, I added a pretty seam binding bow with a corduroy button off to the left of my focal piece.

And that finishes my first card.

My second card uses the mirror image of the bird branch, but this time I stamped with Black Momento ink onto a scrap of the Canson XL Bristol Smooth cardstock, and then colored it with alcohol markers, and then fussy cut out of my sweet bird so I could pop him up on top of a nest of thread. I stamped my sentiment in Sepia Versafine Ink onto a white paper doily, and then popped up my birdie to the right hand side on his little nest of peachy pink thread With tiny foam squares. I added tiny pink pearls to the centers of my open flowers.

I added 2 mats of dsp that had the peach and pink tones of my flowers that I had colored, and distressed the tap, and bottom edges with a scissors. I then added some pink zig zag stitching to the right hand side with my sewing machine. I wrapped some crinkle seam binding ribbon, that I hand dyed with Distress reinker in Tattered Rose, around my dsp panels, and tied a simple bow.

 I then added that whole panel to a mat of peachy pink cardstock, and then to my whitecard base. I die cut a decorative bookmark from the new #6230 die set with the same peachy pink cardstock and cut off the decorative edge to use behind my doily. I adhered that with my tape runner, and then added a circle of white fun foam behind my doily to pop up that layer. 

As a final touch I added a decorative cream colored button to the center of my bow with the same pink thread I used for the nest behind my bird.

And that finishes my second card. 

I can't tell you how much I love this new "Mercy set"! It is so lovely, and has the best "Mercy" sentiments. It is a "must have" if you like birds. I hope you liked my two projects, and got inspired to create something soft, beautiful, and faith inspired using this lovely new set. Have a blessed week, and I will see you again on the 21st of July.

God bless you all,

Sara Furr- The Crafty Farm Chick

 

Other products used:

Die cutting machine 

Paper cutter

Embossing folder

MISTI stamping tool

Versafine ink in Black and Sepia

Dye ink markers

Alcohol ink markers

Scissors

Watercolor brush

Glue dots

Foam tape

Seam binding ribbon

Buttons

Thread

Sewing machine

Dsp

Cardstock

Doily

Lace

Pink pearls 

"LOVE" Birds by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

It's a release day here at Art Impressions and you're going to love the
new items! There are new word dies, frame stamps, florals and silver paint!!

I used a frame on the inside of my card and I love the touch of elegance that it adds.

 

I love these little word dies.
They look great on their own or make a great addition to your stamped images.
I used 2 birds because with the word LOVE you need 2 little "love birds!"

Get your happy on by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

Hope you had a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend if you're in the states and celebrated! I've got a fun card to show you today! Have you ever jumped on a trampoline? Well this lady is out having the time of her life helping someone celebrate their birthday! Watch a clip of the video below to see her in action! It's so much fun watching her jump around! I started by stamping #5279 Be Happy Laugh Lines onto a Copic friendly paper and fussy cutting her out after coloring her. I found this video on how to make the mechanism to make her jump. It's really pretty easy and you don't need any special dies to make it! 

The sentiment get your happy on is also from the same stamp set #5279 Be Happy Laugh Lines. The bird is from #5346 Birdhouse Cubbies Set, the flowers from #5925 Honey Bee Set, and the fence from #5807 Journal Fence Dies. I just clipped off one fence post from the die as it was just a little too wide for what I needed. The other pieces just came from my stash. 

For the inside sentiments I used #5278 Dance it out Set and #5115 Birthday Laugh Lines for the two different sentiments. 

So that's it for me today! Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit and until next time - stay crafty!!

From Poppies to the Beach By Simone Carr

 

Hello Fellow Crafters!

For my first card, I decided to go for an aged, vintage-inspired look. I have several scripted stamps that I haven’t used much, so I thought it was the perfect time to pull them out and give them a try.

I began by stamping the scripted background stamp onto Strathmore Bristol Smooth Paper using Memento Toffee Crunch ink. Immediately after stamping, I applied clear embossing powder, tapped off the excess, and heat set it to create a subtle embossed texture.

Next, I die cut the panel and placed it into my stamping platform. I positioned the poppy stamp where I wanted it on the background and stamped it using Distress Ink Antique Linen.

Once stamped, I colored in the image. After the coloring was complete and fully dry, I used a smaller die to cut out the center section of the flowers, creating a framed focal point.

To add dimension, I placed foam tape behind the cut-out piece so it would stand off the background. Before adhering everything to the card base, I inked the edges with Memento Toffee Crunch ink to enhance the aged, vintage feel.

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies

• 6163 – Poppy Margin Set
• 6155 – Ornate Margin Dies

Inks & Mediums

• Distress Ink – Antique Linen
• Memento Toffee Crunch
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Pitt Artist Pen – Black
• Antique Frame (accessory)
• Foam Tape

Paper

• Strathmore Bristol Smooth Paper

Tombow Markers

• 856
• 117

For my second card, I created a small beach scene using the M3178 Island Window set.

I began by stamping the image onto Canson Watercolor Paper using Distress Ink Antique Linen. Once the image was stamped, I colored the scene and trimmed it closely around the image.

To build the frame, I used white cardstock and cut a square using the 3rd largest Double Stitched Square Die. I then centered the 8th largest Nested Square Die inside it to create a layered frame.

I placed the frame into my stamping platform and aligned my sentiment so it would stamp neatly around the frame. I stamped the sentiment using Versafine Onyx Black.

To finish the frame, I painted the inner edge with Winsor & Newton Gold paint for a soft metallic accent and allowed it to dry completely.

Once dry, I added foam tape to the back of the framed panel and adhered it over my beach scene for dimension and depth. The finished piece is ready to be added to a card base.

Thanks so much for spending time here—I hope these cards inspire you to create something beautiful today!

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies

• M3178 – Island Window
• 5061 – Square Double Stitched Dies (3rd & 2nd Largest)
• 5725 – Nested Square Dies (8th Largest)
• 5329 – Beach Mini Dies

Paper

• 6033 – Inspirational Easter Patterned Paper
• Canson Watercolor Paper

Inks & Mediums

• Distress Ink – Antique Linen
• Versafine Onyx Black
• Winsor & Newton Gold Paint
• Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White
• TwinTone Marker – Brown
• Foam Tape

Tombow Markers

• 117 – Palms, Bush, Flower
• 245 – Bush
• 815 – Flowers, Chairs
• 977 + 912 – Sand
• 526 + 117 – Water
• 526 – Sky
• 969 – Palm
• 025, 985, 933 – Sun
• 569 – Shadow

Happy 4th of July by Gennette Houghton

 

Hello, and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend!  To our U.S. friends I am wishing you a Happy Independence Day.  Since my post actually falls on the 4^th, my cards are geared towards honoring the day.  (Someone please explain to me how it is already July?!)

I have always been fond of using the window and door stamps from Art Impressions, they always feel so inviting to me.  Kind of like…HI! I am so glad you are here! Come on in!  For my first card I used 5364 WC Ornate Window Set and 5494 Front Porch Patriotic Set.  Both the window and the bunting were stamped in Distress Ink Pumice Stone and stamped off once.  I started with the bunting and created a mask and then used my stamping platform and a piece of acetate first to make sure that I had the window lined up where I wanted it before stamping onto my watercolor paper.  I used 312 on the main frame and left the trim white.  Going lighter with the 312 close to the window box so it would not compete with the flowers and foliage I am putting in.  Darkening the more shadow areas with the same color and then adding in some 565 to enhance the shadowed areas.  I also added some 312 around the window for a background before adding any of the foliage.  Using a pencil and ruler I added in some windowpanes, and then added in some 526 and 565 around the edges of the window and under the lines I put in for the panes of glass.  A little 969 was used to put in the handles.  On the bunting I started by putting in some shadows in the folds with 565, and then added 569 around the stars and 856 for the red areas.  The daisy bunch from 4052 Flower Set 1 was used in 526 and 885.  I then added the ivy from 5007 WC Foliage Set 3 in 177.  I did use a stamp positioner for some of it because I wanted them in a specific spot and that allows me to do just that.  I softened both the flowers and ivy with a damp brush. After this I dropped in some water downed 555 in and around the vines for a bit more of a contrast.  I also added some 565 to create shadows where the ivy and flowers overhang the window and box.  565 and the dots from 5418 Bible Foliage Set 2 was added throughout the vines and then added in some Bleed Proof White amongst the flowers in the window box, finishing off my image.  

I then took the 2^nd largest die from 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies and cut out my image, matting this with a dark blue colored cardstock.  I used some paper from my stash to mat the card base and then attached my image to finish the card off.  I love this window, it has so much character about it, you should check out some of Bonnie’s tutorials with this set, I love the Halloween version she did.

 For my 2^nd card I started by placing my stamp from 5420 Frameworks Set 1 in my stamping platform after lining it up on my watercolor paper.  I took a very light gray and marked the spot on the stamp of where I wanted my star to be and stamped it on the WC paper.  This way I knew exactly where I needed to place the star and it wouldn’t interfere with the colors I was putting in.  I then stamped in the star from 5494 FP Patriotic Set in Distress Ink Pumice Stone after stamping off once.  I created a mask and covered the star before going in with 990 on the frame, keeping it really light so I had a guide to go by.  

I then added in leaves from 5795 Berries Set with a stamp positioner, also in Pumice Stone, and stamped off once.  I then used the stamp positioner to put in the berries from 5828 WC Poinsettia Set in Pumice Stone and stamping off once each time.  Once I had all of this in, I put it back in my stamping platform and carefully started adding in 977 on the frame, being careful to stay away from the items I just stamped in.  Then I added in 4964 WC Branches Set in 977 with the stamp positioner and put that in a couple of times going up the other side of the frame.  I then started with the leaves, first using 126 and then contouring and shading with 177.  055 was used first on the star, with 025 for depth, and then added a bit of 026 for the shading.  Keeping the highlights on the upper bends of the star.  I used 569 for the blue, and 856 on the red for the berries, then added just a touch of 837 for more contrast.  I then added 977 on the stems of the berries, also going over any of the lines on the frame that I didn’t darken before.  I then used a Marvy #89 Persimmon with the fine tip to add in the berries on the branches on the other side, softening just a touch with a damp brush.  I added in some 526 for the background, but for whatever reason, and no matter what I did, would not show up in the picture.  Using the 4^th from largest in the 5725 Nested Square dies I cut out my image and used a corner rounder so it would match up with the 6047 Scalloped Dies, 3^rd from largest that I cut out of dark blue for the mat.  I then matted my card base with paper from my stash and assembled my card.  Thank you for joining me today, and I hope you enjoyed my cards! Until next time, Create….Share….Inspire!

Christmas in July Challenge - Christmas Keepsake by Janet

It's July and that means I can break out the Christmas sets without ANY sheepishness for being into Christmas early! Like many of you, holiday cardmaking is my favorite time of the year so when July rolls around, it's time for Christmas in July projects. Conveniently, Art Impression's current challenge is Christmas in July so I'm taking full advantage of it!

This charming little Christmas Set is 6104 Christmas Keepsake. It come with matching dies so after I stamped and colored the images, I cut them out so I could place them in the frames of  6158 - Story Tile Template Die. Before I placed the frame and images on a card base, I used a stencil to create a background that reminds me of pine boughs. Then I put some of the images straight on to the card and others are lifted on foam tape for additional dimension. I stamped the sentiment from the 5566 - Christmas Sentiments set. I added some white highlights using a Signo White Ink Gel Pen. Finally I added some red and green bling in the corners and the middle to add a little more shine to the project.

I hope you'll join us for this super fun challenge. I look forward to seeing all the projects that are created.

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. 

Happy Crafting!

Let Freedom Ring! Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday Art Impressions Friends!

Tasha here sharing a patriotic card to kick off the big Fourth of July weekend. This card features the fun 6077-Loungin' Linda Set and paper from the 6090-Patriotic Paper Pack. I love all the fireworks!

To begin this card, I stamped Linda and used the included die to cut her out before coloring. I used Copic Markers to color her and added details with a white gel pen; I think she looks awesome in her Red, White & Blue outfit.

To add to the Americana theme, I added the flag from the 5494-Front Porch Patriotic Set and used a piece of firework pattern paper for the sky. Linda looks like she is enjoying all the 4th of July festivities!

Lastly, I attached a "Let Freedom Ring" sentiment and layers of Red and Blue cardstock and silver glitter paper for sparkle.  I think this card is fun and perfect to send to someone this Summer. 

Happy 4th of July!

Challenge #431 Christmas in July

 Hello everyone and welcome to our Christmas in July challenge!

ALL things Christmas!

Show us your cards, tags, gift boxes and bags,
gift card holders, ornaments and more!

I'm the Featured Artist this time, and I created fun multi-domed shaker card.

I began by coloring and cutting out all of my little figures and sentiments.
The images needed to be fussy cut because they're watercolor stamps which
don't come with coordinating dies.

I then lined all the little circles up under the dome,
removed the dome and glued them down.

Once they were glued down I add little snowflakes using an embossing tool
and Dr. Ph Martin's white paint.

Once the snowflakes were dry I placed a variety of snowflakes and beads onto
each circle. I didn't use too many because I didn't want to cover up my cute images.

After placing my shaker bits I adhered the dome over them using teeny tiny glue dots.
I added a bow and a frame around it to add some interest.

The dome was an upcycled piece of packaging that I had lying around.
I had purchased some gems at the Dollar Tree and they came in little plastic

containers, each separated into one of the domes. I thought it would be fun to

use this leftover plastic as a shaker dome on a card.

On the inside I added a sentiment and a little bunny.
He's SO CUTE!!

With the heat wave we've been having here, near 100 degrees for around a week straight,

it's hard to imagine snow right now. Luckily, I have an air conditioner in my craft room.

I hope you like my card and that you'll enter a project into our Christmas in July challenge!

Now, let's see who won our Artful Architecture challenge.

For our Top Spot we selected #13 Patty S.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim your free stamp set.

Our Lucky Random Winner was #6 Shine your light

Please e-mail Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com
to claim your free set.

Congratulations to our winners.

Now for our new challenge!

✻ 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! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter