Sending Panda Bear Hugs Card by Tasha!

Hi Ai Friends!

Tasha here sharing a panda themed card created with the new 5821 KH-Panda Set. I enjoy coloring animals and this stamp set includes three different pandas to customize your project. This card uses the largest of the three and one of the panda-themed greetings.

I started by stamping the panda and coloring him with Copic Markers. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the background, but wanted to try something different. I decided to add tons of bamboo and drew in extra leaves to create the outdoor scene. For the bamboo, I used several shades of green markers and kept the centers light to give the glowing look.

To coordinate with all the lime green, I colored the open areas of the background with a deep pink color. I think pink & green may be one of my all-time favorite color combinations and the pink also looks awesome with the black & white panda!

Lastly, I embossed "Bear Hugs" on to black card stock and used a circle die to cut the greeting out. For a frame, I layered a silver glitter circle which gave a pretty sparkle to the center of the card. I also added deep pink, black, and silver glitter paper layers to complete the design. 

I hope you enjoyed today's card and are having a wonderful day!

All A-Buzz Challenge #383 Week #2

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to week #2 of our

All A-Buzz challenge.

Use insects.

Last week, I was the Featured Artist and I made two SHAKER cards.

Sharon used a bunch of BEES.

Dori's BEES buzz around!

See her video on her post.

Janet used spiders from 5038 – Ghoul Friend Set.

Tasha also used BEES.

Lynn went with BUTTERFLIES and has a video tutorial. 

They sure created some wonderful inspiration!

Thank you everyone.

We're loving all of the entries so far.

Keep up the amazing work everyone.

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

✻ 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

Buzzing By by Dori Mendiola

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

My card for today fits the All A-Buzz Challenge going on this week.  Check out the "Bi-weekly Challenge" tab above for the details and join in on the fun.  Create a card/project using insects.  I used the #5925 - Honey Bee set for my card.  What a great fun set.  It includes flowers, bees, honey jar, bee hive and so much more plus dies to go with each of the images.  

A complete set for creating a beautiful scene.  

I love making interactive cards so this one is no surprise that I made the bees buzz around.  I stamped each of the images onto copic friendly paper and colored with copic markers listed below.  I die cut each of the images with the corresponding dies, included in the set, and placed them aside while I built the base for the card.  

I used the #5892 Easter S2 paper pack and the largest #5062 Rounded Rectangle A2 Double Stitched die to cut the pattern paper.  Then I used two circles from the #5064 Double Stitched Circle dies to cut the round track for the bees to buzz around.  I placed foam tape behind the circle as well as the rectangle, making sure not to place too close to the outside of the circle so the bees can spin, and adhered onto a black cardstock background.  I slipped a dime (or disc, thin button, etc.) under the track and placed a square pop dot, cut in half, on top of the dime.  Then I placed two bees on top of the foam dot.  I used two bees so that I could hide the dime from showing.  

After making the mechanism, I decorated the rest of the card using the images I had colored and die cut.  I created the grass using a die cut and patterned paper from my stash.  I also used the Rounded Rectangle A2 die to cut the bottom portion of the grass so it fit nicely over the striped base. I glued the stem portion of the flowers underneath the grass and popped up the flower portion using foam tape.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment, from this same set, and die cut using the #5135 Hexagon Double Stitched Die set.

That's my card for today!  Hope you play along with us and enter your creative card/project into the challenge.  You could win a free stamp set and who can say "No" to that.  

Have a great day and enjoy creating!

Copics used:  N2, N4, N7

E21, E23, E25, E27

Y11, Y13, Y15, Y17

YG41, YG45

B0000, B000

R02, R05

Fairytale Garden House by Lynn Dionne

Happy Wednesday Ai Fans!!!

Watch video tutorial here!!!

Today we will be using the brand-new Art Impressions Fairytale Houses Set (5935) which includes 3 adorable little fairytale houses, a few cute sentiments, flowers, a bee and butterfly, a fence, and some mushrooms! The coordinating dies are also included with this set!

Today's card was inspired by the current Art Impressions "All a-Buzz!" Blog Challenge which is challenging us to use any insect or insects on your project! I couldn't resist adding a few cute little butterflies!

Let's begin by stamping and coloring all of our images using the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens in the following colors: Blender, Pale Yellow, Yellow, Scarlet Red, Geranium Red, Peach Pink, Lt Violet, Purple, Violet, Aquamarine Blue, Cornflower Blue, Lt Green, Green, Beige, Mid Brown, Brown, Lt Gray, Gray. Once the coloring is complete, we can die cut the images.

Next, we can die cut the plaid panel, the yellow panel and the wood frame using the Ai Fall Paper Pack (5838) and the Ai Square Double Stitched Dies (5061) and the Ai Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies (5063). Let's quickly stamp the sentiment in the upper left-hand corner of the yellow pattern paper.

We can add some pretty yellow and white baker's twine around the rectangle card panel and tie a bow.

Now we can attach all of these layers to a standard A2 size top folding card base. Now let's lay out the scene and attach all of these cute little items.

As a finishing touch, let's add some Wink of Stella Clear Glitter to the butterflies and a few other items for a bit of sparkle!

If you would like to see another card that I created using the Woodland Fairy Set, I will link it below for you:

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

 

Ai Fairytale Houses Set (5935)

Ai Square Double Stitched Dies (5061)

Ai Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies (5063)

Ai Fall Paper Pack (5838)

Ai Watercolor Travel Box (4924)

Steel Die Cutters (5765)

Wink of Stella Glitter Pen - Clear

Doggies Need to Stay Hydrated Too! by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

Today I have some dog themed shaker cards for you.

These did not set out to be shakers.
I had cut the dog out with my circle dies and had
intended to leave it just like that with a matte around it.
I still had my snow globe domes out from last week though
and noticed that they would fit perfectly around this little guy.

After stamping and coloring the image I used Diamond Stickles to drip water

out of the tumbler onto the floor.  You can just ignore the little dog hair that attached 

itself to my dome...lol! (We'll just say it's there for authenticity)

I have always cut a circle frame to put around the dome when I've 

used it in the past but I didn't this time because I wanted to be able to 

see the entire tumbler. I used the paw print die to cut a stencil out for the

tumbler. Once I had the die cut OUT, I used a black marker to stencil the 

paw onto the tumbler.

I love finishing the insides of my cards as well.

I have so many friends that are dog lovers that will enjoy

this card. I hope you do too!

Copics used:

RV000, RV52, B000, B00, B01, E23, E53, W00, W2

All A-Buzz Challenge by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

Hope you all are staying cool in these hot summer days! I'm here today with a card I made for the All A-Buzz challenge that's going on right now. Have you entered it yet? If not, you still have time to get a project done! I used the new 5925 Honey Bee Set and I am in love!! This set is so amazing and has soooo many stamps and it also comes with dies!!! Daisies are my favorite flower, so when I saw the daisies and dies in this set, I was so happy!! As you can see, I kind of went overboard with them, LOL! I had to be nice and threw a few sun flowers in there too. :)  I created the sunshine background with a stencil from my stash and some distress inks. I also added a couple layers of grass to ground all the flowers and beehive. And these adorable bees!!! Can you even handle it??!! LOL! I topped it off with a pot of honey and a bow (lol).  The images were stamped onto alcohol ink friendly paper and then colored with Copics which are listed below. 

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit today! Until next time - stay crafty!!

"Stay Hydrated and Fabulous" Card and "Hope Your Day is Magical!" Card by Diane Mason

Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!

Today I have two cards to share, featuring three fabulous, recently released sets:  5928 – Stay Hydrated Set, 5916 – Woodland Castle Set, and 5915 – Woodland Fairies Set.

The first card features the Stay Hydrated Set. With the hot summer heat upon us, we can all appreciate how important it is to stay hydrated. This fashionable gal is looking fabulous and ready for her day with her big tumbler! It’s fun to coordinate her outfit with the background paper. I’ve watercolored this image, but she looks great paper-pieced as well!

Stay Hydrated and Fabulous Card: 

This card came together quite quickly. I used a MISTI stamp platform to stamp the image onto Canson XL watercolor paper. I inked the stamp image with Ranger Pebble Beach Archival Ink and stamped it off once onto scrap watercolor paper before stamping it onto my watercolor paper. If I happened to miss a spot, I would repeat the process. I like to use this ink when I’m painting people. This ink retains the fine details, is waterproof, and works well with skin tones. I also inked just the tumbler alone and stamped it onto a separate piece of watercolor paper to use later on this card._­­­­ I stamped the Hydrated sentiment onto this tumbler in Versafine Onyx Black Ink.

For her face, arms, and ankles I painted them with 850 and shaded with 912. For her pants, shoes, and sunglasses lens, I used N35 and shaded with N25. Her oversized shoulder bag was painted in 977 and shaded with 969. For her hair and earring, I used 025 and 026. For her white shirt, I shaded with a watery mix of N52 and a less diluted N52 for the darker areas inside her shirt. For her pink shirt, sunglasses frame, and lips I used 703. I added a little diluted 703 for her cheeks. For the background, I brushed in a watery mix of 526. I used 565 to add a shadow under her foot. With a 0 brush, I added white highlights to the lens of her sunglasses. I used a gray or black TwinTone to add back details where needed.

For the separate tumbler stamped image, I used 703 for the body. I then used a Silver Signo Gel Pen to color the brim/lid. I shaded the straw, lid, and tumbler with a small amount of 565. Next, I die-cut the painting with a rectangle die and also die-cut another slightly larger rectangle in black for a mat. I closely trimmed the tumbler image with a pair of scissors and used foam squares to pop-up the tumbler on the painting. The pink gingham background paper is from the 5892 – Easter S2 Paper Pack. All were attached to a black card base. I stamped the Liquid Therapy sentiment in Onyx Black onto watercolor paper and die-cut with a circle die from 5064 – Circle Double Stitched Dies and die-cut a mat from black cardstock with a scalloped die from 5543 – Journal Template Die Set and adhered to the card front with a foam square.For the interior of my card, I stamped the Stay Fabulous sentiment and the tumbler in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto watercolor paper die-cut with a rectangle die. I masked the edges of the body of the tumbler and stamped the animal print onto the tumbler, using Onyx Black ink. The tumbler was painted in the same way as the one on the front and adhered the rectangle to the inside of the card. This card is now ready to send to a girlfriend who needs to be reminded of just how fabulous they are! Now on to my next card…

Hope your Day is Magical Card:­­­­­

I think the new 5916 – Woodland Castle Set and 5915 – Woodland Fairies Set work great together to create a fun, whimsical scene. And they are super adorable sets with lots of options! This card was inspired by Bonnie’s recent Watercolor Wednesday LIVE video tutorial (Jun 12, 2024) showing how to place the wildflowers in the foreground to give your finished scene more depth.

I started by die-cutting a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper with a rectangle die. With the same sized rectangle die, I die-cut another rectangle from purple cardstock and then die-cut it again with a smaller rectangle to create a frame. I laid the frame on top of my watercolor paper and lightly traced the interior with a pencil to give me a boundary to paint within. Then, I masked off the edges with Post-it tape. I inked the large castle stamp from the Woodland Castle set in 969 and 565, and stamped it off once before stamping it onto my watercolor paper. With the castle now in place, I made a mask to place over it. Using the 5379 – WC Winding Scene, I inked the top two hillsides and the one on the right just below in N79 and stamped into place over the masked castle. With a pencil, I sketched in the remaining hills. Next, I inked just a portion of the curving road in N79 and stamped it into place at the castle doors to create a path/road.

First, I brushed in a watery sky with 526. I pulled some color from the image to shade the castle and add contours to the turret walls. Next, I inked the line of bushes stamp from 5372 – WC Mini Foliage Set in 177 and stamped along the top hills. With a damp No. 4 brush, I dabbed the bushes. With color from my palette, I added more 177 to the top hills and pulled some color from the bottom edges of the bushes. I did the same process for the next set of hills below, but used 249 this time. With 177 again, I painted in the grassy areas around the castle and added tiny grass to the hillside edge.

For the flowers in the foreground, I inked the daisy bunch from 4052 – WC Flower Set 1 in 993 and stamped in multiple bunches. I did the same with 526. Next, I dabbed the flowers lightly with a no. 4 brush. Before adding any more flowers or foliage, I painted in a light base of 177 below the daisy bunches. Once dry, I added tall grasses from 5007 - WC Foliage Set 3 inked in 177 along the bottom edge here and there, and kind of bounced the grass up and down as I stamped so they appear more random. Next, I stamped in the tall purple flowers from 4052 – WC Flower Set 1 inked in 636 for the flowers and 249 for the stems. Then I added the red flowers from 5008 - WC Flower Set 3, inking the flowers in 856 and the stems in 177 and stamped them here and there throughout the scene. I added foliage to the wildflowers throughout, inked in 249 or 177. I chose foliage from 4051 – WC Foliage Set 1 and 5126 – WC Foliage Set 4. I also stamped leafy vines from set 4051 inked in 249 to the top corners and center to look like leafy tree branches in the foreground. I dabbed all the flowers and leaves with a damp brush.

I used 526 to paint the turrets, roof edge, balcony, and door trim. The flags, turret edging, and doors were all painted with 025 and shaded with 026. The windows were painted with 565, and I painted a shadow along the top of the door. And with a mix of 565 and 969, I added color to the path. I inked the tiny vine from 5372 in 177 and added foliage around the castle edges and lightly dabbed with a damp brush. With Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White and a no. 0 brush I added frames to the windows and dabbed in some tiny flowers near the castle and some larger dabs of flowers among the wildflowers. I also added some white to the red flower centers. Once dry, I added yellow centers to the white flowers with the bullet tip of 993. I added a tiny bit of shading under the white flowers with 565. Where needed, I added some fine details with a brown or gray TwinTone marker.

With the painting now complete, I removed the tape from the edges of the painting and erased any pencil lines. I adhered the purple frame to the painting with foam squares. I attached the purple patterned paper from the new 5939 – Fairy Garden Paper Pack and the painting to a white card base. I stamped the “Hope Your Day is Magical” sentiment onto Watercolor paper and die-cut the circle and mat using the same dies from the previous card and attached them to the card frame. Added a little bling to the tag.

For the tiny fairy in the corner of the frame, I used Ranger’s Pebble Beach Archival Ink to stamp the image. I colored her skin with 850 and 912. I added a tiny bit of 703 to her cheeks. I used 526 for her hair and 636 for her dress and hair tie. I painted her wings lightly with 133 and 526. I darkened her eyes with a black Micron pen and brushed a little Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen onto her hair and wings to make them shimmer. After I die-cut out the little fairy, I attached her to the bottom edge of the frame.

For the interior of the card, I stamped the “Wishing you the best day ever!” sentiment and little fairy in Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto a rectangular piece of white cardstock and adhered to the card base.

I love how this sweet and whimsical fairy card turned out and I look forward to making more cards with these adorable new sets. Thank you for joining me for another Watercolor Weekend! Until next time, Happy Painting!

For the "Stay Hydrated" Card:

For the "Hope Your Day is Magical" Card:

Carry a Big Tumbler! by Janet

Hello everyone. Today I bring you a square card. It measures 4 1/2" and features the hard working, but very cool lady of the 5928-Stay Hydrated Set. The heart paper is one of the great little patterns in the 5832-Gnome Paper Pack.

To make this card, I started by stamping and coloring the lady. She's obviously a very busy lady with a HUGE tumbler to keep her going. I had some fun with her outfit by adding the vertical (and slimming, ha ha ha!) stripes in coffee colors on her shirt. A white shirt is worn over the top but I added a pink striped collar and folded sleeve trim. I stamped and colored another of the cups to add to the top of the first cup. It gives it more dimension and emphasizes the hugeness of the tumbler. Before fussy cutting the second cup out, I chose the swirl pattern and stamped it with Versamark and applied white heat embossing powder to it. I added it to the top of the first cup with foam tape.

I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it in white to match the tumbler. I cut it and the scallop background with punches in my stash. Finally I added a wax seal and brown ribbon. I made the seal over a month ago and have been waiting for the right project to use it. I think I found it!

 Thanks for stopping by today. I hope my card gives you some ideas of your own. Please visit the store to see all the things you need for your card, journal, and tag making projects. Be sure to take a look at all the new releases while you are there. Have a great weekend!

 Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest   

Happy Bee-Day! Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday Ai Friends!

Tasha here sharing a bee-themed card inspired by the current All A-Buzz Challenge! I used the new 5925 - Honey Bee Set and think the little bee stamps are just too cute! 

I started by stenciling a hive design in the center of my card to bring in a bright yellow color. After, I stamped out all the images. Cutting these stamped pieces out was super easy using the included dies; I love that Art Impressions has coordinating dies for this set!

For the coloring, I used Copic Markers and added glitter to the wings for extra sparkle. I also used a white gel pen on the fabric top of the honey to give a check look. Doesn't this little bee look so happy with his honey jar?

This stamp set includes several greetings, but the "Happy Bee-Day!" sentiment fit perfectly on a little banner. I decided to emboss white on black paper to continue with the bee theme. Plus, the black, white, and yellow colors always look good together.

Lastly, I added gold glitter paper, orange and gold card stock, and a pretty floral pattern paper to complete the card. I hope you enjoyed today's project and will participate in the All A-Buzz Challenge!

All A-Buzz Challenge #383

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to our newest challenge,

All A-Buzz!

We want to see your crafty projects using INSECTS!

Bees, butterflies, snails, ladybugs, caterpillars, dragonflies, spiders (yes, I know that they're not

actually an insect but they count) Any creepy crawly.

 

Before I show you my feature, let's see who won our Magical Creatures challenge.

Our Top Spot went to Deanna F.
She used 5345 – Fairy Cubbies Set

Congratulations!

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!Also, be sure to grab our badge to display on your blog, Facebook or Instagram!

Our Lucky Random Winner was:

#11 Reetta H.

She used 5040 – Sleigh Bells Set

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!

Also, be sure to grab our badge to display on your blog, Facebook or Instagram!

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

Hello everyone and welcome to my feature.

Today, I've created a shaker card using the little domes from

Art Impressions. They aren't JUST for snow globes!

I began by coloring the images that I wanted to put inside

the dome. I cut a circle slightly smaller than the dome and

adhered the little house, flower, fence etc. to that.

Then, I cut a white circle the same size as the circumference 

of the dome and glued my smaller circle to that.

Using the same two circle dies, I cut a little frame to go on the outside

of the dome. It's covered in a protective plastic film to keep it free of

fingerprints until you're ready to use it. I roughed mine up a bit so you

could see what I mean. Be sure to remove this BEFORE adhering your

frame to the outside.

My next step was to lay out my pieces and kind of get an idea

of where I wanted things. At this point I decided I wanted a sentiment

on the front so I scooched things up a bit to accommodate that.

Now I have everything glued down EXCEPT for my dome.

It's time to put the beads in. I selected the amount that I wanted

and laid them on top of the little scene. 

Then I peeled the backing off of the dome and placed 

it over it. At this point I added the green 

frame to the outside of the dome.

I used a different sentiment on the inside. I love finishing

the insides of my cards too.

I hope you enjoyed my shaker card and will give this challenge a try!

I can't wait to see what you create.

Copics used:

BG000, B05, C1, C5, Y08, YR12, 

E30, E53, YG09, YG13, RV06

Twin Tones:

Black

Gray

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

✻ 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