Sending a few bucks... by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Today I'm sharing a masculine card that I made using the 5043 Ole Buck set.

I've combined two of my favorite types of cards to make here...masculine and fall themed cards.

Hunting is very popular where I live. I've used this set many times for fall birthdays.  Everyone has loved the cards that I made.

Copics used:

B0000, B000, E13, E35, E42

We're how old??? by Sharon Caudle

I love Art Impressions stamps so much, I think cause they're just so easy to relate to. This one is no different. For my card today, I used Live Laugh Love Set. I stamped her onto Cryogen white paper and colored her up with Copic markers, added some fun, festive paper and a sentiment and voila! A cute, quick card that goes together super quickly! 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today and until next time - stay crafty!

Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Sparkle & Shine Holiday Cards!

Hello, Ai Fans! We've been looking forward to Watercolor Weekend all week! Today the team is here with some awesome holiday inspiration! Let's take a look, and don't forget to follow these ladies on their social media platforms in pink next to their name for even more inspiration throughout the week!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

Hello Watercolor Friends,

Don't you love Christmas trees? I hope you like my Christmas tree card for the Art Impressions bi-monthly Watercolor Weekend. The first thing I stamped was the bunny in brown 969 from the 4874 - WC Bunny Set and then I stamped it on post-it tape to make a mask. I stamped the barrel from the 4871 - WC Rustic Container Set after inking it in blue 565 and then brown 969. I watercolored the bands with N25 on the palette and the wood parts in 947. I watercolored the inside of the ears of the bunny in 772 and then I took the fine tip of the brown Tombow TwinTone to the eyes, nose and other areas that needed to be darker. I stamped the tree trunk from the 4960 - WC Fir Trees Set in 969 and the branches in two greens, 177 and 249. I dabbed all over the tree with a wet brush and then stamped more branches and repeated my process to really fill in the tree. No Charlie Brown trees for me, I like them fat and full. I stamped a branch from the 4964 - WC Branches Set with the 969 and then added leaves in 177 from the 4867 - WC Foliage Set 2. I dabbed at the leaves with a wet brush and then I took the fine tip of the red 847 to make the berries. I watercolored with 565 for the snow on the ground and the sky. I dabbed circles of glossy accents all over the tree and then I sprinkled red glitter on them. After I used a hot gun to dry the glossy accents, I cut out the scene with the largest die from the 5065 - Oval Double Stitched Die Set. I cut out the background piece of white glitter paper with the largest die from the 5062 Rounded Rectangle Die and then put it all together on an A2 card base.

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest

There was a lot of pre-planning on scrap paper for this one! I wanted to use all four elves from the 5125-WC Elves Set, so I played around with positioning based on their poses and the angle of how their heads were tilted, until I got something that I could work with. I also wanted them to be in and around the presents, so had to figure out the shape of the parcels, while still leaving room for the branch to hang down. I positioned all four elves on the same block to ensure they were placed correctly, and coloured them first in Tombow #565 Deep Blue, and then #969 Chocolate - stamped them off on scrap paper and then onto my Ranger Watercolor Paper. With a pencil and ruler, I drew in the presents, and lightly drew a line where I wanted the branch to be. 

The elves are painted with #837 Wine Red, #177 Dark Jade and #969 for their shoes. A touch of #850 Flesh for their skin tone, and #026 Yellow Gold and #969 Chocolate for their hair. The presents are painted with #026, #565, #969 and #N65 Cool Grey. I layered the colour to get the darker shades on some sides of the boxes, and went in with the fine points of the markers to draw the crisp edges of the boxes in. I dove into my Christmas wrap to dig out a bow, and loosely sketched it in on the large present, painting it in with #565 Deep Blue. With the pine bough from 4867 - WC Foliage Set 2 New, and my #249 Hunter Green marker, I repeatedly stamped it to create the tree branch. After dabbing it lightly with my damp #1 paintbrush, I went back in with the fine point to draw in a few needles, and darken a few areas. I picked up #565 from my palette, and painted a faint blue wash in the background, and also used it to add shadows in and around the elves & presents. 

Since this paper has a fair bit of texture, some of the definition of the elves had been lost in the stamping, so I used my TT41 Chocolate TwinTone Marker to redraw the outline of the elves. The image is die cut with one of the 5063 - Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies. I wanted a softer edge to my scene, so I used blending brushes with two shades of Distress Oxide Inks (Evergreen Bough & Blueprint Sketch) to shade the outside of my rectangle giving it a bit of a soft focused look. I matted it with some dark blue cardstock and adhere it with pop dots onto my plaid card base, then wrapped it with an organdy bow. A few sparkles liven it up a little!

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook

Hey watercolor fans! Welcome to another Watercolor Weekend. With Thanksgiving coming up soon I thought I would do a simple Blessed & Grateful Harp. I love the elegance of the harp. I just love the shine that the Wink of Stella adds. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and feel as blessed as I do.

Project details

I started out by inking the harp with Yellow. Then, using a light hand, I i
nked it with the Brown sporadically around the stamp. I wanted to create a mixture of color without losing the Yellow. The stamp is pretty delicate, so I decided to use my #1 brush to pull the color out of the lines. I also used it to pull the color slightly out of the strings, making sure to hold my brush vertical to keep the lines thin. I added some additional color from my palette.

Next, I inked the small vine from the Foliage Set 4 with the Green. I wanted it to be more of a Hunter Green so I used 249 but any green will work. I added water to the leaves. I knew that I was going to use red and I didn't want them to mix and make brown. I inked the small dots from the Mini Flower Set with Red. I added water to soften the blooms.

I added some Brown mixed with Blue to the bottom of the harp to ground it. To create some additional depth and interest, I added some blue to the background. To make the harp look like gold, I added some Wink of Stella to it. Lastly, I signed and dated my painting. 

That's it! Amazing right. You can create some quick and easy paintings that come out amazing.

To create the card I cut it out with a rectangle stitched die. I added it to a mat created from Gina K Designs Wild Dandelion cardstock and one created with Dark Chocolate cardstock. I added both of these to a Neenah Solar White card base.

I am so happy you stopped by and I hope you have been inspired by all the awesome projects. Tag us on Instagram so we can check out your fantastic projects.

Have a blessed & crafty day!

Thanks, team! What amazing holiday projects! We love the touches of sparkle added to your projects to make them pop and display more holiday cheer! Did you enjoy these projects? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by this Saturday, and have an awesome Watercolor Weekend!

Happy Stamping!

Jingle All the Way Wobble | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!I'm making some interactive Christmas cards this week. This Jingle set has a large reindeer stamp that comes with a action wobbler and a extra stamp and die to cut out his bum. So silly and fun!

I stamped the reindeer and the extra bum on to Neenah 80lb card stock and colored them in with Copic markers. This set does come with a die for the bum image but I went ahead and fussy cut it out. It is a very simple image and I chose not to have the white border that the die leaves behind. Fear not though the die will not go to waste, because it is a great shape to use a speech bubble! I love items that can be used for dual purposes. Also I don't mind fussy cutting but I know some do not, so the die is a great option. 

I'm going to apologize really quick... the paper with the stars is actually discontinued. It was by Simple Stories. I got excited when I found it in my stash and didn't look to see if it was still available. I should have, so I'm sorry about that. I did use the the Art Impressions Rounded Rectangle Double Stitch die, which is not discontinued, on the star pattern paper. I adhered a dark gray card stock to a A2 sized card base and layered the star pattern paper over the top. 

I used my scissors to cut out a couple of quick snow hills then use the same Rounded Rectangle die to trim the edges and so that it matches the pattern paper and adhered those to the pattern paper. The last item that had to be die cut is the Flag Double Stitch die. This is where I stamped the sentiment from the Jingle set with red ink. I also added adhesive foam circles to the back so that it is popped up. 

The reindeer is attached directly to the card then I added the bum (how many times will I type bum? The answer is 6) with the included Action Wobbler. I did order some bells (listed below) that fit perfectly onto the bell on the bum but they did not arrive in time. 

Copic Markers Used:

E77, E74, E59, E13

E35, E34, W0

R29, R14

Y18, Y02

Thank you so much for joining me today! Happy Stamping. 

Holiday Gift Guide! PLUS Challenge 270 Couple Cards Week 2!

'Tis the season to spread joy and what's more joyful than crafting? We want to inspire your Christmas shopping (and wishlist!) with our Holiday Gift Guide! We have special selections of our most popular stamps, from characters to animals to our famous watercolor collection! You can click the banners below to view our top picks from each category. Once you visit artimpressions.com, you can also find the links on the left sidebar for easy access! 

You can create your own gift guide by using our "wishlist" feature! Add any products on our website to your list and share it with friends and family! Simply click the pink "Add to Wishlist" button on your favorite product to get started!

Our design team is here with lots of fun projects for card ideas on our current "Couple Cards" challenge! You can click the designer's name for more details on their blog post, and grab these sets at artimpressions.com!

Carol with Happy Trails Set

Crystal with Happy Trails Set

Jessica with Enjoy the Ride

Jil with Enjoy the Ride

Niccole with Happy Trails Set

Renee with Happy Trails Set

Sharon with Enjoy the Ride

It's your turn! We are so excited to see what you create for our "Couple Cards" which is a great time to create a card themed with a "pair" theme! Our new Work and Play sets are so cute with the guy and gal images, and we hope these sets inspire your creations this challenge. Let's see what you got!

✻ Please make a new card or creation. You can make any crafty 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!
✻ 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 by clicking and commenting 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

NEW Holiday Flip Card Stamp Set - EXCLUSIVELY Available at SimonSaysStamp.com!

Hello, Ai Fans! 

New product alert! We are excited to partner with SimonSayStamp.com to present another exclusive stamp set! Our Holiday Flip Card 6"x8" clear set features front and back images of an adorable row of snowmen and penguin pals! There are several sentiments to mix and match, perfect to use with our Flip Card die to reveal a card interior as stunning as the front! 

Our design team has a flurry of creations featuring this limited edition stamp. Hurry, grab yours at SimonSaysStamp.com before they are gone for good!

Carol with Holiday Flip Card Set Exclusive and Flip Card Die

Jessica with Holiday Flip Card Set Exclusive and Flip Card Die

Jil with Holiday Flip Card Set Exclusive and Flip Card Die

Niccole with Holiday Flip Card Set Exclusive

Niccole with Holiday Flip Card Set Exclusive and Flip Card Die

Renee with Holiday Flip Card Set Exclusive and Flip Card Die 

Sharon with Holiday Flip Card Set Exclusive and Flip Card Die

This stamp set is limited edition and only available at SimonSayStamp.com, so if you love it like we do, grab it before it's gone! We hope you enjoyed these wintery Flip Card projects!

Happy Stamping!