Focus on Faith Easter card with Sara Furr

 

Blessings Ai Friends, and welcome back to another edition of "Focus on Faith" with me, Sara Furr! I am so glad you are here with me today! Here were are in the middle of March already, with Easter coming just around the corner, so I knew I wanted to create a pretty Easter card for you today! I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed creating it!

I started my project by pulling out my floral dsp from Art Impressions, and I chose a pretty blue floral and a blue gingham from the "Bible Journaling S1" paper pack. I already had a cross cut from the "Crosses" die set, so I pulled that out as well. I cut a fancy white panel from the "Decorative Journal Page" Die set and used all of those elements to start building my card.

I decided to use some of the pretty florals from the "Water of Life" stamp set. I began by placing my cross die cut,that I had cut from a fine glitter paper, in the center of my white die cut panel, and decided how I wanted to arrange my florals coming off either side of the top and bottom, behind the cross. I set the cross aside, and I began

stamping the outline posies and also one of the leaf branches in Black Momento ink, and I colored the florals with alcohol markers in a very light blue and green. Then, I went into each floral and added in details with the fine point of a dye ink marker in 2 darker shades of blue. I then added some foliage and flowers in the background stamped using dye ink markers. To blend and add in some blue shading, I used a very light greenish blue alcohol marker. Once I was happy with my background florals, I glued down my cross die cut. 

Next, I stamped the Hallelujah from the "Frameworks Sentiments" stamp set onto a piece of white scrap cardstock with Black Versafine Ink, let it dry a bit, and then fussy cut it out with my detail scissors, and popped it up with tiny pieces of foam tape. I applied foam tape to the back of that focal panel and set it aside.

I distressed the edges of both the gingham panel and the floral panel, and added foam tape to the back of the gingham panel and adhered that to the floral panel on the right side. I wrapped and tied a crinkle bow off to the left hand side with a white button tied to the middle of the bow. That whole panel was adhered to my white card base. Lastly, I adhered down the popped up focal panel with my pretty floral spray and cross with the Hallelujah sentiment. 

And that finishes my card for today. I hope you like it and that maybe you got inspired to create some pretty Religious Easter creations as well. I wish could have gotten the Religious Easter sets, as there are so many that I would love to get, but I just don't have the money, so I made do with what I have. After all, you can't go wrong with pretty florals and Crosses, right?! Haha.

I hope you all have a very happy and Blessed Easter with your family, and I will see you back here on the Tuesday just after Easter. 

Wishing you all many Blessings, 

Sara Furr- The Crafty Farm Chick 

Here is a list of all the products I used:

#5909 Crosses die set

#5417-Frameworks Sentiments set 

#5768- Decorative Journal Page 1 die set

#6055- Water of Life set

#6082- Bible Journaling S1 paper pack

LET'S...PAR TEE! By Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

My Brother-in-law has a birthday in 3 days and he lives on a golf course.

Yes, for real. His back and side yard butt up to the greens of the course. 

Though I don't think he golfs as much as he used to, I think he'll like this card.

This golfer is an older image so there are no dies with him. He did require fussy cutting

but the paper creates an instant background which saves time, balancing thing out.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.

Though I didn't share a card for the holiday, hopefully you enjoy the green!

Have a great day.

Stadium Wave Pop up card by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

We have a new challenge that started last Thursday and it's to make a 3D card or project. I love anything popped up or 3D, so I definitely had fun with this one! I had seen a fancy fold card called a stadium wave pop up card and knew I was going to use it for this challenge. If you do a search on You Tube, you will find several free videos on how to create this, and I also added a link in my post below. I did my own size as I didn't want a huge card, so I will give you the measurements of what I did. They really are not difficult to make at all, but boy what a presentation it gives! So real quick, let me show you a video of the card, then I'll explain how I made it. 

So to begin with, I cut my card base to create a 5 1/2" square card and added my layered mats to it including the front and inside. The pattern paper used is from #6052 Mother's Day Cover PP and #6057 Baby Girl PP. I then created the strips for the inside. You need a total of eight of these strips. so I needed two pieces of the paper from the cover pack. I cut one full piece to measure 6" x 8", then took another piece and cut it to  measure 2" x 8". With the 8" side along the top of your score board,

score at 3", 6", 6 3/4", and 7 1/2". 

Do this to both the 6" piece and the 2". You will then turn the paper and cut it in one inch strips which will give you a total of eight 1" x 8" strips that are scored at the measurements above. Fold and burnish your strips, then add glue to the 1/2" edge of the strip and attach it to the other end so that the strip ends up looking similar to a long heart. Here is a link to an instructional video. Just remember that mine is a different size. 

https://youtu.be/Lj7C2RltYB0

I really wanted to make a baby card with it, so I used #6106 Spring Keepsake Set and #6103 Baby Keepsake Set for the adorable little animals they both have. To spell out the word BABY, I then used #5910 Large Letter Die Set and cut them each out with pattern paper and then the lavender cardstock so I could offset the letters a smidge to help them stand out better. I stamped, colored, and cut a LOT of beautiful daisies from Baby Keepsake Set. And now that I am typing this post, I don't know why I didn't think of adding some adorable pieces using #5338 Baby Mini Dies!  DOH!!!  Maybe if you make one of these, you will use them to help decorate! For the card front, I added a large heart from #5721 Nested Heart Dies along with that adorable frog, then scattered some open hearts from the same die set. After adding a sweet bow, the front was finished. 

Making my strips shorter than what is stated on the instructional video gave me more room to add a sentiment panel for your message and signature. But it did not take away from the "wow" factor when the card is opened. 

So that's it for me today! I sure hope I was able to inspire you a little with creating a 3D project for our new challenge. You never know when you might win a free set of your choice! Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit and until next time - stay crafty!!

Copic markers used:

E00, 30, 31, 33, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 51, 53, 95, 97, and 99

C00, 0, 1, 2, and 3

YG01, 03, and 05

B00 and 01

R11, 12, 20, 22, 81, and 83

YR20 and 21

Y00, 11, 21, 23, 32, 35, and 38

Watercolor Weekend: Story Tile and Bunny Cards with Simone Carr

 Hello everyone and welcome to Watercolor Weekend!

Today I’m sharing another fun card using the 6158 Story Tile Template Die. This die is such a creative way to tell a little story within each tile!

To begin, I die cut the 6158 Story Tile Template Die from Canson Watercolor Paper. After running it through my die cutting machine, I gently punched all of the tile pieces out of the frame and arranged them in front of me.

Next, I selected the stamps I wanted to use and placed them on the tiles to plan out the scene. Once I was satisfied with the placement, I stamped the images using Shadow Grey Archival Ink.

I colored in all of the stamped images first before stamping the flowers. I used masking tape to tape off the tops of the containers before stamping the florals. A stamp positioner can be very helpful for getting the flower placement just right.

After stamping, I used a damp brush to pull the color out from the stamped flowers to create that soft watercolor look.

Once everything was stamped and colored, I doubled up the frame for a little extra dimension and then glued all of the tiles back into place to complete the design.

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies
• 6055 Water of Life Set
• 5981 My Joy Set (Butterflies)
• Mini Flower Set – 5009
• Foliage Set 5 – 5476
• Foliage Set 4 – 5126
• Foliage Set 3 – 5007
• Foliage Set 2 – 4868
• Foliage Set 3 – 5008
• Frame Die
• 6158 Story Tile Template Die

Paper
• Canson Watercolor Paper
• 5892 Easter S2 Patterned Paper

Ink
• Shadow Grey Archival Ink – Ladies

Tombow Markers
• 026 – Hat, Butterfly
• 933 – Butterfly, Flower
• 856 – Lips, Cheeks, Shirt
• 725 – Flowers
• 676 – Flowers
• 761 – Shirt
• 942, 912 – Skin
• 528 – Apron, Pants
• 533 – Vase
• 113, 173, 177 – Flower Pot, Cup
• 177 – Grass, Flowers, Foliage
• 977 – Hair
• 947 – Hair, Bucket
• N52 – Stamped Cup, Vase, Bucket
• 565 – Flowers and Shading
• 969 – Rocks and Bucket Handle
• 526 – Sky

My bonus card features the little bunny from the 6008 Bunny Hugs Set.

To create the card, I cut out a Scalloped Circle and a Double Stitched Circle. I also cut a fence piece and a grass die from another company. The fence and grass were both run through the same Double Stitched Circle die so everything would fit nicely inside the circle.

Before assembling the card, I used a splatter stamp with some Distress Oxide inks directly on the card for added texture. I colored the stamped images, then layered and stacked all of the pieces together, adding foam tape for dimension to complete the design.

Materials Used – Bonus Card

Stamps & Dies
• 5925 Honey Bee Set “A Flower”
• 6008 Bunny Hugs Set
• 6045 Scalloped Circle Dies
• 5064 Circle Double Stitched Dies
• 5807 Journal Fence Die

Pens
• White Jelly Roll Pen
• Black Fine Tip

Paper
• 6012 Basic Yellow Patterned Paper

Tombow Markers
• 555 – Flowers
• 985 – Overalon Bunny + Tulip
• 933, 925 – Flower Pot + Tulip
• 856 – Tulip + Pocket
• 177 – Leaves
• 723 – Flower
• 977, 947, 992, 912 – Bunny

Distress Oxide Inks
• Mowed Lawn
• Squeezed Lemonade
• Candied Apple
• Spiced Marmalade
• Prize Ribbon

I love how both of these cards came together — the Story Tile Die is perfect for creating a little scene with lots of color and texture, and the bunny card is a quick, cheerful design that’s fun to assemble. I hope these cards inspire you to pull out your watercolor paper and dies this weekend and get creative!

St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Card and Z-fold Birthday Card by Diane Mason

 Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend! 

Hello, my Ai watercolor friends and fans! I have two watercolor cards to share with you today. First up is a St. Patrick’s Day Gnome card. My bonus card is a sweet little Z-fold Birthday card.

St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Card:

I know not everyone celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, but I like to think everyone feels a little Irish on March 17th. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to pull out one of my favorite sets (5785 – Gnomes Set) and create an adorable St. Patrick’s Day gnome. For this card, I’m also using the newly released 6158 – Story Tile Template Die.

For this painting, I started by preparing a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. Using the Storybook Tile Template Die itself—not the die‑cut—I lightly traced the interior of each section with a pencil. This leaves a clean white border around each painted panel once everything is finished.

Next, I stamped each gnome into its section using a stamp platform and N79 ink. I sketched the pile of gold inside the planter pot with a pencil, then used a large oval die to trace a smooth curve for the rainbow rising from the pot of gold. I used Post-it tape to mask each section to maintain the white border around the paintings.

Section 1

• Gnome: 195, 177 (hat and clothing), 850, 942 (hands and nose), 977 (shoes), 933, 925 (beard). All gnomes will be painted with these same colors.
• Rainbow: 856, 933, 025, 195, 476, 606 (used also in Section 4)
• Sky: 555 (all sections)

Section 2

Mask the gnome and stamp leaf from 5795 – Berries in 177, and drooping flower from 5794 – Whimsical Flowers inked in 177 (stem), 025 (flowers).

• Gnome’s belt: 025
• Leaf and flower stem: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
• Flower: 025
• Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
• Tiny white flowers: Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White

Section 3

Mask the gnome’s foot and stamp vine from 5794 in 177.

• Vine: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
• Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
• Tiny white flowers: Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White

Section 4

• Rainbow: same as Section 1
• Planter pot: N25
• Gold: Winsor Newton Ink 14ml – Gold Paint, Brown TwinTone marker
• Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
• Tiny White Flowers: Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White

Section 5

Ink vines (177), flower (933) from 5794 and stamp into section.

• Vines: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
• Flower: 933 (petals), 025, 026 (center)

Section 6

Mask the gnome and stamp the mushroom inked in 969. Stamp vines from 5794 in 177.

• Gnome’s belt: 025
• Mushroom cap: 025, 026
• Dots on mushroom cap: Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White, 565 for shading
• Underside of mushroom and stem: 977, Brown TwinTone marker
• Vines: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
• Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)

Next, I die cut the frame (6158 – Story Tile Template Die) from patterned paper, erased the pencil lines and adhered the painting and frame onto an A2 card base.

I used fonts from my computer in coordinating shades of orange and green to create the sentiment for the inside of the card. To finish the interior panel, I adhered a half‑inch strip of patterned paper along the bottom edge of the white mat.

This card is ready to send to a friend to wish them a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! PSA – Don’t forget to wear green. Legend has it that wearing green on the holiday prevents a leprechaun’s pinch or from a pesky friend - lol!

Bonus Card: Z-fold Birthday Card

For this A2 fun fold birthday card, I chose a birthday cake image from the recently released 6178 – Birthday Wishes set. The set was designed to coordinate with the Story Tile Template Die, but all the images work great on their own too!

Frame for finished painting

5591 – Journal Rectangle Frames Die Set watercolor mat decorated with the Daisy Bunch stamp from 4052 – WC Flower Set 1 and the small vine from 4051 – WC Foliage Set 1

• Daisy bunches: 743 and 565
• Vines: 177
• Happy Birthday: 6039 – Just for Her Set, black ink
• Foam tape for mounting

Painting

The image was inked in N52.

• Cake: candles (403), flames (025, 933), candle glow (025) icing (743, Fuchsia TwinTone, Dr. Ph. Martin’s), cake (977, Brown TwinTone)
• Pedestal: 403 and 565 for shadows
• Planter: shaded with 565 and also for the stripes
• Flowers and foliage: 4051 small vine (177), 4052 daisy bunch (565), 5009 single flower (743, 177)
• Tiny white flowers: Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White, Chrome Yellow TwinTone marker for centers.
• Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
• Sky: 555

Purple Card Base

• 8 ½ x 5 ½, scored and folded at 2 ⅛ and 4 ¼
• Front panel strip: 2 x 5 ¼
• Interior sentiment inked in purple:  Dessert pedestal (6180 – Dear Friend), sentiment (5735 – Birthday Sentiment Set)

  

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s cards and found a little inspiration along the way. That’s all for now—thank you so much for stopping by for Watercolor Weekend. Until next time, Happy Painting!

Dearest Friend by Janet

Today I had some fun with three items recently added to the Ai store. This cheerful friendship card is fresh and ready for spring. The images are from the 6180 - Dear Friend Set. This set includes vases that you can use as-is or with added flowers. I added flowers, butterfly, and hummingbird embellishments are from 5981 - My Joy Set. While this one is a Bible Journaling set, there are many images in it that are useful for any cardmaking project with or without a faith focus. 

The lime frame surrounding the images was made with the new 6158 - Story Tile Die. This die is a new style to the line and I really like it. There are so many images and sets that can be used with it! The stitching imprinted in the frames add a lovely finishing and professional touch to your cards. 

Thanks for joining me on the blog today. As always, find your favorite stamps, dies, papers, and accessories at the Ai Store!

Happy Crafting!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest  

There's No Bunny Like You! Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday Art Impressions friends! 

Tasha here sharing a Spring card featuring the 6008-Bunny Hugs Set and the 6099-Garden Paper Pack.

Spring is almost here and I am so excited for warmer weather and seeing all the beautiful flowers again. This sweet bunny looks so happy walking through her garden with a basket full of flowers. The pattern paper from the Garden Paper Pack creates the perfect Spring garden scene for the background.

For the greeting, I stamped “There’s no bunny like you” from the 5733-Easter Sentiments Set. I love that this sentiment works perfectly with the bunny image and can be used beyond Easter as well.

To finish the card, I added a butterfly with foam tape for a little dimension and layered orange, white, and blue cardstock to frame the scene. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope this card brings a little Spring inspiration your way!

Have a wonderful day!

3D Challenge #423 Week #1

Hello Ai fans!

Welcome to our newest challenge!

We want to see your 3D projects or your cards using something that is 3 dimensional like
embellishments, embossing folders, foam tape or something that pops up. We know you guys are so creative and we can't wait to see what you make.
Two people will win a free stamp set of their choice.

One Top Spot and one Lucky Random Winner.

Our Featured Designer is Dori and you're going to LOVE her 3D Easter card!
After viewing her card and tutorial, be sure to scroll down to see who won our
The People In Your Neighborhood challenge.

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

 Hello AI Friends!

I'm soooo excited!  I drew the lucky straw when I was picked to be the feature for this challenge.  I love making interactive/fun fold cards so when they said "3D", I said "Oh Yeah".  I decided to make an Easter Pop-up card.  What I love about this type of card, is you get to add soooo many images all on one card.   I used the #6008 - Bunny Hugs and the #5870 - Peeking Bunny sets.  So many of Art Impressions stamp sets go together so it's great to mix and match.  Makes for endless design possibilities!

Here is my finished card but follow below for more pics and instructions on how I created it.

I began by stamping several images onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  Once all of these images were colored, I cut each of them out with their corresponding dies that are included in the stamp sets.  

Remember decorating Easter eggs when you were little?  Trying to decide what design to paint was always problematic for me.  It seems that dilemma has carried into my adult years.  😬  However, it is still just as fun but not nearly as messy.  LOL!

To create this standing pop up card, I cut four panels (staggered heights) of heavy weight green cardstock.  Each panel is 7 3/4" long.  I then scored, along the long side, at 1/2, 1, 1 1/2 and 2 from both sides.   I used a few different grassy dies from my stash and cut each panel so that you have varied heights.  I then folded and burnished each of the score lines.  I cut the grass part off on each panel to the third score line on each side.  Leave the last score section in place so, when folded, that section will wrap around the side.

This picture shows how each layer will overlap the one behind.  If any seem too high for you, trim off the bottom of that panel.  

I made four layers, but when I did a test assemble, I decided to omit the front layer and cut off the scored sections.  I adhered it directly to the second layer leaving the grassy part unglued so that I could tuck in the chicks. This is a matter of your preference.  You could include more layers or reduce, like I ended up doing.

Now we are going to wrap the sides creating a little box shape on either side of each panel.  

Turn the panel upside down and fold two of the score sections upwards.  Place glue on the end section (see below - Pic 1) and fold over to meet the last score line (Pic 2) creating the box shape (see Pic 3).

                    Pic 1                                                            Pic 2

                                                        Pic 3

Do that last step for each of the green panels.  They should look like this when standing together.

I added a few extra grassy panels so I could tuck eggs and such into them like a pocket.   

 If you choose to do like I did, die cut a few grassy flat panels that are 3 3/4" wide.  These should fit perfectly on the front of any of these sections.  I adhered one of the extra grassy pieces to the second panel.  Glue that piece directly to the panel, but leave the grassy tips unglued so you have room to tuck. 

  Now, adhere each layer together by placing glue to the back of the box shape only and make sure to line up the sides nicely with the next panel. 

  For the very back panel, I cut a piece of 3 3/4" x 5 of white heavy cardstock and adhered a piece of 3 x 3 3/4" of the cloud pattern paper from the #5873 - Mini Birthday PP to the top.  I then cut a piece of heavy green cardstock with the grassy die and adhered to the back panel leaving the top grassy tips unglued, again for tucking.  I also added one of the extra grassy pieces to this layer.  

Now, for the really fun part - decorating!  Place your images on/in the layers, tucking as you choose.  Make sure to glue them down unless you want the recipient to be able to rearrange the eggs.  LOL! 

This card will lay flat and fit an A2 size envelope.  Also, the back has plenty of room for your sentiment.  

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you will enter your "3D" creation in this challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice.  We love seeing your creations!

Have a wonderful day and keep creating!

Copics used:  E50, E51, E53, E55, E95

N0, N1     R11, R20, R81, R83

Y00, Y23      YR20, YR12, YR31

RV42      G40, G43

V12, V15    B0000, B00, B12, B14

Thank you so much Dori. Did you get a load of all those layers?

What a fabulous, dimensional card.

Now, let's see who won our last challenge.

For our Top Spot we selected:
Beverly Sizemore

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

Be sure to grab your winner's badge to display on your social media.

Our Lucky Random Winner was:

Barb Edmondson

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

Be sure to grab your winner's badge to display on your social media.

Congratulations to both of 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