Vine Wreath and Dear Friend by Gennette Houghton

Hello, and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend. One of the hardest parts of the time between winter and spring is all of the muddy brown, weather permitting, which sometimes doesn’t happen here right away, I so look forward to things turning green again. I rejoice in seeing leaves and flowers, signs of things coming to life again.  Warmer days and sunshine usually mix with cold, gray, and snow in April.  So, my projects today are all about the things I am wishing for right now, green, that first spot of yellow, bees looking for their first food of the season.  Spring fever hit me hard this year.

My first card is a simple wreath, perfect for those times when you may need a quick card.  There are so many ways to change this up just by adding a secondary color.  Blues, yellows, or add in some browns and oranges for a fall vibe. Add red berries and you could make a Christmas wreath as well.  Just by changing the sentiment, this is great for any occasion.  

I started with 5064 Circle Double Stitched Dies and used the 2^nd to largest, tracing the inside for a circle guide.  I then used a kneaded eraser to lighten the line so it was just barely there but still give me a guide.  4964 WC Branches Set, using the 2^nd to smallest branch with 969, I started stamping around the circle.  Alternating the direction and stamping multiple times, shifting back and forth over the circle guide, giving more fullness. I then used the leafy branch from 5126 WC Foliage Set 4, inking in first 126 and then pulling a line through each section with 177.  I literally just drew a line up the stamp with the 177, nothing specific, just to add a two tone look to the leaves.  I did not ink the end of the stem, just the area with the leaves.  Then following the branches, also stamping several times, I then softened with a damp brush, pulling color out into the more blank areas around the wreath.  I then used a soft wash of 177 inside the wreath leaving the center alone.  Once dry, with 026 I added in some golden dots with 5418 Bible Foliage Set 2, (also known as Kendra dots), stamping multiple times around the wreath. I then used the Winsor and Newton Gold Ink, and the leafy branch, I painted a leaf on each side of the stamp at the widest part and stamped these in, re-inking the stamp each time going around the wreath. Using my stamp platform, I stamped in my sentiment from 5797 Little Things Sentiment Set in Distress Ink Forest Moss.  I cut down my watercolor paper to 4 ¼ by 5 ½ and matted it to my card base, creating a quick and easy card.   

For my 2^nd card, I used 6180 Dear Friend Set with the coordinating die 6158 Story Tile Template.  The die can be used with so many different stamps, but there are currently 4 sets that were created to use with it.  I have seen some pretty amazing creations used with this die, with the sets and without.  I started with using a cutout of the template that I use to trace the boxes on my watercolor paper after cutting it down to 4 ¼ by 5 ½.  Since the sets are created with the different size boxes in mind, it is pretty simple to layout.  After getting my boxes outlined, I stamped each image in Distress Ink Pumice Stone, stamping off once, and then stamping into each of the boxes.  For the sentiment, I used my stamping platform and Versafine Clair in Nocturne, just in case that I would need to stamp it again.  Once all of my images were stamped in, I started with the main images and then built them up with foliage and flowers, masking images as needed.  I actually used quite a few sets with this, here is what I used.

4052 WC Flower Set 1

4964 WC Branches Set

5126 WC Foliage Set 4

4051 WC Foliage Set 1

5919 Long Stem Floral

5009 WC Mini Flower Set

5008 WC Flower Set 3

5258 WC Flower Set 4

5826 WC Large Tree Set 2

4868 WC Flower Set 2

 

The Tombows I used are:

027, 192, 565, 947, 249, 603, 969, 526, 076, 879, 856, 403, 177, 126, 025, 026, and 606.

 

I hope you enjoyed my projects today and thank you for joining me.  Until next time, Create….Share….Inspire!

 

Flower Shop & Sequins by Janet

My post today is perfect for the newest Ai challenge - I See Right Through You! Making this card was super fun. The cute flower shop image is a new set called 6194 - Flower Shop. I love the cottage feel of the shop. 

As with many watercolor sets, the stamp leaves ample room for stamping or painting in the flowers. After I stamped the image on 4" x 5.25" alcohol friendly paper. I set about coloring the shop, the pots, the door, the sign, and lantern. Then I used two sets to stamp in the flowers: 4868 - WC Flower Set 2 and Foliage Set - 4051. I colored them with markers and dabbed white gel pen highlights in them. I also added a light blue sky background and grounded the bottom with a puddle of warm grey and blueish green.

I secured the white panel to a blue cardstock mat. Then came the clear acetate card cover which holds in a mix of several sets of sequins in complementary colors. The final touch is a lavender, green, and blue double organza bow. Pairing this image with a sequin shaker is clearly a great combination!

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to enter your card into the I See Right Through You

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

Happy Crafting!

 

Have a Magical Day! Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday, Art Impressions friends!

Tasha here sharing a new shaker card inspired by the current “I See Right Through You” challenge. This one was really fun to put together with all the soft, magical touches.

I started by stamping one of the sweet fairies from the 5915 Woodland Fairy Set. I used the coordinating dies to cut her out before coloring. I colored everything with Copic markers, keeping the colors light and whimsical.

For the shaker, I used circle dies to cut out the center window, then used two different circle dies to create the frame. I love the sparkly paper for this part since it adds just the right amount of shine.

For the greeting, I stamped “Hope Your Day is Magical” onto white cardstock and added two butterflies from the 5728 Mushroom Cubbies Set. I lightly ink blended around the sentiment with yellow ink to add a soft glow.

Inside the shaker, I used a mix of pastel hearts, stars, and sequins. The mix works really well with the fairy theme and adds a fun, playful look.

To finish the card, I used scalloped rectangle dies to cut layers of pastel purple cardstock and floral patterned paper. I also added layers of white, blue, and pink cardstock to complete the design.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed the card and will join in the challenge!

I See Right Through You Challenge #425 Week #2

 Hello Ai fans!

Welcome to week #2 of our

I See Right Through You challenge.

We want to see your cards that you can "see through."

Cards with cut outs, cards with acetate, snow globes and shakers...
Window cards
(Windows you can't actually see through are fine...Windows to the World), see through glass vases...

Anything you can see through.

I was the Featured Designer last week and I created a snow
globe card that you can see all the way through. Click HERE for more pictures.

 

I also created this acetate front card.

Now we get to see what the rest of our fabulous Design Team has created.

Sharon created this amazing see through lattice card. Her fun lady is on a wobble!

 

Simone created this beautiful window card.
5543 – Journal Template Die Set

6106 – Spring Keepsake Set

6033 – Inspirational Easter Paper Pack

Gennette made a window cut out card perfect for a man or a woman.
5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Die
5372 WC Mini Foliage Set
5427 WC Silhouette Deer
4960 WC Fir Tree Set
4051 Foliage Set 1
5126 WC Foliage Set 4
6039 Just For Her Set

Dori has acetate raindrops on her adorable card.

Janet's card has a full acetate cover over the card to hold in the sequins.

6194 - Flower Shop

4868 - WC Flower Set 2

4051 - Foliage Set

Lynn's pretty house card has a see through window.

 

Tasha's card is cute as can be with her see through shaker.

5915 – Woodland Fairy Set
6048 – Scalloped Rectangle Dies
6051 - Mother's Day Paper Pack

 ✻ 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

Rain or Shine by Dori Mendiola

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Have you entered the latest blog challenge - "I See Right Through You Challenge"?  Anything that you can "see through" will qualify (ie windows, globes, shakers, etc.).  Make sure to enter for a chance to win a free stamp set.

I chose to use two of the freebie bears along with the fence and daisies from the #5935 - Fairytale houses.  I made an acetate window with raindrops for the front with the umbrella freebie bear and then a sunshine scene on the inside with the freebie holding a daisy.

I stamped the bears and daisies with memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  I then fussy cut the bears and used the coordinating dies with the daisies.

To create the raindrop window, I inked blended two panels the same.  I used the MFT Falling From the Clouds die set.  I then cut a piece of acetate large enough to fit the opening.  I made some score marks diagonally and then dropped some glossy accents onto the acetate along the score marks to resemble rain.  Let the glossy accents dry and then glue to the back side of the opening.  I cut another window frame to cover the acetate edges on the inside. 

I decorated the inside with the daisies, fence, sun and bear.  I shut the front of the card and adhered the rain bear to cover the daisy bear from the front.  I also placed clouds over the front to cover the sun on the inside.  The daisies will be seen through the window.  I added a few little white hearts to the corners and grass to the bottom of the fence posts.  The front sentiment is from the #5797 - Little Things Sentiments and the inside sentiment was just made up to fit the scene.

That's it for me today!  Hope you enjoyed!

Make sure to play along and enter the blog challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set.

Have a great day and keep creating!

Copics used:  E50, E51, E53, E55

B000, B12, B14

R20, R22, R24

Y13, Y15, Y17, Y21

G20, G21

Using the NEW Floral Shop Die Set in a fun new way! - by Lynn Dionne

 Happy Wednesday Ai Fans!

Watch video tutorial here!

Today's card was inspired by the current Ai "I see right through you" Blog Challenge. This challenge is to create something that you can see through, so I thought this fun new window design would be perfect for this challenge!

Today we will be using the brand-new Ai Floral Shop Die Set (6159), which is a wonderful add-on die set that was designed to expand the options for your Ai Box Village Die Set. This new set is designed to help you create a sweet flower shop structure! This set has 28 new dies which include a few new windows, a larger door, a longer fence, new scalloped roof dies, and several mini floral dies and so much more! It even includes a "blooms" sentiment die to help you create an adorable flower shop box for your journals. 

Let's get started by creating the card base using the Ai Box Village Template Die Set (6114). We will be using a part of this die to create a tag style card base. I'll show you how to do this in today's video!

We will then add some wood grain patterned paper from the Ai Winter Woodland PP (5963) to the card front. Now we can die cut the opening for the window and add the windowpanes on both the front and inside of the card.

Let's now die cut all of the pieces we will need to create the florals, fence, window box, and awning using the Ai Floral Shop Die Set (6159). We will use the pattern papers from the Ai Mini Birthday PP (5873) and some solid cardstock in Cilantro. We will also die cut a grassy border from that same Cilantro cardstock.

Next, we can go ahead and add all of the die cuts to the card. We will also stamp the "Live life in full..." sentiment on a little banner die and attach to the bottom of the grass. And for the inside of the card, we will use the "Blooms" die from this new set and cut off the letter "s". So, the inside will complete the sentiment from the front of the card.

We will add some patterned paper to the inside of our tag card in a sweet gingham plaid and then add the sentiment.

For a few finishing touches, let's add a few pretty butterflies using the Ai Birds & Bugs Set (5561). We can scatter a few on the front of the card and one on the inside of the card. We can also add a pastel heart on the bottom of the window box!

Please join us in this fun new Blog Challenge....we would love to see what you create!

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

Ai Box Village Template Die Set (6114)

Art Impressions Floral Shop Die Set (6159)

Ai Journal Template Die Set (5543)

Ai Friend Sentiments Set (5734)

Ai Birds & Bugs Set (5561)

Ai Winter Woodland PP (5963)

Ai Mini Birthday PP (5873)

To the Best Mom! by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

I had fun with the "I See Right Through You" challenge.
For this card, I used an acetate panel combined with the new Margin Dies
to create a see through card front.

I added some tiny gems that look like they're floating which is a cool effect.

The flowers are trimmed out from the larger stamp.
I thought they went well with the beautiful paper.

I hope you're inspired to try the challenge. Your card doesn't have to be see through.

You just need to have something see through on your card, even a window or a clear vase.

 

You're never too old by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

I have a card to show you today that I made for Challenge #425 I See Right Through You. What a fun challenge!!! I want to apologize for the glare on the pictures from the acetate I used. I tried everything and just couldn't remove them. I am NOT very proficient with the tech side of things. LOL! But the card looks pretty cool in person. To make the front, I actually just used one of my cover plates that has a thin frame around it. I cut two of them and sandwiched a piece of acetate between the two pieces. I mean...could it get any easier than that?? I then cut the back of the card making it just 1/4" wider and scoring it at 1/4" to glue to the inside of the front. For the fun Rockin' Granny from #5422 Rock On Laugh Lines, I started by stamping her in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloring her with Copic markers which are listed below. I then fussy cut around her so I could place her onto a mini wobble. I mean...a Rockin' Granny needs to be on a wobble, don't ya think? LOL! In order to place her onto the card, I needed a base panel, so I used #5726 Nested Circle Dies and #6045 Scalloped Circle Dies. I cut a set in the same size for the front as well as the inside. 

After adhering the mat to the front of the card, I die cut another white scalloped circle mat and glued it to the inside to hide the adhesive you could see through the acetate. This just gives a cleaner look. I then took the purple scalloped circle and lined it up with the inside white scalloped circle. I added adhesive to the back of it, then just closed the back of the card on top of the purple mat. That assured it would be aligned perfectly with the front and not show through when the card is closed. 

After adding a cute bow to the front and stamping the sentiment on the inside panel, this one was done. So that is it for me today! Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit, and until next time - stay crafty!! 

Copic markers used:

RV91, 93, and 95

Y32

BV000, 01, and 02

B00

W2, 4, and 6

E000, 00, 11, 13, 15, and 18

R11 and 12

Spring Foundation Cards by Jami Steiger

Good morning, Watercolor friends! Spring has finally arrived here in Ohio! The new Spring Foundations stamp sets are perfect for creating spring-themed cards. Six new foundation sets are available, and they are fantastic because they provide a complete scene for you. Just add a few flower and foliage sets to craft a beautiful scene. For my first card, I used 6197-Flower Delivery, and for the second, 6195-Love Blooms. I used the same flowers and foliage on both cards, which are listed in the Linkdeli listing below. I began by coloring the stamps for the cards with Tombow 969 and 565, stamping off once. 

Now, for the fun part! I painted both images with the following Tombow markers: 228, 679, 757, 177, 817, 925, 312, 947, 192, 993, 969, N65, N75, 528, 977, 606, 837, 565, 228, and 772.

After completing the painting, I used Dr. Ph. Martin's to add white details to both images. The picture of the flower cart is deceiving because the color is actually purple, and the papers used came from the 5955-Encouragement Paper Pack.

____________________

The teal paper for the background came from the 6011-Basic Teal Paper Pack.

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful weekend and finding some time for creativity! Looking forward to seeing you all soon.