Focus on Faith: Joy & Blessings with Sara Furr

Blessings my dear friends. Today,  I have two projects to share with you for my Focus on Faith, and both creations have the theme of Joy. Joy in the Lord, Joy comes in the morning, and Joy in all our blessings. 

My first creation is an A2 card that is bright, sunny, and full of gorgeous colors adorning my stained glass window, along with touches of gold.

 I stamped my focal image from the "Stained Glass Window" set with Encore Gold Ink (pigment) onto Canson Bristol Smooth cardstock and then heat embossed the image with Gold embossing powder. I colored the stained glass window with alcohol markers and then fussy cut out the window and applied foam tape behind.

 I created a card base from a golden yellow cardstock and cut a layer of a soft yellow and embossed it with an embossing folder from my stash and distressed the edges with the edge of a pair of scissors. I added a white doily to the right edge and cut off the excess. Then,  I added a strip of lace, and I adhered a strip of pale yellow cardstock just over the edge of the lace that looks like little sunshines. I then wrapped a piece of cream colored chiffon ribbon around the top of that strip and tied a bow off to the left side.

 I added that embossed panel with foam tape. I made a nest of gold metallic thread and adhered that to the back of my Stained glass window and adhered it to the doily. Finally, I added 3 Gold pearls to the top left corner of the embossed panel.

For the inside, I stamped the sentiments "Hallelujiah" and "Joy comes in the morning" with Encore Gold Ink and again heat embossed it in Gold embossing powder. When it was all cooled, I used a blending brush to add some yellow behind the sentiment to look like the sun in the sky.

This is an excellent reminder that we should arise with the sun every morning and thank God for the gift of life, and the beauty of the Earth, and the day before us. Every day is gift, one we are not guaranteed!!!

 

My second creation is a 6x6 card that I designed to coordinate with my first card.

I stamped the Daffodils from the "Tulip Floral set" with black Memento ink onto a circle die cut, and I colored the image with alcohol markers. I added foam tape behind it and adhered it to my white doily and added more foam tape behind that.

 I added that to my card base and distressed layers, including a layer of beautiful dsp from the "Easter S2 Paper pack" following the same steps as above in my first card. I cut the "Joy" die cut once from Gold mirror cardstock, and once from yellow fun foam and adhered them together with liquid glue and popped it up off to the left hand side of my focal image. 

For the inside, I created some more layers and stamped the sentiment " May each day bloom with joy and blessings" with black Versafine ink.

I pray that you find joy in Christ, and in each and every single day he has given us to enjoy. Never take these beautiful moments for granted! Life is beautiful, and we have so many things to be thankful to God for.

I hope my projects have inspired you to create something "Joy" and "Faith" filled.

Many blessings to you all,

Sara Furr- The Crafty Farm Chick 

Art Impressions products used:

5897-Stained Glass Window set

5417- Frameworks Sentiments 

5986- Jesus & Joy Dies

6061-Tulip Floral set

5892- Easter S2 Paper Pack

Other supplies:

Paper cutter

Scissors for distressing edges of cardstock and cutting out window image

MISTI stamping tool

Alcohol markers

Embossing folder

Die cutting machine

Doilies 

Circle die

Gold pearls

Gold metallic thread

Chiffon Ribbon

Blending brush

Encore Gold Ink

Gold embossing powder

Heat tool 

Adhesive 

Canson Bristol Smooth cardstock

Black Memento Ink

Black Versafine Ink

You Are...by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

Though Mother's Day has passed, I still wanted to share the card that I made for my mom.

I feel like it's appropriate for so many other occasions.

I love these little butterflies and have used them often.
This time, I paired them with a sentiment stamp that sums up my mom perfectly.

I used the hexagon die to cut it out and mounted it on foam tape to add some dimension.

I also popped up the butterfly wings to give the illusion that they're flying.

I used some little dots of gold gel pen and spattered some gold paint on it as well.

Love Blooms from Holiday Lane Floral Shop by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

Today I have a page in the book I created using the Holiday Lane Series Floral Shop! These stamps and dies are so beautiful and I just LOVE how they turned out, even if I don't watercolor! I stamped out the images and just used my Copic markers to create it. I hope you get inspired to give it a shot yourself if you don't watercolor either! Here is one of the pages in the book using #6195 Love Blooms along with #6114 Box Village Template Dies. The butterflies are from #5981 My Joy Set and the sentiment is from #5734 Friend Sentiment Set. 

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

Coffee Shop & A Touch of Rustic by Simone Carr

 

Hello Friends!

For my first card, I used the Large Shops Set (5260), and it was my first time creating with it. I started by stamping the shop onto Canson Watercolor Paper using my stamp platform and Tombow N95.

Since the image was stamped in only one color, there wasn’t much color to pull from the lines, so I used Tombow 565 to begin adding shadows and depth. I also added a light wash of 565 to the windows, knowing I would deepen them later after adding the flowers. The flower box was colored with 026, but only halfway since I still planned to stamp flowers into it.

The door was colored with 026, and I used N49 for the doorknob and plate. Using my stamp positioner, I stamped the chairs and table in N49.

Next, I colored the roof and sign with 947. The chimney was colored with N49 and accented with 947 for the stones. Once the main shop was complete, I began stamping in the flowers and foliage. Using a damp brush, I softened the flowers for a more watercolor look.

After finishing the flowers, I returned to the windows and deepened the color using more 565, especially on the side window to create the impression of shade. With a brown TwinTone marker, I drew in the window panels, then added 491 to the corners of each pane to give them a glass-like appearance.

I used 373 above the door for an extra pop of color. Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White was added to the top window container and the shrub beside the shop. I also used 991 on the shrub to create small flowers. To ground the scene, I added 969 around the base of the shop, and finished with 526 for the sky.

The completed card measures 5” x 5”.

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies

• 5260 – WC Large Shops Set
• 5265 – Wrought Iron Set
• 5126 – Foliage Set 4
• 5007 – Foliage Set 3
• 4051 – Foliage Set 1
• 5009 – Mini Flower Set
• 5074 – Bible Flower Set
• 4964 – Branches Set
• 5061 – Large Square Double Stitched Die

Paper

• 6205 – Floral Shop Patterned Paper
• Canson Watercolor Paper

Inks & Mediums

• Versafine Clair Nocturne
• TwinTone Marker – Brown
• Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White

Tombow Markers

• 636, 685, 555 – Flowers
• 245 – Top Container
• 177 – Grass, Tree
• 026 – Door, Flower Box
• 373 – Above Door
• 947 – Sign, Roof
• 969 + 565 – Stamped Image
• 526 – Sky
• 565 + 491 – Windows
• N49 – Table, Chairs, Chimney
• 991 – Shrub
• N95 – Shop

For my second card, I used the Harvest Scene Set (5593). The original stamp includes two pumpkins on the chair, but I decided not to use them for this scene. Since I stamped the image using Tombow N95, it was easy to simply leave the pumpkins uncolored. After stamping the main image, I used my stamp positioner to add a small container in place of the pumpkins.

I began by coloring the chair and containers first before adding the flowers and foliage around the scene. Using a brown TwinTone marker helped create a rustic, aged look and added extra character and detail to the card.

I hope you found some inspiration in these cards and feel inspired to create your own cozy floral scenes. Until next time!

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies

• 5593 – Harvest Scenes Set (pumpkins left out)
• 4869 – Small Container Set
• 5126 – Foliage Set 4
• 5007 – Foliage Set 3
• 4051 – Foliage Set 1
• 4052 – Flower Set 1
• 4868 – Flower Set 2
• 5474 – Flower Set 5
• 6048 – Scalloped Rectangle Dies (3rd Largest)

Paper

• 6205 – Floral Shop Patterned Paper
• Canson Watercolor Paper

Inks & Mediums

• TwinTone Marker – Brown

Tombow Markers

• 969 + 565 – Stamped Image
• 526 – Sky
• 515 + 025 – Birds
• 177 – Grass & Greenery
• 856 – Flowers & Flower Pot
• 025 – Flower Pot & Watering Can
• 312 – Chair
• 555 – Flowers in Grass
• 685 – Flowers
• 636 – Flowers
• 245 – Flowers in Watering Can
• 027, N49 – Wooden Flower Box
• N49 – Milk Can

Remembrance by Gennette Houghton

 

Hello, and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend!  My two cards today are in honor of Memorial Day, a time of remembrance.  Red Poppies, in particular, are a symbol of sacrifice and remembrance for those who lost their lives in conflict, they are also my husband’s favorite flower.  

The 6163 Poppy Margin Set comes with two stamps that mirror each other and are part of the Bible Journaling line.  There is also a beautiful Peony Set – 6164.  I started out by cutting down my watercolor paper to 3 inch by 7 inch and used my stamping platform.  I inked the stamp in Distress Ink Lost Shadow, this is a light enough ink that I did not stamp it off.  For the outer frame I used 026, going over the whole frame.  I then went in with another layer, darkening the more shaded areas to create dimension.  For the petals of the flowers, I started with a base layer of 885, and then went in with 856 to deepen and shade the darker areas.  969 was used on the centers, and shaded with N15. The stamens were done with a black micron pen.  For the stems and leaves I used 177.  The background was colored with 192, and I also added in a bit of 526.  I found that this blended in a bit to well with the floral image so I used 565 to shade around the frame and florals.  This broke up the green enough to set the image off.  I also went around the outside of the frame to help set if off and give it more dimension on the paper.  I used a solid muted green cardstock to mat the 5x7 card base, and used a border die from my stash.  My original intention was to add a sentiment, but I ended up liking the card just the way it is.    

For my 2^nd card I used the newly released 6187 FG Poppy Border with 6179 Cottage Charm.  I love how the birdbath looks with this set.  It is always good when sets can interchange together.  I started off by stamping in the poppies on my watercolor paper with Distress Ink Pumice Stone, after stamping off once.  For the stems and leaves I used 126 first and then contoured with 177, making sure to darken the shaded areas.  I then started with 905 as the base for the petals and then used 885 for contour and shading, being mindful of areas that overlap and darkening these areas a little bit more.  I then stamped in the birdbath, also with Pumice Stone, and stamping off once.  I used a stamp positioner for this and after I figured out where I wanted it, I made sure to mask off the flowers so as not to stamp over the top of them.  I painted the birdbath with a mix of 565 and 969 adding in a touch of 249 and shading with 565.  For the water I used a mix of 565 and 249 and then added a light layer of 526.  For the bird, I first went over the eye, beak, and legs with a black micron. I used 055 as a base layer and then added in layers of 025, 947, and 969.  I then add some of the 025 into the water as a reflection of the bird.  For the background I added 133 and 177 at the base, and 526 for the sky.  5724 Nested Rectangle Dies, 6^th from the largest, was used to cut the image out and I matted this with a dark green cardstock using 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched dies, 3^rd from the largest.  I then matted this on to some gold cardstock.  The card base was matted with paper from 6033 Inspirational Easter Paper Pack.  Before mounting my image, I stamped in the sentiment in Versafine Clair Nocturne, in the bottom corner.  Thank you for joining me today, and I hope you liked my creations!  Until next time! Create….Share….Inspire!

Pansy Garden by Janet

Hi everyone! Today I'm participating in the current challenge, Mix and Match. To participate, your entry simply needs to include two or more Ai products. My challenge card actually uses four products. It's so easy to combine Ai sets to tell the customized story you want.

This card features two stamps that happen to be used together, although they also work well by themselves too. I started the card by choosing a house from the 6184-Euro Cottage Set. It comes with 2 houses and I really love the one I used here. It reminds me of the stucco homes and buildings that are traditional German and Swiss style. After stamping it, I added the 6187-FG Poppy Border. It looks like your card has pansies you say? Yes! By changing the way I colored them, it was easy to turn the poppies into pansies. My favorite pansy is lavender and yellow so that's the colors I chose to use. I was thrilled that I could adjust the image to come out this way. I colored this scene with Copic Markers. It doesn't show up well in the photo but I used a light gray marker to create swirl marks that you expect to see in stucco. Isn't it cool how the house is tucked into the pansy border. The perspective works so perfectly. 

Next, I created a fresh green 4 1/4" square card base and cut a peak-a-boo window in the front. Then inside, I added the scene that I cut out using the larges square in the 6047-Scalloped Squares Dies. By doing this I created a window that allows the image to show partially. Once opened, you see the whole image. I also stamped the sentiment in the Poppy Border set on clear vellum. I attached it to the inside of the card and covered my glue spots with butterfly cuts from the 5543-Journal Template Dies Set. Finally on the front of the card, I added a looped bow with a little purple button on top. 

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

Happy Crafting!

 

Seek Wisdom Card by Tasha

Happy Friday Art Impressions friends!

Tasha here sharing a card created with the new 6203-Wisdom Set 1 and 6204-Wisdom Set 2. These sets are perfect for so many different projects, and the images can be used on their own or combined for completely different looks.

As soon as I looked through the stamps in Wisdom Set 1, I was drawn to the owl and jewels and knew I wanted to create something featuring both images. To make this scene, I stamped the owl first and covered him with masking paper before stamping the jewels. I also masked the jewels before stamping the large banner so it would sit nicely in the background. Masking paper is definitely one of my favorite crafting tools!

I usually reach for bright colors with lots of pink and white, but this time I wanted to try something a little different. I used shades of brown inspired by the owl and blended Distress Oxide inks around the center panel to give the card a soft vintage feel. For a little extra detail, I added a piece of Art Impressions patterned paper that worked perfectly with the colors and overall theme of the card.

To finish everything off, I stamped two sentiments from Wisdom Set 2. The longer sentiment fit beautifully across the banner, and the larger “Seek Wisdom” greeting was layered with the same tan and brown cardstock used throughout the design.

I hope you enjoyed today’s project and are having a wonderful start to your weekend!

Mix & Match Challenge #427 Week #2 plus Design Team Call

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to week #2 of our Mix & Match challenge.

Before we get to our DT cards we'd like to let you know that we are on the hunt for someone new!
We’re looking for a new member for our design team. Think you have what it takes? We need team members who are dedicated, creative, organized and self-motivated! If you have a passion for Art Impressions stamps, dies and paper and love cardmaking and paper crafting, we want to see your work!

Applications will be accepted May 16th-May 22nd 2026.

Please check our DT CALL post HERE if you're interested in applying.

Now, back to our challenge. Since it's week #2 we get to share the rest of our DT projects.

Last week Janet was our Featured Artist and she made this striking birthday card.

Lynn's trio of card can be found HERE.

Sharon's whimsical card can be found HERE.

My card can be found HERE.

Dori's card can be found HERE.

Simone used:

5939 Fairy Garden pp

5915 woodland fairy set

6062 Hydrangea floral set

5981 My Joy set

Tasha's card is HERE.

And, last but not least, Gennette used:

5785 Gnomes Set

5728 Mushroom Cubbies

5935 Fairytale Houses Set

5561 Birds and Bugs Set

5838 Fall PP

6158 Story Tile Template

 ✻ 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

Sweet Girls Playing by Dori Mendiola

Happy Thursday AI Friends!

This card came together perfectly for the Mix & Match challenge, which calls for using two or more stamp or die sets.  I ended up pulling from several favorites to build a three‑dimensional scene that feels fun and playful.  I created a 3D effect by layering several die‑cut fences together, scoring them to pop forward. 

 

I began by die cutting the base from heavy cardstock using the #6114 - Box Village Template die.  I embossed this panel using a brick embossing folder that I had in my stash.  I then die cut the roof and window pieces from pattern paper using the #6159 - Flower Shop die set.  I die cut several fence pieces from heavy cardstock and layered together to double up and also to extend the fence.  I wrapped it around the base card on one end and over the front to the other side.  This fence stands out about 1/2" from the base panel.  

Using the #5578 - Little Angels set, I stamped two of the angels with Memento black ink and colored with copic markers listed below.  I fussy cut them out, cutting off the wings.  I die cut some balloons using the #5722 = Birthday Journal set and tied some string to the ends.  I placed some acetate behind them and attached to the back of one of the angel's hands. 

  To make the card base, take a standard A2 card base and place the Box Village Template die shape slightly over the card fold so that it will cut all sides but the folded edge.  Adhere the base panel to the card base.  Decorate as desired.

I hope you enjoyed my card today and thank you for joining me.  I hope you play along with our blog challenge.  We love to see your creations!

Have a great day and keep creating!

Copics used:  E000, E01, E11    R20

YR00, YR02, YR04

V12, V15      Y15, Y17