Monday, June 5, 2023

Happy Birthday interactive card by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!!


How many of you love interactive cards? I raise both of my arms, and if I could raise my legs without falling on my behind, I'd raise those too! LOL!  I love dimension, and I love interactive! That's what I've got for you today! I used a magic iris die and a camera add on to create this cute and fun birthday card. I hope you love it as much as I do! For the images, I used the adorable 5400 Baby Critters Set from Art Impressions. This is the cutest birthday set! I've used it so many times, and I'm not about to stop! LOL! So here's some pictures, and I've shown you several as the shutter opens on the front of the card as the handle is pulled down on the right. 








Isn't that just too much fun??!!  Thanks so much for stopping by today and until next time - stay crafty!!


Copics used:

YR02, YR04, YR07

YG21, YG23, YG25

R20, R24, R27, R29

V22, V25

B000, B00

E21, E23, E25, E51, E53

Y13, Y17

C2, C3, C4, C5, C7


Sunday, June 4, 2023

O-FISH-ALLY OVER THE HILL! by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Today I have a pair of very similar birthday cards to share with you.
The first will go into my stash.  The second will be given to someone and 
I'll tell you that story in a minute.



Masculine cards are some of my favorite to make and I chose green because when you
don't know what colors someone likes, it seems pretty neutral.  Also, I feel like so many
shades of green are very masculine.
Lol!  As I'm looking at my card I'm wondering just how many shades of green
I packed onto it.



For those of you who don't know, I work in an elementary school.
Our principal is turning 50 on June 15th.  We're celebrating him all day long.
Each grade level from Pre-K through 5th grade has an activity planned to do with him.
I made a card for all of the faculty to sign for him. His favorite thing in the world to do 
is go fishing.  Art Impressions had me covered! 
Enter...5406 – Mr. Set and 4900 – Reel Great Guys Set.


Besides the two main sets I used on this card I used a bunch of other Ai products.

5543 – Journal Template Die Set for the tab with the 50 on it.
5562 – Journal Letter Die Set
5606 – Harvest Journal Paper Pack
5463 – Slimline Dies Set for the mattes and the banner the sentiment is on.
Memento Ink Pad
Sakura Pigma Micron 05 – Pigment Fineliners – 0.45mm I used this to hand draw the sign around the Gone Fishing sentiment.
4773 – Acrylic Block 5 Pack (Variety) to stamp the smaller images and sentiments







In case you missed it...there're still several hours to take advantage of the 40% off Father's Day sale category.


Saturday, June 3, 2023

Watercolor Weekend 6-3-2023

 Hello Ai Watercolor Fans!

It's a Watercolor Weekend here on the blog and you're going to LOVE
what our Design Team members have created!


We've seen a lot of the new Scenic Foundation sets lately.
This week we have a couple different cards from Karen and Diane and a Foundation set card from Tricia.

We'll start with Karen's beautiful front porch rocking chair scene.

Hello Ai Watercolour fans!

I wanted to create a scene with warm, pretty colours this week, so I pulled out the 5568 - Rocker & Plant Stand Set from the Winter release:


I coloured the image in Tombows #969/565, and stamped it onto my Canson XL Watercolor Paper.  After pulling out the colour with a damp brush, I selected my colour palette.  For my yellow rocker, I used #993, using layers to build up the warm yellow tones, adding in #947 to some of the darker areas.  The bird's belly and the lower pot were painted with #407, using it to paint a darker stripe around the pot as well.  The other pot and the squirrel from 5599 - Mini Mice & Squirrel Set were painted with layers of #947, making the edges of the pot deeper in tone, as well as the under side of the squirrel.  The pots were filled with the two trailing foliage stamps from 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 in #126, by just colouring part of the stamps, and varying the angles they were stamped around the pots.  Using the Daisy bunch from 4051 - Flower Set, in #993 and #803, and the tiny heart circle from 4868 - WC Flower Set 2 in #533 and #925, I filled the pots with flowers.  #565 was used to paint the bird's wings, and as shadows around the pots and on the chair.


I wanted to ground the rocker, so I created a line behind it, and drew in the suggestion of the siding on a house, to indicate that the rocker is sitting on a porch.  The floor was washed with N57.  To finish my scene, I used two of the branches from 4964 - WC Branches Set in #969 added to each pot, and used my Twintone marker to add a few dots around them.


 
Next up is Diane and her lovely birdhouse/ planter scene.


Hello, Ai Watercolor Weekend fans! Now that summer is near, I decided to paint this sweet floral scene. In my neighborhood, the birds are chirping and curious squirrels are exploring. And for me, no summer is complete without a beautiful hanging basket of bright red geraniums! 
 

To create this scene, I inked the birdhouse stamp from 5575 – Mailbox Birdhouse Set in 565/969 and stamped off once before stamping onto my Canson XL watercolor paper. Next, I inked the squirrel from 5599 – Mini Mice & Squirrel Set in 565/969 and stamped in the left hanging basket. Since the stamps are clear, it made it easy to place the squirrel – no positioner needed! I knew I would be cutting out this image later, so I traced the largest oval die from 5588 – Journal Oval Frames Die Set to frame my scene.
   

 
With my scene complete, I used a damp brush and pulled out the stamped lines of the image to create shadows and contours. Before adding any color to the images, I brushed in a watery sky with 526. I wanted to keep the birdhouse white, so I used 565 to shade the left side of the birdhouse and under the eaves of the roof. I added thin vertical lines to the front and sides of the birdhouse in 565. I added a little 565/969 mix to the shingles and a touch of N25 just under the shingles to create more depth. I darkened the round openings with 969. The perch was also painted with 969. I added a light shadow just below the perch with a 565/969 mix and painted the metal curved hangers with the same mix. For the red geraniums, I inked the ivy stamps from 4867 - WC Foliage Set 2 in 856 and 177. Normally, the entire stamp would be inked in green as foliage. I wanted trailing geraniums to flow from the basket, so I randomly inked some of the larger leaves in red and the rest in 177. I stamped this multiple times until the basket was full. With a damp brush, I dabbed the red flowers and softened the greenery. Using the small leaves from 4867, I stamped in multiple leaves around the squirrel, masking where needed. For the squirrel I used 977, leaving lighter areas to create highlights and contours. For the shadowed areas, I added a touch of 969. I left the chest and belly white. 
With the squirrel now painted, I dabbed the leaves to soften. I added 977 and 969 to the wooden post and added shadows with 565. I stamped in some long stem flowers below the pots and around the post using the long stem flower bunch from 4868 - WC Flower Set 2. I inked the flowers in 565 and stems/leaves in 177. I added additional shadows where needed on the pots with 565. I added upward curved stripes to the left pot with a mix of 526 and a little 177. I added white floral centers to the blue flowers using a small brush and Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White. I also dotted in some white blooms to the greenery in the basket with the squirrel. To give the red flowers the look of geranium petals, I used the bullet tip of 856 to dot in petals. Using a brown TwinTone marker (or a gray TwinTone marker, where appropriate) I added back in any details that were missing or needed to be darkened. I drew the wires to hang the baskets from the hooks with the gray TwinTone. Next I inked the bird from 5561 – Birds and Bugs Set in 565/969 and stamped off once. The bird was painted in 526 and the beak in 933. I then used the coordinating die to cut out the bird.
     

Using the pencil lines as a guide, I cut my image slightly outside the oval shape. Next I die cut a scalloped oval frame using the largest scalloped and largest oval die nested together from 5588 – Journal Oval Frames Die Set to create a frame and adhered to the painting with glue. I then die cut five green stems using the die from 5591 – Journal Rectangle Frames Die Set. For the blue flowers I die cut three flowers from 5588. I die cut three more flowers from white cardstock so I would have white centers to add to the blue flowers. The painting was popped up with foam squares on the card base. I also popped up the bird. Finally, I arranged the green stems and adhered with glue then added the three flowers to the stems using foam squares.
 


I think this would make a nice any occasion card (Thank You, Happy Birthday, Encouragement, Just Because, etc.). I hope this painting will encourage you to get out some of the earlier released Watercolor Journal stamps and create your own masterpiece. Please remember to tag us on social media, we love to see your work! Thank you for joining us for another Watercolor Weekend, until next time – Happy Painting!

 

We close out our weekend with the glorious city scene from Tricia.

Welcome back Watercolor Fans to another Art Impressions watercolor weekend. This weekend I am sharing one of the new releases.  I just love this City scene, I decided to make it a Seaside City.  I thought a nice sunset (which I love) would be perfect.


This scene kind of evolved slowly.  I did see after I was done that Bonnie also did a tutorial, great minds I tell ya!  Here's how I made mine.

City:

I inked up the SF Village with 969 and minimal amounts of 569 (anywhere I wanted it really dark, roofs etc).   I am not adding water until the flowers are in place.

Flowers:

I picked some smaller flowers to place into the buckets.  I made sure to add these before I added the water and additional color to the buildings to make sure I had enough white space for the flowers.  I added water to the flowers.

Shadows/Color:

I pulled the color out of the lines on the buildings, pots, walkway and stone roadway.  Adding shadows with 569 prior to adding the stones will give your roadway more depth.

From my palette, I added some bright colors to the buildings.  I waited until I finished the sunset before I added color to the windows, so I could include a reflection of the sky. The vibe I was going with was "Caribbean", I felt like I captured it.

I added some additional details to the pots and planters.  Once the flowers were dry, I added some darker color to get a little more depth.  After the buildings were dry, I added some additional details and deeper shadows.

Rock Walkway:

Using some brown and blue mixtures, I created the rock walkway.  When creating your walkway, make sure to angle the rocks in the same direction as the road.

Background:

I wanted a really bright sunset, I sketched in where I wanted the sun and horizon line with my orange marker.  Next I painted in a light wash of orange, using left to right brush strokes. I add some yellows and additional oranges, letting it dry between layers.  Once I was happy with it, i darkened in the sun and added some really dark highlights. Finally, I added some blue into the water under the sun.

Make sure you sign and date your work!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Hope you have a crafty day!

There's still time to take advantage of the 40% off Father's Day category sale.

You can also catch Bonnie's latest video here.


We hope you all have a wonderful watercolor filled weekend.





Hat's Off To You! by Janet


 Hello everyone! Graduation at our house is in a little over a week and Mom is just about ready! One thing left to do was make a card for my son and now I can say, "Check!"

This is a Double Z Fold card with a built in center pop-up section in the middle. I did not use a die for this and I was pleased with how it turned out. To decorate it, I used the adorable 5277-Graduation Set. There are three super cute graduates and lots of sentiments. The images come wearing graduation hats but I thought it would be fun to enhance them using hat brads.


Aren't these characters so cute? I can never get enough of this set. It is perfect for both both girls and boys. 


I know my son will enjoy this card. He's my biggest fan and never gives me an attitude every time I say, "Look at the card I made!" He must groan inside sometimes but he's always willing to ooh and ah over anything I've shown him over the years. Sadly, I won't have him around to show my makes soon but I guess I'll have to send him photos. He can't get off that easy! Ha ha! Making something special for someone you care about is one of the greatest things about being a card maker. I know you all know what I mean.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you'll stop by the store soon for all your card making needs. 

Wishing you a very crafty day!


Janet YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest 

Friday, June 2, 2023

To the Birthday Boy Card by Tasha!

 Happy Friday Ai Fans!

Tasha here sharing a new card created with the 5044 - Born To Ride Set. This stamp set is perfect for Father's Day projects, masculine birthday cards, and scrapbook layouts. I just LOVE this biker stamp! 


The image was stamped with black ink and colored with Copic Markers. I wanted it to look like the biker was cruising down the road on a warm Summer day, so I drew in a road and added some grass.

Also, since it's almost time for the 4th of July, I thought it would be fun to add an Americana theme to the design. To do this, I colored the bike red, used red, white & blue colors on his bandana, and I attached a festive star pattern paper. I just love these colors!


This stamp set includes several sentiments, but I used the "To the Birthday Boy" greeting from the 5735-Birthday Sentiment Set. I think this birthday set has become my go to for cards and love that it includes a masculine greeting. 


To complete the card, I attached several white enamel dots and layers of red cardstock and silver foil paper. When I think of motorcycles, I think of shiny chrome, so the silver foil totally goes with the biker theme. 

Also, be sure to check out the Ai Site for their Father's Day Sale!



Thank you for checking out today's project and I hope you all have a wonderful day!




Thursday, June 1, 2023

Fabulous Flowers #352 Week 2

 Hello Ai fans!

Who doesn't love flowers?

FABULOUS FLOWERS!

That's our current challenge here on the Art Impressions blog.

We're beginning week two so we can show you what the rest of the Design Team created.

Last week, Nina was our featured artist and created two beautiful floral projects.

Nina used:



Mercy used:






Janet used:



Tasha used:



Bring on the flowers.

Stamped
Die cut
Artificial flowers
Pressed flowers
Floral paper
Stenciled flowers
etc.

Show us the FLOWERS!! 

If you'd like to join in our challenge be sure to link your project below...

✻ 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