Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Dreaming of Spring!

Hello, Ai Fans! Who is ready for spring?? We sure are! Let's take a look at some wonderful springtime inspiration from our lovely Watercolor Design Team!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

Hello, I made this card for the Art Impressions Watercolor Weekend using stamps from the Bible Journaling line. I stamped the well from the 5068 - Living Water Set using sepia then African violet. I did stamp it off on paper first. I pulled the color out of the lines. Next I stamped the little pot from the 5067 - Gates of Righteousness Set in the sepia and African violet. I used Tombow markers 947 and 977 to color in the pot from the palette. I added the leaves by stamping the ivy from the 5073 - Bible Foliage Set in 177 and the flowers from the 5074 - Bible Flower Set in English red and then added water to them. I added the large and small grass stamps from the 5073 - Bible Foliage Set and pulled the color up and out. I stamped the bird in sepia from the 5068 Living Water Set, then added more sepia and English red from the palette. I painted the roof of the well in 249 and the rope in 977 from the palette. I painted the ground in the 249 also. I used the sepia and African violet mixed to add the shadows to the well bottom. I used 528 and a lot of water to paint in the sky. The last thing I did was sign it and add that little heart graffiti with the letters TF (for my husband Tad) in it because today just happens to be our 39th wedding anniversary.

Have a great weekend, I know I'm going to have a fun one!

Tricia Kennedy - Instagram

My project for today’s Art Impressions Watercolor Weekend is a lovely floral card. Using just two stamps and a few markers, you can quickly make several for your Valentine’s Day card giving.

Begin by inking up the tiny flowers from 4603 WC Blooming Birdhouse in 55 Iris Purple and then in 20 Magenta in bunches in a circle. Fill in between the flowers with foliage from 4867 WC Foliage Set 2 in 15 Olive Green. Watercolor the Art Impressions way by pulling the color from the lines with water and your watercolor brush. Add dot detail around the wreath with the fine tip of 20 Magenta. Cut out the wreath with your die cutting machine using the largest circle from the 5064 Circle Double Stitched Die Set. Embellish with Swarovski Crystal Rhinestones with a dab of your favorite glue into the floral area. Attach your watercolor piece to a doily with Glue Dots Pop-Up Dots, attach the doily to the card panel with spray adhesive.

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

Hello watercolor fans! I am back again today with my project for Art Impressions watercolor weekend. With Valentine's Day coming, I know we all need to make some cards for the sweet people in our lives. I wanted to create a simple Valentine Love card to share with you.

Step 1

To start the project, I stamped the boy from the 5054-WC Little Boys Set inked in Pale Cherry (912). I wanted to keep the color light, however, I was doing this in a Sepia type color scheme, so I could have just inked it up with Chocolate (969). In order to keep this on the lighter side, I stamped it off prior to stamping on my watercolor paper.

As with all projects, we start off by pulling the color out of the lines. Because he is pointing towards the left of the paper, that is where I imagine my light source to be. Therefore, everything to the right of him will be darkest (right side of hat, right side of sleeve and pants. Using the palette, you can add more color (slowly).

Step 2

Next, I wanted to make it seem like he had a bouquet of flowers behind his back so I left off the right side of the stamp (between the top and bottom of his shirt). I masked off a portion of the bottom of his shirt so it would protect any rogue stems. Using the small stem from the 5009-WC Mini Flower Set, inked in Rubine Red (755) and Dark Jade (177).

In order to get it in the right place, I used the stamp positioner. Once I stamp down the first flower, I added additional flowers without re-inking. I added water to the blooms and a very small amount to the stems. I also added some additional Chocolate (969) below the flowers to make it look like the bottom of his hand.

Step 3

To create a little depth, I added some Chocolate (969) to my palette and added a little bit to the background behind him.

Want to learn how to make the background for the card, check out my blog!

Thank you so much for spending some time with me on your weekend. I hope you have some time to watercolor. Make sure you share your projects with us on Instagram using #AIWatercolor and tag us so we can see!

Enjoy your weekend and see you next month!!

Thanks, team! Super cute projects! We love the ideas you come up with, and this is a great selection of different watercolor paintings to try! If you like these projects, be sure to give us a comment below! Don't forget you can always pin these images to your Pinterest board!

Happy Stamping!

Love you SLOW much! by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!!

Have you seen the adorable #5002 Sloth-some Set from Art Impressions Funny Farm Line?  So cute and so fun! I think it's perfect for Valentine's Day which is coming up super fast! 

I loved him so much I had to make two of them! :) 

A close up view

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

Copics used:

E21, E23, E41, E43, E71, E74, E77

BG000, BG13, BG15, BG18, BG57

R81, R83, R85

Miss You Pig Time By Jessica Shier

Today I'm making a couple of cards that could be used for Valentine's or just a hello to a friend who you haven't seen in a while. I thought that the Ham it up stamp set from Art Impressions would work perfectly for this and I was drawn to the flying pigs image. I do have a card process video down below if you would like to watch!

For these I was inspired by the look of a chalk board. So I attempted to create my own chalk board design with Distress Oxide Inks, white embossing powder and Prismacolor Pencils. 

For one card I used a Soft Navy cardstock from Simon Says Stamp and the other I used a Black cardstock. I left the coloring on the black cardstock a little more sketchy and not as blended. To start these I sketched out a city scape design on some masking paper and trimmed it out. I also stamped the pigs and heat embossed them then stamped the pigs one more time on another piece of masking paper and fussy cut that out.

I layed the mask for the pigs over top the embossed area and the city scape at the bottom of the cardstock. Then I started ink blending. I used Distress Oxide inks for this since they are a partly a pigment ink and will sit on top of the dark cardstock.

Once I had enough ink down I pulled the masks up to reveal the start of my design. Then I started coloring. Using light colored pencils (list below) I colored in the pigs then traced the buildings so that they had a definition. They navy cardstock I used the darker colors of pencils on the buildings to color them black. On the black cardstock I only added some white highlights.

I trimmed the panels down to 4in by 5 1/4in. The navy panel is cut diagonally and popped up with foam tape over top the mustard/floral pattern paper. I did the opposite for the black cardstock.

Prismacolor Pencils

Flying Pigs
PC938 White
PC1093 Seashell Pink
PC1018 Pink Rose
PC929 Pink
PC1077 Colourless

City Scape

PC938 White

PC1063 50% Gray

PC1067 90% Gray

PC935 Black

PC1077 Colourless Blender

NEW Challenge 248 Lots of Hearts! PLUS Facebook Live Monday at 11AM MT!

Hello, Ai Fans! NEW releases are coming soon! This weekend, Art Impressions will be exhibiting at Creativation debuting our Winter 2019 releases to our retailers! Take a sneak peek of brand new stamps and dies before they ship to your local store by watching our Facebook Live video! Mark your calendar for Monday, January 21, at 11 AM MT and hop over to our Facebook Page "Art Impressions Rubber Stamps" to view the live video. New products will begin shipping to stores February!

A Facebook account is not necessary to view our Facebook Live video - simply visit our page here and if a pop-up to join Facebook appears, you can click "Not Now" at the bottom of the dialog box. If you are not able to catch us live, the video will be posted on our Facebook page for later viewing.

*Creativation is a trade only event, not open to the public. To attend, you must register with AFCI with credentials as a blogger, designer, buyer or category as specified on the AFCI website. Please contact AFCI with any questions about membership or registration.

We are also back with a NEW fun challenge perfect for your "love" cards! But first, let's wrap up last week's Pretty Pastels Challenge!

Top Spot goes to...

Irene Rhodes!

 Congrats, Irene! We found your secret slider card to be super entertaining with the huge birthday cake you stamped! Hop over to Irene's blog for a couple more photos of how this card works, as well as the matching envelope. The pastel colors look delicious! Email annelise@artimpressions.com with your address to claim your prize pack!

Honorable Mentions go to...

Amy Marshall!

 Three Crafting Angels!

Congrats, you two! Amy, we love the coloring on our In the Air skunks! Your card has a wonderful balance of color and white space for a divine love card! And Angels, your floral watercolor card is beautiful! We love the bright colors you achieved with your watercolor markers. Email annelise@artimpressions.com and select a stamp set of your choice as a prize!

And finally, here's Sharon with inspiration for this week's challenge!

Hello AI Fans!!

I had so much fun with this Lots of Hearts challenge!  I just ordered this super cute set #5005 Valentine Bears Set from Art Impressions, and couldn't resist using it!!! 

 I used the heart flowers and XOXO stamps to make my own background papers to go along with the challenge. It was super easy to stamp them, but I will say it took me a bit to color them all.  :) 

Next I used the Circle Double Stitched Dies to create a base for my main image, that adorable bear holding up the string of hearts. Then I die cut a scalloped mat with another die set I have. 

I layered it all up and added a bow and flower. 

I sure hope you join us in the challenge and I can't wait to see what you create! Thanks for stopping by for a visit and until next time - stay crafty! 

Copics used:

E21, E23, E41, E42, E51, E53, E55, E57

R20, R24, R27, R29, R81, R83, R85

G21, G24

B000

Thank you, Sharon! Your card is just too cute!

Ready for a new challenge? This two-week challenge's theme is Lots of Hearts! You can do anything with this challenge, but it's a great time to make some love cards in time for Valentine's (or Galentines) Day!

 Here are the Challenge Rules:

✻ 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 Wednesday, January 30 at 5:00 p.m. PST to enter your creations.

✻ Good luck and happy stamping!

An InLinkz Link-up

Born to Ride Lawn Mower Cards By Crystal Schneider

Hi AI fans!  

This week I had fun playing with this work and play set "Born to Ride". 

For my first card I stamped the image onto Spectrum Noir smooth cardstock with memento black ink so I could color it in with alcohol markers. After I colored him in I fussy cut him out.

I used some pattern paper for the grass and the sky and matted it on some grey pattern paper then adhered the whole panel to a 5 1/2"X 4 1/4 card base. 

For my second card I stamped the image onto Spectrum Noir smooth cardstock with memento black ink so I could color it in with alcohol markers. But for this card I did not fussy cut him out I stamped the image onto a full stick post it and fussy cut that out for a mask. I masked the image and inked the top with blue for the sky and green on the bottom for grass.  I drew some grass in the front of the mower to look like the grass still needed to be cut and left the back short. 

I matted the panel onto green cardstock then black and adhered the whole panel to a 5 1/2"X 4 1/4 card base. 

Spectrum Noir Markers: 

Card 1: AG1, AG3, AG5, BG7, BG10, DR1, DR4, DR7, MB1, MB3, GY3, GY5, BO3, TN6, GG2, TB1, TB3, TB4, PP1

Card 2: AG1, AG3, AG5, BT3, CG3, CG4, BG3, BG5, GG3, DR1, DR4, DR6, DR7, PP1, MB3, MB4

Happy Stamping!

NEW VIDEO! Little Boy in a Tree Watercolor

Hello Ai Fans!

Bonnie is back this week with a new Watercolor Wednesday! This week, she places our little boy in a tree overlooking a rustic cabin and field. Follow along in her instructional video and try out this image with different colors!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wri8Kt-hjh8

Cool Kat by Niccole Kulig

Hello Ai Fans!

I am here today to share a card with you from the fun set - 5046 - Meerkat . I just love these little guys. Isn't he just the cutest? Go check out the full set at Art Impressions.

I decided to something a little different for this card.  It is your typical A2 sized card but with a little bit of a change .

Notice anything?  The card front is smaller.  I actually cut 2 inches off the  bottom to give it a little depth since I wasn't using any foam tape or any embellishments.

It left enough of the card covered so I could l could still add a sentiment to the inside of the card. I firmly believe the inside of a card is just as important as the outside.

I really like how it looks. I will definitely be doing this in the future again.  Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting today.

Copics used:

B14, B16
E55, E57, E77
R35, R37
Y13, Y15, Y17, Y19


Until next time …