Thank you so much to all of our designers. You inspire us DAILY with all of your wonderful creations.
✻ 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.
Oh Man, I had such a fun time making this card. My inspiration came from a combination of the newly released Story Tile sets and die as well as the current blog challenge "The People In Your Neighborhood". For my card, I used the #5798 - Gardening Girlfriend set, the #6177 - Garden Friends set and the #6158 - Story Tile Template Die as well as a few accessories from some other sets that are listed below.
I started by stamping all of the images onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below. I decorated some of the images with my white marker (you can also use the Dr. PH Martin white paint). I fussy cut the girl as well as the story tile garden images.
I cut the story tile window frame from a piece of pink cardstock and a piece of pattern paper from the #6051 - Mother's Day PP. I layered the pattern paper over the pink cardstock and shifted it slightly to the right and upwards so that the pink showed through the window slightly. This provided a nice little contrast and helped pop up the images as well as the pattern papers underneath. Then a die cut some other pattern papers from this paper pack with the story tile die and placed them behind the pink frame.
I stamped the sentiment from the Garden Friends set and adhered behind the narrow window. I popped up each of the images with foam tape into the other windows and decorated the pots and boots with flowers from the #5935 - Fairytale houses set and the #6076 - Gardener Gail set. To finish off the card, I colored a few bees from the Fairytale Houses set and placed them near the flowers.
Make sure to check out the newly released sets and also the bi-weekly blog challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice. We love to see your creations!
Thanks for joining me today! Have a wonderful day and keep creating!
I've got two cards to share with you today. The first one is a sweet St. Patrick's Day card and the other was inspired by the current Ai "People in your Neighborhood" Blog Challenge.
Let's get started by creating a whimsical St. Patrick's Day card today using the Ai Spring Keepsake Set (6106). The little frog from this set will be perfect for this card!
We will stamp the little frog and color him in using the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens in the following colors: Blender, Lt Pink, Lt Green, Deep Green. This is some really quick and easy coloring!
Next, we can die cut the frog, and to add some greenery around the frog we will die cut several leaves, stems and a mushroom from the Ai Fall Leaf Frame Die Set (5783) and the Ai Harvest Journal Die Set (5592). We will die cut the leaves and stems from some green cardstock and add a bit of color using the Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink in Rustic Wilderness. And... don't forget to add some tiny little wiggly eyes to your frog!
Now setting aside all of those pieces, we will die cut some gold metallic letters using the Ai Journal Letter Die Set (5562). We will spell out the words "toad-ally" and "lucky". I'll show you in the video how to lay these out easily on your card!
Let's die cut an oval from some of that same metallic cardstock and a slightly smaller oval from some Kraft cardstock.
On the Kraft cardstock, we will have some fun stenciling using a four-leaf clover background. We will then stencil this design onto the Kraft cardstock using the wonderful Simon Hurley Lunar Paste in Fake Plant. Yes....that's the name of it and I love it so much! This is the perfect green for our stenciled background.
We will create our square card base and spatter it using the Windsor Newton Gold Ink. Let's spatter the stenciled oval as well.
Next, we can quickly assemble all of the pieces onto the card and for a bit more sparkle we will add a few sparkly sequins!
I also wanted to share with you the card that I created for the new Ai "People in your Neighborhood" Blog Challenge!
Today I wanted to show you a simple yet fun card using the Ai Stay Hydrated Stamp Set (5928). We will use this stamp set to create a simple background. With this set you can stamp the thermos design and then select one of the overlay stamps for the pattern on the thermos. There are several choices to include a leopard print, paw prints, Aztec design, and a tiger print! So, there are lots and lots of choices to personalize your cards and we are going to use them all today!
We will stamp the images onto some white cardstock and then using the Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad in the following colors (Shaded Lilac, Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers) we will stamp the overlay images.
Now we can create the standard A2 card base in white and add a pretty pink scalloped rectangle using the Ai Scalloped Rectangle Die Set (6048). We can cut down the background panel to fit into the scalloped rectangle and attach these two together. Now, let's tie a piece of dusty rose twine around this scalloped rectangle and pop it up on the card.
We can stamp and color our little lady using the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens in the following colors: Blender, Lt Gray, Lt Pink, Turquoise Green, Yellow, Beige, Mid Brown, Flesh Colour. Let's take the coordinating die and cut her out. We will also die cut the lady one more time onto some black cardstock. This black silhouette image will get attached behind the one that we colored in to create a bit of a shadow and to make the image stand out from the background. You will want to offset it a little bit!
Finally, we can attach the lady to our card! This is a simple yet impactful card that can be used for a variety of occasions including birthday, friendship, thinking of you, and so much more!
Thank you so much for joining me today! Have a fun and crafty day!
Well, my friends, we made it to March! I can not wait for spring! I am dreaming of lush green fields and blue skies. We are preparing for Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus, The Good Shepherd. I decided to have a stab at doing some Bible Journal art again. Am I good at it? Absolutely not, but I am trying and I am enjoying practicing. I pulled out my Church Hymnal again and decided to try my hand at watercoloring.
I knew I wanted to work with the "Fear Not" stamp set, so I pulled that out and chose the song "Shepherd Me, O God", from Psalm 23.
I began by prepping my page with a thin layer of clear gesso, dried it gently with my heat tool, and then applied a thin layer of Absorbent Ground. I dried that with my heat tool, and then applied another thin layer of gesso over top. While drying, I gently swipe across the page to smooth it out and buff some of the grit from the absorbent ground until my page was smooth. I started by stamping my 2 sheep with a very light gray dye ink and then very carefully added in some light shading with the same color. Try to make sure you don't touch the outline or it will disappear, but if you do, you can always draw it back in with the fine tip of your marker. I had to do that in some places. I added shadows in the folds of wool, behind the legs and tail, and on the belly. I added in tiny bits of pink into the ears of both sheep with a fine tip marker and just barely touched it with a damp brush.
I then worked on my "field", adding in grasses and some pretty flowers and lighting touching them with a damp brush. I added in more greens for the ground with a wash and let that dry before stamping some grasses back into the faded out wash.
I then worked on my sky, using the same purplish blue that I used for the flowers and a lighter sky blue. I made a wash and just blobbed on both colors here and there (I'm very technical lol) leaving bits of white so they appeared to be clouds. When that was all dry I stamped my sentiment in Black Stazon ink. I immediately regretted where I stamped it, but I couldn't move it, so it is where it is! Lol. I should have stamped it further down the hill next to the sleeping sheep.
I figured I would try and have another go at it, so I got out my Journaling Bible that is just the books of Psalms and Proverbs. This is a spiral bound Bible and has nice wide margins and thicker pages. I decided to do the same scene right next to Psalm 23, but using the sheep facing the opposite direction, and I used a different sentiment from the stamp set.
I followed the exact same steps as above.
My sky is "moody" in both scenes because I wanted to show that Jesus is the "calm" in the storm! We should "Fear no evil" for He is always with us!
Now, I know that I am not the best watercolorer, but I am trying! And in my practice, I am having fun, and creating something worthwhile, and that is what counts! So, I will keep practicing. Creating these Faith inspiring scenes brings me comfort, as I hope they do to you as well. So, don't be afraid like I was for so long, get out those Bibles and watercolors and get busy practicing.
Friendship is everything. These ladies seem to have that down to a science.
I made my card for The People In Your Neighborhood challenge. You can enter your handmade project using Art Impressions products for the chance to win a free stamp set.
I have been loving seeing all the amazing creations using the new #6158 Story Tile Template Die from Art Impressions! It's soooo versatile! I'm using it yet again today for a cute Easter card. Easter is just around the corner, so it's that time! For the chicks, I used #5401 Easter Chicks Set. I stamped the images onto a Copic friendly paper and then colored them using the markers listed at the bottom of this post. For the single carrot and the basket of carrots, I used #6008 Bunny Hugs Set. Both sets come with the dies, so it was super simple to add them to the window tiles. The paper is from 6036 Easter Bunny PP.
So that's it for me today! Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit and until next time - stay crafty!!
I can’t even tell you how excited I was when I saw the new Story Tile Template Die and stamp set release! The Story Tile Template Die works beautifully with so many sets you may already own, making it such a versatile addition to your collection.
Let me show you what I created. For my first card, I used the Frog Set (5283).
I ran the Story Tile Template Die through my cutting machine twice using Canson Watercolor Paper. Before stamping, I laid out my images on the tiles to see how they would fit and to decide on the overall layout. I highly recommend this step since the tiles only fit together in a specific way.
Once I was happy with the placement, I stamped the images using Archival Ink Shadow Grey and began coloring.
For the frogs, I started with 173, then added 195 in the shadow areas. To deepen the shadows further, I used 177, and finished with 133 for highlights.
The tulips were colored with 933, intentionally leaving some lighter areas, followed by 925, and darkened with 905 where needed.
For the leaves, I used 177, again leaving some lighter areas for dimension.
The daffodil was colored with 025, followed by 985, and 933 for the center.
The mushroom stem was colored with 992, with 912 and 565 added for shading. The mushroom top was colored with 856 and shaded with 565.
I used 526 for the sky, and a black TwinTone marker for the eyes and to add definition wherever needed.
To assemble the card, I glued two frames together for added dimension, then cut a third frame from 6033 Inspirational Patterned Paper and adhered it on top. The layered frame was attached to an A2 card base, and finally, I glued the tile pieces into place to complete the design.
Hello Ai fans and welcome to our March Monthly Guest Designer Challenge!
As you may have heard...Simone Carr has become our newest Watercolor Design Team Member.
That left an opening for our Monthly Guest Designer Challenge.
We were THRILLED when Debbie Hedges agreed to accept that position!
For her first card, she created a BEAUTIFUL beach themed card, because, aren't we all ready for a little sunshine?
I feel so honored that Renee offered me the opportunity to be guest designer throughout the
year now that Simone has moved to the Design Team. Simone does such an amazing job with
her projects! I am a huge fan of Art Impressions and have been for years! I hope I can provide
inspiration for you to use these amazing products.
For this project, I cut out my rectangle with the die from the #5543 Journal Die set (2.75”x4”). I
normally cut the project at the end, but I wanted this project to have a border. I then used my
ruler to add a horizon line for the ocean approximately 1.25” from the top of the rectangle. I
had stamped and cut masks for the beach ball and the tote bag from #5509 Beach Accessories,
so I used them to determine where they should be stamped in the foreground. It helps to figure
out placement before you start stamping. Once I had the masks in place, I added the dunes in
pencil in the middle and then also drew the shoreline in pencil as a guide.
My next step was to stamp the tote bag and beach ball. I started with the tote bag by inking it
in #40 Brownish Grey so that I could avoid inking the tropical scene on bag. I then applied the
mask and used my positioner to stamp the beach ball in Shadow Grey Archival ink so it looks like
it is slightly behind the bag. With my positioner, I then added the seagull – also stamped in
Shadow Grey Archival Ink.
I still use Marvy Le Plume markers for my projects. Most of these can be converted to Tombow
colors, but choose colors that work for you. These just happen to be some of my go-to colors for
any project I work on.
I started with the tote bag by pulling out the color along the edges. Then added color using #17
Steel Blue, letting layers dry in between. I added more color along the edges, leaving the center
of the tote bag lighter. I then used a mix of #45 Sepia and #86 African Violet to apply color to
the handle and the accents on the bag. Marvy Markers have a fine tip, and I used #40 Brownish
Grey to add some darker areas on the handle, stitching accents and the buttons. For the beach
ball, I used #65 Cherry and #3 Blue. For the white area, I carefully added shadows with the
same grey mixture I used for the tote bag.
My next step was the ocean. I mixed #14 Turquoise with #17 Steel Blue to soften the color. I
started with the horizon line and then filled in the area with horizontal strokes making sure to
have light and dark areas for interest. I let layers dry in between.
For the sand, I used #30 Rosewood for the area near the shore and #45 Sepia for the dunes and
foreground. I added layers along the top of the dunes to define them and the other areas used
more of a wash to just show the “idea” of sand. For the grass, I used the grass from #5826 WC
Large Tree Set 2, starting at the edge of the project and stamping a couple times down the hill I
created. I also placed my mask on the tote bag and stamped the grass along the edge of the
project to show the foreground. With Post-it tape, I covered the “sand” and stamped the teeny
t
iny grass stamp from #4051 WC Foliage Set 1 to add some smaller grass to taper off down the
dunes. I wanted some tall grass as well, so I used my positioner and stamped tall grass from
#KH5820 My Favorite Birds Set a couple times on each side. All of the grass was stamped with
#17 Olive Green. I then used the fine tip on the marker to add some “tufts” on top of some of
the tall stems.
Using #75 Sky Blue, I added sky. I made sure to apply the color so there were light and dark
areas and also some white space to show clouds. With seagulls being white on the underside, I
mainly just added grey shadows at the bottom edges of his wings and his tail feathers, along
with shadows on his body. I darkened his eye with a Micron pen. I used the fine tip of #43
Brilliant Yellow to add color to his beak.
With Dr Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White, I added waves to my ocean. I also added some dots
along the water’s edge to show how the waves can froth as they reach the shoreline. Next to
the tote bag, I added some larger white dots for daisies along with some smaller dots as well.
When they were dry, I added yellow centers with the fine tip of #43 Brilliant Yellow. With #45
Sepia, I painted an uneven line under the grass, tote bag and beach ball to anchor them in the
foreground. I also used the fine tip to add some dots for sand and then signed and dated my
project.
I hope you’ll give this project a try. The monthly challenge does not have a theme, so please be
sure to enter your projects using Art Impressions products for a chance to win! Who doesn’t
love a chance to win free stamps??
Now let's see who won our February Challenge!
Our Lucky Random Winner was:
#14 Gabriella B.
Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com
to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!
The winner of a freebie from be is #11 Lynn C.
Lynn, please email me at Renee@artimpressions.com with your full name and address and I'll send you a photo of the freebies I have available for you to choose from.
Now for our new monthly challenge, here are the rules.
✻ 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.
One random winner will receive a free stamp set from Art Impressions and one random winner will receive a freebie stamp from me.
✻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.
Spring is around the corner, and there is no better way to welcome the season of renewal than with a card that literally dances when you move it! Today, I’m sharing a festive, multi-window shaker card that combines delicate florals with some of the newest treasures from Art Impressions.
This project features the fun 6158 – Story Tile Template Die, which creates a beautiful "window pane" effect—perfect for showing off the new stamp images and for housing the spring-themed sequins.
To recreate this look, here are the key supplies:
Dies: 6158 – Story Tile Template Die
Stamps: 6179 – Cottage Charm Stamp Set
Paper: 6140 – White Cardstock Paper Pack, 6082 – Bible Journaling S1 Paper Pack (Floral), and silver metallic cardstock.
I started by die-cutting the Story Tile Template from crisp white cardstock. This die is fantastic because it adds a delicate stitched detail to all six frames simultaneously. For the "glass," I trimmed a piece of heat-resistant acetate to fit perfectly behind the entire frame. Before sealing the windows, I took the "Thinking of You" sentiment and heat-embossed it in silver powder directly onto the acetate in the top-right window. This gives the sentiment a floating effect.
To give the shaker bits room to move, I layered two strips of 1/4" foam tape around the perimeter and the interior dividers. Tip: I added extra foam tape around the sentiment window specifically. This keeps that area clear of shaker bits so the message remains easy to read!
I made the card base using silver metallic paper for a hint of shimmer. For the background of the windows, I chose a stunning blue floral pattern from the Bible Journaling S1 Paper Pack. I piled my spring shaker bits onto the floral paper, peeled the backing from my foam tape, and pressed the frame down to seal those sparkly pieces inside.
The Cottage Charm set is full of whimsical imagery. I stamped, colored, and fussy-cut the fence, the vintage bicycle, and the birdbath. I layered four fence pieces across the bottom to create a grounded scene, then tucked the bicycle and the thirsty little bird into place. To tie everything together, I adhered pink flower sequins and pink glass drops directly onto the white frame for an extra pop of dimension.
The combination of the silver metallic base and the interactive shaker windows makes this card feel like a little celebration in an envelope. It's a perfect way to remind someone that they matter.
Thanks for joining me on the blog today. As always, find your favorite stamps, dies, papers, and accessories at the Ai Store!
Tasha here sharing a bee-themed birthday card featuring the sweet little Honey Bear Freebie Stamp along with the new 6158-Story Tile Template Die, which has quickly become my new favorite die.
This whole card was inspired by the honey bear. I love all bee-themed items, and once I stamped the little bear image, I thought it would be fun to create a tile card filled with bee-themed elements. The 5925-Honey Bee Set was perfect for this design, and the stamps fit into the tiles beautifully.
To fill the tiles, I stamped honeycomb images to tie everything together and used Distress Oxide Ink to add extra yellow color. The bright yellow really gives the card a cheerful feel.
To finish the design, I added the tile frame cut from honeycomb pattern paper along with layers of gold glitter paper and black cardstock before adhering everything to a white card base.
For the greeting, I stamped "Happy Bee-Day!" and blended yellow ink around the edges to create a soft glow effect on the panel. This set includes several bee-themed greetings, but this one fit nicely into the smaller tile and I really like the script front style.
Lastly, I added the tile frame cut from a honeycomb pattern paper, layers of gold glitter paper, and black card stock to complete the design before adhering it to a white card base.
Thank you for checking out my card today and I hope you are inspired to create a tile card.
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