One of my favorite things about Art Impressions is the cute images that give me a good chuckle. The Hedgehogs set in the new funny farm release had me rolling. The image I used today is a bit laid back, but I wanted to pair it with the WC Southwest set. I often forget that I can use my watercolor series stamps with an ink pad. Do you do the same thing?
The main image with the hedgehog leaning on the cactus was stamped onto the watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat set. I then stamped the image onto a piece of mask paper and cut it out. When cutting a mask, cut right along the middle of the stamped line. The mask was then placed right over the image to protect it from the rest of the stamping. I then stamped the pot and the rock from the southwest set with the same ink and heat set the image again. I stamped the pot onto a piece of mask paper and cut it out and placed it over the pot. The cactus image from the watercolor set was the last image to be stamped and heat set. All of the masks were removed. The greeting was stamped into the top corner. One thing to remember when you are masking a scene is that you want to first stamp the images that you want in the front and work your way backwards.
Now for the fun part! All of the coloring was done in the same way. I worked in one section at a time and colored the Tombow markers directly onto the paper where I wanted the color to be the darkest. I would then add very little water to my brush and add the water to the area that I wanted my color to be the lightest and move my brush into the color covering the entire image. I did that for all of the same color at one time and let it dry. Once it was dry it would usually need a second layer of color applied the same way. I was sure to leave highlighted areas to add life to the images. The colors I used are listed at the end of this post.
Tombow Marker Colors Used:
Hedgehog - 969 Chocolate, 947 Burnt Sienna, 725 Rhodamine Red Cactus - 177 Dark Jade, 098 Avocado Pots - 837 Wine Red, 526 True Blue Rocks - 969 Chocolate, 526 True Blue Sky - 493 Reflex Blue
Today I have a fun summery card that's just perfect to send to a friend for any occasion!
I used the Girlfriends Stayin' Afloat set and a sentiment from the WC Sentiment Set 2. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black in and heat embossed it with clear powder. I used watercolor markers (listed below) to color everything. Sometimes I added the marker direct to the paper and pulled the color out with a damp brush. Other times I scribbled the marker onto my glass mat and dipped my brush into it. For the white dots on the pink float I used some white gouache. I like it because it's totally opaque. I put a tiny dab onto my mat and mixed in just a bit of water. To get the nice round dots I dipped the end of a rounded stylus into the gouache and touched it to the paper.
After I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Onyx black ink, I heat embossed it twice with clear embossing powder (the first photo really shows the shine and dimension). Then I cut it out with the small tag die from the Tag Stitched Dies set. I used the same die to cut tags from the pink and striped papers. I adhered all three tags together and used some twine from my stash to add a bow.
The pink cardstock is adhered to the card base and the image with the striped edge is popped up on foam tape. I used some thin 3D foam squares for the tag.
This card really has me ready for warm weather, sunshine and fun! Have a wonderful and crafty week!
Hello, Ai Watercolor Fans! It's a beautiful Saturday morning, and time to share beautiful projects from our design team to inspire your creations this weekend! Let's take a look!
Hello Friends, Here's the card I made for the Art Impression's Watercolor Weekend. It could be my granddaughters on their trip to Hawaii in March. I stamped the shed from the 5121 - WC Garden Shed Set using both 86 African violet and brown 969 after I stamped it off on a scratch piece of paper first. I used the brown to color in the roof and door knob area. I used 17 steel blue to watercolor the shed and the windows. I stamped in the palm trees from the 5120 - WC Palm Tree Set with the brown and green 177. I used the smallest palm frond to stamp the ground cover and then used the flowers from the 4052 - WC Flowers Set 1 in the pink 725 for the flowers. I used 101 tropical with a touch of green mixed in to color in the water using straight strokes and brown to watercolor the sand. I stamped the little girls from the 5118 - WC Beach Girls Set using the 40 brownish grey then colored them with yellow 993, 77 pastel peach, steel blue, pink 725 and brown 969. I stamped one flower at a time with the pink for the swimsuit and then added a yellow dot in the centers. I used the fine tip of the 45 sepia to add hair strands to both girls. I used 86 African violet to add the shadows under the girls, trees and house. I used very little of the blue and a lot of water to color in the sky. I cut out the picture using the 5063 - Double Stitched Rectangle Dies and adhered it to my card base. The last thing I did was sign and date it.
You can find more inspiration by following me on my Instagram account here.
I've had the idea for the dress card floating around in my head for awhile. I wanted to use the Ai floral & foliage stamps to create a sort of life-like embroidery look, and kept going to create a grouping of wedding themed items. I sketched the outline of my dress in pencil, directly onto my watercolor paper, and indicated where I wanted the higher points around the hemline to be as a stamping guide. Using the Daisy Bunch in Flower Set 4052 and my #703 Pink Rose marker I stamped it three times without reinking, multiple times around the hem, and again on the neckline. I repeated this with the tiny cluster from 5009 WC Mini Flower Set in #676 Royal Purple. For my last flower, I used the Mini Foxglove from Flower Set 4052 and #533 Peacock Blue, stamping it three times in a row to create the flower stalk. With my #126 Light Olive marker, I coloured just the tip of both of the trailing ivy stamps in 4876 WC Foliage Set 2 New to fill in the greenery, making sure to change directions to keep it looking random. I used my damp #4 paintbrush to dab at each of the flowers & foliage to soften each image and enliven the colours. It then became apparent where the holes were on my 'embroidery', so I used the small green from 4876 WC Foliage Set 2 and #158 Dark Olive to fill in those white spaces. I left these as is, not using my paintbrush, as it defined the shape of the foliage a bit more. I traced the pencil outline of the dress with #533, and used this colour with my brush to add some shading. I picked up #565 Deep Blue from my palette and painted a background wash around the dress. I went in with all of the markers directly onto the image to add in a few deeper colours. The sentiment is from WC Sentiment Set 2, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black. I used my sewing machine to stitch the panel to some coordinating cardstock and adhered it to my base with pop dots, then glued on some iridescent sequins.
The colours and stamps are all the same for my other two projects. For this card, I sketched in the cake and the table, just adding foliage to each layer. I sketched in a heart as my cake topper, and painted in a few ripples on the tablecloth. I stamped this sentiment separately, matting and stitching around it, and adhered it with pop dots going off the right edge.
As a fun little add on, I painted a bouquet and drew in a ribbon bow underneath it to use as a placecard.
Welcome back AI fans to Watercolor Weekend! I wanted to do a simple project for this weekend, so I decided to do this Simple Things Vase. This project is really easy and quick. I have done a video for you to show you just how quick.
Project Details
Step 1 – Ink up the Vase from the WC Decorative Vase Set with Blue. I wanted my vase to be white so I am using the tombow 569 but you can use any marker you may have. Bonnie Krebs uses 565 a lot in her videos. I stamped it to the left side of my paper to allow room for my sentiment. Next, pull the color out of the lines along the right and left side of the vase. This creates the illusion of the vase being round. I wanted the area under the spout and the right side under the handle to be really dark.
Step 2 – Cover your vase with a mask, I am using a piece of Post-It tape. Stamp in your foliage. I am using the leaves from the Foliage Set 4, but you can use any foliage/vines you may have in your collection. This is the greatest part of Art Impressions watercolor line; all the stamps can be used together for any project. Therefore, you don’t have to feel like you can’t create this project because you don’t have the exact stamps I am using. I inked them up with 158 and stamped them a few times. Add water to the leaves.
Step 3 – Ink the flowers with a color of your choice. I used the Daisy Bunch from the Bible Flowers Set inked with 905. I only inked up the top 3 flowers and stamped them in a circle a few times. Stamping items in groups of three is visually appealing so I stamped one in the middle and one on each side of the vase. Add water to the blooms.
Step 4 – To create a little more interest, I used the vine from the Bible Foliage set to create different leaves around the blooms. I inked it up with 249 and stamped it several times around each of the blooms. Add water to the leaves.
Step 5 – Ink up the dots (they remind me of lilacs – although I keep calling them violets LOL) with a purple. Unlike the daisy bunch, this stamp is walked out to create the lilac. Again, I stamped three different blooms. Add water to the blooms. I added a small amount of 569 from my palette underneath the vase to ground it and create a shadow.
Step 6 – In order to create some additional interest, I added the accent flowers to the vase. This created some height and I just love how they look on any project. I inked them up (I used the left and right stamp) with the 379 and stamped them several times around the vase. No need to add water to these.
Lastly, I signed and dated it.
Card Details
I stamped the “It’s the Simple Things” to the right side of the panel using a sentiment from the WC Sentiments 2 set and some Gina K Designs amalgam ink. I thought it needed a little something more, so I added a flower to the bottom right side of the sentiment. This was done using the lilac stamp and the vine.
Easy peasy right? I think so. We hope you will join us this weekend and show us your creations on Instagram using #AIWatercolor. Check out the video here if you want to paint along with me.
Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a creative weekend! See you soon!
Thanks, team! These projects are all so gorgeous! From beachy scenes to hand-drawn elements to customize your creations, to a lovely floral arrangement with video tips! What an awesome day! Be sure to leave a comment below so we can hear what you enjoyed about this week's installment. We'll see you again soon! Happy Stamping!
This week I'm playing with the NEW Loads of Fun set. I had to make this granny live her dream of surfing! There is a lot of crazy texture on this card and I'm loving the mix so much.
I first stamped and fussy cut the lady, trimming of her ironing board legs to make it a surf board. I used a lot of gray tones on her since she is facing away from the sun. Which, I think, threw my white balance on my camera off, into the cool tones. lol! One of my favorite ways to die cut waves is using a cloud border die but using the negative side, the side with the more pointy ridges. I used a cloud border die on some Tonic Luxury Embossed paper to get that effect.
The ink blending is made using masking tape to block off the middle section of a piece of Neenah solar white 110lb cardstock. I used my blending brushes for this, and also a wave stencil for the bottom area. This was trimmed down with a rectangle stitch die. For the slate cardstock, I used a larger rectangle stitch die to die cut first, then layered some Deco Foil Mettalix gel over it using the same wave stencil.
The sentiment is stamped and heat embossed using white embossing powder to the upper portion of the ink blending cardstock. Can you believe that I don't have a ampersand in any of my die sets! I was suprised!! Luckily, I have hung on to some Thickers, from years ago, and had a perfect one to use, made from white foam.
We're back with week two of our Shaped Cards challenge, celebrating the arrival of our newWork & Play and Funny Farm clear sets! These sets are perfect for birthdays and other occasions, especially when there are so many sentiments to mix and match! Last week, Renee gave a super cute tutorial on her shaped cards, so don't miss that! Today, we have the full team here to share creations of all shapes and sizes! Let's take a look - and don't forget to click the designer's name to visit their blog for more info!
Awesome cards, team! We love how you used Ai shape dies for your card shapes and sizes, with the cute detailed stitching, they work together really well!
There is still time to enter our challenge! Let's mix it up a bit! This challenge is to stretch you to make cards of a different shape than a rectangle or square! We can't wait to see what you create in our "Shaped Cards" challenge!
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, May 22 at 5:00 p.m. PST to enter your creations.
Before, we go, we have another great SALE for you! Enjoy 20% off Watercolor Accessories, including our Tombow and remaining Marvy markers! Have you had your eye on our Travel Box? Or maybe you want to add some sparkle with Wink of Stella? Now is a great time to add to your Ai Watercolor supplies at artimpressions.com!
Be sure to check ALL THREE categories and apply the coupon code WCACC for the discount! Hurry, sale is good for in-stock items only!
Coupon code expires 11:59 PM PT May 22, 2019. Valid for in stock items only. Not valid on previous orders. Not valid on wholesale orders. Must apply coupon code WCACC at checkout.
Don't forget our overstock sale! Take advantage of 20% off lots of goodies, including stamp & die sets! Check out our sale here.
I'm a huge fan of the girlfriend stamp sets. This week I made two cards using the Cowgirls stamp set. I think this might be my favorite girlfriend set right now.
I stamped the image for both cards onto smooth cardstock using Memento black ink.
After I had them all colored in I fussy cut them out for both cards.
I think the sentiment with this set is so cute "HAVE A BOOT SCOOTIN' TWO STEPPIN' TOE TAPPIN' WILD WEST BIRTHDAY" I die cut a square out of pattern paper using the Double stitched square dies. I stamped the image with black Versafine ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.
For both cards I just layered some fun pattern paper and adhered the friends on the die of the sentiments. I adhered the whole panel for both cards to a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card base. I kept both cards very simple but I think with the fun pattern paper and the large sentiment you don't need to add much for a fun card.
The main image with the hedgehog leaning on the cactus was stamped onto the watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat set. I then stamped the image onto a piece of mask paper and cut it out. When cutting a mask, cut right along the middle of the stamped line. The mask was then placed right over the image to protect it from the rest of the stamping. I then stamped the pot and the rock from the southwest set with the same ink and heat set the image again. I stamped the pot onto a piece of mask paper and cut it out and placed it over the pot. The cactus image from the watercolor set was the last image to be stamped and heat set. All of the masks were removed. The greeting was stamped into the top corner. One thing to remember when you are masking a scene is that you want to first stamp the images that you want in the front and work your way backwards.
Now for the fun part! All of the coloring was done in the same way. I worked in one section at a time and colored the Tombow markers directly onto the paper where I wanted the color to be the darkest. I would then add very little water to my brush and add the water to the area that I wanted my color to be the lightest and move my brush into the color covering the entire image. I did that for all of the same color at one time and let it dry. Once it was dry it would usually need a second layer of color applied the same way. I was sure to leave highlighted areas to add life to the images. The colors I used are listed at the end of this post.
