Blooms for Mom by Gennette Houghton

Hello, and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend!  May is the time of year here where the garden nurseries start gearing up for the season just in time for Mother’s Day.  There is something about all of the flowers that let you know the warmer months are here and everything is coming out of the deep sleep of winter.  We are usually not out of the woods here until around the end of May, I have seen frost clear into June, and as early as August.  Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons, the colors of both can be extraordinary.

For my 1^st card I used 5981 My Joy Set, I inked my stamps with Distress Ink in Pumice Stone and stamped off once.  I started with a circle die to use as my guide, tracing the inside with a pencil on my watercolor paper.  I took both of the flower sprigs, overlapping the stems just a bit to fill the outside of the circle.  I then used the stamp positioner to place my butterflies, leaving the very bottom one off.  For the stems and leaves I started with 126 and then shaded with 177.  The flower petals I used 676, focusing most of the color to the center and shaded areas.  For the centers, I started with 055 as the base, I then used 025 to paint a “C” on the shaded area. I use just a bit of 026 right at the bottom of the “C” to add a bit more depth.  For the butterflies, I started with a black micron for the bodies and antennae. For the pink butterfly I used 725 and 947, the blue butterfly I used 526 and 565, the yellow butterfly 055 and 025, and the purple butterfly I used 636.  I then added a background with a mix of 526 and 177, and then decided to add a bit more of the 177.  I then went through and added 565 for a shadow throughout the whole scene.  I die cut my image with my original circle die, and then used a matching green cardstock and cut that out with 6045 Scalloped Circle Dies, using the largest.  5939 Fairy Garden Paper Pack is what I used to mat my card base and then assembled my card.

 For my 2^nd card I used 5744 SF Picket Fence.  I stamped this also in Pumice Stone and stamped off once.  I have a piece of acetate that is cut down to 2 ¾ x 4 ¼ that I use as a guide for the scenic foundations.  After stamping on my watercolor paper, I place and center the guide over my image and trace out some guidelines with a pencil.  This helps to keep the edges clean so you are not trying to fill in unnecessary space.  For any edges that I am stamping in flowers or foliage, I use post-it tape along the guide.  I started with the house, keeping everything towards the left edge light, focusing more of the color towards the front of the house.  For the roof, trim, and porch, I used a mix of 947 and 177.  Then I shaded with 565.  For the dormers and door I used 312, adding extra details in with the same color.  For the door knob I used 969.  I started with a pencil and ruler on the windows to draw in some guides for the panes of glass, and then used a mix of 249 and 565.  Adding in some more 565 for the shadow areas, and then decided to add a bit of 177 as reflections.  For the tree trunk I started with 947 and then shaded with 969.  I put in a wash of 249 on the back hills, and 177 on everything towards the front with the exception of the shading by the porch where I added in some 249.  I shaded the path with 565, and added 526 to the sky before putting any foliage in.  For the birdhouse I used 969 on the pole, 947 and 969 on the roof.  For the hole and perch I used 969, 312 and 565 for the main part of the house.  I shaded both the fence and trellis with 565.   These are the sets and colors I used for the foliage and flowers.

 

4964 WC Branches Set / 969

5372 WC Mini Foliage Set / brush line 249, shaded with 565

Tree foliage 126 and 177 together

5126 WC Foliage Set 4 / Vines, by the mailbox mix of 126 and 177

House, Trellis, fence, front corner 177 (vines)

4052 Flower Set 1 / daisy bunch 905

Salvia 565

4051 Foliage Set 1 / grass, mix of 126 and 177 

For the shadows in the pathway, I stamped both the vines and salvia in N60 stamping off once first.

Bleed Proof White

 

I then matted my card base with paper from 5832 Gnome Paper Pack.  After cutting my image down leaving a bit of a white border I then matted it onto a dark brown cardstock and assembled my card.  Thanks for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed my creations! Until next time! Create….Share….Inspire!

 

Friends Are Like Flowers by Janet

Today I'm sharing a card I've made with the new 6188 - FG Daisy Border set. This is part of a new line called Countryside. There are three different floral borders and two more sets with a total of 4 houses that are sized to nestle into the floral borders. These are really charming sets and work wonderfully alone or together, depending on on the scene that you are wanting to compose.

I stamped the daisies on Canson XL WC Paper from the store. I really enjoyed coloring the pink and yellow daisies with polychromo colored pencils. After that I applied a wash of metallic light blue watercolor. Similarly I applied a light green wash of watercolor at the bottom of the daisies. Once the paper dried fully, I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with black embossing powder. 

Once complete, I created a 5" square bright pink square card base. I cut out a pink shimmer cardstock mat using 6047 - Scalloped Squares Dies. Then I cut out the daisy piece and layered it on top of the scalloped mat. This grouping was adhered to the center of the card base. 

I love how this turned out. Pencils create a different look to watercolor or alcohol markers. It's bright and rich but also adds texture since the pencils conform to the texture of the watercolor paper. This is such a nice composition and made easy with Art Impressions products designed by the amazingly talented Bonnie! 

Thanks for visiting the Ai Blog and my project today. I hope you enjoyed my take on the set. You can find all the Countryside sets at the Ai store. You'll find your favorite stamps, dies, papers, and accessories at there!

Happy Crafting!

 

May 2026 Monthly Challenge: Girl Enchanted by Butterfly by Debbie Hedges

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to our May Challenge featuring Debbie Hedges.

Happy May everyone! Mother’s Day is coming up and summer is just around the corner!

For my May project, I created a small scene with a little girl in a meadow. I inked the little angel (#5578) without her wings (Shadow Grey Archival Ink) and stamped her slightly to the right of center. I painted her with a violet dress (#8) with a pink sash (#67). For her hair , I used sepia (#45), her skin in pale pink (#47), added a little bit of extra pink on her cheeks and added her eyelash with my Micron. I also used the fine tip of my sepia pen to add a few accent lines in her hair.

I added a hill in the background in pencil. I then painted the line in green (#15) and added a green wash, keeping it lighter at the bottom where I will stamp grass and flowers. Using the mini foliage set, I stamped bushes along my hill line, leaving some blank area near the little girl. I stamped the bushes twice on each side before re-inking to have some light and dark areas.

Using post-it- tape to protect her shoes and I stamped a grass line on either side of the little girl to create the foreground. I used the teeny tiny grass, but also randomly stamped a few of the grass from #5826 to use for wildflowers. The wildflowers are a mixture of daisies using Dr. PH Martin’s Bleed Proof White and also a flower from Bible Journal Flower Set. I used my stamp positioner and only inked one flower in aubergine (#93) to add to the top of a few of the longer grass blades. For the daisies, I dabbed white paint to make the daisies in different sizes. Once the paint dried, I added yellow (#43) centers. Then I added a green wash below the grass, leaving light and dark areas.

Sky was added next, leaving light and dark areas with sky blue (#75). In the left upper corner, I stamped leaves to give the impression of a tree near the little girl. The last step was to add the butterfly. It is simple to create by stamping a single heart flower (#4868) in the color you want your butterfly. Then with my Micron, I added the butterfly body in black.

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. (Here is the link for the Tombow conversion chart: https://www.artimpressions.com/shop/art-impressions-most-loved-color-conversion-chart/)

I hope you’ll give this project a try and please be sure to post your project so we can all enjoy it! Also, don’t forget to enter the Monthly Challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set! Happy Mother’s Day and happy stamping!

Now let's see who won our April Challenge!
Can I just say...It was a good day to be named Bev....lol!
We had 2 Bevs win this month.

Our Lucky Random Winner was: #9
Bev.O.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

This month I decided to give away 2 freebies.

The winners of a freebie from me are #6

Bev. S.

and #4 Cindy P.

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.

✻ Good luck and happy stamping!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Plant Memories Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday Art Impressions friends!

Tasha here sharing a new card created with the pretty 6186-FG Tulip Border Stamp Set. I love tulips and this clear stamp makes it so easy to add a boarder of tulips to any card or project.

I started by stamping the tulips before using a scalloped rectangle die to cut the center card. After, I colored the images with Copic Markers and blended yellow ink around the border to bring in more color. The purple and yellow colors look fantastic together!

The stamp set includes a sentiment, but I used a greeting from the 5734-Friend Sentiment Set. I like the playful font style and it fit perfectly in the center. To add a little extra detail, I added two little bee embellishments to two ends. 

Lastly, I attached a purple scalloped layer to frame the center card before adding a piece of plaid pattern paper. I also attached silver glitter paper, purple card stock and tan card stock to complete the project.

I hope you enjoyed today's card and will be inspired to create a fun floral design. 

 

Feeling Crafty Challenge #426 Week #2

Hello Ai fans and welcome to week #2 of our

"Feeling Crafty" challenge.

This one couldn't be simpler.
Use kraft paper on your project somewhere.

Our Featured Designer last week was Tasha. 

Next we have Lynn with a beautiful graduation card.

Janet created a lovely spiritual card using

6150-His Love Set

I made a Floral Shop Box.

I also used the new 6188 – FG Daisy Border along with
6046 – Scalloped Oval Dies
5727 – Nested Oval Dies
5063 – Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies
and
6012 – Basic Yellow Paper Pack

(also the current freebie bear that can't be linked)

Sharon's fun retirement card can be found HERE.

Dori created a fabulous "hidden pocket" card. Visit her post to see what's hiding inside!

Diane's stunning masculine card used

6068 – Hiker Foundation

Jami's first card used

5521 – WC Animal Planters
and
6058 – Baby Boy Paper Pack

Her second card used

5130-On The Sparrow Set 
and
 6045-Scalloped Circle Dies

We hope you've enjoyed our Design Team projects.

So many different styles to choose from.

Now, let's see what YOU come up with!

 ✻ 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

Hunter's surprise card by Dori Mendiola

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

I had way too much fun making this card for the "Feeling Crafty" blog challenge.  I just love this image from the #5043 - Ole Buck set.  These guys are a "hoot", so adding a little bit of extra humor just fit.  Well, actually, their pup is the one that added the humor.  Check out the pull tab and see who's wearing the deer horns.  😄  I'm not really sure why I found this so funny, maybe it's because what hunter hasn't had their dog run off during a hunt.  This one just decided to disguise himself.  LOL!

Peek a Boo!                                                                                   

    This is a gate fold 5" x 7" card with a magnetic closure under the left panel and a pocket on the right panel.   I made the card base by cutting two 5" x 11" panels, one from white cardstock and one from craft cardstock.  I scored and burnished both at 7".   Flip the cardstock pieces so that the folds are on opposite sides facing up.  Adhere the long craft cardstock panel to the inside of the long white cardstock panel.  This will leave a gate fold craft piece on the left and the white on the right.  Trim the white side down to 3 1/2".  Cut a piece of 3 1/2 x 5" craft paper and a piece of 3 3/8 x 4 7/8" pattern paper.  Using the middle square of the #5061 - Square Double Stitch dies, cut a piece out of the center of the pattern paper panel.  Using the #5811 - Gift card pocket die, partial die cut the pocket (see pic below) using craft cardstock.  Adhere the pattern paper square to the front of the pocket.  

Adhere the pattern paper with the hole in it to the 3 1/2" x 5" craft panel.  Adhere this panel over the white fold edge of the card base.  Adhere the pocket over the square hole on the pattern paper panel.  

The images were stamped onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with copic markers listed below.  The main image was cut with the largest die of the square stitched dies and mounted onto a piece of pattern paper and then matted onto a piece of craft cardstock.  The hat with deer horns is from the #5406 - Mr. Set and the dog is from the #AICS38 - Doggy Kisses set.  I fussy cut the dog and brought his tail end closer to his front end.  I colored his bandage as a sweater and made the flowers look more like a weed since he is out in the hills.  The hat was cut with the corresponding die and fit perfectly on his head.  I placed the dog onto the pocket insert so that only the horns peeked out of the pocket.  I tied a pull tab with the target onto the horns.  I added a couple of the sentiments from the #5043 - Ole Buck set and called it done.

 Hope you decide to enter the blog challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice.  

Thanks for joining me today!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Keep creating!

Copics used:  E000, E00, E11

E30, E31, E33, E35, E41, E43, E44, E47

E95, E97         R20

BG90, BG93, BG96

B91, B93, B95, B97

YG91, YG93, YG95

WISDOM - Graduation Card by Lynn Dionne

Happy Wednesday Ai Fans!

Watch video tutorial here!

Today's card was inspired by the current Ai "Feeling Crafty" Blog Challenge which is to create a card using Kraft colored cardstock. This gives us plenty of freedom to have lots of fun!

We will be creating a vintage looking graduation card and to begin we will be using two brand-new Bible Journaling Sets. They are the Wisdom Set 1 which includes two beautiful scrolls, a tree, bible, "WISDOM" sentiment, flowers, leafy border, and gems! Set 2 includes several beautiful coordinating sentiments.

Let's begin by stamping the long scroll, the owl and a grad cap (Lawn Fawn). For the coloring, we will use the Zig clean Color Real Brush Pens in the following colors: Blender, Bright Yellow, Beige, Mid Brown, Gray Brown, Dark Gray.

Next, we will stamp the "WISDOM" sentiment and then start adding some vintage elements to the front panel. To do this, we will distress the edges of the panel and add some ink blending. We will also spatter this panel with the Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks in Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, and gold metallic ink.

Let's also create a few tears in the paper and roll them back for again that aged, vintage look!

We will also stamp a sentiment in the scroll, and I used a stamp from Tim Holtz that I've had in my stash for many years. Use any sentiment that you wish here. You can even use one from the wonderful Wisdom Set 2.

For the card base, we will use some Kraft cardstock and create a top folding A2 size card and ink the edges with the Gathered Twigs ink.

Let's assemble the pieces onto the card front and pop-up the scroll, owl and grad cap. At this point I thought that the card needed one more element. So I decided to paint some cardstock with the gold metallic ink and die-cut a star. This will blend in nicely with the spattering that we have already done.

We will create a panel for the inside of the card the same way we create the front panel and add a sentiment from Set 1 that says: "Seek Wisdom". This will get stamped onto a pretty label from the Ai Portfolio Template Die Set.

For a finishing touch, let's add some sparkly gold sequins!

Please join us in this fun new challenge...we would love to see what you create!

Thank you so much for joining me today! Have a fun and crafty day!

Ai Wisdom Set 1 (6203)

Ai Wisdom Set 2 (6204)

Ai Portfolio Template Die Set (5952)

Windsor Newton Ink - Gold

Signo Gel Pen - Gold

Pretty Little Floral Shop by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Do you love the new add-on 6159 – Floral Shop Die Set as much as I do?
It's meant to pair with 6114 – Box Village Template Dies.

My little flower shop was created for the current Feeling Crafty challenge.

You get all of these incredible dies in this new set.

I took some liberties and extended my shingles above the roofline of the box because I wanted a taller shop. I also tipped the window upright.

I also noticed that everyone sees things differently.

I saw what I have since learned is the window valance and instantly saw "window box" in my mind. The piece that is meant to be the actual window box was turned into a wooden sign by me...lol! I'm not at all sad with how it turned out. I decided to score my "valence box" where each scallop was and then use a brown ink pad to add some wood lines.

On the side of my box I trimmed the tops of the pickets off of the fence and made a trellis for the flowers.

I hope you like my little flower shop.

I can't wait to see what's next in this fun series.