Focus on Faith with Sara Furr: Mercy Sparrows

 Blessings dear friends, and welcome to my second edition of Focus on Faith for the month of July.

 I have to tell you that I am totally in love with the new "Mercy Set"! These birds and florals are just so beautiful!

I started with a piece of Canson XL Bristol Smooth cardstock cut to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. I stamped my image using Versafine black ink,  and then watercolored my birds and florals using dye ink  markers.  

After my watercolor was all dry I went back in with colored pencils to add shading and fine detail to each of my little birds.

**Make sure that your colored pencils have a very sharp point and they will add in beautiful sharp details to each of your images to give them ton of depth.

I added a blue wash in the background for my sky.

After my images were all dry , I decided to tear my focal piece down into a single strip that I would put in the center. I sat that aside to work on my background. I cut a piece of pattern paper to be 4 x 5 1/2" and adhered that to my card base. I then created another panel that is 3 3/4 x 5 1/2", and I embossed that with a floral embossing folder. I then added some blue ink to the raised embossing with a blending brush and then rubbed a Silver pigment ink lightly over the top of that. I distressed the edges of the cardstock with the edge of a scissors. I then cut several sprigs of detailed leaves, and ink blended blue ink at the base of each leaf,  and added them to the back of my focal strip with the birds.  Before adding the focal piece to my card base,  I added a strip of crocheted lace in the background, then adhered my focal piece down with foam tape. I tied a gingham bow and added that to the left side of my card with a large glue dot. To add a couple finishing touches,  I added some pink pearls to the centers of my flowers, and some silver pearls on my berries and in the background.

For my inside I used a piece of Canson XL Bristol Smooth cardstock cut to 4 x 5 1/4" and stamped the sentiment "His eye is on the sparrow" and "Hallelujiah", both from the Frameworks Sentiments set, in Black Versafine Ink using my stamping tool to make sure I got the placement just right. 

The phrase "His eye is on the sparrow" means that God is intimately aware of and deeply cares for every single detail of your life. It is a message of comfort, meant to reassure you that you are immensely valuable to God and that He is always watching over you.

I also stamped one of the single birds from the Mercy Set, and the sentiment "His mercies are new every morning ", in Black Versafine Ink.  I again layed down a base of watercolor and added in fine details with colored pencils.

That finishes up my card for today. I love how it turned out, and I hope that you like it too. Thank you so much for joining me today!  I hope that you got inspired,  and if you haven't already,  I hope that you can get this set!  It is definitely a favorite of mine,  as I really love birds. 

God bless you,  and keep watch over you!

Sara Furr- The Crafty Farm Chick 

Other products used:

Die cutting machine 

Paper cutter

Embossing folder

MISTI stamping tool

Versafine ink in Black 

Silver pigment ink pad

Dye ink markers

Colored pencils

Scissors

Watercolor brush

Glue dots

Foam tape

Gingham ribbon

Pattern paper

Blue Cardstock

Canson XL Bristol Smooth cardstock 

Pink and Silver pearls

Crochet Lace

Happy Fright Night by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Welcome to Summerween.

That's when we celebrate Halloween in summer time.

I love Halloween and was excited for this challenge.

I chose to make a tunnel card with three layers.

Though it's a little difficult to see in the photos, my blue

and orange paper are glittery.

All of the fun little dies are from Art Impressions with the exception of the tree/branch.

I love the character that these dies add to a card. I decorated the inside of my card as 

well. The ovals were left from what I cut out of on the front of the card and the bats

were the piece I trimmed off. I love not wasting anything.

 

Boo! A slider card by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

Our new challenge has started and it's all about Halloween during the summer - Summerween!! How fun is that??!!  I used a few different sets to create a fun slider card where that little ghost swoops down to scare you and Dracula! LOL! Slider cards are so easy to make! I save the slot I cut out from the card front, and then line it up and glue it to the back piece. I feel that helps the slot blend into the background. I chose various images from the sets #5816 Mini Halloween Twister Set (the ghost was the perfect size to fly through the air, #6111 Spooktacular Set, and #5506 Peek-a-boo Set. I stamped them with Memento ink and colored them with Copic markers listed below. 

So that's it for me today! Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit and I hope you join in on the Summerween Challenge for a chance to win a free set!! Just click HERE to be directed to the current challenge. Until next time - stay crafty!!!

Birds, Blooms & Dimensional Designs by Simone Carr

 

Hello Crafty Friends!

Art Impressions has some really beautiful patterned paper packs, and I feel like the designs get better and better with each new release. Some of the patterns are simply too pretty to hide behind layers, so I wanted to create a card that showcases both the patterned paper and my watercoloring. I've admired eclipse-style cards for a long time but had never made one myself, so I decided to give it a try!

I started with a 5" × 5" card base and cut the top layer to 4⅞" × 4⅞". Next, I cut a piece of cardstock measuring 4¾" × 4¾", along with five strips of patterned paper measuring ½" × 4¾". Be sure to keep the strips in order so the pattern stays aligned.

I adhered the first strip directly to the cardstock. For the second strip, I added 2 mm foam tape before placing it next to the first strip. I continued alternating between adhesive and foam tape until all five strips were attached, creating the eclipse effect.

Next, I cut another piece of cardstock measuring 2⅛" × 4¾" and a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth Paper measuring 2" × 4⅝". After adhering them together, I placed the panel into my stamping platform.

I stamped the image using Distress Ink Lost Shadow and the sentiment using Versafine Clair Twilight. Once the ink was dry, I colored the image using the Tombow markers listed in the materials section below.

To finish the card, I added 2 mm foam tape to the stamped panel and adhered it beside the patterned paper strips. After attaching everything to the card base, I finished the design with a few embellishments for a little sparkle.

The finished card measures 5" × 5".

Materials Used

Stamps

• 6216 – Mercy Set
• 6061 – Tulip Floral Set

Paper

• 6082 – Bible Journaling S1 Paper Pack
• Strathmore Bristol Smooth Paper

Inks & Mediums

• Distress Ink – Lost Shadow
• Versafine Clair – Twilight
• Pitt Artist Pen – Black
• TwinTone Marker – Brown
• 2 mm Foam Tape

Tombow Markers

• 947, 969, 985 – Bird
• 528, 565, 177, 985 – Flower
• 526, 565 – Sky

For my second card, I reached for one of my favorite products—the Story Tile Die. While there are currently four stamp sets designed specifically for this die, it's also a wonderful way to showcase many of your other Art Impressions stamps.

I started by die cutting the tiles from Canson Watercolor Paper. Before stamping, I arranged the images on the tiles to determine the layout I wanted. Once I was happy with the placement, I stamped the images using Distress Ink Lost Shadow.

After everything was stamped, I colored the images using the Tombow markers listed in the materials section below.

Next, I selected a patterned paper from the Woodland Christmas Paper Pack that complemented the scene and die cut it using the Story Tile Die. I adhered the patterned paper frame to a second frame cut from watercolor paper for added stability and dimension.

To finish the card, I adhered the layered frame to an A2 card base and glued each watercolor tile back into place. I stamped the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne to complete the design.

I hope these two cards inspire you to look at your stamps and dies in new ways and create something uniquely your own. Thanks for stopping by, and happy crafting!

Materials Used

Stamps & Dies

• 6158 – Story Tile Die
• 6216 – Mercy Set
• 6062 – Hydrangea Flower Set
• 4051 – Foliage Set 1
• 5126 – Foliage Set 4
• 4868 – Flower Set 2

Paper

• 6143 – Woodland Christmas Paper Pack
• Canson Watercolor Paper

Inks & Mediums

• Distress Ink – Lost Shadow
• Versafine Clair Nocturne
• Pitt Artist Pen – Black
• TwinTone Markers – Brown, Purple
• Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White

Tombow Markers

• 947, 969, 985 – Birds
• 985 – Daisies
• 837 – Small Flowers
• 606 – Petunia
• 177 – Leaves, Grass
• 401 – Water in Leaf
• 526 – Sky
• 565 – Shadows

Flower Power by Gennette Houghton

 

Hello and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend!  Bonnie has been outdoing herself with the newest releases, because these are so beautiful!  You can go simple and create little notecards to have on hand or you can add them to full scenes.  They also come with sentiments that you can use, or mix and match.

I used 6188 FG Daisy Border for this card and added the frog from 6106 Spring Keepsake Set.  The frog is absolutely a favorite!!  I started off with stamping the daisies onto my watercolor paper with Distress Ink Pumice Stone, after stamping off once.  My original plan was to do white daisies, but I really love black eyed susans, so that is what I went with.  I started with the stems and leaves with 126 as the base, and then 177 to add shading and dimension. I really like this combo and use it often.  For the petals, 055 for the base and then adding in some 025 for the contours, with some 026 for shading.  026 can be a strong color so I use it sparingly. The centers I started with 947 and shaded those with 969.  I decided at this point to choose what die I was going to use, and I went with 5724 Nested Rectangle Die Set and used the 6^th from the largest.  Using a pencil to trace a guide, I then added 403, heavily watered down for the sky, adding a few extra layers in areas and allowing it to dry in between.  I then cut my scene out with the same die I used as my guide.  I had room on the left over watercolor paper to stamp the frog with Pumice Stone, also stamping this off once.  126 was used as the base layer, and darkening the sides and shadowed areas with 177.  I then went over the center of the face, belly and the very top over the eyes with 055 to brighten these areas just a bit more.  I then took some 346 in small amounts into the darkest areas.  For the eyes I used N15 on the pupils and a light touch of 565 on the outer sections of the eyes to give them a bit more dimension.  I also went over the nose and mouth with pencil.  I picked a piece of paper from 6082 Bible Journaling S1 Paper Pack and matted my card base.  I matted my main scene with the daisies using the 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies, 3^rd from the largest.  After adhering these together, I then matted this with 6048 Scalloped Rectangle Dies, 2^nd from the largest.  Once these were glued together I then centered them onto my card base, and used the included die to cut out the frog and attached him in the bottom corner with foam tape.  I chose the banner die from the 5543 Journal Template Die for the sentiment and attached that up in the corner, with glue on the ends and foam tape under the raised center, completing my card.  I really love how this turned out, that little frog is just so cute!!

 

For my 2^nd card I used 6186 FG Tulip Border and 5785 Gnomes Set.  Both were stamped in Distress Ink Pumice Stone and stamped off once, on watercolor paper.  I created a mask for the tulips with post-it tape before using a positioner to place the gnome.  I started with the stems and leaves using 126 as the base color and then 177 to contour and shade, darkening areas that overlap and below the flower heads.  Before working on the flowers I decided to work on the gnome first. You can just see a hint of his boot and pants so I colored the boot in 969 and the pants in 565.  I added a bit of cross hatching in the pants for a little extra texture using the same color.  For his shirt I used 026, adding extra layers to any area that would be shadowed.  For the skin tone, I start with a base layer of 850, and then I contour with 910.  912 was used for the more shadowed areas.  Instead of 565, I decided to use N52 to contour and shadow his beard and to darken under his cap and around his nose.  I used a combo of 403, and 407 on his hat.  For the petals I started with 725, adding extra layers in the darker zones, and then added a bit of 676 to deepen the darker areas.  I then added a wash of 526 for the sky.  I cut out my image with 5724 Nested Rectangle Dies, 6^th from the largest and matted it with dark purple cardstock using the 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies, 3^rd from the largest.  I then matted this with some silver cardstock.  5892 Easter S2 Paper Pack was used to mat the card base.  Before placing my image, I put the card base in my stamp platform and stamped in the sentiment with Versafine Clair Nocturne.  I then assemble the card together.  I am really loving these sets, I need to try one with a circle die!  Thank you for joining me today, and I hope you enjoyed my cards!  Until next time!  Create….Share….Inspire!

Summerween Challenge - Franky by Janet

Are you loving the latest Ai Challenge? It's Summerween. Clever isn't it? I have had the 6120 -  Frankenstein Puppet in my stash but ordered it after the season so I was thrilled to have a reason to break this one out and give it a try. This is a die set and is easy to put together, especially since the packaging indicates what all the pieces are so there's no guesswork.

I used a couple of paper packs for this card. The background is a piece from the 6130 Halloween S3 PP. The diamond pattern also comes from this pack. Frank's pants, jacket, shoes and shirt are all cut from the 5712 - Christmas Journal PP. This just shows again how packs that are seasonally themed can be used for so many other occasions and themes. This is because the papers always have several neutrally themed patterns that can be used for anything.

I cut the diamond paper from 5062 - Rounded Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies. I matted that on top of my card base which was covered in the pumpkin patterned paper that I had inked the edges on before attaching to the card base. Then I placed an orange mat and the diamond patterned mat on top of that. 

Next I cut and pieced together Franky. This was super fast and easy to do. I used a black paint pen to draw the facial details and a little bit of Signo White Gel Pen on the eyes. I added some green blush with chalk and he was ready! I traced around him on a piece of clear vellum and cut it out. I mounted Franky on foam tape and attached him to the vellum. Then that was glued on to the front of the card. For a sentiment, I stamped the phrase from the 5506 - Peek A Boo Set and trimmed it out with a border before attaching it to Franky. Finally, I added four green glitter enamel dots to two of the corners. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing a little Halloween in the middle of summer! I invite you to join in and enter your Summerween creation in the Ai Challenge. Just link it up to the post for it. Easy peasy! 

Thanks for stopping by and spending time with me and Art Impressions today. Please visit the Ai store to pick up your favorite stamps, dies, papers, accessories, and supplies. 

Happy Crafting!

Trick or Treat Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday, Art Impressions friends! 

Tasha here sharing a Halloween card inspired by the current Art Impression Challenge. I love creating Fall and not-so-scary Halloween projects, and this challenge is the perfect excuse to pull out your cute Halloween/Fall stamp sets and make something fun!

For my card, I used the 6112-Pumpkin Parade Set to create this sweet trick-or-treating scene. The little pirate fox is adorable and I LOVE the ghost car! I also added the happy owl to bring even more Halloween fun to the design.

To create the background, I used pattern paper from the 5849-Halloween S2 Paper Pack. I love this print with all the Halloween words. It adds lots of color and interest without taking away from the stamped characters.

To finish the card, I layered black, orange, and gold colored cardstock. The circle topper with the "Trick or Treat!" greeting adds a fun focal point and adhered a little black enamel heart to give the card extra dimension. 

I hope this card inspires you to join the Art Impressions Summerween Challenge. It is a great time to dust off your favorite Halloween stamps and create something cute for the upcoming Fall season.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Summerween Challenge #432 week#1

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to our new challenge,

SUMMERWEEN!!

This was a new expression for me that Tasha brought to light.

Just like there's Christmas in July, a lot of people like to have a mini

celebration of Halloween in the summer. (It's usually in June but I couldn't

fit it in.)

So, that being said, let's celebrate a little bit of fall fun now!

I know not all of you participate in Halloween so any fall themed

project using products from Art Impressions will be accepted.

Fittingly, Tasha is our Featured Artist this time and she created

the absolute cutest Story Tile card to inspire you.

After checking out her card, be sure to scroll down to view the winners

of our Christmas in July challenge.

It's that time of year when the second set of Freebies become available.

Check out the cuteness overload on these bears!

My personal favorite is the Study Bear.

You can select one of these free stamps when you spend $30 or more on the

Art Impressions website.

Hi everyone! Tasha here sharing a card inspired by the Art Impressions Summerween Challenge.

I love both Christmas and Halloween crafting, so this challenge is right up my alley! It’s also the perfect excuse to get an early start on my fall and Halloween cards and projects.

For this card, I used the 6158-Story Tile Template Die along with stamps from several Halloween sets. One of my favorite things about the Art Impressions Halloween collections is how easy it is to mix and match the cute characters to create fun little scenes.

I started by cutting two Tile frames from orange and white cardstock. I used the orange frame for the front and colored each tile to create its own little nighttime scene.

Next, I added the characters. Some were stamped directly onto the tiles, while the ghost cat and pumpkin mouse were stamped separately and cut out with the coordinating dies before being popped onto the card.

To add more color and bring the scenes together, I cut grass from green cardstock and used Distress Oxide Ink to blend the top of the grass; love this look. I finished the sky with a white gel pen to add tiny stars. I really like how the purple sky makes the white stars stand out.

For a few extra details, I drew a moon behind the bat and added little spider webs to several of the tiles. Those simple touches help give the card even more Halloween charm.

To finish everything off, I layered the design onto green and black cardstock and added ghost-patterned paper to tie in the cute, not-too-spooky Halloween theme.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope this card inspires you to join the Summerween Challenge and start creating your own Halloween projects.

Tasha LOVES Halloween, and it shows how much, in her fun card!

Now, let's see who won our Christmas in July challenge.

For our Top Spot we selected #16 Ellen M.
for her adorable Gingerbread Cubbie house.
Just look at all of those smiling faces!

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim your free stamp set.

Our Lucky Random Winner was #11 April J.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim your free stamp set.

Congratulations to our winners!

Enjoy your new stamps.

Now, onto the details of our new challenge.

Please make a new project featuring any Halloween or Fall themed
stamps, dies or paper from Art Impressions.
This is going to be a fun one! I can't wait to see what you create.

Here's 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.

✻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