Anchors Away! Guest Designer Challenge #5 with Diana Sheely

 Happy May everyone!

It's the first of the month which means it's time for a new Guest Designer Challenge here at Art Impressions.

This month it's Anchors Away!

We know so many of you are coming into summer season and will be spending lots of time
at the beach, on boats, at the lake etc.

We want to see your nautical cards.

Show us your boats, lighthouses, anchors, docks, beaches, port holes, seagulls, pelicans, lakes, ponds etc.

Before we see what our amazing Guest Designer Diana Sheely made to inspire you,

let's see who won our Say it with Sentiments challenge.

Debbie Hedges!

She will be our Guest Designer in June.
We've all admired Debbie's work for many years and can't wait to see what she shares with you.



Debbie,  please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com
to claim a free stamp set of your choice and she will give me your email address so that we can
begin brainstorming for our June challenge when you will be our Guest Designer!

Now for our Lucky Random Winner of my Exclusive Mouse Freebie from 2021.

Congratulations #6 Terry C.

Please contact me at Renee@artimpressions.com to claim your free stamp.
If you already have the mouse, I have others to choose from.

Now let's see what Diana has created to get your nautical gears turning...

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Hi. My name is Diana, and I was super excited to find out that I had won the Timber themed Guest Designer Challenge. I have been doing Ai Watercolor for several years, but I still struggle with my self confidence in coming up with my own designs. I do pretty well CASEing someone else's project and tweaking it to make it my own, but designing my own projects is still a stretch for me. After Renee told me the theme for May, I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what I wanted to make, then all of a sudden, an idea came to me, and this is what I created. 

Mask  a 4" x 3" rectangle with Post-it tape. (I used the 4th largest nested rectangle die as my template). Use a stamp positioner to stamp the boat (inked in 565 & 969) at an angle in the lower right corner. Ink the dock in 565 & 969 and stamp off once and stamp on the left side so front corner of dock is next to the back corner of the boat. I used a stamp positioner to stamp the Freebie Cat (inked in 565 & 969) on the dock. Use a pencil and ruler to draw the horizon line and also to draw the shore line by the dock and boat (see photo). Pull color out of the lines on the boat, dock, and cat. Use a #4 brush, and color the bottom stripe on the outside of the boat and the top of the hull in a combination of 158 and 312. Add the red stripe with 856. The oars were done in 947, the floor of the boat in a combination of 947 & 969, and the inside of the boat was done in 565. I used the brown twintone to color the oar holders and add a few lines back into the boat. I mixed a combination of 565 and 969 for the dock, making sure the back legs were darker. Again, I added some detail back in with the brown twintone. The cat was painted in several layers of N75, with 856 used for the ears, cheeks, and overalls. His bucket was painted with 312. I used a pencil to darken the eyes, nose, and to add back other details. 

The rocks were inked in 969 with 565 on top, and stamped off several times. They were added at the base of the dock and along the bottom of the right side of the card. Color was brought out on the bottom of the rocks, and then more color was added using a combo of 969, 565, and 158. I used 992 for the ground/sand.  Once the sand was dry, I added a blue line under the boat for a shadow. The water is a combination of 555 & 565. I started at the horizon line and did horizontal lines across the paper, making sure I had enough water. I made sure the water was darker under the dock for the shadow. Once the water was dry, I stamped the tiny grass in 177 along the shore and bottom of the card. I used my #1 brush to pull the color out of the grass. I used 526 for the sky so there would be a contrast with the water. I used the stamp positioner to stamp the little sailboat on the horizon. I used N75 to ink the sailboat. I colored it using my #1 brush - 565 on the bottom of the boat, and 856 to make the stripes on the sails. The seagulls were inked in 565 and stamped in the sky once it was dry. Lastly, I added some waves to the water using Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White paint.

Once the Post-it tape was removed, I erased any pencil lines that were still visible. I die cut the painting  with the 4th largest of the nested rectangle dies. The mat was die cut using the 2nd largest of the stitched rectangle dies. 

Sets used:

5057 WC Boat Set
EX5583 Freebie Cat
5415: WC Rocks Set
5473: WC Seagull Set
4051: Foliage Set 

Supplies Used:

Tombows: 158, 177, 312, 526, 555, 565, 856, 947, 969, 992, N75, and Brown Twintone

Ai Nested Rectangle Dies
Ai Stitched Rectangle Dies
Stamp Positioner
Post-it Tape
Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White Paint

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What an ADORABLE card Diana!

Thank you so much!

I also have a little bonus prize!

For as long as I have duplicate stamps I will choose a random winner.
These will be for U.S. residents only since these will be mailed by me personally
and not Art Impressions.

This month I have the EXW5540 Raccoon Freebie from 2022.
You will be automatically entered to win when you upload your project to the challenge.

Good luck everyone!

Here is the fine print:

✻ Please make a new card or handmade crafty creation.
✻You can make any item you wish; this is not limited to cards!

✻ Limit two submissions per person. 

✻You MUST use Art Impressions stamps or dies! You may use other companies products but the main focus should be on Ai items.

✻If you win, you will receive one free stamp set of your choice. In return you will create a brief write up explaining how you made your item and email it to me. (Reneé) and you will mail your project to Art Impressions at your expense. (cheapest method possible is fine) International winners may submit photos through email. We will share your creation on Art Impressions social media.

 ✻Please include your first name and last initial on your submission.

✻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 crafting!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter