New Guest Designer Challenges for 2025: Welcome Simone and Sara!

 Hello Ai fans!

This year for 2025 we have a brand new challenge concept for you.

We will be featuring two Guest Designers who will take turns being our featured artists throughout 2025.

Drum roll please...

Welcome Simone Carr and Sara Furr!

These two artists have wowed us in 2024, so we will be sharing their art with you all year long.
We're calling this Spotlight on Simone and Sara.

On the first of most months we will be sharing two cards from one of our Guest Designers.  They will fill you in as to how they created their cards or projects.

Then, YOU can enter any Art Impressions creation at all that you've created for your chance to win a free stamp set from Art Impressions or a "freebie" from me! (The freebie from me will be for US addresses only but the set from Ai is open to international fans as well!)

This will be a RANDOM drawing so all ability levels are encouraged to enter.

There will be NO theme, so anything goes each month.
Create whatever you like. New baby on the way? Great! Special birthday or anniversary? Perfect. Maybe you just felt like creating something pretty. Enter it!! Just be sure to use Ai products on your creation.

Like with our Bi-Weekly challenge, there will be a limit of two entries per person.

Now, let's see what wonderful inspiration Simone has for you for her debut as our new Guest Designer!

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Hello Crafty Friends,

I feel honored that Renee approached me with the opportunity to be a guest designer throughout the year. I’m excited to share my projects and hope they inspire your creativity along the way!

For this card, I decided to repurpose some 1" white cardstock strips leftover from cutting my panels. Instead of discarding them, I inked the strips with Distress Oxide inks in Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, and Picked Raspberry. On a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of cardstock, I adhered double-sided tape and carefully arranged the inked strips. To give it a polished look, I added thin mirri mats over the joints where the strips met. Once the panel was complete, I die cut it using a rectangle die, adhered it to a mirri mat, and attached it to the card base.

I stamped the Love Birds (AiCS27) using Tombow markers (969 and 565) on Canson watercolor paper. Using a stamp positioner, I aligned and stamped the branch from the Branches Set (4964) beneath the birds. After coloring the images, I die cut the birds with the 7th largest circle die. I also die cut a vellum circle using the 2nd largest stitched circle die and layered the bird image on it with 1mm foam tape for added dimension.

To create the wreath—though you can use any wreath die or embellishment you have on hand—I die cut it from white cardstock and ink blended the flowers with the same colors I used for the background. The wreath was adhered to the bird circle for a cohesive design. For finishing touches, I placed heart embellishments on either side of the card and added Nuvo Crystal Glaze for a glossy, dimensional effect. To add a bit of sparkle, I placed rhinestones at the center of the flowers.

Materials Used:

Stamps: Love Birds (AiCS27, retired), Branches Set (4964), Foliage Set 4 (5126), Nest Circle (5726)

Dies: Double Stitched Circle (5064)

Inks: Distress Oxide (Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, Picked Raspberry)

Markers: Tombow (969, 565, 856, 452, 993, 177)

Other: Nuvo Crystal Glaze, Vellum, Foam Tape (1mm), Mirri Mats, Heart Embellishments, Double-Sided Tape

This card was a joy to make, and I hope it inspires you to give your scraps new life in creative ways!

Happy crafting,

Simone

For my second card, I worked with the charming Gnome Set. 

I began by stamping the image on Canson watercolor paper using Tombow markers in 969 and 565. With the help of a stamp positioner, I stamped the flowers in the pot, using 177 for the stems and leaves and 725 for the flowers.

After completing the stamping, I colored in the image with Tombow markers. I then die cut the image using the 5th largest die from the Nested Rectangle Set (5724) and added a mat just slightly larger than the image for a clean, layered look.

For the background, I used paper strips from the Valentines Paper Pack, measuring 1 ½” x 5 ¼” and ½” x 5 ¼”—a great way to use those smaller scraps of paper we all tend to have. I adhered the strips to the card base and added foam tape behind the gnome image to give it some dimension. Once everything was adhered, I stamped the sentiment to complete the design.

Materials Used:

Stamps: My Joy Set (5981), Gnome Set (5785), Foliage Set 4 (5126), Foliage Set 1 (4051), Bible Foliage Set 2 (5418), Little Things Sentiment Set (5797)

Dies: Nested Rectangle (5724)

Paper: Valentines Paper Pack (5741)

Other Supplies: Foam Tape (1mm)

Tombow Markers Used:

969, 569, 555, 027, 946, 985, 947, 526, 910, 912, 815, 195, 725, 177, N95, N65

Twin Tone Brown

This card was so much fun to make, and it’s a great reminder to make use of those leftover paper strips. I hope it sparks some inspiration for your next project!

Happy Crafting,

Simone

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 and it can be any theme you like.

✻ 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. 
This will be a random drawing so all levels of ability are encouraged to enter!
 ✻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!

✻ Good luck and happy crafting!

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