Fall Vibes by Gennette Houghton

 

Hello, and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend!  I love old barns, they give such a peaceful vibe in a landscape.  Open fields and swaying grass add to that feeling.  

For my 1^st card I started by penciling in a wavy horizon line. I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to put the barn, so I used the stamp positioner to help me with that.  I was able to figure out exactly where I wanted to place it this way.  I could see what it would look off to either side, or the center.  I used Distress Ink Pumice Stone on the barn and stamped off twice and then stamped it on my project, slightly off center to the left.  I erased any pencil lines that ran through the barn after my ink was dry.  For the roof I used a mix of 947 and 177, and then adding a little bit of 969.  For the walls I used a mix of 856/969, adding a bit more of 969 in vertical stripes and used 565 for shading on the side and under the roof.  A mix of 565 and 969 was used in the windows and doors.  I then added in the sky, going for a sunset look I started with 055 at the horizon line, then adding in layers I added 025, 993, and a touch of 905.  Before putting in any foliage I added 177 for the ground and 969 for the path. 

The next 5 stamps all came from 5372 WC Mini Foliage Set, starting with the pine tree in 249.  Then the tree trunks in 969, the tree foliage in 126, adding a bit of 177 on the stamp as well.  I then added in the grass in 177.  After softening everything with a damp brush I added in some 565 along the ground for shadows.  I then added some Bleed Proof White for the flowers.  I also added some highlights to the barn.  I used a die from my stash to cut out the image, and then used a cloud border die to create a mat for it.  I matted my card base with paper from the 6033 Inspirational Easter Paper Pack.  I then decided to add the hello from the 5718 Mini Journal Template Set, which I felt gave it a nice finishing touch to the card. 

 

For my 2^nd card I took some inspiration from Pinterest of a late autumn forest scene.  Unfortunately there wasn’t a link so I wasn’t able to credit the original creator. I started with 5064 Circle Double Stitched Dies, 2^nd from largest, tracing around it with pencil for a guide.  I will also use this die to cut out the image when I am done.  Using Distress Ink in Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, and Vintage photo.  I ink blended the background, utilizing a wedge cut from a piece of paper for light rays.  Starting with the largest tree first, I then used a stamp positioner to help place the other trees working back to the smallest.   The trees and colors are as follows….

5388 Rugged Tree – 899

5373 WC Large Tree Set – 969

5826 WC Large Tree Set 2 – larger tree – 977, smaller tree – 098

4960 WC Fir Tree Set – 076

I added more color into each tree as needed, going lighter in color the farther back they went.  4051 Foliage Set 1, large foliage was used for the ground cover, using the same colors to match the colors of the trees or the background.  076, 098, 977, 969, 899, 026, and 025, I then softened everything with a damp brush.  I then used some Bleed Proof White for some light beams, I tried to soften them a bit but the color saturated background was a problem so I left them the way they were. After cutting out my image, I then matted my card base with a solid brown.  Using the same color paper and a texture die for the 2^nd piece, I then used 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies, 2^nd from largest to cut out my center piece.  I then attached a ribbon to the panel before popping it up on foam tape and placing it on the card base.   I also popped up my circle image with foam tape and placed it over the ribbon.  I then used 3 leaves from 5783 Fall Leaf Frame Set and colored the die cuts with a mixture of 025, 026, 098, and 933. I finished off the card by gluing 2 in one corner and 1 in the opposite corner.  Thank you for joining me today, and I hope you enjoyed my cards!  Until next time!  Create….Share….Inspire!

Focus on Faith with Sara Furr: Vivid Fall Wreath

Blessings my dear friends, and welcome to my first edition of "Focus on Faith" for the month of November. 

I have been in absolute bliss this fall with the spectacular weather we have been having here in the North East. The trees have been so incredibly vibrant this year, and I just love it! 

I wanted to incorporate those bright, vibrant, fall hues into my creation this month, so without further ado, here is my creation... 

To begin, I stamped the grapevine wreath from "Frameworks Set 1" on heavy weight cardstock directly in the center with Versafine Sepia ink. I then started stamping my foliage around the wreath in multiple generations. I used the leafy foliage from "Foliage Set 1," and stamped that in 5 generations of yellow ink, working my way around the wreath, and extending the foliage to the edges of my 5x5 panel. Then, I stamped the fern foliage from "Bible Foliage Set 2" in a dark orange, stamping off first, and then I stamped 2 generations. I stamped one of the smaller leafy foliage from "Bible Foliage set 2" in a bright red, stamping 3 generations. Lastly, I stamped the daisy flowers from "Flower Set 1" twice in orange, and 3x in a dark cherry red.

I colored the vine wreath with a light brown alcohol marker, and then took a dark yellow alcohol marker and using a flicking motion I started drawing out color from the vine wreath into the stamped foliage. This served to add in and blend my colors a bit that I had stamped in dye ink.

When I was happy with my wreath I moved on to stamping my bird from "Mercy Set". I stamped him on heavy weight cardstock with Versafine Onyx black ink, and then colored him with a mix of Prismacolor, and Crayola colored pencils. I love using colored pencils to color in small images as I feel much more in control. When I was done coloring him, I fussy cut it out, and popped it up on tiny foam squares. I placed the cut out bird where I wanted him on my wreath, but didn't stick it down. Leaving him in place I stamped 3 music notes from the "Praise Set 1" in black ink and also the sentiment "Praise Him" from the "Praise Set 2". Then, I stuck down the bird and applied some yellow rhinestone gems to the centers of the flowers, and here and there on my card front. I distressed the edges of my panel and then adhered that to a 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 white panel that I also distressed the edges of. I popped the whole focal piece up on white fun foam, and adhered it to my 6x6 white card base.

I created a panel for the inside stamping the G Clef, and the SING from "Praise Set 1", and I also stamped in a sentiment from "Praise Set 2" with Versafine Onyx black ink. I again colored my images with colored pencils. 

That finishes my card for today. I hope you enjoyed it, and that you are inspired to create a Faith filled card with the colors of fall.

God bless you all, and I pray you enjoy the rest of our beautiful autumn weather while it lasts. Get out and enjoy the beauty of God's Earth!

Sara Furr- The Crafty Farm Chick

Additional supplies used:

White heavyweight cardstock 

Versafine Onyx black ink 

Versafine Sepia ink

Dye ink pads in bright red, dark red, dark orange, orange, and dark yellow

Alcohol ink markers in light brown and dark yellow

Colored pencils

Scissors 

Yellow rhinestone gems

Focus on Faith: Fall Fox by Sara Furr

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

Fall will be fast approaching my neck of the woods, and I honestly couldn't be happier! I LOVE Fall, and all it has to offer; the beautiful, rich colors, the smells, the harvest of fruits and vegetables, sweater weather, comfort foods, and hot beverages. I'm really looking forward to the cooler weather and slowing down just a bit from the chaos of my busy life!

So, I thought I would create a Fall scene with one of my FAVORITE Art Impressions Stamp sets.... The Foxes, and one of my favorite Bible verses, Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I AM GOD", a verse that I find myself repeating when I try too hard to control all the chaos and drama in my life.

This is a call to stop worrying, quiet your mind, and remember God's power and presence. Focus on peace: Breathe slowly and remind yourself that you do not have to carry all your burdens alone. I thought this scene portrayed that "peace".

I stamped my fox onto Watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx black ink and watercolored the scene with Tombow markers 847, 925, 879, 969, N49. 

I masked off the left side of my fox before I added the foliage using the branch and leaves from the Foxes set, and I also used the leafy foliage from the Foliage set. 

When my scene was dry, I went back in with couple colored pencils, to add more depth and shading. I  then stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx black ink, and then die cut out the scene with the largest Scalloped Square die. I matted my focal piece to a square of green polka dot dsp from the Classic Christmas paper pack.

I chose this color because it creates a sharp contrast to the reds and oranges I used for my scene, and it really makes that fox come to life. Isn't he handsome? I just love this stamp so much!

I pray that you feel God's loving arms wrapped around you, keeping you safe, and freeing you from the worries of life. God has this! You can depend on it!

God bless you and keep you!

Sara Furr- The Crafty Farm Chick 

Supplies used:

#KH5951 Foxes set

#5417- Frameworks Sentiments set

#4051- Foliage set 

#5969- Classic Christmas PP

#6047- Scalloped Square dies

Canson XL Watercolor paper

Watercolor brush

Versafine Onyx black ink pad

Tombow markers: 847, 925, 879, 969, N49

On the Border Challenge #436 Week #1

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to our new challenge.

On the Border

We want to see your creations featuring something on the border.
Deck out those borders with stamps, dies, embellishments...whatever you like!

Our Featured Artist for this challenge is Neema and she has a stunning floral Storytile

 card to inspire you.

After looking through her photos and reading her tutorial, be sure to scroll down
to see who won our Furry Friends challenge.

Take it away Neema!

Hello crafting friends,

Welcome to this week's challenge! Today's theme is "On the Border", and there are so many creative ways to enhance them—whether you use stamps, scissors, dies, paint, or any other technique to make them stand out.

For my project, I created a bookbinding card and used a border stamp from the "Sing to the Lord" set (#6220) to decorate the spine. Here is how I put it together:

Making the Card

1.  Cut the card base to 11" × 5.5" and fold it in half along the longer side.
2.  Score at 1.25" from the center fold on one side to create the spine.
3.  For the cover, use the "Story Tiles" template set (#6158). Cut the frame twice and stack the pieces to create dimension.
4.  For the inside of the tiles, use the "Garden Friends" set (#6177). Stamp the images onto watercolor paper using Tombow markers 696 and 565, and use the markers to color them in.

Making the Spine

1.  Cut a strip of watercolor paper to 1.25" x 5.5".
2.  Use a border stamp from the "Sing to the Lord" set (#6220) to stamp the image. Since the stamp is shorter than the paper, repeat the pattern to fill the entire strip.
3.  Color the stamped image, then glue the strip to the card base.
4.  To finish, wrap twine around the card twice, tie it into a bow, and add small pearls to the ends.

I hope you will join us and participate in this week's challenge!

Happy crafting,

Neema

This was Neema's first time as Featured Designer and she hit a home run!

So beautiful.

Now let's see who won our Furry Friends challenge.

For our Top Spot we selected #17

Becca Yahrling

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim your free stamp set.

Our Lucky Random Winner was #7

Julie W.

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 use something to make your border extra special.

It doesn't matter what as long as it's not just a plain old border.

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.

✻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

September 2026 Monthly Challenge

 Happy September, everyone! Summer is drawing to a close and it is almost fall! It feels like summer was just starting.

For my September project, I am using my favorite puppy that I haven’t used in quite a while. He’s sitting in a flower garden enjoying the beautiful end-of-summer day.

To begin my project, I inked the puppy in Pumice Stone Distress Ink, stamped off once onto watercolor paper, and then stamped in the middle of my watercolor paper. I then inked the rocks in Pumice stone, stamped off on watercolor paper, and stamped the rocks to the left. Next, I added a grass line using #15 olive green to set up my scene. I painted the puppy first, using mainly #54 burnt umber and shading with #45 sepia. I left areas of his face lighter and once he was dry, I used my Micron to color his eyes and nose – leaving a highlight on each. I then painted the rocks, starting with #40 brownish grey to add shadows toward the lower portion of the rocks. I then added shading with #21 dark grey, #45 sepia and #15 olive green. Rocks are multiple shades of color, so a variety of colors helps. Using the fine tip on my #40 brownish grey, I added some accents where the rocks meet to add darker shading.

I put the sky in next using #75 sky blue, keeping it lighter where I had flowers planned. I find it easier than trying to work around the flowers once they are stamped. Once the sky was in place, I stamped grass in repeat along my grass line next to the puppy and rocks, mainly using the teeny tiny grass from Foliage Set 1 and also stamped the grass stamp from WC Tree Set 2 a couple times to the right of the puppy. I masked off the rocks and used a positioner to place the tall flowers from Foliage Set 7 to the left of the rocks. I inked the foliage with #15 olive green and the flower buds with #79 grape and then added a little #8 violet at the base for shading. Once the flower was stamped, I carefully dabbed at the flower buds with my paintbrush. I also carefully touched my brush to the leaves of the foliage, but avoided the stems.

I stamped the tall blue flowers from Foliage Set 7 on the right side of my project – also using a stamp positioner for placement. I inked the foliage in #15 olive green and the flowers in #29 Prussian Blue. I then carefully touched my brush to each flower bud and leaf. I then stamped the flower bunch from Foliage Set 7, inking the foliage with #15 olive green and the flowers with #96 auburgine. I used the stamp positioner for placement and again, touched my brush to each flower and a few of the leaves.

I then used the small dot flower from the WC Mini Flower Set and inked it in #43 brilliant yellow. I stamped it in repeat above the grass line on the left and right edge of my project. There was a small gap between the grass line and the puppy, so I used the fine tip on my #15 olive green and added a few blades of grass. I then used my fine tip on my #8 violet and added a few dots to the top of the grass stems for random wildflowers.

I then added a wash of #15 olive green for the foreground, making sure to have light and dark areas, especially under the dog to create a shadow. It needed a little more, so then I used #45 sepia to also add a wash of brown, leaving light and dark areas. I felt that something was needed above the rocks, so I added a small butterfly from My Joy Set. I stamped it in Pumice Stone and used #8 violet, #79 grape and #3 blue to paint the wings. Once it was dry, I used my Micron to add the body and very small antennae. I also used Dr PH Martin’s Bleed Proof White to add some dots to the grass and the yellow dot flowers. I cut a simple frame from black cardstock to mount my project and then used single sheet of background paper to cover my card front.

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/)

Happy Stamping! As always, I hope you will give this project a try! Don’t forget to
enter the Monthly Challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice!

Accessories:

Pumice Stone Distress Ink

#1 Connoisseur Brush

#4 Connoisseur Brush

Marvy Markers

           

      

What a sweet and beautiful card from Debbie.
Now let's see who our August winners were.

#10 came up first so Kathy R. wins a free stamp set from Art Impressions.

Please contact Leah at
Feedback@artimpressions.com

    

#1 Bev Sizemore and #8 Patty S. have won a freebie from me.

Please email me with your full name and address at Renee@artimpressions.com

and I'll send you photos of the freebies I currently have available.

Congratulations to all of our winners and thank you Debbie for you hard work and inspiration!

What will you guys create for September?

We can't wait to see.

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.

✻Lucky Random Winner will 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

Focus on Faith with Sara Furr: Misty Sunrise

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

Every morning I wake up and I thank God for the gift of a new day! New Blessings! The other day I woke up and came downstairs, and while I was walking around with my morning cuppa tea, I caught a glimpse of the beautiful misty sunrise, and had to run out to capture it.

This photo I took is the inspiration for my card today. I will be taking you through a step by step tutorial of my process.

Step 1- colored in my background grass and tree line with a green alcohol ink marker onto Canson XL Bristol Smooth cardstock. I created a small circle mask with a circle punch out of post it tape and applied it above the tree line to mask out my sun.

Step 2- ink blended in some blue sky and some yellow for sunrise, then removed the circle mask, and ink blended some white pigment ink in the tree line for the mist.

Step 3- stamped the barn from #5011- WC Truck mini set,  and colored barn with black alcohol ink marker.

Step 4- stamped in bushes from #4051- Foliage set and #5372-WC Mini Foliage Set with dark green inks.

Step 5- stamped in tree foliage with dark green ink.

Step 6- added in darker shades of grass line with alcohol ink marker.

Step 7- added white permanent ink marker to roof of barn.

Step 8- added foliage back in over the barn roof.

Step 9- stamped in sentiment from #5127- Build My Life set, with stamping tool, in blue ink.

When I was done, I went back in and added some sparkle pen to the sun and tree line to look like the mist. I wanted to male my sun even whiter, so I added some Ph Martin's Bleedproof white ink to the sun with a small paint brush. I trimmed my panel down just a bit and then matted it to a dark green cardstock  and then to a white panel. I popped that up over a panel of light green striped dsp from the #6072- Father's Day PP and a bow of green twine.

Here is my creation....

If you look close you can see the glitter pen I used for the mist.

So, here again is my photo...

AND here is my card...

I hope you are inspired to recreate of little bit of God's creation too.

God Bless, 

Sara Furr -The Crafty Farm Chick