I'm Wild About You by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

I'm Wild about you!

And, I'm wild about the 5400 – Baby Critters Set and of course the new
6158 – Story Tile Template Die.

I started by die cutting the Story Tile die with 6140 – White Cardstock Paper Pack 
and I saved the cut out pieces for later when I embossed some of them.

Next, I took some scraps from 6012 – Basic Yellow Paper Pack
and placed them in the windows that weren't getting embossed.

Then, I just layered on my hearts, giraffe and sentiment with some 3D
foam tape. I place that onto a matte from the same yellow pack and then
onto my card base. Links for all Art Impressions products are below.

Copics used:

BG01, Y23, Y26, Y28, Y32, YG13, RV02

Valentine Gnome and treat box by Dori Mendiola

 Happy Valentines Day AI Friends!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a treat box within my "Sunshine" post dated Jan. 22, 2026.  I used the front and back gnomes from the #5785 - Gnomes set.  My daughter loves gnomes so I filled it with the scotchmallow from See's candy, also her favorite.  She fell in love with the little treat box and asked if I would make some for my granddaughter's preschool teachers as well as her co-workers.  Needless to say, I will do anything for my grandbabies.  😍  So, I made several (see below).  They are fun and easy to put together.  Check out my post from January. 

I decided to make a card to match the little treat box using the same stamp set.  It's a card within a card that adds a nice twist to the standard A2 card. 

To start, I stamped and colored the images with copic markers listed below.  I die cut the images with the corresponding dies that are included in the sets.

I created a standard A2 card using the #5741 - Valentine PP.   I also die cut 3 red panels using the stitched square dies #5061 and a square side-fold card from white cardstock, just slightly larger than one of the red panels to provide a border.  I positioned the smaller card to open from left to right and adhered the back side to the inside of the A2 card.  The right side of the smaller card will then close over the front of the A2 card.  I adhered a red panel to the front of the square card, one to the inside front and one to the front of the A2 card to be covered by the smaller card front.  I then decorated with the gnome images and the heart dies.  Placed a small white string bow on the front with a few scattered mini hearts to finalize the card.

Here are the 10 little treat boxes.  I used the #5721 - Nested Heart dies to cover the front and back of the treat box.  I just love the way these turned out. 

Hope you all have a wonderful day today and a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Copics used:  C0, C1, C2, C3

 E93

R20, R22, R24, R27

R81, R83, R85

G40, G43, G46

Y13, Y15, Y17

Lots of Love Card pack by Dori Mendiola

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

I have a fun card gift pack for you today that fits in perfectly for Valentine's day and for the bi-weekly challenge "Love, Love Me Do".  Do you have a friend that loves to give their family members a card for Valentine's day?  What a perfect little gift for you to give them.  My mind instantly goes to our elderly in the senior homes or your cute little elderly neighbor.   I created a fun, quick gift set of six cards all bundled in a sweet pouch.   The cards do not have a sentiment, so they can fit any occasion, if Valentine's day is not your thing.

For the images, I used the Armful stamp sets - #5903 Treasured Armful and #5904 - So Sweet Armful.  The arms of each animal have a slit cut to allow you to slip a cute little heart, flower, star, etc.  These sets also include the corresponding dies.

I stamped each of the images twice on copic friendly cardstock with Memento black ink and colored with copic markers listed below.  I also stamped, colored and die cut the heart, that is included in the "So Sweet Armful" set, 6 times - one for each card.  I learned a little copic technique from my fabulous copic teacher and friend, Sharon Caudle, many years ago in a class and I use it whenever I can.  For the little bear image, I color him in the browns leaving the overalls until later.  I then take a little piece of wash cloth and dab some blender solution onto it.  Lightly tap that part of the cloth onto the colored part of the bear and it will make him look fuzzy (see the individual card below for a better visual).  Let it sit for a little bit and then finish coloring the overalls.

It's a great effect!  Many thanks, Sharon!  

Above is the A2 Card Gift pouch that will hold up to 6 cards (with minimal dimension) and 6 envelopes.  I found the template for this on The Paper Pixie or you can youtube A2 card gift pouch.  It uses one 12x12 piece of heavy weight pattern paper.   I then decorated using the #5972 - Bible Journal Decorative Margin dies and #5721 - Nested Heart dies.   The sentiment is from the #5817 - Potting Garden Shed set.  Lastly, I used one of the #5967 - Hook and Loop Fasteners to keep the pouch shut.

Here are the six cards in the pack:

That's it for me today!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Make sure to check out the bi-weekly challenge and play along for a chance to win a free stamp set.  

We love to see your creations!

Copics used:  C0, C1, C3

R20, R11, R12, R14

E21, E23, E25, E31, E33, E35

February 2026 Monthly Challenge with Simone

 Hello Ai fans!

Welcome to our February Monthly Challenge.
We have a gorgeous LOVE themed card from Guest Designer Simone to inspire you.

As always, this challenge has no theme so anything you want to create is fine as long as you use something from Art Impressions on it. You might be the next winner of a free stamp set from Art Impressions. Winner is chosen randomly so all skill levels have a fair chance of winning. One lucky winner will also receive a freebie from me.

After admiring Simone's beautiful work, be sure to scroll down to see the winners of our last challenge.

Then, be sure to read our very special announcement.

Hello Friends,

February is the perfect time to celebrate love, warmth, and a little creative joy, and I’m excited to share today’s card with you. I began on Canson Watercolor Paper by tracing the 4th largest heart-shaped die, then lightly penciling in the bow and stem to guide my layout.

I stamped both the sitting gnome and the standing gnome using Archival Ink Shadow Grey. The sitting gnome was first stamped onto masking paper and fussy cut, then placed over the stamped image. Using a stamp positioner, I inked the flower pot with Tombow 565 + 969 directly onto the acrylic plate, then stamping it off twice for a softer look. Once I had the placement just right, I removed the acrylic plate and stamped the pot onto the paper.

After removing the mask from the sitting gnome, I began coloring. I colored the bow first, then covered it with masking tape before stamping foliage inside the heart. With a #4 brush and a touch of water, I gently dabbed the foliage to soften the look. Once the mask was removed from the bow, I stamped a few additional foliage pieces so they slightly overlapped the bow for added depth.

After painting the pot and gnomes, I placed the mask back over the sitting gnome to stamp flowers and grass inside the pot. I also stamped grass around the pot and near the standing gnome to ground the scene. To finish, I used Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White to paint delicate white flowers within the heart and grass, and added tiny white hearts to the bow for a sweet final touch.

I hope you give this project a try and have fun creating your own cozy, love-filled scene.

Materials Used

Stamps

Gnomes Set (5785)

Flower Set 2 (4868)

Foliage Set 1 (4051)

Foliage Set 3 (5007)

Bible Foliage Set – Small Grass (5073)

Ornate Container (4870)

Dies

Nested Heart Die – 4th Largest (5721)

Paper

Canson Watercolor Paper

Valentine’s Patterned Paper (5741)

Inks & Coloring Mediums

Archival Ink – Shadow Grey (for stamping gnomes)

Tombow Markers:

933 – Gnome shirt, flowers

856 – Bow, pot, flower centers

245 – Gnome hat

555 – Gnome pants

942, 912 – Gnome nose and hands

027 – Pot

947 – Gnome shoes, shirt

N55 – Gnome beard

177 – Grass, heart

526 – Sky

969 + 565 – Stamped pot

Other

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White

Lovely Simone. Thank you so much for your inspiration.

Now, let's see who won our January 2026 challenge.

The winner of a free stamp set from Art Impressions is:
#10 Ellen M and the winner of the free stamp set from me is #8 Julie W.

Ellen, 

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

Julie,

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.

Congratulations to both of our January winners. We LOVED all of the entries and we hope you'll continue to enter. We can't wait to see your beautiful art each month.

Now for our special announcement.

Though we've loved having Simone as a special Guest Designer, it's time for her to move on.

Don't be too sad though...

She's moving on to become a full time Watercolor Design Team member!!

You'll now get to see her on a more regular basis!
She'll have her own Watercolor Weekend posts as well as participating in one of our Bi-Weekly challenges each month. Are you as excited as we are??

We're very excited for all of the new changes coming soon and of course, all of the new releases!

See the rules below and then be sure to come back and enter your crafty creation. You might just win a free stamp set!

 ✻ 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.

 ✻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

Bundle of Joy by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

There are some adorable new stamp sets on the Art Impressions Website right now!

This new 6103 – Baby Keepsake Set came at the perfect time.
A family friend and her husband are expecting their first child.

I took inspiration from her shower invitation. Blue and white stripes with a teddy bear on it.

My bear is colored a little differently for me. I've used the same white cardstock for probably 15 years. I decided to try coloring on the new Ai 6140 – White Cardstock Paper Pack. Pros and cons I found were this. It doesn't allow for blending like I'm used to when I use my Copic markers. I did love how vibrant the colors came out and I'm assuming it's using much less ink because it's a more glossy paper. My take away is that I love this paper for layering and die cutting mats and all sorts of things and definitely sometimes coloring. It's a different look and for this card I was very happy with it.

I won't be attending the out of town shower so I'll send this card along with a gift.

I'm sure they'll love it.

Snow much fun in 2026 by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!!

I was inspired by a card posted by Kathy in the Art Impressions Way Facebook group that was a Valentine's Day card from a few years ago. I just loved it, and it had a heart as a hot air balloon. I thought it was so clever and adorable that I just had to make one for myself. I wanted to make this one where it could be used for anything during a winter month. So I grabbed the new #6104 Christmas Keepsake Set and #5721 Nested Heart Die Set and went to work. It really went together very easily. I think the hardest part was trying to get the rope attached to both the balloon and the bushel basket that the snowman is in where it didn't droop. So that took a little finagling, but I think it worked out well. I just inked a background panel using a cloud stenck abd the balloon and snowman are popped up off that panel. I just scattered a few clouds around the image and added a button right in the middle of the balloon with a cute little bow. So it fits right in with the Button Up Challenge that is going on right now! I hope you're entering for a chance to win a free set of your choice!! 

So that's it for met today! Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit and until next time - stay crafty!!!

Button Baby Panda card by Dori Mendiola

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Today I have a cute little baby card for the "Button Up" challenge.  Check out the "Bi-weekly Challenge" tab above for the simple requirements to qualify for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice.  

I created this fun shaped card using the 6017 - Baby Panda set with the 6057 - Baby Girl PP.

I stamped the image onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  I die cut the image using the coordinating die that is included with the stamp set.  As per my usual, I die cut a second image out of basic white cardstock and adhered it to the back of the colored image to give it more strength.  I like to do this because it adds a little extra "pop up" as well.

To create the card front, I die cut a scalloped circle using the largest die from the 6045 - Scalloped Circle die set.  I then die cut two circles (one pink cardstock and one patterned paper) that fit nicely over the other giving it a slight border.   I then die cut the heart scallop from the 5721 - Nested Heart dies and a 1" piece of white cardstock with a slightly smaller strip of patterned paper to fit over the white cardstock.  I layered these all onto the white scalloped circle as shown above.

For the card base, I folded a piece of cardstock in half (approx. 4 x 4 inches) and die cut the second largest circle from the 5726 - Nested Circle die set placing the die over the fold so that approx. 1/2" of the top does not cut.  This will create the fold for the opening of the card.  Glue one side to the back of the scalloped circle card front.  Pop up the image with foam tape.  Add two small black buttons for the wheels (I threaded white string through the button holes for added detail).  Tie a three loop string and adhere to the button bow with glue dots or liquid glue and then adhere just below the sentiment.

After I put this together and took my pictures, I realized that I didn't add shading to the buggy base or canopy.  Oops!  LOL!  Simple coloring works just as well, yet we always think we need to add more.  Maybe we don't!  😀 

Thanks for joining me today!  Make sure to check out the current challenge and play along.  We love to see what you create!  

Have a great day and keep creating!

Copics used:  N0, N1, N3

R20, R81, R83, R85

I'm Your Love Bug by Janet

Hello everyone! I hope your weekend is off to a great start. This week, I dove headfirst into the "Spritz, Splatter AND PAINT!" challenge on the Ai Blog, and let me tell you, I was thrilled! There's nothing I love more than making a creative mess, especially when it's for a good cause – like winning free stamps!

My card is a vibrant message of love, centered around an adorable ladybug from the 6041 - Flower and Bug set. She's perched on a beautifully stacked and layered heart, crafted from seven layers of pink and navy cardstock using the 5721 - Nested Heart Dies. Building it up with foam tape really makes this heart pop right off the card, creating a bold statement. In the four corners, I spelled out "LOVE" using gold cardstock letters from the 5910 - Large Letter Die Set, placing them strategically above and below the prominent heart.

Before adding these elements, I had some serious fun creating the background. The colorful mat started with a three-layer stencil, blending cheerful blue and pink Oxide inks. For the dazzling third layer, I painted it with Winsor Newton Gold paint from Art Impressions – pure metallic magic! Once that was done, I watered down some blue watercolor paint and generously splattered it across the panel. Then, I followed up with simple water droplets. Because the bright pink and blue inks are water-reactive, these drops created a fantastic bleached-out, textured effect where they landed. To push the texture even further, I ran the whole panel through an embossing folder.

After arranging and gluing all the pieces, I felt it needed one final touch. A sweet pink and white polka dot bow, complete with a heart gem in the middle, was the perfect complement to the main heart and ladybug.

I truly hope you'll join in on the "Spritz, Splatter AND PAINT!" challenge! It's a fantastic excuse to play and create, and you'll get a chance to win free stamps just by uploading your creation to the challenge post on the blog. I can't wait to see what amazing things you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't forget to find your favorite stamps, dies, and accessories at the Ai Store! Make a visit today.

Happy crafting!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest 

Celebrate Dad With The New Masculine Bear Set by Janet

Hey everyone! Get ready to be excited, because Art Impressions has been at it again, and they've recently added some truly fun new products to their lineup! Today, I'm absolutely thrilled to feature two of these fantastic new stamp sets and a gorgeous new paper pack with my card.

For this project, I've used the adorable 6064 - WC Bear Set, the versatile 6063 - Just For Him Set, and the perfect-for-the-occasion 6072 - Father's Day Paper Pack.

The WC Bear Set is just too cute! It's designed for watercolor but you can use your favorite medium like I did. The bears have so much character! I immediately envisioned a cozy, masculine scene, and this set delivered perfectly.

Then there's the Just For Him Set. This stamp set is a treasure trove of sentiments that are absolutely perfect for celebrating the men in our lives – not just for Father's Day, but for birthdays, appreciation, or just because! The variety in this set makes it incredibly versatile. I combined Happy Father's Day and Dad for the inside of my card

And let's talk about the Father's Day Paper Pack. Oh my goodness, the patterns in this pack are fantastic! They're masculine without being overly specific, offering a great range of designs from classic plaids and woodgrains to subtle textures that really complement any masculine card. I love how cohesive and easy it makes pulling a card together.

For my card, I started by cutting out a rectangle using the Rectangle Double Stitched Dies. This provided a lovely framed space for my main image. For the focal point, I chose the standing bear from the WC Bear Set and stamped a sweet little cub right next to him. I colored both bears in warm browns with Copic markers, giving them a wonderfully cuddly and gentle look. Once they were colored, I lightly brushed Tumble Glass Oxide ink around them to create a soft sky background. Below the bears, I used more warm gray markers to create the look of land, and along the top edge of the land, I colored in some dark green grass.

I paired this charming colored image with a card background created using two sheets from the Father's Day Paper Pack. I made a mat with one of the patterned sheets. Then, I flipped the leftover piece over and cut a narrow strip from the subtle woodgrain pattern on the other side – a great way to use up scraps! I cut a smaller mat with the tree pattern from the paper pack and layered all these pieces together as shown on an A2 card base.

The sentiment I chose from the Just For Him Set was "You're the Beary Best," and I stamped it on a flag cut with a die from the Flag Double Stitched Dies set. I tucked this sentiment flag just below the bears. To add a final touch of embellishment, I cut two hearts from the Nested Heart Dies set and layered them, one below and one above the sentiment flag.

I truly think the combination of the rustic papers and the sweet bear Dad and cub, along with that perfect sentiment and those little heart embellishments, makes for a truly heartfelt card for any dad!

I'm so impressed with these new releases from Art Impressions, and they make creating masculine cards a breeze. I encourage you to check them out and get creative for the special men in your lives! Please stop by the Ai Store this weekend. They have everything you need – stamps, dies, papers, and accessories – to bring your creative ideas to life!

Happy crafting!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest   

New Belly Band Bunny card by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

There are some fun new releases on the Art Impressions website.

Today I've used the brand new 5804 – Decorative Belly Bands.
There was a delay in shipping initially, so my card is a bit late for Valentine's Day.

This would be SO CUTE as an Easter card though. Just swap out the sentiment with one from one of your favorite Easter sets. If the pink paper isn't your thing, Art Impressions has lots of pretty Easter sets or basic pads that have other beautiful spring colors and patterns in them.

Ai Paper Pads

I love that Art Impressions is offering so many die sets now. They really compliment their adorable images and help create such a finished and special look to your cards and craft projects. I don't think that I could pick a favorite.

Bee Shakers by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

We're almost a week into our current I Like to Move It, Move It! challenge.

What ideas do YOU have for a card or project that has some sort of movement?

I chose to create two shaker cards.

I love bees and yellow and couldn't wait to make a shaker card duo using 5925 – Honey Bee Set.

For my first card, I turned my heart on its side to add a little interest.

Don't you just love the new 5972 – BJ Decorative Margin Dies? The 7" length makes them great for larger cards which I prefer to create. My cards today measure 6 1/4" x 5".

I've watched Karen Day from our Watercolor Design Team create wax seals over the last year and have finally gotten brave enough to begin trying them myself. I am in LOVE!

I have to cringe sometimes when I see enlarged versions of my coloring. My eyes aren't great and they look fine to me in person. Then I see them blown up and yikes! I maybe need to start thinking about one of those magnifiers that I've seen some crafters use.

This bee stamp seal was my first one and was gifted to me from Diane Mason.

I hope I've inspired you to try making a card with some movement on it. It can be a shaker, sliders, wobble, wiggle etc. There are so many possibilities. You might just win a free stamp set.