Monochromatic Christmas Story Ornament and Snowman Couple Christmas Wreath Card by Diane Mason

Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend! 

The air has turned crisp, and with the change in season it feels like the right time to begin Christmas crafting. Today I’m sharing two winter projects: a monochromatic ornament created with the newly released 6118 – A Christmas Story stamp set and coordinating 6121 – Storybook Template die, along with a scalloped circle snowman couple wreath card. Each project brings a different kind of charm—one simple and elegant, the other playful and festive. Let’s get started!

Monochromatic Christmas Story Ornament:

Art Impressions recently released the new 6121 – Storybook Template and two new Christmas themed stamp sets (6118 – A Christmas Story and 6117 – A Cozy Christmas Set). These new stamps and dies make the most adorable little 3D scenes! And Bonnie mentioned that additional stamp sets for this new concept will be released at a later date. I can’t wait to see what else she has created for these awesome little storybook boxes!

For my Storybook Ornament, I’m using the 6118 – A Christmas Story stamp set along with the coordinating 6121 – Storybook Template die. This beautiful nativity set truly captures the miracle of Christmas, reflecting the reverence and meaning of the season in a simple, elegant way.

One of my favorite ways to watercolor is painting monochromatically. Blue is a classic choice for this style, and it felt like the perfect fit for a nighttime scene. If you’ve followed my work, you know I’m not always a fan of Tombow 565—it tends to shift toward purple on me. Sometimes that’s exactly the look I want, but for this project I needed a blue that would stay true and coordinate beautifully with the navy cardstock and blue patterned paper from the 5963 – Winter Woodland Paper Pack.

For that reason, I turned to Marvy African Violet (86), which gives a reliable, rich blue. I inked each image with African Violet and stamped onto Canson XL watercolor paper. Using a damp brush, I pulled color from the stamped lines to create natural shadows and contours. Gradually, I layered more ink from my palette, building depth until each image had just the right intensity. It’s always amazing to see how many shades and tones can emerge from a single color.

Once I had all the images painted, I used the coordinating dies to cut out the images. For the background image, I used the rectangle from the template set. I cut five oval windows from navy cardstock and glued the images into place. For the box front, I die cut a piece of patterned paper from 5963 – Winter Woodland Paper Pack. Since the paper is only 6x6, I couldn’t cut out the entire box, so I also die cut the template from a piece of navy cardstock and seamed them together to create the entire box.

To construct the ornament box, I adhered an oval frame to the background piece and added a few sparkly details to the night sky, including the Christmas star, using a Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust clear gel pen; then adhered to the back interior of the box. In order from 1 – 4 (see photo above), I added foam squares to the corners and carefully stacked each layer on top of each other and adhered to the background image. I then glued the sides together, adhered the ornament topper, and added silver and white baker’s twine to hang the ornament.

 

I created a label for the back of the box using a die from 5952 – Portfolio Template Die Set. I printed out the bible quote from Luke 2:11 on my computer, die-cut and attached it to the back of the box. This lovely Christmas Story ornament is now complete and ready to hang on your tree or give as a gift!

Snowman Couple Christmas Wreath Card:

Who doesn’t love a snowman? With this adorable scalloped circle card, we get double the snowman love with a snowman couple!

For the card, I used the snowman couple from the newly released 6107 – Snowman Hugs Set, and surrounded the couple with seasonal flowers and foliage from 5828 – WC Poinsettia Set and 5829 – WC Holly Set.

I die-cut two scalloped circles from red cardstock using the largest scallop die from 6045 – Scalloped Circle Dies. Next, I selected a circle die from 5064 – Circle Double Stitched Dies that best fit the interior of the scalloped circle and drew around the circle with a pencil onto my watercolor paper. I only inked part of the snowman couple so they would be naturally framed by the wreath. I inked the snowy parts with 565 and the rest with 565/969.

Color Palette:

Snowman Couple:

• 177 (hat and scarf)
• 856, 847 (coat, hat and mitten)
• 856 (watery mix for cheeks)
• 526 (scarf and coat)
• 993, 026 (jingle bells and buttons)
• 933, 925 (carrot noses)
• 565 (shading)

Wreath:

• 249 (holly, 5829 - WC Holly Set)
• 177 (leafy vine, 5828 – WC Poinsettia Set)
• 856 (poinsettias, berry stems, 5828)
• 993 (centers of poinsettias)

I pulled some color from the holly and leafy vines to create a soft watercolor background. To refine some of the details, I used a red, brown, or green TwinTone marker. For the eyes, I used a very fine black micron pen. For the mouths, I used a pencil. I added white stripes to the blue scarf using Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White. I added a little clear Wink of Stella to the faces.

I die-cut the painting with the circle die from 5064, and mounted to one of the red scallop die cuts with foam tape.

For the card interior, I folded a piece of white cardstock in half and placed a circle die just above the fold line and die-cut to create a folded card to fit the interior. I inked the Merry Christmas sentiment (5953 – Woodland Critters Set) with 856 and the holly berries (5953) with 249 and 856.

I glued the white folded card to the second red cardstock scallop making sure it would align with the card front. With the scallops of the card front aligned with the back, I added glue to the front of the white card, and just above the fold and the scalloped areas above. Once dry, I bent the back of the card backwards to create the fold line at the back, keeping the front nice and round.

That’s all for now—thanks so much for stopping by for Watercolor Weekend! I hope these ideas inspire you to experiment with your favorite colors, stamps, and dies to make something uniquely yours this Christmas. Be sure to tag us in your holiday projects—we can’t wait to see your creations!

Until next time, Happy Painting!

A small ornament and some tags by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

The new challenge at Art Impressions is Teeny Tiny! How fun!! So I've made a few things that fit right in! The first thing I did was grab the cute little ornament stamp and die from 5459 Christmas Mice Set. I stamped and colored it one time, and then used the die to cut out five more layers out of cardstock.  Glued them all together and then glued the colored piece on top for a cute, quick little ornament! Added some twine and three jingle bells and it was done. 

Next I decided I wanted to make some tags. I used a variety of sets for these, but made them all cohesive. They're fold up tags so the top decorated piece actually lifts up so you can put a greeting on the inside or a to/from stamp. Whatever you want! I chose to use a cute sentiment from 5565 Cheers My Deers Set on the inside. They're Super easy to make, just score your top panel about 1/2" down and only glue the top portion to your tag underneath it. 

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

Watercolor Weekend with Ruthan and Simone!

Hello Ai fans!

Welcome to Watercolor Weekend.

This weekend we have something a little different for you.

Jami needed to take some personal time off so we are sharing two cards from some special guest designers.

First up, we have Ruthan Plant who has been an Art Impressions fan for several years and co-founded the Facebook fan group The Art Impressions Way along with Kathy Acres.

Ruthan created this darling Christmas card.

I think we all can agree. There are few things cuter than a puppy in a Santa hat.

She painted the inside of her card as well, which is such a professional touch.

Ruthan was kind enough to show exactly which images from the sets she used helped create her adorable card.

 

 

Our next special Guest Designer is Simone Carr.

Simone has been very busy for us behind the scenes lately.  She will be our featured Monthly Guest Designer for November because she won our September, We Don't Use Enough Purple Challenge. Stay tuned to see what her challenge will be. Her card today gives you a little hint.

She will also be our November Watercolor Weekend artist for Jami next month as well. 

You're going to be so excited when you see all of the special cards she has created and I hear there may be more to come! Yippee!

Her little Christmas critter card is just TOO CUTE!

I just love the sparkle, the paper, the frame and the beautifully painted animals.

May I just ask...What on earth did we do before Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed Proof white paint???

Thank you to both Ruthan and Simone for their beautiful inspiration for this Watercolor Weekend.

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Be sure to check out all of the newest releases at Art Impressions.

We have a fabulous new line of Christmas and Fall, paper, stamps and dies as well as several new online classes to choose from. Keep in mind that all of the sets in the bundles (which save you money if you want them all) can be purchased individually.

c5965 – Winter Woodland Bundle

5973 – Fall Series 2 Paper Pack

c5975 – 5pc Christmas Train Bundle

c5976 – Christmas Train Journal – Online Class with Bonnie

Online Woodland Christmas Portfolio Class with Kim

Tis the Season for Pumpkin Spice and Warmest Wishes cards by Diane Mason

Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!

 

Hello, Ai Watercolor Friends! I hope you are enjoying a fabulous fall weekend! For the last several weeks, it has been unseasonably hot in the San Francisco Bay area. It has finally cooled down, and it’s beginning to feel like fall has arrived—so bring on the Pumpkin Spice!

Today, I’m excited to share two Woodland Critter cards with you, one for fall and the other for Christmas. These cards feature stamped images from the recently released 5953 – Woodland Critters Set, KH5951 – Foxes Set, and 5954 – Woodland Bears Set. These new sets are so adorable, and both the Woodland sets come with dies that can be used to cut the images out!

Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice card:

Both of my cards today feature the adorable little squirrel from 5953 – Woodland Critters Set. I just love this sweet little image of a squirrel enjoying a hot beverage! I wanted it to appear that he was enjoying a Pumpkin Spice latte, so when I inked the stamp in 565/969 I purposely left off the candy cane. First, I selectively stamped the two pumpkins (from the pumpkin pile) from 5595 – Harvest Pumpkin Set in 969 and the stems and leaves in 249. I masked the pumpkins, and then stamped the squirrel image, remembering to leave off the candy cane. The leaves in the foreground are from KH5951 – Foxes Set and were stamped in 969. I watercolored the squirrel in 947 and 969. I added rosy cheeks with a touch of 856 and also inside the ears. I used 312 to paint the scarf and the plaid stripes. For the coffee mug, I used 993, 933 and 947. I shaded the whipped cream with 565. I painted the cinnamon stick with 947. For the left pumpkin, I painted it with 933 and 925. For the right pumpkin, I used a combination of 993 and 933. The stems and leaves were painted with 312. The tree stump was painted with 947 and 969. I washed in the grassy area with 312 before adding leafy foliage around the squirrel from KH5951 in 312, 249, and 993. I painted the leaves in the foreground with 993, 933, 312, and 947. I added grass with 249 using the tiny grass stamp from 4051 – WC Foliage Set 1. The sky was washed in with 565. I darkened the squirrel’s eyes and nose with a brown TwinTone. I also used the brown TwinTone to add back some details.

The “Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice!” sentiment from 5191 – Feast Mode Set was stamped in orange on watercolor paper and die-cut using a tag die from 5132 – Tag Stitched Dies. Using the leaf dies from 5783 – Fall Leaf Frame Die Set, leaves were die-cut from cardstock, embellished, and attached to the tag. The plaid patterned paper is from the 5838 – Fall Journal Paper Pack. The painting and tag were both mounted with foam tape for added dimension.

For the inside of the card, I stamped the sentiments from 5600 – Harvest Sentiments Set in green and orange. The pumpkin and vine in the corner are from 5595 – Harvest Pumpkin Set.

Warmest Wishes card:

For my second card, I inked the squirrel image from 5953 with 565/969. The squirrel’s body and tree stump were painted in the same way as the first card. For the scarf, I left it white and added shadows with 565. I then added a green plaid stripe using 177. The hot cocoa mug and candy cane were painted in 856. I added a green stripe to the mug in 177. Again, the whipped cream was shaded with 565.

I brushed in a watery sky and added snowy shadows with 565. Once the painting was thoroughly dry, I heat-embossed the snowflake images from the 5954 – Woodland Bears Set using VersaMark clear embossing ink and Ranger’s White Super Fine Detail embossing powder. Additional snow flurries were dotted in with Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White.

The peppermint striped patterned paper from 5853 – Christmas Magic Paper Pack was die-cut with the second largest banner die from 5134 – Banner Double Stitched Dies. To create a flap for the card front, I needed the banner to be longer to make a fold at the top. To extend the banner, I did a partial cut, then shifted the die and did another partial cut, and voilà – a longer banner die-cut! The card front was matted with red embossed cardstock. I used double-sided tape to attach the banner flap to the inside and folded it over to the front. The painting and embellishments were arranged and popped up with foam tape (leafy vine from 5805 – Mini Journal Box Dies, snowflakes from 5782 Snowflake Frame Die, and decorative frame cut in half from 5768 – Decorative Journal Page Set 1). I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment from 5953 – Woodland Critters Set in green, die-cut with a banner die, and mounted with foam squares

To open the card, you lift the banner and open the card from left to right. For the inside of the card, I added a strip of patterned paper to the bottom edge, snowflake die-cuts from 5782, and stamped the sentiment from 5566 – Christmas Sentiments Set in red.

Thank you for joining me for Watercolor Weekend! I hope these cards brought you as much joy as they did for me while making them. It was a fun challenge to use the same image and adapt it for both fall and winter. Until next time, Happy Painting!

Holiday Hedgehog Card by Tasha!

 Happy Friday Art Impressions Friends!

Tasha here sharing a new holiday card inspired by the current Tres Chic Challenge. I was inspired by the brown tones and buffalo check prints in the challenge photo and thought this color combination would be perfect for a holiday card.

The sweet little hedgehog image is from the new 5953-Woodland Critters Set. I love animal stamps and this one is adorable with his little scarf and tree. I colored him with markers and used the included die set to cut the stamped image out. For the scarf, I used a white gel pen to add a knit-like detail; love the teal and white colors!

To create the background, I attached several glittery snowflakes and used the same glitter paper for the ground. The sparkle is so pretty and these falling snowflakes are a great size for cards. I also thought mixing up the sizes and having some outside of the frame gave the card more interest.

Lastly, I embossed "Merry Christmas" on to black paper and attached layers of brown, red, and black card stock. I also added a piece of buffalo check pattern paper to bring in the colors/patterns from the challenge inspiration photo. I love how this turned out!

Thank you for checking out today's card and I hope you will join in the challenge!

Have a wonderful day!