Don't be so serious! by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

OOO doggy! We are having a heat wave! LOL! It's supposed to be in the 90's all week. I haven't had to turn the AC on yet, but I do believe that nice little treat has passed, but I sure did enjoy the ride while it was happening! See what I did there? LOL! Our current challenge is "Enjoy the Ride". If you haven't entered yet, you have a few more days! So I sure hope you grab your paper and glue and join in on the fun for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choosing!  

I showed you my creation for the challenge last week, so I have something a little different for you this week. I knew I wanted to use #6074 Pickleball Patty, but I wanted to portray her doing something other than pickle ball. So I stamped her and cut her out, but I also removed the pickle ball racket from her hand. While thinking about what I wanted her to be doing, my bestie Dori said the net from #5926 was a good size for her, and it was perfect!! If you watch the Art Impressions blog, I'm sure you're very aware of Dori and her amazing creations! Her brain is so dang creative. I usually say I'd love to spend a day in her brain to watch how it works, but now I'm too afraid to even think about doing that! HAHA! Anyway, she is truly amazing and talented, and I didn't even hesitate to use her idea she gave me! So I simply cut a piece of Copic friendly paper and stenciled in some clouds and added a die cut of a strip of grass. Those cute butterflies are from #5561 Birds and Bugs set. I hope this inspires you to really look at your stamp collection and try to figure out how you could use them in a different way. 

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

Serving Sass and Smashes! Card by Tasha

 Happy Friday Art Impressions Friends!

Tasha here sharing a pickleball card created with the fun 6074-Pickleball Patty Set and 6097-Pickleball Paper Pack. I recently got this set and think it's just perfect for all my pickleball playing friends. Patty looks like she is living her best life on the court and I love her outfit!

This card was also inspired by the current challenge. The challenge is all about the color Yellow, so I used the color on Patty's outfit and on the bottom card stock layer. I love the pink & yellow color combination with the blue plaid paper!

Lastly, I stamped "Serving Sass and Smashes!" on to a coordinating scalloped frame. I also used a large scalloped frame to cut the center card. I think scalloped edges give a nice polished look to cards and like that this set includes a variety of sizes. 

Thank you for checking out today's project and I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Pickleball Wobble by Dori Mendiola

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

The Art Impressions people stamps are a huge hit with me!  Bonnie does such a fantastic job with the characters and their facial expressions.  When she created this last set of AI People, I was in love and then she added papers to fit each.  What a wonderful way to create a card in a hurry!  Plus I added a wobble behind her and now she plays with a wiggle.  LOL!

My card today uses #6074 - Pickleball Patty and #6097 - Pickleball PP.

I started by stamping the image onto copic friendly paper with memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  I cut the image out using the corresponding die included with the stamp set.  I also cut a second one with blank cardstock and glued to the back of the colored image.  I then added an action wobble to her back and adhered to the pattern paper.  She actually wobbles when she plays now.  

 Lastly, I added the sentiment, a bow and a pickleball pin.

Thanks for joining me today!  Hope you have a wonderful day!

Keep creating!

Copics used:  E00, E01, E11, E21, E23

T0, T2, T4, T6

R20, R22, R24

Y000, Y13, Y15

YG41, YG45

Sports & Leisure Challenge #410

Hello and welcome to our newest challenge!

Sports & Leisure

What exactly does that mean?

We want to see your cards or crafty projects that have a sports or favorite pastime theme. Things like sports, gardening, hiking, fishing, hunting, riding bikes or motorcycles, relaxing on the beach, cruises, reading, crafting and so much more.

You're going to be blown away by Sharon's card!
Her coloring of people is always amazing and she got SO creative with this one.
Check out her card and then check below to see who won our Stitches & Scallops challenge

Now, here's Sharon.

 Hello AI Fans!

I'm super excited to be able to introduce you to our brand new Challenge #410 - Sports and Leisure!! The recently released AI People are all perfect for this challenge!! And actually so are a LOT of other Art Impressions Stamp Sets. But I chose to use the beautiful #6074 Pickleball Patty along with her twin sister Peggy!! LOL! I created Peggy by stamping a reverse image of Patty. Before stamping, I removed the ink from the ball. After stamping, I just used one of my Copic multiliner pens to finish the lines of the paddle. I'll tell you a little tidbit about Patty and Peggy, they actually believe that Serena and Venus doesn't hold a candle to their own sportsmanship and talent! There's nothing better than a confident and kind woman!! 😁 I'll be very honest, this one took me a few (cough, cough)  hours of my brain power and gluing talent. There were quite a few "rip it off and start this one again" moments. But I must admit that I love how it turned out.  I knew the type of card I wanted to make, but wasn't quite sure how I was going to go about getting it. So that's a big reason for all the trial and error. The first thing I knew I wanted to do was make a center stairstep card. If you would like to know the dimensions of the cuts and folds, just ask. I'll be happy to supply them. 💛 Please just message me an email for a reply.  

I'll start you out with a picture of the finished card, and then I will break down the process for you. There is a pull tab that will pull Peggy (the one on the far left in the yellow cap) across the front of the card so it looks like (with a little imagination that is) that she is running up to the net in defense. At least that was my goal. LOL! 

In the image below, you can see the center stairstep card after I'd added some decorative paper and the net across the center opening. To make the net, I simply ordered some netting material from Amazon and then cut a strip about the width I was looking to make the net. I then cut two strips of paper 1/2" wide and 6" long and scored it down the center at 1/4". I simply folded over at the score and added a healthy amount of Art Glitter Glue, pressed the netting up into it keeping it fairly straight, and then put a heavy weight on it until it dried. I used a heavy weight cardstock for it as I wanted it to be nice and sturdy.  Once that  side is fully dried, do the exact same to the bottom of the net. The slide channel that is cut at the bottom of the card front is the part of the mechanism that will allow Peggy to run across the front of the card. It is hidden by the green grass panel that is popped up in order to give the mechanism the room to work. 

Peggy is attached to the pull tab by using a strong piece of acetate. 

Patty is getting ready to slam one over to Peggy! LOL! 

Peggy is sensing what Patty is about to do, so she's ready to move over to the other side of the court to be ready!  I added a tree and fence die cut to both sides of the stairstep card. 

And there she goes!! 

Now I did find that with all the weight that was added to this card, it did not want to stand up straight. So I came up with an easy fix for that.  I decided about how far I wanted the card to spread out and measured the distance. I figured I wanted a two inch spread about half way down the card. So I cut two pieces of heavy weight cardstock four inches long. I scored it at 1", 2" and 3". So fold it as mountain, valley, and mountain. Burnish your folds, then glue them inside the card where you want them. These pieces will fold flat with the rest of the card, but it also keeps the card from splatting flat on the table. 

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

Copic markers used:

E000, 00, 04, 11, 17, 33, 97, and 99

BV000, 01, 02, and 04

RV32 and 34

Y26, 32, 35, and 38

G24

T1, 2, 4, and 6

R02 and 20

I mean...come ON!! How amazing is this card?! Patty "runs" to get the ball.
What an imagination Sharon has.

Now let's see who won our last challenge.

For our Top Spot we selected Kathy R.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

Be sure to grab our badge to display on your social media too!

Our Lucky Random Winner was #8 April J.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!!

Be sure to grab our badge to display on your social media too!

Congratulations to you both!

Now, onto our new challenge.

Be sure to enter your creation for the chance to win a free stamp set from Art Impressions. 

We award one Top Spot and one Lucky Random Winner, and each will win a free stamp set from Art Impressions.

✻ Please make a new card or handmade crafty creation. 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

NEW Pickleball Patty! You Have To Meet Her! by Janet

The newest Girlfriend stamp and die sets are absolutely adorable, and I couldn't wait to play with them! Today, my card proudly features the super fun 6074 - Pickleball Patty. This fantastic set comes with Patty herself, several sentiments, and a matching die, which is always a huge bonus! While this is a pickleball themed set, the sentiments make it appropriate for anyone who likes tongue-in-cheek humor, not just people who happen to like playing pickleball.

To start this card, I stamped and colored Patty using my Copic markers. Once she was complete, I cut her out with the coordinating die, applied foam tape to her back for dimension, and set her aside, ready for her big debut on the card.

There's also a brand-new paper pack designed to go with each of the new Girlfriend sets. I don't have them yet, but these packs offer ready-made background scenes perfect for placing each of the ladies right into the action. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on these backgrounds because they'll work with so many different stamp sets. Imagine: instant pickleball and tennis scenes with minimal effort! What a time-saver!

Since I didn't have the new paper pack yet, I made my own background using papers and ephemera from my supplies. I started by gluing a 4" x 5 1/4" patterned mat onto an A2, side-fold, kraft cardstock base. To convey a sense of motion, I placed a piece of star ephemera behind Patty's paddle. I think it really gives the impression of a "smack" motion with the paddle!

I heat embossed the sentiment onto a clay-colored piece of cardstock with white embossing powder, and also added foam tape to the back for dimension. The striking diamond background strip was created with a stencil, applying clay-colored ink on a white piece of cardstock. I then backed it with a slightly larger strip of clay cardstock. I intentionally placed the finished strip at an angle, as I believe the tilt also suggests movement and energy. Once this dynamic background was all in place, I added Patty, bringing the whole scene to life. 

I have to say that this card is one of my absolutely favorites that I've made this year. Patty is incredible and larger than some of the other Girlfriend stamps, making it easier to color and add your own touches, like the large polka dots on her red skirt. You have to give these new sets a try!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't forget to find your favorite stamps, dies, papers and accessories at the Ai Store! You'll always find something that calls to you.

Happy crafting!

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