Hamster Wheel Cubbies Waterfall Card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

Some interactive cards look like they're complicated to make but they can be rather simple if you just know how they're assembled. I made this waterfall card with a long strip of paper and a few folds.  Of course I used the cute hamsters from the Hamster Wheel Cubbies and a greeting from the Christmas Wreath Set.  Maybe you'll try this on one of your cards.

The images were stamped onto Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth paper with Gina K Designs Black Amalgam Ink and colored with Copic markers.  The colors used are listed at the end of this post.

I created the waterfall feature with one strip of paper.  It measured 2" by 7 1/2".  I also had a thin strip of paper to wrap around the entire piece as a band to hold it to my card.  I then scored the card at 2", 2 1/2", 3" and 3 1/2".  I made sure that all of the score lines bent back and forth well and then I folded the paper behind itself at the last score line. I then attached the belly band to the top flap and wrapped it around both pieces leaving it.

I started by attaching the last scene to the bottom piece over the belly band.  I then added the next scene to the 1/2" spine with double sided adhesive.  I added the next two scenes to the other two spines until all four scenes were attached in the correct order. 

I cut a piece of decorative paper to 5" x 1 3/4" and cut the end of it with the banner die.  I attached it to the bottom piece of the waterfall feature so it could be pulled out. I then attached the entire waterfall feature to the card with the belly band.  Don't add adhesive to anything else or everything will stick together.  I learned how to make this card on you tube.  You may find it easier to look there for full directions on how to make it.

Copic Colors Used:
Main Hamster - W1, E30, E31, R00
Second Hamster - W1, W3
Floor - W00, W1
Wall - R00, R01
Tree- YG05, YG17, YG67, G29
Present Red- R05, YG17, R37
Present Green - YG61, YG63, YG67
Sky Panel Three- B0000, B00, V000, 0
Ground Panel Three and Four - B0000, B00
Moon - C1, C3, C5, 0
Sky Panel Four - B99
Shadows - C5, C7

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Meowy Christmas by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

We're getting down to the wire for Christmas cards.  I've been trying to come up with some faster cards that I can make up in batches.  I sat down and made a few of these the other night.  I combined the Christmas Wreath Set with the Mini Cat Spinner Set.  Both stamp sets came with matching dies. The only thing I had to do was color them while watching a movie and die cut them before I added them to the card.  I found the perfect paper 6x6 paper pad at Michael's a few weeks ago called Christmas Pets and it had both dog and cat images in it.  It even had the perfect sayings for me to cut out and add to my cards.  

The images were stamped onto Spetrum Noir Ultra Smooth paper with My Favorite Things Extreme Black Ink and colored with Copic markers.  The colors used are listed at the end of this post. The cat and wreath were cut out using their matching dies. Several layers of the patterned paper were cut and edged with a Pilot Medium Tip Gold Marker.  The center panel, cat and wreath were attached with foam tape.  The sentiment and the bow were added with another layer of foam tape.  The bow and berries were covered with a layer of the Spectrum Noir Crystal Glitter Marker. 

Copic Colors Used:

Cat - Coo, C1, C3, C5, RV10
Wreath - YG61, YG63, YG67
Bow/Balls - R81, R83, R85

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Prancing Through the Snow by Carol Hintermeier

Hello Ai Fans!

Fifteen days until Christmas!  Are you ready?  I love making Christmas cards and these sweet reindeer from the Sleigh Bells set are so adorable!

I used my MISTI and stamped the reindeer pair twice with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I then blended some Salty Ocean Distress Oxide onto the background with a Ranger Distress Blending Brush.  I used alcohol markers (listed below) to color the reindeer.

Then I got really brave!  I penciled in a line for the ground and once I was satisfied I used my Micron .005 black pen to very lightly draw over the pencil line.  I used two Copic markers (N2 and BG000) to color in some shadows and make it appear more like snow.  I then added some Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle.   For me, that drawing was pretty scary after having colored the reindeer!  I think it turned out pretty good!

Once the coloring was done, I used Ai's Rectangle Double Stitched Dies to cut the top panel.  I layered that onto some red paper from my stash and popped it up onto some pretty silver sparkly card stock.  I also stamped one of the sentiments from the set and used a tag die to cut it out.  I tied some bakers twine onto the tag and added snowflakes from Ai's Snowflake Dies that I cut out with glitter paper.

For the inside, I used another sentiment from the set and also the snowflake stamp.  The snowflakes are stamped in some pretty silver ink.

Here's a final angled shot that shows a bit of the sparkle and shine!

These sweet reindeer really make a fun Christmas card!  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful, crafty week!

Copic markers:

E79, E25, E53, E33, E23, E30, R27, R17, R14, YG06, YG09, BG000, N2

Spectrum Noir markers:

IG5, IG8, IG9, Blender

One last Christmas Card by Sharon Caudle

Hello AI Fans!!

I wanted to show you one last Christmas card for the season!  This one features the adorable roly-poly snowmen from 4667 Holly Jolly Set!  I just love how short and round these cuties are!! They make amazing tags too!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today during the very busy Holiday season!  Until next time - stay crafty!!

Copics used:  

T1, T2, Blender

C3, C4, C5, C6

R22, R24, R27

G82, G94, G99

B000, B00

Dachshund Through the Snow by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

Last year Ai came out with the Santa Paws Set and it has to be one of my favorite Christmas sets of all time.  The dogs in it are dressed for Christmas.  Whats not to love?  I picked three of the dogs and made a fun scene. I combined it with the Recollections Christmas Pets 6x6 paper pad that I found at Michael's for a super fun card. 

The images were stamped onto Spetrum Noir Ultra Smooth paper with My Favorite Things Extreme Black Ink and colored with Copic markers.  The colors used are listed at the end of this post. They were fussy cut with EK success Cutter Bee scissors.  You can't tell from the picture, but a Marvy Snow Marker was added to the white areas of the Santa jacket.  The marker goes on wet and is heated until it puffs up.  A Spectrum Noir Clear glitter pen was added over the yellow areas on the other two dogs. The dachshund was added with foam tape.

The background was made with Distress Oxide inks onto an oval of Bristol paper. Two masks were cut from masking paper using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders Dies.  The masks were applied to the paper before any inking was done.  A soft layer of Stormy Sky Distress ink was applied toward the center of the top portion of the oval and then the Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide ink was blended around it.  A very thin layer of Black soot Distress Oxide ink was applied around the edges. The top mask was removed and a very light layer of Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide was applied. The bottom mask was removed and a heavier layer of Shaded Lilac ink was applied. All of the blending was done with the distress mini blending tool and blending foams.  Water droplets were added to the entire background with a Distress sprayer. After about a minute, the water was picked up with a paper towel.  A mix of Perfect Pearl colored Perfect Pearls and water was spattered onto the background to give it some shine.  It was attached to the card front with foam tape.

Copic Colors Used:
Dachshund - E31, E33, E35, E37, E29
YG61, YG63, YG67, Y11, Y15, Y15, Y26 R22, R24, R29, R39

Santa Dog - E30, E31, E33
B21, B24, B28, R24, R29
Chihuahua - E31,E41,RV10, E00
RV20, Coo, C1, C3, YG61, YG63, YG67, Y11, Y15, Y26, 100, R24, R39

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Christmas Drive Window by Carol Hintermeier

Hello Ai Fans!

Are you getting ready for Christmas?  Have you finished making your Christmas cards?  If you still need to make more, this beautiful Christmas Drive Window would be just right to make those special, but easy to make, cards.  The sentiment around the frame reads "Christmas is the time of year when all roads lead to home."

I made this into tabletop art by using Art Impressions 3D Frame Die with some patterned paper.  However, this is so easy to stamp onto a card and add some quick coloring for a quick and beautiful card.  I colored this a while back and apologize that I cannot find the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Happy stamping!

Joy to The World by Carol Hintermeier

Hello Ai Fans!

I'm back again using the adorable Snow Friend set!  This trio of snowmen are spelling out "Joy" and they certainly do look joyful!

I decided to make two cards with the same color scheme and just changed up where I used each color.  First I colored them with alcohol markers.  (I've listed the colors used at the end of this post.)  Then I used Ai's Rectangle Double Stitched dies and Rounded Rectangle Double Stitched dies to cut various layers for the cards.

I stamped one of the sentiments and then die cut it with the smallest Rectangle Double Stitched die and popped it up with a few foam squares.  I layered up some of the snowflakes I die cut for a few embellishments.

On my second card the stamped layer is popped up with foam tape.

I decorated the inside of the card by stamping the snowflake from the set across the bottom using Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide ink.  The sentiment is also included in this set.

Here's a closer look to see where I added the Nuvo Glitter Accents to the hats and ground.  I added Glossy Accents to the candy canes for some shine.  It doesn't show in the photos, but I added some sparkle to the snowmen's bodies with a Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful crafty week!

Copic markers used:

B02, B16, N2, N4, RV00, RV21, RV23, RV25, RV29, 

Y17, Y38, YG13, YG25, YG3, YG67

Spectrum Noir:

BGR4, Blender

The Joy of Christmas by Carol Hintermeier

Hello Ai Fans!

Well, I've said it before how much I love snowmen and Art Impressions' new Snow Friend Set is right up my alley!  There are two totally adorable snowmen images, plus a birdhouse, birds and several sentiments.

I stamped this sweet snowman in black ink and colored it with my alcohol markers (listed below).

I die cut the colored image with Art Impressions' Rounded Rectangle A2 Double-Stitched die and layered it up on some coordinating card stock.  The next layer is one I had in my stash that I had inked and then stenciled the snow on with some texture paste.

For the finishing touches, I die cut snowflakes from silver card stock using Ai's Snowflake Dies.  I added some clear sparkle to his body and the lights with my Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen.  I added Glossy Accents to all the little lights.  I used a Uniball Silver pen on the skate blades.  You can see a bit of the sparkle and shine in this photo.

I hope you love this sweet snowman as much as I do!  Click the link below to see the full set and all that's included!  I'll be back next week using the other snowman stamp from this set.  Until then I hope you have a wonderful, crafty week!

Copic markers used:

BG15, BG45, BG49, R14, R24, R27, Y15, Y17, Y38, YR04

Spectrum Noir markers used:

BGR1, BGR2, RB1, RB3, FS6

Watercolor Snowman by Carol Hintermeier

Hello Ai Fans!

I've jump started my Christmas card making with these three cards featuring the newly released Watercolor Snowman Set!  I totally love snowmen and this one is SO adorable!  I always try to get my Christmas cards done early as I find it so enjoyable without the rush of trying to get them done during the holidays.  When do you make your holiday cards?



For each card I've stamped the snowman and tress onto watercolor paper using Marvy LePlume II markers.  I used a pencil to lightly draw in the background hills and landscape, (well except for the first one.  It's all a learning process! :)    I cut a mask of the larger snow-covered tree to use while stamping the other two behind.   Just so you know, I stamped the snowman onto a scrap piece of watercolor paper four times just to practice and to use as a test piece for my colors.  I also referred to Art Impressions YouTube channel to watch Bonnie's videos that show how to watercolor snowy scenes.  Just scroll back to last November or later for many helpful tips.

For this card I taped off a square with blue painter's tape before stamping and watercoloring with my Marvy LePlume II markers.  I don't have a black marker, so I just smooshed some Black Soot Distress Oxide onto my pallet.  All of the colors I used are in the links below.  I added some sprigs of grass peaking through the snow.



I used a Molotow masking pen on all three of my cards to create a snowy background.   Again, Bonnie shows how to use this masking pen in her videos.  Each card was also die cut using the wonderful new double-stitched edge dies in squares, rectangles and rounded rectangles.  The links are at the end for you to click and see the full sets of these dies.



I love sparkly Christmas cards so I used a Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle pen on each card to get the fun shine.  It doesn't show in the photos, so I took a close up for you to see how pretty it is!  It still doesn't show up as much as in real life!



Each card has a few details added with my Signo Uni-ball white gel pen.  I added some detailing on the scarf, the hat, or the snowy background on one card or another.



I hope I've inspired you to get started on your holiday cards and to give watercoloring the Art Impressions way a try!  Thank you for stopping by and happy stamping!

Christmas Wonder by Karen Day

Hello Ai fans!

I have the last of my Christmas cards to share with you today - two cards using the lovely Christmas Wonder Set (Sku #4936):

 I kept both of these images to a fairly neutral palette - other than red & green, I used just the Copic Warm Greys & a hint of gold.

 For this card, I fussy cut out the lamp post and the tree, and popped both of them and the sentiment up with pop dots.  Happy stamping!

Copics used: Greys - W7, W5, W3, W1, W00

Reds - R37, R35, R32, R30, R59

Greens - G46, G43, G40

Skin/hair - E11, E00, E000, R30, Y26, Y23, E50, E55, E53, E51, E47, E44, E43