Bonus 5th Sunday Watercolor Weekend with Simone Carr

 Hello Ai fans and welcome to Watercolor Weekend!

This is one of those months where we get a bonus, 5th Sunday, so Simone Carr will be filling in as our Guest Designer for our last Sunday in March.

Please enjoy her amazing art!

Hello Fellow Crafters,

It’s my turn for Watercolor Weekend, and I’m excited to share two new watercolor cards with you! I hope they inspire you to create something beautiful this weekend!

Card 1: Easter Bloom Wreath

For my first card, I took an egg-shaped die to draw an outline so that I knew where to stamp my flowers and foliage. I placed my Canson watercolor paper into my stamp platform. I used the stamp from the Frameworks Set and colored parts of it with 969 before stamping it along the penciled egg shape. Once that was done, I stamped in the bunnies using 569 and 969, stamping off twice before applying them to the paper.

I colored the wreath first by pulling out the stamped color, then moved on to the bunnies, adding layers as needed. I stamped in some foliage but left space for flowers. I stamped grass in front of the bunnies using the larger grass stamp and then added flowers from Flower Set 2. For the white flowers, I used Dr. PH Martin’s Bleedproof White. Finally, I stamped the little bird on the branch using only 969. The sky was softly blended with 526 to complete the scene.

Materials Used:

Stamps:

• Frameworks Set 1 (5420)
• Fairy Doors Set (5056)
• Furries TF (4208) Retired
• Bible Foliage Set 2 (5418)
• Foliage Set 1 (4051)
• Mini Flower Set (5009)
• Flower Set 2 (4868)
• Flower Set 2 (4867)
• Branches Set (4964)

Dies:

• Rectangle A2 (5063) – Used the largest
• Mini Easter Sentiment Set (5867)

Paper:

• Canson Watercolor Paper
• Easter PP (5742)

Inks & Markers:

• Tombow Markers (969, 569, 526, 249, 177, 725, 565, 636, 195, 856, 947)
• Dr. PH Martin’s Bleedproof White
• Twintone Brown

Other:

• Stamp Platform
• Pencil for Sketching

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Card 2: Cozy Coop

For my second card, I created a scene using the Matchbox Chickens Set and Hen House Cubbies.

I began by placing Canson watercolor paper into my stamp platform. Since the Matchbox stamps include flaps designed for creating 3D matchbox scenes, I used tape to block off the edges before inking the stamp with Memento Toffee Crunch. After removing the tape, I stamped the image, ensuring only the main elements transferred onto the paper.

With my scene set, I started coloring. For the chicks, I applied Tombow 055 around their heads, blending into 025 and 985 for the body. Their beaks were painted with 925. The hens were given warm, natural tones using 947 and 856. For the chicken coop, I used a combination of 947, 992, and 296, while the chicken feed bag was shaded with 027. To enhance the rustic feel, I stamped a hay bale from the Harvest Set (5598) using 026 and 985.

To tie the whole card together, I used patterned paper from the Basic Green PP (6009) as a background.

Materials Used:

Stamps:

• Matchbox Chickens (5731)
• Hen House Cubbies (5396)
• Harvest Set (5598)

Paper:

• Canson Watercolor Paper
• Basic Green PP (6009)

Inks & Markers:

• Tombow Markers (027, 992, 969, N55, 569, 296, 026, 856, 925, 055, 025)
• Twintone Brown
• Memento Toffee Crunch
• Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other:

• Stamp Platform
• Masking Tape for Selective Stamping

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I had so much fun creating these two watercolor cards, and I hope they inspire you to try something new in your crafting!

Happy Crafting,
Simone

Chicken Coop and Spring Florals by Jami Steiger

 

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Happy watercolor weekend! I love pastel spring colors, and I had so much fun making my cards this month.

 I applied the same method to each card. I started by stamping with Tombow markers 565 and 969. Then, I stamped off once onto a scrap piece of watercolor paper and painted all four cards using the same markers. For the chicken coop, I stamped various items from the set onto watercolor paper and painted them with markers. After everything was painted, I die-cut the pieces. I used the polka dot paper from 6009, Basic Green paper pack, for the grass. I utilized various dies from my collection to add details to the card. Once all the die cuts were glued down or popped up, I added some tiny rhinestones to the flowers. This stamp set is so cute, and I adore the tiny chicks!

Tombow markers used for all of the cards are as follows:
969, 992, 565, 025, 623, 723, 195, 817, 401, 491, 177, and 636

 

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For my next three cards, I used the 5918 Floral Long Stem Bouquet Set. 

The first step I took was to create masks for each of the stamps so I could position them where I wanted without the flowers overlapping. Next, I determined how far apart I wanted the flowers and used masking tape to cover the line indicating where I wanted the flowers to stop. I stamped each flower bouquet and painted them. After painting and removing the masking tape, I cut scraps of paper from the teal paper pack and glued them down. I cut a strip of black cardstock approximately 1/4 inch wide and placed that over the gingham paper. Each card features a unique detail. For the "Love you, friend" card, I created a shadow around the flowers on the right side using a pale blue marker and added white dots with Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White. For "sending hugs," I added a shadow around all of the flowers using marker 969. Finally, for "happy little moments," I splattered the card with a green marker after covering the flowers with the masks I had made earlier and glued tiny rhinestones onto some of the flowers.

 

Thank you all for spending your time with me. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Fluffy Butt Hut featuring Hen House Cubbies by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!!

So the new challenge that started Thursday is called Farm Fresh! How fun is that?! So for my card, I used 5396 Hen House Cubbies for this. The Cubbies are such an awesome line of stamps and dies! I stamped all the images onto a Copic friendly paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink and then colored them with Copic markers which are listed below. For the card base I used 5939 Fairy Garden PP.  The sentiment is from AiCS40 Spring Chicken Set. I hope you join in on the challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice! 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today! Until next time - stay crafty!!

Copic markers used:

Y04, 15, 21, 26, 35, and 38

YR21 and 31

R12, 20, 22, 24, 27, 81, 83, and 85

V12 and 15

E33, 35, 40, 41, 43, and 97

T1 and 2

B91 and 93

Don't Fence Me In! Challenge #350

 Hello Ai fans!

Welcome to our newest challenge.

Don't Fence Me In!
We want to see fences! 
They can be dies, images with fences on them, 
fence stamps or stencils, or, as in Janet's case...the card!

Can you believe it??  We are on challenge #350!
Is there any other challenge in the craft world that has that many?
How many do you think you've participated in?
Hopefully a lot!  If not, why NOT?
Who doesn't love to win free stamps?!

I (Reneé) have created challenge inspiration for 327 of them!

Yes, I've worked for Ai for a very long time!

Art Impressions has SO MANY stamps and dies with fences on them.
Here's a link to some of them.  I'm sure there are even more if you look.

This week Janet will be our featured designer, but before we see her very creative card, let's see who won our April Showers challenge.

Our Top Spot went to Gennette Houghton!

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!

Also, be sure to grab our badge to display on your blog, Facebook or Instagram!

Our Lucky Random Winner is Julie W.

When number 14 came up, I went to the challenge and clicked on the picture.

I was AMAZED to find out that these are Julie's first two cards EVER watercoloring the Ai way!

Can you believe it?  Welcome to the club Julie!

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!

Also, be sure to grab our badge to display on your blog, Facebook or Instagram!

Ironically,  did you notice?  Both of these cards would also qualify for the new "Fence" challenge!

What are the odds?

We always have so many fabulous entries that it's difficult to choose.

Keep entering...You never know when YOU may be selected!

Now...onto Janet's adorable card.

Wait until you see this...she created a fence AS HER CARD!!
This is such a great idea.  She has a tutorial on how she made it if this is something you'd like to try.
We'll let Janet take it from here.

Hello crafty friends! I'm pleased to present my card to help announce the new challenge, Don't Fence Me In. This is a fun challenge that only requires something that includes dies, stamps, or images with a fence. In my research for this post, I discovered a surprising number of fences to choose from. In the end, I decided to feature 5396 Hen House Cubbies. There is no fence per say in this set. However, I've been thinking about creating a fence shaped card for a while. The challenge gave me the inspiration to see if I could figure out how to make a card that looks like a fence panel to place this cute hen house on. I'm happy to report that I did and I'll share the steps to make one yourself below.

To begin, I chose a heavy cardstock for the card base. It needs to have some heft since the front of the card is pieced together instead of being a solid front. My cardstock is 110# Neenah Classic Natural White. I used the cardstock to make an A2 card by cutting one 8 1/2" x 11" page in half on the 11" side and folding that in half at the 4 1/4" mark. After that, follow the steps shown below.

STEP 1: Starting on the front flap of the card, I cut strips 5/8" wide until just a small portion remained after the fold. You will actually get six strips but you only need 5 to create the fence pickets. To make consistent points in each, I sketched a point on one of the strips and trimmed it. Then I used it as a template to cut the points on the remaining strips. Be sure to erase your sketch marks on your template so you can use it to construct the card.

STEP 1

STEP 2: Cut three more strips that are also 5/8" wide and 5 1/2" long. Add this to the sixth extra strip you had in Step 1 for a total of four straight strips. You should end up nine total strips that look like this.

STEP 2

STEP 3: In order to position the pickets correctly, use washi tape or other positioning tape. Attach two strips approximately as shown with the sticky sides facing you. For stability, I also taped down the card at the top and bottom to limit movement. I also secured the horizontal strips of washi tape to my board. I highly recommend this for success making this card.

STEP 3

STEP 4: Start placing the pickets. I recommend you place the first one at the right edge of the card. Then place third picket in the middle of the open space. Then place the first and fourth picket. Doing it in this order will help you evenly space each picket. If they're not perfect, it's not a big deal. Real fences aren't perfectly spaced either! The washi tape strips will keep the pickets in place and if you want to rearrange them, you can carefully lift them off the tape and reposition them.

STEP 4

STEP 5: Now you can place the two horizontal supports on the front of the card. In this photo I have glued the top support and show you how I placed the glue for the second support.

STEP 5

STEP 6: Open the card and carefully peel away the washi tape strips. The supports glued on the front will hold the pickets in place for this step. Place two more supports on the inside. The photo shows how I applied the glue to prepare for a support. The washi tape was removed before I placed the second support.

STEP 6

STEP 7: This is how the inside will look when done. Use scissors to trim off the excess support strips hanging beyond the last picket.

STEP 7

The card will look nice and neat on the front and the back. It's solid thanks to the cardstock support strips on the front and back. It's now ready to decorate!

 
I die cut grass strips and applied them to both the front and back of the fence. I also applied a strip inside the card on the back panel to continue the theme. This is completely optional and depends on what you want your card to be like. It worked well for my card and added even more support for the pickets.

Now for the most fun! I stamped, colored and die cut the images from the 5396 Hen House Cubbie Set. Copic colors used are included at the end of this post. Aren't these chicks and hens adorable? One thing I love about this set is that any of the five sentiments included fit on the sign. Fluffy Butt Hut is my personal favorite!

Finally, I arranged all the finished images on the front of the card. I added black dots with a pen to represent nails. As a final touch, I stamped #bestfriends from 5734 Friend Sentiment Set.

Copic Markers Used:

Hen House: B52, B45, RV23, R81, E13, E11, V04, V12

Chicks: YR09, Y17, Y15

Rooster: E13, E11, YR09, Y17

Weather Vane and Metals: V04, V12, B45

Sign: RV23, R81, E13

Window Openings: W1, W3

I really enjoyed figuring out how to make the fence shaped card. The Hen House Cubbie worked nicely with the theme but there are sooooo many other images that would work very well too. You are only limited by your imagination.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you'll stop by the store soon for all your card making needs. While you're there, make sure you check out the entire Cubbie line.

Wishing you a very crafty day!

If you'd like to join in our challenge be sure to link your project below...

✻ Please make a new card or handmade crafty creation. You can make any item you wish; this is not limited to cards!

✻ Limit two submissions per person. You will receive extra votes if you use Art Impressions stamps!

 ✻Please include your first name and last initial on your submission.

✻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

Tasha's Top 10 Cards of 2021!

 Happy Friday Ai Fans!

Tasha here with my last post of 2021 sharing my top 10 favorite Ai projects! This year has went so fast and I enjoyed looking back at all the cards I created in 2021, which project is your favorite?

#10 - A Birthday card for your favorite co-worker (4998 - Office Party)

#9 - Merry Christmas Card (5040-Sleigh Bells Set)

#8 - You Brighten My Day Card (5349-Koalas Set)

#7 - Hoppy Birthday! (5283 - Frog Set)

#6 - Tis the Season Card (5191-Feast Mode Set)

#5 - Loco for Cocoa! (Ai Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Set)

#4 - Happy Halloween Card (5038-Ghoul Friend Set)

#3 - Halloween MB Card (5446-MB Halloween)

#2 -  Holiday Train Slimline Card (Christmas Train: Ai Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Set)

And my #1 favorite card of 2021 is....

Hen House Slimline Card (5396-Hen House Cubbies)

Thank you for taking a peek at my 2021 projects and I look forward to sharing more in 2022!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!