Java Gift Card Holder | By Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai fans!

Today I have a gift card holder to share. I love this coffee die set and I feel like this one would be used all year! So easy to customize the colors and stick someone's favorite coffee place (or tea) gift card inside the envelope for a fun little surprise. 

I've done a couple of other projects using these new Gift Card Holder dies. Mixing up the materials you use is a lot of fun. This time though I decided to use some Alcohol Markers to color the white cardstock the colors I wanted. For a bit of added interest I also used a embossing folder on the main cup shape. So fun! Using a Wink of Stella pen I added some shimmer around the coffee bean, which is always hard to see in photos.

The Envelope GCH works with all of the Gift Card Holder die sets. Thinner paper seems to be the easiest, since you aren't adding in a lot of bulk. I used a fun aqua pattern paper. 

Thank you so much for joining me today. Happy Stamping!

Embossed Pointsetta Christmas Cards | By Jessica Shier

 Hey Ai fans!

Happy Friday! We are getting close to Christmas Day and I'm always in need of some quick and easy cards to give out. I love the detail in the Poinsettia set, so I let it do all the work and heat embossed over some colorful ink blending. You can find this set from Art Impressions exclusively on the Scrapbook.com website. 

For the ink blending of the red and green cards I used the following Distresss Inks.

Red: Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick, Barn Door

Green: Forest Moss, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron

I also used Black Soot to really darken those edges. All ink blending is done on Bristol Smooth cardstock.

For the blue and Teal cards I used the following Distress inks.

Blue: Blueprint Sketch, Salty Ocean, Weathered Wood

Teal: Pine Needles, Evergreen Bough, Tumbled Glass

A fine embossing powder is ideal to really showoff all the beautiful detail of the Poinsettia set. I also used Versafine Clair Nocturne ink to stamp the sentiments and added some bling with coordinating sequin colors.

Large Snowflake die background | By Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai fans!

Happy Friday! It's Jessica here with some inspiration using the Large Snowflake Die set. This card came together super quick, most everything besides the snowflakes were extras. I don't know about you, but a lot of the time I color or die cut more images then I need to for one card. This results in a small collection of random things. Let's dive into the snowflake die set a little more first. 

I used a shimmer white cardstock to die cut all of the snowflakes. These area adhered to a Neenah Solar white 110lb cardbase, with Multi Medium Matte glue. Using tweezers makes this process a lot easier especially for those little flakes! 

I had this green cardstock banner left over and also a red ornament that is die cut using the Christmas Mini Dies. The other elements are pieces from a few cards I made previously. I usually have "leftover" images or die cuts floating around my craft space.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Happy stamping!

Fairy Winter Wonderland | By Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai fans!

Have you seen this Fairy Cubbie set? It is adorable! I thought I would create a little winter wonderland for these magical little fairies. Using kraft paper and copic markers and a few different white materials to really make my frosty vision come through. 

I stamped the fairy house and fairies with a copic friendly ink on to Neenah Desert Storm 100lb cardstock. The Copic colors I used will be listed below. The lovely thing about coloring on kraft paper with Alcohol markers is that you don't need a lot of colors since the pigment will be more muted. To add a highlight I went over areas with a Prismacolor White pencil. For more bright white areas and also the ground I used a White Gelly Roll pen. 

I like to add dimension to these cubbies. To pop up the fairy house I used black craft foam. The leaves are stamped NUMEROUS times with Versamark ink and heat embossed using white embossing powder. Gives the leaves a frosty look! I used a pattern paper (Kaisercraft Magenta paper pad) that has a similar pink to the pink Copic marker I used. I liked the gradient of pink colors from that paper but a solid cardstock would work well too.

The sentiment is from the Chubby Snowman set. I also popped up the sentiment and a few of the leaves with some black adhesive foam dots. This panel is mounted on a Bazzill Peanut Cluster card base. 

Thank you so much for joining me today. Happy stamping!

Santa is Coming to Town | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

Happy Friday! Today I have a quick and easy card to share with you using the Santa Twister Set. I love how the twister cards display too, which is perfect for the Holiday season. 

To start with and especially if you are making these in batches, begin with the splattering. I splattered the front of the card base (Bazzill) with Copic Opaque white and a separate panel (Neenah Desert Storm) for the inside. (there is a photo of the inside of this card below.) You could also use a white acrylic paint. Then, while those dry I stamp the Santa on Neenah Solar White 80lb card stock with alcohol marker safe ink. I like Gina K. Designs Amalgam ink in Jet Black.

After coloring the Santa image I used the coordinating dies to die cut both sides of the santa out then adhered those together. I also used the Oval Double Stitch die set and also the Twist Frame die set. Using the oval dies to die cut a white frame using two of the smaller ovals. I also used the smaller oval die on a piece of Kraft card stock. The Twist Frame die is used twice also. Once on the card front and again on the center of the oval kraft die cut. 

The extra panel that I splattered is cut down and adhered to the inside. I also stamped the phrase "Santa Claus is coming to town and added a rectangle for a small message to be written. 

Thank you so much for joining me today. Happy Stamping!

2 More Ways to Use the Snowman GCH | By Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai fans!

Happy Friday! This week I felt like playing with a few ideas for using the new Gift Card Holders. I enjoy when stamps and dies can be used in multiple ways. I thought making one of the Gift Card Holders an ornament would be fun. How cute would this look hanging on the tree? I also created a card using the Snowman GCH and the Circle Double Stitch die set. 

Snowman GCH Ornament

Using the Envelope GCH die and pattern paper I created the base. I chose a dark blue pattern paper. I'll be using several different textures, including the pattern paper and colored card stock. For the body of the snowman I used white craft foam. I also used a bright pink craft foam for the hat border. The sticks and scarf are such a fun accessory. I used felt for those. The cheeks, eyes, carrot, mouth and buttons are all die cut with colored card stock. To make this a ornament I used Baker's Twine and sandwiched that between two of the oval die cut shapes. This would be easy to die cut a bunch of pieces and put together a bunch in a sitting. 

Snowman GCH Card

This card was really easy to put together. Not as easy as the GCH but still easy enough to create multiples at a time.  I started with the background using several Distress Oxide inks on a piece of Bristol Smooth card stock. I masked off the bottom quarter with a piece of masking tape to keep that area white. The ink I used are listed below. I used a two different sizes of circles from the Circle Double Stitch die set. Those are cut from Neenah Solar white 110lb card stock. 

I used the same felt for the scarf and sticks, and also the same card stock from the Snowman GCH. Before adhering the circles to the background I blended a light gray ink around the edges, very lightly. I also stamped the sentiment from the Penguin Cheer set that reads "Merry Christmas to you and yours." This is stamped with a medium gray ink. I had an extra bird from this project using the Snowman Pop-up set, so I added that to one of the snowman stick arms. 

I hope you try out some fun materials and make a snowman or use one of the other GCH sets.

Thank you so much for joining me today! Happy Stamping!

Hello Snow! Pop-up | By Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai fans!

Have you joined in on the current challenge? We have some fun cards featuring a surprise theme. Yesterday we shared the new Pop-up sets. See the video I made using the Bunny set here. Today, I thought I would dive into a more winter theme card using the Snowman Pop-up.

To start with I used Canson Watercolor paper and Versfine Clair Nocturne to stamp the images. Some of them I did stamp a few times, including the snowman's hat. I haven't watercolored in awhile, so I got out my Koi Watercolor set and painted the snowman and extra images. The color combination I used is Cream, white, gray, burgundy, blue and black.

For the background I used a combination of Cobalt from the Koi watercolors and Nuvo Shimmer Powder in Storm Cloud. This piece is die cut with the Art Impressions Rectangle double stitch die. I also made a second version and trimmed it two 3x4 panels. These smaller pieces will be for the inside. 

I tore pieces of cream, gray and white cardstock. Those are also die cut with the same rectangle double stitch die. These are layered on the front and the white piece is popped up for dimension. Along with a fussy-cut snowman hat a couple of the birds candy cane and Holly images. I also had to being in some of the giant snowflakes from the new LG Snowflake die set.

The inside is the surprise! Folding the snowman along the scorelines that are embossed when you use the coordinating die. I then added more snowflakes, one layer of torn cardstock (snow) and a few more of the extras. Super fun to dress up the snowman in different ways. 

Koi Water Colors Used:

Cobalt, Ultramarine

Ivory Black, Paynes Gray, Purple

Chinese White, Yellow Ochre

Crimson Lake, Quinacridone Rose

Olive Green, Perm Green Pale

Thank you for joining me today and happy stamping!

Give Thanks Feast Mode | BY Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai fans!

November is just around the corner, which means it's time for thanks themed cards. I'm using the adorable Feast Mode set today, to make a slimline scene card. Stamping these critters on a kraft colored card stock adds to the Fall warm and cozy theme. 

This is similar to the ghost trio card I created using the Fright Night set. (Spooky Fright Night blog post) For today's card design I ended up using a much warmer tone of kraft cardstock. Either would work perfectly, I've just cut down all of my Neenah Desert Storm card stock to an A2 size (4.25x5.5 in). Which doesn't work for the long Slimline card size (8.5x3.5 in).

I stamped all the critters onto a piece of kraft colored cardstock with Copic friendly ink. Using alcohol markers on card stock other then white is a nice change. Just pick bright or bold colors. The tone of the card stock does effect the transparent alcohol ink which ends up making a lot of the colors look more closely alike. I used a scratch piece of kraft card stock to determine which colors would work best. 

A white Prismacolor Pencil really is the key to coloring on kraft card stock. I just love how it looks and the contrast it has. I made sure to use the white pencil through out all the images. Like the bunny tail, the fox face and mug, the hedgehog and squirrel's stomachs and small areas on the cute sweaters. To add more texture or highlights to my colored scene I also used the white pencil in areas for a light shading. For the more prominent highlighted lines I used a white gel pen.

Using the double end flag from the Flag Double Stich die  I die cut the shape onto my colored scnene and heat embossed the sentiment "Give Thanks" on to a bright blue card stock that is layered behind the colored scene. This is mounted to a Neenah Solar White slimline card base. 

Copic Markers Used:

W6. W1, C5

E57, E56, E35, E31

R05, YR27, Y38, Y18, Y15

G94, YG67, G14, YG03

B16, B12, BG13, BG11

R81, R85

Thank you so much for joining me today. Happy Stamping!

Quick Pumpkin Gift Card Holder

 Hello Ai fans!

These gift card holders are so fun and super easy to create. With Halloween so close Perfect for giving someone an extra delicious treat. 

There is no coloring on this pumpkin! I first die cut all of the pumpkin pieces from the set using Ranger Watercolor paper, also cutting the spider twice. For the color I used Distress Oxide inks in;

Spiced Marmalade

Peeled Paint

Dusty Concord

Black Soot

Applying the ink pads separately on to a glass media mat ( Art Impressions Watercolor Pallette works great also.) Then spraying clean water on to the ink. Just enough to soak into the paper and far enough apart that they don't blend. 

I then placed each die cut into the ink and left it alone for a little while. This is when you grab more coffee, a snack, or let the dogs outside. If you want the color darker just repeat. 

For the envelope I used a piece of pattern paper. Just a few pieces of adhesive and the envelope is glued together. Then I added all the Jack-o-Lantern pieces together and let dry. 

Thank you so much for joining me today. Happy Stamping. 

Spooky Fright Night Ghosts | By Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai fans!

I hope everyone has had a good week so far! One of my favorite holiday sets is Fright Night! I love all the images and the trio of ghosts are just too cute. This is so simply colored and most of the shading is done with a white Prismacolor Pencil! Perfect for some more kraft cardstock inspiration. 

The markers I'm using today are Parkoo. You can find them listed down below. They are a cheap alternative to Copic markers, if you don't mind the bullet tip instead of a brush. I did use a alcohol marker friendly black ink, I like Gina K. Designs Jet Black Amalgam ink. I stamped the ghosts, spooky word and bats on to Neenah Desert Storm 100lb cardstock. 

The marker colors I used will be listed below. Using two shades for each color. I went with a simple shading with a hard line, similar to what the packaging of Art Impressions products show. I also colored in the ground level with several more markers. I like how this has more of a non traditional Halloween color palette.

Once I had the marker coloring done, I started coloring over the top with a white Prismacolor Pencil. This is my most used colored pencil. To get the most out of these pencils I do use a pencil extender. 

I started coloring the white pencil in the certain of the ghosts and lightly shaded out to the edges. I kept a hard line right on the edge to give these ghosts a more rounded feel. You can still see the two shades of colors I used underneath the white pencil coloring and of course white pencil shows up so nicely on kraft colored card stock. I did the same for the spooky word and then also added a little bit of shading on the ground. 

Using some scrap pieces of paper I covered the colored areas and added some white splatters with Copic Opaque white. You could also use white acrylic paint. I did use the Copic Opaque white for the highlights on the ghosts and the eyes of the spooky word. It is hard for me to get a nice line with a gel pen over colored pencils due to the wax from the lead. Using a Rounded Rectangle die I die cut the ghost panel and added a green craft foam layer underneath using the same rounded rectangle die. These are mounted to Neenah Solar White 110lb A2 top fold card base. 

Parkoo Markers Used:

64 Indian Blue, 182 Frost Blue

46 Vivid Green, 174 Spring Dim Green

14 Vermilion, 122 Fluorescent Orange

35 Lemon Yellow, 49 Pastel Green

99 Bronze, 97 Rose Biege

GG7 Green Grey, GG3 Green Gray, 123 Fluorescent Yellow

Thank you so much for joining me today! Happy stamping. 

Fall daisies to a dear friend | By Jessica Shier

 Hello Ai Fans!

It's Jessica on the blog today. I have a watercolor floral card to share. I'm using the Daisies Exclusive set from Art Impressions sold only at Scrapbookcom. To watercolor I'll be using Tombow Markers. This lovely image is bordered by a cork paper and gold embossing powder. 

I started with stamping the large daisies on watercolor paper using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink. I love this ink for water coloring and also for stamping detailed sentiments. The colors of markers I used are listed below. I used two tones of each color of markers. First using a light wash of color, using the lightest marker then adding in more depth with the darker marker, once the first color had dried. I also went straight in with the tip of the marker to achieve a darker color in the smaller shadow areas. Once the coloring was done I also did a light wash of watercolor with the Process Blue 452 marker around the flowers. 

The flowers are such beautiful colors that I decided to use more neutral shades for the rest of the card. I trimmed down the watercolor paper a bit and added a bright green cardstock underneath. I've had this cork paper around for a long time and it normally makes an appearance around fall and winter. Though it is discontinued you can still find cork paper in places. I used this lovely pattern and adhered it to a A2 Neenah Desert Storm cardbase. 

Before attaching the flowers to the base I used some gold embossing power on the edges of the card base. Such an easy way to add some quick texture. You do this by taking your embossing ink, I like Versamark, and swiping the edge of the ink along the edge. Then pour your embossing powder over the inked areas and heat to melt as normal.  

For the sentiment I used vellum and the same gold embossing powder. The smallest Rectangle Double Stitch die perfectly die cuts out this lovely sentiment. To adhere the vellum down I used a fine tip applicator and Multi Medium Matte glue. Placing the glue in the areas directly behind the letters, so that the glue doesn't show through the vellum.

Tombow Markers used:

Pink - 743, 755

Purple - 679, 636

Orange - 933, 947

Green - 028,  098

Blue - 452

Alright that is it from me today! Thank you for joining me. Happy Stamping.