Favorite Travel Partner Card by Tasha!

 Happy Friday Ai Fans!

Tasha here sharing a travel themed card created with the 4932-Pack Your Bags Set and 5186-Enjoy the Ride Set. I love the Ai people stamps and this traveling duo is so much fun to color!

For this project, I started by stamping the couple with black ink and colored them with Copic Markers. I used masking paper to mask off the lady before stamping the man to have the couple stand closer together.  Masking paper is a great way to get a layered look without cutting the images out. 

For the background, I drew in panels to look like large windows and stenciled fluffy blue clouds. I also stamped several airplanes to make it look like an airport scene. This couple is totally what my husband and I look like when traveling, but I do pull my own rolling luggage. 

Lastly, I added layers of red, gold glitter, and blue paper to coordinate with the airplanes. I also stamped "Life with you is wonderful" with black ink to look like it's connected to one of the planes. The greeting and images are from different sets, but work together perfectly to complete the design!

I hope you enjoyed today's project and are having a great day!

Oh What Fun! by Janet

Hi everyone! Janet here with a cheerful wintery card celebrating the winter season. You know how sometimes things speak to you? This guy told me that's his name! It's Barney. I just fits him I think. Isn't he adorable?

This stamp set used from my card is #5041 - Snow Friend Set. There two snowman images and related sentiments in this super fun set along with a birdhouse, birds and holly.

This snowman actually holds a string of lights and I thought it would be fun to try masking it so I could eliminate the light string. This way, this festive little guy works for Christmas and the winter season generally. I found it was pretty easy to do and it makes him usable all winter.

To make this card I first stamped and colored Barney. Then I covered him with a mask and colored the pond around him with Copic markers. Then I used a stencil to create the clouds in the background. This worked beautifully to allow me to create the scene all around him. Once done I peeled away the mask and then I embossed the sentiment with blue heat embossing powder. 

I cut the image down and put it on an A2 card. I created a stitched frame and put it up on foam tape. I think it gives the feel of looking through a window. The final touches were to add a light blue enamel heart in his hand, a white pompom to his hat and some small pearls and snowflake sequins around him. I hope you like Barney as much as I do!

Happy Creating!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest

Back to the Office by Janet

This fall, many of us are heading back to work sites. Art Impressions has several office themed sets and one that I get a kick out of is called Office Party. You can see from the photo of the set below that there's lots of fun images and sentiments that are perfect for the smart alecks of the office.

I combined the two main images in this set in my card. When I stamped the image with the desk, I masked off the sitting lady. Then I stamped the standing lady, fussy cut her out and placed her in front of the desk. It's great to know you can create a number of looks using techniques like masking. I also colored the standing lady's skirt to look like pants. Specifically I was going for a look of capris which still works perfectly in the early fall of the South where temps still easily reach into the 80's. I placed the sentiment flag cut with the flag double stitched die set to hide the legs and further the illusion of pants instead of a skirt. I used an oval card mat that I've had for a long time. I thought it fit this card well. Then I stamped and colored the notepad and the clipboard to use as accents. 

I created my own background and I was going for cubicle walls. I made the wall a little too high but this was the first time I tried the background so it was a learning exercise. I chose this sentiment because it fits a group of us from work that helped keep each other sane during a pretty insane time. I think it's great that Ai has sets like this one to celebrate and laugh about the work-a-day world even if it's been one weird year!

Happy Creating!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest

Watercolor Roundup 3.20.21 : Mask It Up!

Hello, Ai Fans!

Welcome to another Watercolor Roundup!

This weekend our Watercolor Design Team has some creative, inspiring creations for you!

Be sure to follow these lovely ladies on social media by clicking the link in pink next to their names!

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook

For my project this week, I decided to make a Thank You wreath card.  I love the Floral Invites set because you can use it in so many different ways.  Just change the color of the flowers and foliage and the message and the card has a whole new feel.

TIP:  When using clear stamps it is sometimes difficult to see the design so I prep my stamp by coloring it completely with my 725 and cleaning it off.  The pink stains the stamp (which is fine) and allows me to see where the details are.

 

To start, I placed the large wreath from the Floral Invites set in my MISTI.  I am using my MISTI because I want to use several different markers and it allows me to stamp several times.  First, I inked up the blooms with my pink (725), I made to sure to include the buds as well.  I stamped it onto my watercolor paper.  Next, I inked up the foliage in green (249) and stamped them onto my watercolor paper.  Lastly, I inked the berries in brown (969) and stamped those. I left my stamp in my MISTI in case I wanted to come back and add some darker color.

 

I started by adding water to the blooms.  In order to get some depth, I made sure to only slightly pull color from the inside of the blooms, cleaning my brush and adding clean water to bring the color to the edges.  I added some additional color from my palette being sure to leave a highlight.  Next, I pulled the color from the foliage, again adding some additional color from my palette.  Lastly, I added some water to the berries and some additional color. 

 

For the center, I added water around the middle and then dropped in some blue (493) around the edges and then blended it toward the middle.  Once it was dry, I stamped the Thank you from the set into the middle using some black versafine ink.  Make sure to sign and date  your work.  Thank you so much for stopping by and spending some time watercoloring with us!  Have a crafty day!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest- YouTube

Hello,

It's starting to look like Spring in Vegas and Easter cards need to be made. I'm out of practice after having my craft room occupied for over a month but I  hope you all like my card I made for the Art Impressions Watercolor Weekend. The twice a month posts can be found on the Ai website. 

If you would like to make this card, stamp any of the gate stamps but I used the 5067 Gates of Righteousness Set inked in first Tombow 969 then in 565. Pull the color out of the lines, then stamp the bunny from the 4874 WC Bunnies Set inked in 969. Pull the color out of the lines, then color in the ears and cheeks with 725. Use a little bit of 565 to add some shade on the bunny and underneath him. Fun fact, my brothers and I had solid white bunnies in a cage in our back yard when I was in the 5th grade. 

Use a 2.0mm Molotow pen to mask off where the yellow roses are and when it's dry, use the foliage from the 4051 Foliage Set 1 inked in 249 to stamp in the foliage around the gate. Dab at the leaves with a wet brush. Stamp the foliage from the 4867 Foliage Set 2 inked in 177 for the pink flowers. Stamp the flowers from the Flower Set 4052 inked in 725 and dab at them with a wet brush. Ink the grass from the 4051 Foliage Set inked in 177 and pull the color up and out. Use 565 for the shadows under the plants and grass and stones. Use some 177 on the palette to add some green to the ground. 

Use 525 on the palette to color in the sky and some reflection on the gate. Erase the Molotow and use the fine tip of the 025 pen to draw in the yellow roses and dab at them with water. The little Happy Easter sign is from the 4976 HM Easter Set and I used foam tape to give it some dimension. Darken the eyes and add whiskers to the bunny with a fine tip black pen. Use the 5063 A2 Rectangle Dies to cut out your scene and a background piece of paper. 

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest - Instagram

Hello Ai Watercolor Fans!

I'm using one of the new die-only sets from the Fall release for this week's project.  Here is 5367 - WC Birdcage Dies:

I started by diecutting the larger birdcage die from some Masking Paper, then placed it onto my Canson XL Watercolor Paper.  Be sure to stick it down firmly, as you don't want paint or water seeping under the mask.  I began stamping with my flowers - using the small daisy bunch from 4052 - Flower Set in #993 Chrome Orange, then used the circle of V shaped flowers from 4868 - WC Flower Set 2 in both#533 Peacock Blue and #565 Deep Blue, stamping multiple times in a circle to create my clusters.

To add the foliage, I used the two trailing ivy stamps in 4867 - WC Foliage Set 2 New, in #249 Hunter Green, stamping in and around my flowers.  To fill in any empty spots, I used the tiny green in the set with #126 Light Olive - which gave my scene a nice bright punch of colour.  To finish, I picked up #565 from my palette and painted in the background - carefully making sure to paint right up against all of the birdcage bars, so that when the mask was removed, the white 'negative' of the cage remained.  With my fine #1 paintbrush, I painted thin lines around my birdcage to create shadows, and the suggestion that it is a 3D object.  

I added a sentiment from the Exclusive Daisies Set available at Scrapbook.com in Versafine Onyx Black, then die cut my scene with a decorative die.

Hope you enjoyed this weekend's inspiration, and Happy Stamping!

Paw-some Vet by Bri Firth

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing my creation for Art Impressions "To Die For" challenge. For more information on this challenge check out the announcement here. This creation is a perfect thank you card idea for a paw-some veterinarian. I decided to use the mini dies in a unique way: to create masks for ink blending. This card is also featured on my personal blog, check it out here! 

I used the Cat and Dog Mini Die Sets and Gina K. Designs Masking Magic to create the animal masks. I arranged the masks on a piece of white cardstock and ink blended over them with Distress Oxide ink. I used plain water to create the water droplet look. 

I die cut the stethoscope die from the Health Mini Die Set with purple and grey cardstock. I trimmed the purple die cut to look like the rubber over top of the metal parts of the image. To finish the card I heat embossed the sentiment "You're Paw-some" in silver embossing powder. I layered the sentiment strip with purple cardstock. 

*Note: The sentiment is from the Lovable Animals stamp set. 

Check back next week for more Ai inspiration made by me!

Hoot Hoot Halloween is Here! | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

This week I have a card process video to show you. I'm working with the Autumn Owl Cubbies set and using Copic markers and some creative masking to create this fun scene!

I love how these Cubbies can be so interactive and dimensional but I wanted to create one that was pretty flat but still had a lot of detail in it. You can find all of the information on how I created this below in the card process video.

Watch here or on Youtube

As you saw in the video I started by stamping the three stacked pumpkin house on to Neenah 80lb Solar White cardstock with Gina K Amalgam ink. I used Copic markers to color with. The list of Copic Markers I used is below.

The owls were easily stamped inside of the windows with the use of some Post It Notes. I also used the Art Impressions Watercolor Fence die to create a mask with Inkadinkado Masking Paper, for the white fence. 

Copic Markers Used:

W6, W3, W1

C5, C3, C1

E74, E43, E35

R05, Y38, Y35

BG18, BG15, BG11

Y26, Y23, Y21

YG7, YG63, YG03

R81

Thank you so much for joining me today!

Happy Stamping!

Hey Pumpkin Mice Flip Card | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans! 

This week I thought I would share a Flip Card using the Pumpkin Mice set and a video! This stamp is so cute and since these little mice have witches hats, why not make them vanish with a quick masking technique!?

Watch the video here or on youtube

I used the directions on the back of the packaging to create 2 flip card bases one from Neenah 110lb Solar White card stock and the other from the same paper but 80lb. The 110lb card base I set aside for later and the 80lb I used a trimmer to cut in half. I'm going to be using Copic markers today and they will bleed through this paper. So just to hide that I'm backing my coloring. 

I stamped the mice using Gina K. Designs Amalgam Jet Black ink, then started coloring. The colors I used are listed below. Once I had the mice, pumpkins and ground colored I used several markers to create a little magic floating up from the their raised paws. Unfortunately the footage was cut off at this point but I basically sketched out a cloud shape then added a bit of color with a purple and a light yellow Copic marker. Nothing fancy and a cloud die would probably work about the same if you have one that fits in that space. 

The sentiments in this Pumpkin Flip card set have a beautiful font and I used some Brutus Monroe Gilded embossing powder on both the front and the inside sentiment to make them shine. I love the look the "Hey Pumpkin" has inside the magic cloud, especially when that gold catches the light. 

For the flip image of the mice I used some Purple tape to mask off the tops of the pumpkins right. Putting the tape right onto the stamp image. Then I inked of the stamp which is already lined up on the stamp platform. Before stamping the image I peeled off the purple tape. This stamps the pumpkins but not the mice! I used a Micron 0.05 pen to draw in the tops of the pumpkins and colored this image with the same colors as the front image. 

All that is left to do is trim down the front and back panels to layer on to the Flip card base. 

Copic Markers Used:

R05, Y38, Y35

W6, W3

V09, V06

Y02

YG67, YG63, YG01

C1, C5, Y13

Thank you so much for joining me today! 

Happy Stamping!

Happy New Year! NEW Challenge 199: Card Resolutions

Happy New Year, Ai Fans!

We're back from our winter break hiatus and ready for a new year of FUN! Dana is here to kick off our new "Card Resolution" challenge, where we are challenging you to practice a new technique for 2017! Take it away, Dana!

Hello AI fans!!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season!!! Maybe you received some new AI goodies?!?! Well, new or old goodies the new challenge is a great way to get creative!! The challenge is to try a new technique, so I went with Masking with Rubber Cement! I have never done this, but have wanted to give it a try for awhile now!!

To make the Cat Lady Try Fold card I followed the instructions that come on the back of the stamp packaging. I used water color card stock and trimmed it to 5.5 x 11 inches and then scored it at 3 5/8 inches from both sides. Next I stamped the main image on the middle section 1/2 inches from the top.

Then I flipped the card over and stamped each side image about 2 inches from the top.

I also went ahead and stamped the sentiment under the center image.

Then I used my Distress Markers to color the images. I used: Tea Dye, Forest Moss, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot, Carved Pumpkin, Vintage Photo, Wilted Violet, Rusty Hinge, Tattered Rose, Gathered Twigs, Blueprint Sketch, Ground Espresso, Festive Berries.

Next, I applied Rubber Cement to each image. To make sure the images were covered I did two coats. I did notice later that I got some off the edges and those areas remained white, so make sure you don't go outside the lines!

Once the rubber cement was dry I used scissors to trim around the two side images. 

I used some Post It note tape to mask around the center main image. 

Then I used an ink applicator and Fired Brick Distress Ink and inked the center panel. The rubber cement protects the image from the ink.

Next, I placed a stencil over the image and then used Barn Door Distress Ink. When you remove the stencil the background looks like wall paper!

I flipped over the card, added the masks and inked up the two side images with Fired Brick and then added the stencil and added ink with Barn Door.

Before removing the rubber cement I used a damp (almost dry) baby wipe to remove any red ink from the rubber cement. If you don't the ink can get smeared on your image.

With a adhesive eraser I removed the rubber cement or you can just rub your finger over it to peel away the rubber cement. Do this to each image.

To make the Try-fold card stay closed I marked were the top panel lays flat with a pencil. 

With a small craft knife I cut a line between the two marks.

I pressed the paper down with my finger, this makes it easier for the corner to slip in the slit.

Slip in the corner and now you Try Fold card with stay shut!

I hope this tutorial inspires you to try out Masking with Rubber Cement!! You can give this a try or another new to you technique and play along with us in the challenge!!!

InLinkz.com

Awesome job, Dana! Love this masking technique and the boldness you are bringing into the New Year!

Do your New Years Resolutions involve more cardmaking? Join our challenges in 2017! We offer a prize pack to the top spot winner and a free stamp set selected by the honorable mentions! For this challenge, we want to see you practice a new technique. This technique can be about cardmaking, stamping, coloring, or more! Go ahead and try something new!

Here are the challenge rules …

✻ Please make a new card or creation. You can make any crafty 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!

✻ 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 by clicking and commenting your fellow crafters.

✻ Make sure to get your link up by Wednesday, January 18th at 5:00 p.m. PST to enter your creations.

✻ Good luck and happy stamping!

An InLinkz Link-up