Merry Christmas! Blog Closed for the Holidays

Merry Christmas, Ai Fans!

As you finish decorating and wrapping presents, we're wrapping up the blog for a two week break for the holidays! But first, we have a Diane and Sharon double feature with last-minute inspiration and merry wishes!

Hello Ai friends and Merry Christmas!

I have one last Christmas card to share with you today.  This one uses the Ai Mouse Spinner (4674) and Mouse Spinner Dies (4693).  What a sweet image!

The mouse and ornament image is on a string in the card front opening so it spins!  The gray striped paper is adhered to the inside back of the card.

Here's the back side of the image...

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Hello AI Fans!!

Sharon here! Today I have a couple of cards to show you featuring the brand new AI People! They are all so much FUN!!! I believe a card made with any of them would bring a huge smile to the recipient!!  First I'd like to show you a couple things I did using the Skinny Yet Set (sku# 4672).  I used a darker tone for her skin and also wanted to give her curly hair.  So I wanted to show you one way I give the illusion of a character with curly hair.  For this particular image, I used three different Copic markers E15, E39, and E59. I start with the darkest and just dot around the hair randomly.

I then take the E39 marker and do the same thing, filling up more of the hair area.

I then take E15 and finish filling in the hair completely.

A very simple and easy way to give the illusion of curly hair!  Next thing I want to show you is how I used the "out of the box" technique to cut her out.  The image was too large to be able to cut her out with the Spellbinders circle die.  So I decided to have her arm hanging "outside of the box".  To do that, simple lay your die over the top of the image the way you want to cut it out. Then I take a pencil and draw on both the outside of the die and the inside right up to the area I want to have hanging out of the cut. 

Then you want to cut straight into the paper. For instance with this image, I cut directly to her fingertips and then fussy cut around her hand and arm until I could slip the die back into place where I wanted it, only slipping the die UNDER her arm that you've partially fussy cut.

Then simply put it through your die cut machine, erase our pencil marks, and voila!!

The finished card

Copic markers used:

skin: E11, E13, E21, R02

hair: E15, E39, E59

Yoga Ball: W0, W1, W2, W3, W4, W5

Leotard, shoes, and headband:  BG72, BG75, Blender

Papers used: Fancy Pants Park Bench

Thanks Diane, thanks Sharon! Be sure to check back in with us on January 7th after our holiday hiatus! All of us from Ai wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 



Mouse Spinner...on a Wobble! by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Today I'm sharing a card with a little twist.

I used one of Art Impressions' Spinner stamps and dies but only stamped the front.  I then adhered it to one of their super cool wobbles. (Action Wobble 12 Pack (Sku#4266))

The stamp is called Mouse Spinner (Sku#4674) and you can also get a coordinating die which I used.  Look at how perfect it cuts around it...especially around the round bulb part.  No matter how hard I try I could never fussy cut something this neatly. (not to mention the time saved!)  Mouse Spinner Dies (Sku#4693)

He's meant to spin around as a front and back stamp but I couldn't resist putting him on a wobble this time!

Copics used:

W1, W3, W5, R81, R0000, YG09, YG13

Challenge 170: Let's Go for a Spin! Week 2

Hello Ai Fans!

Karen Day with Pumpkin Spinner (4676 stamp, 4695 dies)

Now we're in full swing of October and continuing our challenge!

Last week we had a fabulous blog hop--if you missed it, be sure to check it out here! It's all about our NEW Ai Spinners! We've added SEVEN new stamps & coordinating dies for the Holidays!

To give you a peek at our NEW Ai Spinners, you can view our our Latest & Greatest video from our friends at Scrapbook Expo.

Lets unwind by seeing what the design team has created! Click the designer's name for how-tos and tricks, and be sure to leave some comment love on their blog!

Cheri Burry with Angel Spinner (4673 stamp, 4692 dies)

  Dana Warren with Mouse Spinner (4674 stamp, 4693 dies)

Diane Zechman with Dog Spinner (4675 stamps, 4694 dies)

Karen Day with Pumpkin Spinner (4676 stamp, 4695 dies)

Kerry Kung with Angel Spinner (4673 stamp, 4692 dies)

Kerry Kung with Robe Spinner (4677 stamp, 4696 dies)

Renee Matarese with Santa Spinner (4678 stamp, 4697 dies)

Sharon Caudle with Witch Spinner (4679 stamp, 4698 die)

This is the last week of the challenge and we'd love to see what kind of spinning craft you can make! Any of our spinner stamps would be perfect, but you could also use decorative punches or die cuts! Take us for a spin!

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, October 21st at 5:00 p.m. PST to enter your creations.
✻ Good luck and happy stamping!

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