Showing posts with label My Fortress Set. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Fortress Set. Show all posts

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Three Unique Projects Inside!

Hello Ai Watercolor Fans, and welcome to another Watercolor Weekend post! It's a great day for stamping, don't you think? Check out these three lovely projects to inspire your weekend creations! Remember to check out the pink links by the designer's name to hop over to the personal blog, instagram, or other accounts so you can continually be inspired throughout the week!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest
Hello Friends,

I hope you like my beach scene card I made using Art Impression's stamps for the Watercolor Weekend. I wanted to make the brick wall after watching Art Impression's Creator/Owner Bonnie Krebs Bible Journaling video on YouTube, where she showed us you have to add the color first. The first thing I stamped was the lighthouse from the 5069 - My Fortress Set. I inked it up first with the brown 969, then I inked it up with 565 but I didn't ink the water part on the bottom of the stamp. I stamped it off on a piece of scrap paper before I stamped it on my watercolor paper. I stamped the little girl next from the 5118 - WC Beach Girls Set using the 969 and stamping it off first. I stamped the little puppy next to her from the 4959 - WC Dogs Set using the same 969 and stamping it off first as well. Those Tombow markers are really juicy so I tend to stamp everything off first when I use them. I used a T-ruler and permanent Copic Marker to make the two wall top lines and the bottom line. I used a pencil to make the water line and then colored the water in with 528 and the sky as well. I pulled the color out of the lines of the light house and used 757 on the palette to watercolor the red lines on the light house and the little girls swim suit. I used NO. 47 pale pink to color the little girl's skin. I used 565 to darken the windows, 969 on the roof and door, and then I took the fine tip of the Tombow twin tone pen to darken each window. I used 158 for the hat and the ground cover. I added a little 969 to the cliff side but only used 565 to shadow the rocks and light house. I colored the girl's hair and the puppy with 969 and darkened his eyes, nose and mouth with the Copic marker and then I used that marker to put dots on the rocks in the crevices. I used some 969 and 565 to watercolor the brick wall and then I masked off the little girl, puppy and the top and bottom of the wall with post-it tape runner. I used the bricks from 5127 - Build My Life Set and inked them up with 969, then stamped them off on the scrap paper twice before stamping the wall. I stamped the grasses from the 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 in the green 158. I inked the birds from the My Fortress Set in 565, and stamped them after stamping them off first on the scrap paper. I took a Sakura Gelly Roll pen and added some glitter. I signed it with my Copic pen and cut it out using the 5063 - Rectangle Double Stitched Dies. I used the largest die to cut out the background piece of paper.


Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest
I started by tracing a faint circle in pencil on my Canson XL watercolor paper to use as a guide. I began with the leafy green image from 5126 WC Foliage Set 4, and #249 Hunter Green, stamping it around the circle in both first and second generation. I wanted to have a strong contrast of greens, so I coloured the stem of a flower from 5008 WC Flower Set 3 in #126 Light Olive, and the petals in #565 Deep Blue. To fill in a few areas, I used the tiny foxglove (quite possibly my favourite Ai watercolor flower!) from 4052 Flower Set coloured in #533 Peacock Blue. I love the versatility of this stamp, I can stamp it repeatedly to be as long as I like, and because it's so tiny, it allows me to bend the blossom one way or another to suit my design. Using two of the branches from 4964 WC Branches Set coloured in #969 Chocolate, I tucked branches in and around the wreath to finish it off. I very lightly used my damp #1 paintbrush to dab the leaves and blossoms, keeping them mostly intact (I didn't want to lose the image definition). I used a TT42 - Twintone marker in 42 Navy to add a few dots around the foxgloves to finish them off. I looked at several of the birds from different sets, and found that this one from 5030 On The Sparrow Set in the Ai Bible Journaling collection fit perfectly inside the wreath - so I coloured him with #969 and used my stamp positioner to set him just inside the bottom of the wreath. I pulled out the colour with my brush, and added in touches of #533 on his wings and tail. I kept my wreath quite loose and open, making it slightly irregular - and really love the look! I can hardly wait to try a fall version. I matted the image on some periwinkle cardstock and stitched it down with my sewing machine. I tied some twine around my kraft cardstock base and attached the image with some pop dots.


Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook
Hi Watercolor Fans! Welcome back to Art Impressions watercolor weekend. For my project this week, I decided to make an interactive card. This was so much fun to make. Come along with me and I’ll tell you how I made my Reveal Wheel Wagon.

I wanted to create a watercolor card using my new reveal wheel dies. I used the Add-On window and Essential Shapes stencil. I cut a rectangle out of the watercolor paper. First, I inked up the wagon with N25 & 569, stamped it off and stamped it in the bottom right corner of the paper. I used my Round 6 brush to pull the color out of the lines making sure the sides are darker and leaving a highlight. 

I added some additional color from my palette. Next, I inked up the small grass from the original foliage set with 249. I stamped it underneath and around the wagon. I pulled the color out of the lines. I inked the leaves up and stamped them along the top of the wagon. I wanted to make sure to stamp outside where the window will be so the flowers on the wheel fit.

I cut the wheel out of watercolor paper. Using the template, I stamped more foliage and flowers in different colors on each side. (After I already cut it I realized I didn’t need the template as by doing the whole wheel there is no break in the flowers). I used the small vine and the medium vine inked in 249 and stamped it several times. I added the small dots, daisy bunch and single flower to the wheel. I chose pink, orange and purple as they go so well together and I wanted it to be cohesive. I added water to the foliage and then the flowers. I added some additional color from my palette (mostly yellow onto the orange flowers). I added some wink of stella to the flowers and the wagon for a bit of shine.

Using 565 from my palette, I added a sky, which I also used on the wheel so it would blend with the background. I signed and dated it. I used a scrap piece of black card stock with the reveal wheel die and did some partial die cutting. I embossed the celebrating you from the Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words stamp set to it with white embossing powder.

I cut the craft paper with the reveal wheel card die. There are lots of YouTube videos on how to put the card together. I cut the opening in the watercolor paper (after making sure my wheel lined up). I then cut another window in the Kraft card stock in the same spot. I added my wheel and assembled the card. I added it to a white card base. To complete it I stamped the arrow so you know which way to spin the wheel (not that it matters in this instance).

I love to find ways to stretch my dies and stamps and this worked perfectly. I think I may do some more of these.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you join us this watercolor weekend. Tag us on Instagram with #AIWatercolor and #AIStamps. 

Have a crafty day!


Thanks, team! We love how creative and diverse the projects are this week! From larger scenes like Dot's to beautiful wreaths like Karen and even interactive cards like Tricia, there is so much you can create with Art Impressions Watercolor stamps! Have a super weekend!

Happy Stamping!

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Watercolor Weekend Roundup - July is World Watercolor Month


Hello, Ai Watercolor Fans! Did you know that July is World Watercolor Month? How cool is that! We hope today's projects inspire you to break out your stamps and play to celebrate the occasion all month long. Without further ado, here is your weekend inspiration!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest
Hello Friends,

I made a "Beach Babe" with Art Impression's stamps for the Watercolor Weekend. Summer in Las Vegas always finds me wishing I was on a beach where I can cool off in the ocean. I stamped the palm tree trunks in 969 from the 5120 - WC Palm Tree Set first, then I used a pencil to sketch in the lines for the ocean and the sand. I watercolored in the sand with 992 and the ocean with 526. The water was too light so I added some 565 which darkened it nicely. I stamped the palm fronds in 177 and pulled the color out of the lines. I watercolored the sky using No. 36 manganese blue and stamped the birds in 565 from the 5069 - My Fortress Set. I stamped the beach babe in 992 from the 5118 - WC Beach Girls Set and the puppy in 992 from the 5016 - WC Mini Critter Set. I used 77 pastel peach to color in the girl's skin and 603 to color in the girl's hat and suit. I used 969 and No. 1 black to color in the puppy then darkened his eyes and nose with the fine tip of a Copic multi liner pen. I stamped the flowers in No. 6 violet from the Flower Set 4052 and touched them with a wet brush to bring out the color. I used 565 to create the shadows. I used letters from the 5072 - Block Letters Die Set to cut out the word "beach" and then used adhesive foam to give them dimension. Lastly, as always, I added my name and date to the corner.

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest
This little shed from the 5121 WC Garden Shed Set looks like a beach hut to me, so I stamped it using my Tombow marker #969 Chocolate. With #676 Royal Purple and #703 Pink Rose, I stamped the tiny dot cluster from 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set in and around the hut, to suggest tropical flowers, and added the tiny foliage stamp with #158 Dark Olive for greenery. From the 5120 - WC Palm Tree Set, I used the two trunk images with #969 to add the trees behind the hut, then with #126 Light Olive and #158, I added in the different palm fronds. Using my #4 paintbrush, I pulled out the brown of the trees and the shed, and only lightly touched all of the flowers and foliage to liven the colours. I painted the hut with #991 Light Ochre, and a bit of #969 to suggest painted wood, and added #515 Light Blue to the door and painted it to suggest the ocean in the background. I used #N65 Cool Grey 5 and the stepping stone image from the 5018 - WC Cobblestone Set in front of the hut, and then painted a wash with #126 to indicate the grass. I added #565 Deep Blue to my palette, then painted in the mountains, a soft sky, and added it around all of the images to indicate shadows. I stamped the sentiment from 5136 - WC Sentiment Set 2 using Versafine Onyx Black ink, then mounted my image onto the base using pop dots. I layered some paper flowers and a wooden button to the bottom corner of my card, along with a few loops of May Arts twine. The paper flowers and the flowers on the image were all touched with a Wink of Stella pen, so they're quite shimmery in person! And you can't really tell in the photo, but that background paper has tone-on-tone sunglasses all over it.

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook
To begin, I inked the elf with the 969, stamped it off and then stamped the him to the right of the middle of the paper. Using a mask to protect him, I inked up the mushroom with the 969 and, using my positioner, stamped it underneath the elf.

I pulled the color out of the lines of the elf and the mushroom. I added some additional 969 from my palette to add some shadows onto the mushroom. I added some 954 to my palette and added it to the arms and face of the elf. I added some 969 to his pants and 535 to his shirt, adding shading around the bottom of his shirt.

I decided that it would be fun to try to use the long grasses from the 4875-Garden Wagon Mini set to create some fireworks. I am always looking for ways to stretch my stamps and this was perfect. I inked one of the grasses up with 847-Crimson and stamped it in a sort of circle a few times without re-inking, being careful not to ink the small flowers on the ends of the stamp. I did the same with the 535-Cobalt.

To create the fireworks look, I pulled the color out as far as I could in a wispy motion. I tried to pull the color out as far as I could in all directions. I added some additional red and blue to the mushroom as a type of reflection. Next, I added some N25 to my palette and slowly built up the color in the background. To add some sparkle to my fireworks, I added some Wink of Stella.

I cut the piece down using my Stitched rectangle die. I used some Gina K Designs metallic silver paper for the base and Blue Denim cardstock for the frame. To see how to create the gate fold, Jennifer McGuire does it perfectly...check out her blog here.

We LOVE to hear what you think about our bimonthly projects! Share a comment below, and we hope you can whip up a little watercolor time this weekend! Also, did you see that Bonnie (@bonniekrebs.biblejournaling) is hosting a Watercolor Challenge on Instagram that we hope you'll join! Simply use #aiwatercolorchallenge on your Instagram post so Bonnie and Ai Fans can see your work!

Happy Stamping!

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

NEW VIDEO! Oceanside Doorway Watercolor

Hello Ai Fans!

We are back for a NEW Watercolor Wednesday! This week, Bonnie creates a doorway in a stone wall, with a path leading down to the oceanfront. We love the hanging vines and colorful bushes that adorn this wall. Bonnie also added the birds from our My Fortress Set in the blue sky!

We hope you enjoy this week's special video!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YVy5-YJGYpo




Sunday, April 28, 2019

My Fortress by ReneƩ Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

Today I'm sharing one of the Bible Journaling sets from Art Impressions.
This one is called 5069 – My Fortress Set.


I wanted to create a dimensional look to the card so I used a clear front.
For even more dimension some of the elements on the front are popped up on foam tape.


I apologize for the photos. I had trouble with the acetate and even photographing the inside because I had to hold the acetate up to take the pictures.


Here's the full scene on the inside.




Saturday, March 16, 2019

Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Bikes and Beaches!

Hello, Ai Watercolor Fans! It is time for another Watercolor Weekend, a special blog post featuring projects from our Watercolor Guest Design Team. Today we welcome Karen Day as our new design team member! You may remember Karen's beautiful cards from our weekly design team, so please welcome her back in the comments. Inspiration today includes plenty of beach-inspired scenes, as well as that cute bicycle we all love so much. Let's take a look!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest
 Hello Watercolor Friends,

You may think it's a little early for beach scene cards but my three grandsons, Conor, Caide and Charlie, are in Hawaii right now probably in a similar scene. Lucky boys! I made this card for the Art Impressions Watercolor Weekend using the brand new 5119 - WC Beach Boys Set. There's also a WC Beach Girls set which I have to get! The first thing I did was stamp the boy in the middle (Caide) using 40 brownish grey. Next I stamped the beach ball and then masked it off and stamped the standing boy (Conor) also in the 40 brownish grey. I stamped the third boy (Charlie) again in the 40 brownish grey. I used 77 pastel peach on the palette to watercolor each boy. I used 6 brown to color in the hair of the boy in the middle. I used 969 brown for the other two boys' hair. Coloring their trunks was fun. First I added the stripes and flowers using my favorite Copic Multi Liner 0.03 pen. I colored the trunks and beach ball using the 5 yellow, 565 blue, 725 pink, and 34 pale green. I used the 969 brown to color in the shovel handle and 40 brownish grey for the actual shovel. I used 990 to watercolor in the sand and 565 to color in the water and 36 manganese blue for the sky. I added 565 blue to the palette to watercolor in the shadows under the ball and kids. I used the 40 brownish grey fine tip to add the dots to the sand. I stamped 3 of the birds using the 40 brownish grey from the 5069 - My Fortress Set. I used a Signo White Pigment Ink pen to add white caps into the ocean, the high light on the ball and dotted the centers of the flowers on the swim trunks. I used my Copic pen to sign and date it. I cut it out and framed it using the 5062 Double Stitched Rounded Rectangle Dies and a rounded corner punch for the card itself.

You can find more inspiration by following me on my Instagram account here.
Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest
I started creating my image cluster by stamping the puppy from the WC Mini Critters Set, the sitting little girl from WC Beach Girls Set, the beach ball from WC Beach Boys Set - masking each as I went along - and finally stamping the umbrella from WC Beach Girls Set. I coloured each of the stamps with my 992 Sand Tombow marker, except for the girl, where I used my LP38 Oyster Grey Marvy marker. I wanted a paler shade for her skin tone, as she's sitting partially in bright sunlight. I also used the fine tip of my LP38 marker to draw in the blanket. With a damp WC Brush4 paintbrush, I softened all of the lines, and then began filling in the colour by scribbling my markers onto my palette: Tombow 991 Straw for the hat/ball; Tombow 885 Warm Red for the umbrella, and added more water to make it more of a pink shade for her swimsuit & the ball. I used my LP86 African Violet Marvy marker to create the shadow under the umbrella, and in and around all of the images on the blanket. Her skin tone is made with several layers of Tombow 850 Flesh, and then I used the same colour to sketch in the suggestion of a sandy beach. I picked up the LP86 with my brush and painted in the water, and after watering it down a little more, used it to paint in the suggestion of a sky as well. *Design tip! You'll notice that I placed everything on the left side of my painting, leaving the upper right corner mostly white. The white space provides a sense of balance for the cluster of images. I could've added a sentiment up there, but felt like it would've been too busy. To assemble my card, I popped up the image and the stripey pink frame that I created with adhesive dots with my periwinkle cardstock peeking out from behind. Happy painting!  
Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook
Someone shared the photo on Facebook and I love it so I thought I would try to recreate it using my Art Impressions watercolor stamps. I was very happy with how it turned out.

Step 1 - The Planter: I stamped the planter from the WC Window set inked in 969-Chocolate. I left off the bottom of the planter so I could stamp the small grasses below it to ground it. I added some additional color (969&569) from my palette and added some additional lines to make it look like wood slats. I also added some additional details with the fine tip of the marker.

Step 2 - The Bike: To protect the planter, I masked it off and stamped the bike inked in Chocolate. I pulled the color out of the lines and added some additional color from my palette.

Step 3 - The Foliage & Flowers: I inked the small vines from the Foliage Set 4 set with 249-Hunter Green and stamped it into the planter as well as both bike planters. I added water to the foliage.

I used the small flower from the Foliage Set 2 inked with 725-Rhodamine Red and added them to the planter. I used the same color to ink the single flower from the Mini Flowers set and stamped it into the back planter. I used 636-Imperial Purple to ink the small dots in the Mini Flowers set to stamp into the front and back planters.

I inked the small grasses with the Dark Jade and stamped below the planter. I added water to all the blooms and grasses. I added a small amount of 526-True Blue to the sky. Sign and Date! 

Step 4 - The Card: I cut the square out with a stitched square die. I cut mat from Gina K Black Onyx card stock about 1/8 bigger than the square. I added some white craft foam to the back of the watercolor piece. I had a piece of watercolor background that I had from another project made from watercolor markers which I used to cut a stitched banner from the new stitched banner dies. I cut a little bigger one from Black Onyx card stock. To make the weathered wood background, I scored a white piece of card stock at 1" intervals. I added some Dark Chocolate ink from Gina K Designs direct to the paper in long swipes. Finally, I white heat embossed the Hello from the new WC Sentiments 2 set.

I assembled the card and added it to a white card base. And that's it!


Thank you, team! These projects are just so lovely! Like what you see? Be sure to leave a comment to let us know! Also, don't forget to follow the pink links by the designer's name to visit and follow them on social media, you're sure to find more project ideas with them, too!

Happy Stamping!

Saturday, October 27, 2018

BIBLE JOURNALING VIDEO: My Fortress Set Part 2

Hello Ai Fans!

Welcome to the fourth video from Bonnie for our Ai Bible Journaling line! Today, we have part 2 of our My Fortress Set page spread. This week, Bonnie creates the word "REFUGE" surrounded by vines, with a seagull resting on top.

Our friend and Bible Journaling artist Jann Gray created a video last week making a beautiful autumn scene, with changing trees and pumpkins. She reminds us to set aside time to give thanks to the Lord, as she works in Leviticus. Check out her video here! You can still preorder the first devotional for the Ai Bible Journaling line for the Living Water set here!

Reminder, there will be videos from Bonnie on the second and fourth Saturdays, and videos from Jann on the first and third Saturdays! All videos will be linked in our Bible Journaling playlist on YouTube!

Make sure to follow along for all the fun!
Subscribe to Jann's YouTube
Follow Jann on Instagram
Subscribe to Art Impressions' YouTube
Follow Bonnie's Bible Journaling account on Instagram!

Hop over to YouTube and leave Bonnie a comment, then tag us in your projects on Instagram or Facebook using #AiBibleJournaling! We will see Jann's video next week on November 2, and Bonnie will be back on November 9!

Happy Bible Journaling!



View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uOD_p3XK4YE




Saturday, October 13, 2018

BIBLE JOURNALING VIDEO: My Fortress Set Part 1

Hello Ai Fans!

Welcome to the third video from Bonnie for our Ai Bible Journaling line! Today, we have part 1 of our My Fortress Set page spread. This week, Bonnie creates a lighthouse along a coastal cliff with pine trees and seagulls.

Our wonderful friend Jann Gray created a video last week making a Thankful wreath. Check out her video here! You can still preorder the first devotional for the Ai Bible Journaling line for the Living Water set here!

Reminder, there will be videos from Bonnie on the second and fourth Saturdays, and videos from Jann on the first and third Saturdays! All videos will be linked in our Bible Journaling playlist on YouTube!

Make sure to follow along for all the fun!
Subscribe to Jann's YouTube
Follow Jann on Instagram
Subscribe to Art Impressions' YouTube
Follow Bonnie's Bible Journaling account on Instagram!

Hop over to YouTube and leave Bonnie a comment, then tag us in your projects on Instagram or Facebook using #AiBibleJournaling! We will see you for part two in two weeks!




View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Mccm-ozU0FA