Hamster Wheel Cubbies Waterfall Card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

Some interactive cards look like they're complicated to make but they can be rather simple if you just know how they're assembled. I made this waterfall card with a long strip of paper and a few folds.  Of course I used the cute hamsters from the Hamster Wheel Cubbies and a greeting from the Christmas Wreath Set.  Maybe you'll try this on one of your cards.

The images were stamped onto Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth paper with Gina K Designs Black Amalgam Ink and colored with Copic markers.  The colors used are listed at the end of this post.

I created the waterfall feature with one strip of paper.  It measured 2" by 7 1/2".  I also had a thin strip of paper to wrap around the entire piece as a band to hold it to my card.  I then scored the card at 2", 2 1/2", 3" and 3 1/2".  I made sure that all of the score lines bent back and forth well and then I folded the paper behind itself at the last score line. I then attached the belly band to the top flap and wrapped it around both pieces leaving it.

I started by attaching the last scene to the bottom piece over the belly band.  I then added the next scene to the 1/2" spine with double sided adhesive.  I added the next two scenes to the other two spines until all four scenes were attached in the correct order. 

I cut a piece of decorative paper to 5" x 1 3/4" and cut the end of it with the banner die.  I attached it to the bottom piece of the waterfall feature so it could be pulled out. I then attached the entire waterfall feature to the card with the belly band.  Don't add adhesive to anything else or everything will stick together.  I learned how to make this card on you tube.  You may find it easier to look there for full directions on how to make it.

Copic Colors Used:
Main Hamster - W1, E30, E31, R00
Second Hamster - W1, W3
Floor - W00, W1
Wall - R00, R01
Tree- YG05, YG17, YG67, G29
Present Red- R05, YG17, R37
Present Green - YG61, YG63, YG67
Sky Panel Three- B0000, B00, V000, 0
Ground Panel Three and Four - B0000, B00
Moon - C1, C3, C5, 0
Sky Panel Four - B99
Shadows - C5, C7

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Escape to your Favorite Place | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

Today I'm using the Dock Circlet stamp and die set. These come with two dies to cut out the dock and boats so you can create a fun Tryfold card easily. This time though I'm stacking the top two layers to create a dimensional window card.

Below I have a photo of all the die cutting and stamping I did. Using the third largest Rounded Rectangle Double Stitch die to die cut a piece of Neenah Solar White 80lb card stock and some blue craft foam. Then I stamped the first dock image along with die cutting it. Using that piece to make a line with a black marker on where to die cut the dock die from the craft foam. 

The second die and image is of the boats in the water. For this layer I used both boat pieces on white card stock. Then die cut that same piece with the second largest Rectangle Double Stitch die. I also used that second die to die cut the front of an A2 top fold card base, this creates my final window to the inside of the card. Using a pencil I traced the top edge of the die cut onto the inside and stamped the final image with the circular sentiment. Not shown in the photo is also the sentiment "Thinking of you" from the Succulent set, I thought it would go nicely with the inside sentiment "Serenity is found when you escape to your favorite place."

Before gluing my layers together I colored my stamped images with Prismacolor Pencils. These images also look great with Copic coloring or watercolors too! I also inked the edges on the boat and dock die cuts. Using makeup blending brushes again, I blended Distress Oxide inks on to the rounded rectangle piece and adhered that to the blue craft foam. I did ink blending for the second layer too, but used Pumice Stone Distress ink first then Iced Spruce Oxide ink over the top. 

Prismacolor Pencils Used:

Mountains and shading

PC1076 90% French Gray 

PC1074 70% French Gray

PC1072 50% French Gray

PC1068 10% French Gray

PC947 Dark Umber

PC1082 Chocolate

PC941 Light Umber

PC1032 Pumpkin Orange

PC918 Orange

PC1034 Goldenrod

PC922 Poppy Red

PC1006 Parrot Green

PC909 Grass Green

PC912 Apply Green

PC989 Chartreuse

PC1025 Perwinkle

PC1079 Blue Violet Lake

PC1023 Cloud Blue

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

NO Talkie *before* COFFEE! by Crystal

Hello Ai fans!

Who has to start their day with a coffee? I do every morning it is the first thing I do is pour a cup of coffee. 

Art Impressions has so many fun coffee stamp sets. This week I played with the Hot Java Mama set. 

I started by stamping this fun lady onto smooth card stock with Memento black ink and colored her in with alcohol markers. 

I die cut her out using a Rounded Rectangle double stitched die. I stamped the sentiment "NO TALKIE  *before* COFFEE!" (which is so me and I love it!) next to her in a brown ink. Underneath the sentiment in a different shade of brown ink. 

I matted the colored image onto Kraft card stock then matted that onto some striped pattern paper. I adhered the whole panel to a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card base. I love this card so much that lady is too much fun and that sentiment makes me giggle every time. 

Spectrum Noir Markers: 

GT1,GT2, GT3, CT3, FS6, FS7, FS8, EB1, EB2, EB3, PP3, TN1, TN2, TN4, LG1, LG3, LG5, CC1, CC2

Happy Stamping!

Dog House Cubbies Slider Card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

I'm using the Dog House Cubbies stamp set for this weeks blog post.  When I saw the dogs in this set, I saw them as having some kind of movement.  I decided that I wanted to make them into a slider card.  This one also spins a bit, but mostly slides.  I'm sure that you can come up with some really fun ways to use the new cubbie sets!

The images were stamped onto Copic X Press It paper with Gina K Designs Black Amalgam Ink and colored with Copic markers.  The colors used are listed at the end of this post. They were then cut with their coordinating dies. The Doodlebug Pupply Love 6" x 6" Designer paper was cut with the Rounded Rectangle A2 Double Stitched dies and attached to an A2 white card base.  A white piece of card stock was stenciled using Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide Ink and the Altenew Square Weave Pattern stencil.  I was sure to apply uneven pressure with my Picket Fence Life Changing brush for an interesting look.

The slider portion was very simple to make.  I just cut a slit out of the bottom of the stenciled background with the long, straight die from the Lawn Fawn Slide On over Dies.  I punched three 3/4" circles and glued them together.  They formed the weight to go behind my slider piece.  I then attached foam dots to the back of my stenciled paper.  I was sure to leave an opening under and above the slider area.  I placed it onto my card and then put the cut out piece of the stenciled paper flat onto my card.  I then placed the circles into the slider opening and attached a 1/4" foam dot to the center of the circles and then attaches my dog to the center of the foam dot.  At this point I tried out the slider to make sure it worked and applied some anti-static powder to it.  Once I was sure that the slider was working, I attach the cubbie and dogs to the card with glue and foam tape.

Copic Colors Used:

Gold Dogs - YR21, YR24, E31, E33, R81
Dark Brown Dogs - E31, E33, E35, E37, E39
Gray Dog - C1, C3, C5, R81
Bulldog - C1, E30, E31, C33
Hound Dog - W1, W3, W5
Wood- E31, E33, E35
Green - YG11, YG03, G24
Blue - B000, B02
Yellow - Y13, Y26, Y28

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Hope Your Day is PAND-tastic! By Crystal

Hi Ai fans! 

I loved playing with the Panda-tastic set so much last week I'm back with another card using the same set. 

I think this set of three panda bears are so cute on their own that they make making a card really fast. 

I stamped the three pandas in the center of a Double stitched rectangle then I masked them off with a full stick post-it note. I used a polka dot stencil and Tim Holtz Distress ink for the background. I blended some of the colors to get more then four different color polka dots on my background.

I used a polka dot embossing folder to add a little bit of dimension to the cardstock that I matted my panda bears on. I adhered my whole panel to a 5 1/2" x 4 1/2" card base. 

Spectrum Noir Markers:

Blender, CC1, IG9, IG6, IG4 , PP1, DR3

Happy Stamping! 

Hedgehog Birthday Card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

One of my favorite things about Art Impressions is the cute images that give me a good chuckle.  The Hedgehogs set in the new funny farm release had me rolling.  The image I used today is a bit laid back, but I wanted to pair it with the WC Southwest set.  I often forget that I can use my watercolor series stamps with an ink pad.  Do you do the same thing?

The main image with the hedgehog leaning on the cactus was stamped onto the watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat set.  I then stamped the image onto a piece of mask paper and cut it out.  When cutting a mask, cut right along the middle of the stamped line.  The mask was then placed right over the image to protect it from the rest of the stamping. I then stamped the pot and the rock from the southwest set with the same ink and heat set the image again.  I stamped the pot onto a piece of mask paper and cut it out and placed it over the pot.  The cactus image from the watercolor set was the last image to be stamped and heat set.  All of the masks were removed.  The greeting was stamped into the top corner. One thing to remember when you are masking a scene is that you want to first stamp the images that you want in the front and work your way backwards.

Now for the fun part!  All of the coloring was done in the same way.  I worked in one section at a time and colored the Tombow markers directly onto the paper where I wanted the color to be the darkest.  I would then add very little water to my brush and add the water to the area that I wanted my color to be the lightest and move my brush into the color covering the entire image.  I did that for all of the same color at one time and let it dry.  Once it was dry it would usually need a second layer of color applied the same way.  I was sure to leave highlighted areas to add life to the images. The colors I used are listed at the end of this post.

Tombow Marker Colors Used:

Hedgehog - 969 Chocolate, 947 Burnt Sienna, 725 Rhodamine Red
Cactus - 177 Dark Jade, 098 Avocado
Pots - 837 Wine Red, 526 True Blue
Rocks - 969 Chocolate, 526 True Blue
Sky - 493 Reflex Blue

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Forever Young! by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

This newest Girlfriends release is a fun one!  I used the yoga set for the release on Thursday and I was just waiting to show you the Cowgirl Set today.  They look like they are having so much fun!  I really enjoyed coloring them in and I'm sure you will too. 

The images were stamped onto Copic X Press It paper with Gina K Designs Black Amalgam Ink and colored with Copic markers.  The colors used are listed at the end of this post. The greeting was stamped with VersaFine Claire Nocturne ink. The image was cut with the Rounded Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies.  It was then mounted onto a piece of paper from the Carta Bella Flora No. 2 6" x 6" paper collection. The main paper panel is a piece of Tim Holtz Distress Wood grain paper.  It started out white and layers of Distress Oxide inks were added in the colors tea dye, vintage photo, ground espresso and black soot.  

Some gems were added with Range Multi medium matte as well as a few iridescent Hero Arts stars.

Copic Markers Used:

Faces - E000, E00, E11, RV00

Hair - E40, E41, E42, E43, C0, C1, C3

Browns - E30, E31, E33, E35, E37

Blues - B91, B93, B95, B97

Pinks - R20, R21, R22, R24

Gray - W00, W1, W3

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Happy Easter- By Crystal

Hi Ai fans! 

This week I worked on a Easter cards using the Basket of Blessings set. The bunnies from the Basket of Blessings set are adorable. 

This card was super simple even with the masking. I stamped those adorable bunnies toward the bottom of a double-stitched rounded rectangle. I then stamped the bunnies onto a full-stick post-it and fussy cut it out for a mask. I then stamped the large Easter egg with flowers behind the bunnies. 

I colored everything in with alcohol markers and matted it with flower pattern cardstock then again with some blue cardstock.

I stamped the sentiment "Happy Easter" on the top right hand corner. I matted everything onto a 5 1/5"X 4 1/4" card base. 

Spectrum Noir Markers:

PL2, PL3, PL4, GB1, GB3, GB5, EB1, EB2, EB3, IB1, IB2, IB3, JG1, JG2, JG3 IG2, OR1,TN1, TN2, TN4

Happy Stamping! 

Have a good Easter!

Wishing You a Blessed Easter- By Crystal

Hi Ai fans! 

This week I worked on a couple Easter cards using the Basket of Blessings set. 

For my First card I started by stamping the egg on the right towards the bottom. I then made a mask for the egg so I could stamp the bunny behind the egg. 

I colored everything in then die cut it out using a Rounded Rectangle double stitched die

I stamped the sentiment "Wishing You a Blessed Easter" on the right top corner. 

I used the largest Rectangle double stitched die to cut pattern paper to matte the colored image.

The second card I wanted to have the egg as the focus of the card. I stamped the egg colored it in and fussy cut it out.

I matted the egg onto some pattern paper and framed it with pattern paper with the center cut out using a Oval double stitched die. I matted the whole panel with more pattern paper.

I stamped the sentiment below the egg.

Spectrum Noir Markers:

LY1, LY2, LY3, DG1, DG2, DG3, OR1, OR2, OR3, EB1, EB2, EB3, IB1, IB2, IB3, CG1, CG2, CG3, LV1, LV2, LV3, GB1, GB3, GB5

Happy Stamping!