Reneé's Top 10 of 2024

2024 is quickly coming to a close and I have my Top 10 favorite projects for the year.

It's never easy to narrow the list down because all of the Art Impressions stamps and dies are so wonderful! This is what I finally settled on in no particular order. I hope you enjoyed them.

 They say it's your birthday

Bunny Puppet Treat Bags

Fall Greetings

Yellow Flowers, Bees and Earrings

Punch Bugs make me SMILE

OL' Geezer

Deer Shaker Card

So Thankful

Ballooning through the Mountains

Hydrangea Chickadee

Here's hoping 2025 brings you everything you're hoping for!

I can't wait to begin a new year with Ai and I can't wait to see what you create.

The Lake House by Niccole Kulig

Hello Ai fans!!

"The Sinple things that fill our lives bring the greatest joy."

It is Niccole again stopping by to share a card I made using the Lake House Window. I just love these window stamps.  The saying around each one of the stamps are perfect!

I stared by using the Square Easel die.  I added the Lake House Window stamp to my layered square in the middle of my card. I added the sentiment from the WC Sentiment 2 set to the bottom of my card.  I though Blessed & Grateful was fitting for this card.

I colored my Lake House Window with my Prismacolor Colored Pencils.  I added Wink of Stella to my whole image to give it a little shimmer, like a reflection off of the lake. 

This card was a challenge for me as I am no good at colored pencils.  I am trying to make myself use them more to get use to then ... so please cut a girl some slack!  - LOL -

Prismacolor Colored Pencils used:

PC927, PC940, PC943, PC946

PC908, PC909, PC989

PC1025, PC1087

Thank you so much for stopping by ... we will see you again soon!

Until next time ... Hugs & inky fingers!

Merry & Bright by Dana Warren

Hello AI fans!!

I've been playing wih the Art Impressions Christmas release!! I paired the super cute Santa from Holly Jolly with the Square Easel Die and some festive Christmas paper.

First i found some double side Christmas paper and used the Square Easel Die to cut out the pattern paper. With a little folding and glue i made the easel card. 

Next i cut the smaller window square from white card stock and stamped the Santa from Holly Jolly. Then i colored him with my Spectrum Noir markers. 

Then i cut the oval from white card stock and then stamped the Merry & Bright from the stamp set. All that was left to do was add the Santa and Sentiment to the easel card with foam tape.

Have you started your Christmas cards??? If not you better get started!! Happy Stamping!!

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Challenge 172: Be Merry PLUS, New 2015 Christmas Release!

Hello, Ai Fans! It's Thursday, so it's time for some big news! Here's a sneak peak at Karen's gorgeous card with one of our new Christmas sets!  Karen with Twinkle in a Tangle Before we dive into a Christmas wonderland, let's wrap up our previous challenge for playing with water based inks!  Top Spot is awarded to... Nathalie! Congrats, Nathalie! The gentle way you colored the With Love Window really completes your wintery card! Be sure to email annelise@artimpressions.com with your address to claim your prize pack! Honorable Mentions are... Jenny! Marie! Jenny, your shoppers look so fashionable in their watercolored garb! Cute colors! And Marie, you've created such a lovely watercolor scene with the Flower Cart! And you gotta love the little furry friend, too! Don't forget to email annelise@artimpressions.com with your address and a set of your choice! And thanks to everyone who played along with our challenge! Just in case you missed our post yesterday, we're starting up Watercolor Wednesdays! Check out our new watercolor tutorial and find out more here!  Can you believe the holidays are right around the corner? We are so excited to reveal our new Christmas 2015 stamp sets! This year, we wanted to add some short and round characters along with a bit of humor for the holidays. We hope you enjoy these sets as you spread holiday cheer in your cardmaking! Check out the video below for a peek at the new sets!    It's a new release, which means a new challenge! Karen is here to show us what's she's been up to! Take it away, Karen!  Hello Ai fans!  I'm pretty excited, because with the launch of the Ai Christmas stamps - it is officially Holiday Card Season here on the Ai blog!! Today I'm sharing what I'm calling an "Opening Easel Card" - using Ai's brand new Square Easel Die (Sku #4699), and Twinkle in Tangle (Sku #4665).  Here is a photo of it, tied shut:  I started by cutting two easel die pieces in blue cardstock with my Cuttlebug.  Then using washi tape to hold together two circle dies, I cut out a circular blue frame: I added some patterned paper to the front of one easel piece, die cut a hole through all the layers and added my frame:   Now for the part that's hard to photograph... when I glued my easel card together, I did not glue down the front easel piece that has the circle opening, so that it will open and close just like a regular card:  I glued my matted image to the inside of the card, centering it under the circle opening:  Here's a closeup of the snuggly couple:  And finally a back view, which possibly shows it the best.  You can see how I tucked in some organdy ribbon on both the front and back of the easel, so that after the recipient has opened and read my card, they can tie it back up and put it on display. Happy Stamping! Copics used: E11, E00, E000, C7, C5, C3, C1, R59, R27, R24, R22, R20, Y35, Y32, G28, G24, G21, YG05, YG03, YG01, B26, B24, B23, B21 Thanks, Karen! This opening easel card is oh-so cute! Such a cute way to show Santa and Mrs. Claus! Okay, everyone, lets see what your Christmas looks like in 2015! Join in our challenge and share a Christmas creation! 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, November 18 at 5:00 p.m. PST to enter your creations. ✻ Good luck and happy stamping!

An InLinkz Link-up

Clay Pot Water Color by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans! 

I'm sure you're all aware that Art Impressions just released some beautiful new water color sets.  I'm BRAND NEW to water coloring but feel like I've done a pretty good job learning it.

All of my images...the pot, flowers and stems were all done with Marvy Markers.

The background sky and ground were colored with Koi water colors. 

I used Clay Pot (Sku#4701) for my card.

Square Easel Die (Sku#4699) from Art Impressions

Marvy Marker Colors:

8, 15, 20,28, 45, 86

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