Under-Water Birthday By Nina

 Hello Ai fans, Nina here and I am so glad you stopped by so we can make this under water scene for a Birthday card.

For this card I used the cute set "Submarine Cubbies". I created the background from light blue 5 inch  5 inch square cardstock and ink blended Chipped Sapphire, Mermaid Lagoon and Speckled Egg Distress Inks. keeping the darkest shades on the edges and fading as I go inside with lighter shades.

I splashed some water droplets and lifted them with a clean paper towel to give light areas that look like bubbles.

I then used my white gel pen to draw bubbles and some doodles to give a visual texture to the background.

I stamped my little critters and the submarine on white Bristol Smooth paper using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and my mini misti.

I then colored all my images with Copic markers and die cut them using the dies included.

I backed the submarine and the dolphin with foam tape and glues the other critters with Nuvo Glue directly on the background. I attached the submarine and then added the phrase "Happy Birthday, Let's Celebrate".

Top 10 of 2022 by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

It's my turn to share my Top 10 cards of 2022.



Here they are, in no particular order.
To see the original posts and find links to products just click each photo.

I hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane!

I love making masculine cards and don't find them to be the challenge that a lot of people do.
I think growing up in the country and loving all things country like earth tones, wood and
animals helps with that.

This one was made for my son's birthday.  My husband and I never imposed our musical taste

on our children but I was still lucky enough to have had them both grow up to love the Beatles!

This card is a nod to Yellow Submarine and Octopus's Garden.

Love these Valentine's I made for the kids at school.

Mushrooms are one of my favorite things!  Not far behind bees.  I love to eat

them and think they're so beautiful to look at.

Anyone who has followed me through the years on the Design Team knows that several times

a year I make some fairly elaborate cards.  MANY, MANY sets and lots of time involved.

This Charlotte's Web card was one of those.  It was inspired by the Rat Freebie.  He 

reminded me of Templeton.

Koala's couldn't be cuter!

Oh these Matchbooks!  When I first saw them I'll be honest...Yikes!

So tiny and so much work.

Not true.

The dies make these so easy to assemble and now I can't get enough of them!
I've seen some of the other designers Top 10 already and it seems it's unanimous.

Matchbooks for the win!

This one was my daughter's birthday card this year.  She LOVES succulents and fun pots as 

well as her pink Crocs.  Her birthday was in June and she still has this on display in our kitchen.

Of course I had to have a pick with bees on it.

This Crown set is one of my all time favorites.

Two of the bats on this card actually "FLY!"  Click the photo to see the original post and video.
This is another one of those really elaborate cards I love to make.

I hope some of my cards have inspired you over the past year.

I know I always love your cards and get so many ideas from you as well.

Have a wonderful December and cheers to the new year!

See you in 2023!

Sea Time is Free Time! by Janet Axtman

 

Hello Ai fans! One of the things my family enjoys about living in the Carolinas is that beach access is plentiful and close. With that in mind, I made this card thinking about an upcoming trip to Folly Beach near Charleston, SC. The truck comes from the new Rides #5511 Floral Truck Set. I filled the truck with the #5509 Beach Accessories. I used Copic markers to color all the images. 

After creating the sun rays background with a stencil, I cut a smaller background with #5062 Rounded Rectangle Double Stitched Dies and a slightly bigger mat with the same set. As final touches, I added three butterflies from the Floral Truck Set and a sentiment from the #5397 Submarine Cubbies Set. I cut out the sentiment with the  #5064Circle Double Stitched Dies.

The images for this card were so much fun to color. I've included a little closer up view of them below.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. The entire Rides Line is so fun and unique. I hope you'll visit the store and check out the selection of vehicles and accessories.

Wishing you a very crafty weekend!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest  

Seas the Day by Mercy Sauer

 Hello Ai Friends! 

This is your crafty friend Mercy with a new project 

Today's card is all about the ocean.    

I love this set; there's so much we can do with it! 

 

Let's start at the end, here's my final card 

 

No specialty dies, bells or whistles, simple stamping, die cutting, ink blending and coloring. A perfect set to express your own likes and creativity... definitely a  

YOU DO YOU card  

 

Here are some things you can do enhance your card   

When inking try multi layers, slowly add dimension to your background by adding ink layers 

Make sure you allow the ink to fully dry between layers     

Water splatters add interest and dimension, plus it's fun to do 

You can gently "remove ink" from an inked surface once it's dried.   In this case I created gentle light beams to suggest sun light coming from the surface of the water 

 

Now let's talk about dimension and using foam tape, pop ups, etc.  Whichever you prefer, I prefer and use all of them.  As shown above, the dolphin, submarine, sea horse, turtle and lobster are all in different "planes" in the scene.    I accomplished this by using different thickness foam tape, and even doubling up in some cases. 

Finally using Glossy Accents to build up window panes.... I love this technique! 

 

Here's my final card once again

 

Another thing, don't fret if your die cut does not fit in your panel, cut it and position it in another area of your card.   Instantly you get two from one! 

I did add some clear dew drop embellishments, just like water droplets 

‘Til next time friends