Hope your day is magical by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

I hope you're having a great start to your week. I have a card to show you today that fits right in with the Magical Creatures challenge that is going on right now. I used the new #5915 Woodland Fairies Set for those adorable fairies. There are so many adorable fairies in this set! I also used #5788 Whimsical Mushroom Set, #5346 Birdhouse Cubbies, and #5125 WC Elves Set for the big mushroom. I stamped them onto Copic friendly paper and then colored them with the markers which are listed below. 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today and until next time - stay crafty!

Copics used:

E000, 00, 07, 09, 11, 17, 21, 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 71, 74, 97, and 99

Y00 and 02

YG61, 63, 67, 91, 93, and 95

B000, 00, 01, and 02

G00 and 12

R01, 11, 12, 22, 24, and 27

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!

3 times the mushroom love! by Reneé Matarese

Hello Ai fans!

I have 3 different cards to share with you today.

All three used the 5125 – WC Elves Set.



I also used the stone path and mushrooms from the Exclusive EKK0921 Fairy Garden Teacup Exclusive.

This was a limited edition and is no longer available. There are many of these exclusives throughout the year and the best way to acquire them is to follow Art Impressions on Facebook, Instagram, the blog and to sign up for the newsletter emails.

I used the 5063 – Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies along with the 5065 – Oval Double Stitched Dies to frame my mushrooms. 

Although this is a watercolor set that doesn't mean that you can't use other mediums to color it.  I've done it with Copics, watercolor pens and watercolor brush pens.  

My last card was a birthday wish for a member of
The Art Impressions Way and used the 5132 – Tag Stitched Dies.



I've always loved mushrooms and this set makes me so happy!
I hope you love it too.

Copics used:

W2, W3, W5, E0000, E000, E34,
E40, E42, E53, E71, E81, E7

Ai Watercolor - St. Patrick's Day Wreath

Hello Ai Fans!

Welcome back, Watercolor Wednesday fans!

Watch guest artist, Kendra Krebs, create the CUTEST St. Patrick's Day themed wreath using both watercolor and non watercolor stamps! We love watching Kendra because she always shares the best tips and tricks. Enjoy!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8ougDrfUtV0

Watercolor Weekend Round-up - Spring is in the air

Hello, Ai Fans! Happy Watercolor Weekend!

Our fantastic design team is at it again with these cards inspired by the current season--Valentine's Day and the transition into spring. Their delicate creations will make you yearn for spring to come, and send a little love your way as well.

Be sure to follow these lovely ladies on social media by clicking the link in pink next to their names!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

Hello,

It's time to make some Valentine's so I made this one for the Watercolor Weekend on the Art Impression's twice-monthly blog post. I started with the sign and the walkway from the 5131 - Stone Path Set because I thought of putting "Lover's Layne" on the sign for the one I made for my husband whose middle name is Layne but when it was done, it was still missing something so then I decided to use the cute elves from the 5125 - WC Elves Set. I made this card by inking only part of the path in the 969 than in 565, leaving off a few stones from each end. I pulled the color out of the lines and then I stamped the sign inked in 969. I added some brown from the palette then when it was dry, I used my black Copic fine pen for the letters. Next, I stamped the elves inked in 969 using my stamp positioner. I used 158 on the palette to watercolor the green around the rocks and under the elves. I then watercolored the elves in 850, 847, 565, 177, 977 and 969. I stamped the grass from the Foliage Set  - 4051 in 177 and then I stamped the dot flowers in 847 from the 5009 - Mini Flower Set. I dabbed at the flowers with a wet brush. I stamped the blue flower inked in 177 and 528 from that same set. I watercolored the sky with that same blue 528. The sentiment is from the In the Air set - 4753 and I cut it out with the tag die from the 5132 - Tag Stitched Dies Set. I used a Sakura Glitter Gelly Roll pen to add glitter to the flowers. I cut out my scene and sparkly paper with the 5062 - Rounded Rectangle A2 Die Set.

Thank you for checking out my blog!  You can find more of my cards on my Instagram account here. 

Supplies used listed below:

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest

Today I'm using the 5194 - WC Shoe Set, along with 5123 - WC Decorative Jar Set.  I coloured my shoe with my Tombow Dual Brush Marker #565 Deep Blue, and went over it with #N57 Warm Grey 5.  I stamped it on my Canson XL Watercolor paper, and then pulled out the colour with with a damp #4 paintbrush.  I concentrated the colour in the areas where the shadows are strongest - under the arch, the heel and under the rolled top edge. 

I've used two of the flower images from 4761 - Watering Can, starting off by colouring just the bloom of the hydrangea-like image with #533 Peacock Blue, and stamping it multiple times.  After cleaning, I stamped it several more times coloured with #991 Light Ochre.  Using the multi-bloom image, I coloured the flowers with #772 Blush, and the stem in #312 Holly Green.  With the tiny foliage stamp from 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set, I stamped it repeatedly in #312, filling in spaces, and allowing the greenery to spill out the sides.  After dabbing the flowers with my damp brush, I went in directly with the fine point of my #312 marker, darkening some areas, drawing in leaves on the tall flowers, and adding dots around the bouquet.  I did the same with the other markers, adding shading to all of the blooms.  

 After masking off the shoe & flowers, I used my #4774 stamp positioner to stamp the teapot slightly higher, so that it would appear to be tucked in behind the shoe, colouring it in #565 and #N57 again.  I pulled out the colour with my damp brush, concentrating the colour close to the shoe where it would be in shadow, and on the undersides of the teapot, keeping in mind that it is quite curved, so I wanted to leave some white area.  After scribbling some #565 onto my palette, I picked it up with a wet brush and painted in the suggestion of a background, and a few sideways strokes to indicate the surface they're sitting on.  I also added the blue to the shaded areas of the shoe and teapot to deepen the shadows.  I added just a touch of the blush colour to the background and teapot to look like reflections.  The Decorative Jar set includes 3 small images that you can use to embellish the containers, so I stamped a swirly one onto the teapot using #533.  To finish things off, I used the 5062 Rounded Rectangle A2 Double Stitched dies to cut out my scene, then matted it with a periwinkle blue cardstock and used 3D Pop dots to adhere it to my background.  I tied some pink organdy ribbon in a bow under the image and added a few tiny pearls.

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook

Welcome back to the watercolor weekend.  I created this Winter Spring Shoe for this weekend because we have had the weirdest weather up here in New England.  Why not create a bouquet in an old shoe sitting in the snow? 

Project Details

I inked up one of the shoes from the WC Shoe stamp set with my brown.  I then inked several spots up with my black, parts that I wanted to keep really dark.  I stamped it in the middle of my Canson watercolor paper.  Using a smaller paintbrush, I added a small amount of water to the darkest areas pulling some into the other areas of the shoe.  From my watercolor palette, I added some additional brown to the shoe's darker areas and softened them into the highlighted area.

I created a mask for the top of the shoe to protect it from the stamping of the flowers and foliage.  I started with my foliage.  I inked up the small vines from the Foliage set 4 with green and stamped it several times around the top of the shoe and sparingly around the top of the arrangement leaving room for the flowers.  I added water to soften the leaves.

I used red to ink up the small flower from the Mini Flower set.  I stamped it several times around the shoe.  Next, I inked up the long bloom from Flower set 1 with purple.  I stamped it several times to create height at the top of the arrangement.  Finally, I inked the small dots from the Mini Flower set with blue and stamped it in between the leaves and blooms.  I added water to all the blooms to soften them.

To ground my shoe I decided to make it sit on a bed of snow.  I used a blue-purple to create the mounds of snow under the show.  It is a perfect color for the shadows I needed.  For a finishing touch, I added blue to my palette and using lots of water created a sky behind my flowers.  And last but not least I signed and dated my work.

This was such a quick relaxing project to make.  I am so happy you stopped by for some watercolor inspiration.  Be sure to stop by my blog to see how I created the rest of the card!  Check out my awesome team members to see all the inspiration we strive to bring you!

Happy Crafting!

Thank you, ladies, for your continued inspiration! We absolutely love seeing everyone's personal style show through on each card!  

Happy Stamping!

Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Combining sets!

Hello, Ai Fans! Happy Watercolor Weekend!

We are so excited to share this week's Watercolor cards! We love what the gals have done combining stamp sets to come up with beautiful designs. We would love to see what combinations you are coming up with! 

Be sure to follow these lovely ladies on social media by clicking the link in pink next to their names!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

Hello,

I made this card made for the Art Impression's Watercolor Weekend. I just love this raccoon from the 4208 - Furries TF set and doesn't he look like he's startled or forgotten a birthday? I stamped the raccoon and then I stamped a mask for him on post-it tape, cut it out and covered him up. I then used my Misti to stamp the bench in 969 from the 5066 - Light to my Path set in the perfect spot. I pulled the color out of the lines then got to watercoloring the raccoon with 969, N25, and 565. I colored the bench with 379.  I used 993 for the light and even colored around the outside of the light with it. Next, I stamped the foliage in 228 from the 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 - both the vines and the grass. I pulled the color out of the lines then I added the flower in 177 and 743 from the 4868 - WC Flower Set 2. I used 177 on the palette to watercolor between the stones. I used 565 to watercolor the sky, the shadows under the bench and under the raccoon. I used a fine tip black marker to add some details back into the raccoon. I cut out my scene and background piece of paper using the 5062 - Rounded Rectangle Double Stitched Dies.

Thank you for checking out my blog!  You can find more of my cards on my Instagram account here. 

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest

I started by die cutting my Canson XL Watercolour Paper with one of the 5062 - Rounded Rectangle Double Stitched Dies, and then I selected my colour palette of Tombow Dual Brush markers.  I began by scribbling #991 Light Ochre onto my palette, and picked it up with a very wet #6 paintbrush, creating a background wash.  I dropped in touches of #947 Burnt Sienna to add a little warmth.  I took all three of the pine tree stamps from 5010 - WC Tree Set 1, and coloured them in varying shades of #098 Avocado, #177 Dark Jade and #249 Hunter Green, making some 2-toned.  I stamped them to look like a forested hillside, doing second and third generation stamping to create some trees in the background.  Using a damp #1 paintbrush, I went over the tree boughs to blend the colours, and then pulled out the colour to pool below the trees, adding more colour where necessary to have the colours drip & blend together.  I picked up a watery brush full of #493 Reflex Blue and dropped a few bits of colour around the scene where needed.  I purposefully kept a lighter area in the center of my scene, and after my background was dry, I stamped the quote from 5127 - Build My Life Set using Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  I spattered a little black paint around, and then using a black fine point marker, I drew in the birds in the upper left corner.  On my creamy cardstock base, I blended some Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink, then mounted a piece of kraft cardstock cut 1/8" larger than my scene.  I added 3D adhesive squares to my panel and adhered it to the card base. 

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook

Welcome back watercolor fans to another Art Impressions watercolor weekend!  This week I decided to create this cute little Mushroom Fairy by combining my Butterfly stamp set with the Elves stamp set.  I love when I can stretch my stamps.  What can you make by combining your stamps?

Project Details

I started off by inking up the sleeping elf from the Elves stamp set in 969.  I stamped it off and then stamped it on the right side of the watercolor paper.  Next, I inked up the closed butterfly from the Butterfly stamp set and stamped it onto my stamp positioner.  I rubbed off the body of the butterfly. I lined it up on top of the sleeping elf and stamped it to make the elf into a fairy.  I pulled the color out of the lines.

From my watercolor palette, I added color to the elf and to the wings using Pink, Blue, and Yellow.  I made sure a hit of the top of the elf showed through the wings.   Next, I inked up the mushroom from the Elves set with 969.  I, again, used my stamp positioner to place the mushroom next to the fairy.

I added the window and door from the Hobbit Door set using my positioner.  I pulled the color out of the lines and added some additional 606 to the mushroom.  I added some additional 969 to darken areas on the mushroom.  I added some grasses (from the original foliage set and foliage set 3) inked up with 177.  I pulled the color up and out of the lines.  Lastly, I added some 565 to my palette and painted a sky behind the mushroom.

I signed and dated my project.

Card Details

I cut my Mushroom Fairy out with a rectangle stitched die.  I glued it to a Gina K Designs Edible Eggplant card stock mat.  I glued that to a Neenah Solar White card panel.

Thank you so much for spending some time with me today.  I hope you will look at your new light.  Try something different, you will be glad you did! 

Thank you, ladies, for your continued inspiration! We absolutely love seeing everyone's personal style show through on each card!  

Happy Stamping!

Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Sparkle & Shine Holiday Cards!

Hello, Ai Fans! We've been looking forward to Watercolor Weekend all week! Today the team is here with some awesome holiday inspiration! Let's take a look, and don't forget to follow these ladies on their social media platforms in pink next to their name for even more inspiration throughout the week!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

Hello Watercolor Friends,

Don't you love Christmas trees? I hope you like my Christmas tree card for the Art Impressions bi-monthly Watercolor Weekend. The first thing I stamped was the bunny in brown 969 from the 4874 - WC Bunny Set and then I stamped it on post-it tape to make a mask. I stamped the barrel from the 4871 - WC Rustic Container Set after inking it in blue 565 and then brown 969. I watercolored the bands with N25 on the palette and the wood parts in 947. I watercolored the inside of the ears of the bunny in 772 and then I took the fine tip of the brown Tombow TwinTone to the eyes, nose and other areas that needed to be darker. I stamped the tree trunk from the 4960 - WC Fir Trees Set in 969 and the branches in two greens, 177 and 249. I dabbed all over the tree with a wet brush and then stamped more branches and repeated my process to really fill in the tree. No Charlie Brown trees for me, I like them fat and full. I stamped a branch from the 4964 - WC Branches Set with the 969 and then added leaves in 177 from the 4867 - WC Foliage Set 2. I dabbed at the leaves with a wet brush and then I took the fine tip of the red 847 to make the berries. I watercolored with 565 for the snow on the ground and the sky. I dabbed circles of glossy accents all over the tree and then I sprinkled red glitter on them. After I used a hot gun to dry the glossy accents, I cut out the scene with the largest die from the 5065 - Oval Double Stitched Die Set. I cut out the background piece of white glitter paper with the largest die from the 5062 Rounded Rectangle Die and then put it all together on an A2 card base.

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest

There was a lot of pre-planning on scrap paper for this one! I wanted to use all four elves from the 5125-WC Elves Set, so I played around with positioning based on their poses and the angle of how their heads were tilted, until I got something that I could work with. I also wanted them to be in and around the presents, so had to figure out the shape of the parcels, while still leaving room for the branch to hang down. I positioned all four elves on the same block to ensure they were placed correctly, and coloured them first in Tombow #565 Deep Blue, and then #969 Chocolate - stamped them off on scrap paper and then onto my Ranger Watercolor Paper. With a pencil and ruler, I drew in the presents, and lightly drew a line where I wanted the branch to be. 

The elves are painted with #837 Wine Red, #177 Dark Jade and #969 for their shoes. A touch of #850 Flesh for their skin tone, and #026 Yellow Gold and #969 Chocolate for their hair. The presents are painted with #026, #565, #969 and #N65 Cool Grey. I layered the colour to get the darker shades on some sides of the boxes, and went in with the fine points of the markers to draw the crisp edges of the boxes in. I dove into my Christmas wrap to dig out a bow, and loosely sketched it in on the large present, painting it in with #565 Deep Blue. With the pine bough from 4867 - WC Foliage Set 2 New, and my #249 Hunter Green marker, I repeatedly stamped it to create the tree branch. After dabbing it lightly with my damp #1 paintbrush, I went back in with the fine point to draw in a few needles, and darken a few areas. I picked up #565 from my palette, and painted a faint blue wash in the background, and also used it to add shadows in and around the elves & presents. 

Since this paper has a fair bit of texture, some of the definition of the elves had been lost in the stamping, so I used my TT41 Chocolate TwinTone Marker to redraw the outline of the elves. The image is die cut with one of the 5063 - Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies. I wanted a softer edge to my scene, so I used blending brushes with two shades of Distress Oxide Inks (Evergreen Bough & Blueprint Sketch) to shade the outside of my rectangle giving it a bit of a soft focused look. I matted it with some dark blue cardstock and adhere it with pop dots onto my plaid card base, then wrapped it with an organdy bow. A few sparkles liven it up a little!

Tricia O'Bin - Blog - Instagram - YouTube - Pinterest - Facebook

Hey watercolor fans! Welcome to another Watercolor Weekend. With Thanksgiving coming up soon I thought I would do a simple Blessed & Grateful Harp. I love the elegance of the harp. I just love the shine that the Wink of Stella adds. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and feel as blessed as I do.

Project details

I started out by inking the harp with Yellow. Then, using a light hand, I i
nked it with the Brown sporadically around the stamp. I wanted to create a mixture of color without losing the Yellow. The stamp is pretty delicate, so I decided to use my #1 brush to pull the color out of the lines. I also used it to pull the color slightly out of the strings, making sure to hold my brush vertical to keep the lines thin. I added some additional color from my palette.

Next, I inked the small vine from the Foliage Set 4 with the Green. I wanted it to be more of a Hunter Green so I used 249 but any green will work. I added water to the leaves. I knew that I was going to use red and I didn't want them to mix and make brown. I inked the small dots from the Mini Flower Set with Red. I added water to soften the blooms.

I added some Brown mixed with Blue to the bottom of the harp to ground it. To create some additional depth and interest, I added some blue to the background. To make the harp look like gold, I added some Wink of Stella to it. Lastly, I signed and dated my painting. 

That's it! Amazing right. You can create some quick and easy paintings that come out amazing.

To create the card I cut it out with a rectangle stitched die. I added it to a mat created from Gina K Designs Wild Dandelion cardstock and one created with Dark Chocolate cardstock. I added both of these to a Neenah Solar White card base.

I am so happy you stopped by and I hope you have been inspired by all the awesome projects. Tag us on Instagram so we can check out your fantastic projects.

Have a blessed & crafty day!

Thanks, team! What amazing holiday projects! We love the touches of sparkle added to your projects to make them pop and display more holiday cheer! Did you enjoy these projects? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by this Saturday, and have an awesome Watercolor Weekend!

Happy Stamping!