NEW VIDEO! Easter Wreath by Kendra Krebs

Hello Ai Fans!

Welcome back, Watercolor Wednesday fans!

NEW VIDEO! Watch guest artist, Kendra Krebs, create a beautiful Easter Wreath showcasing our Basket of Blessings Set! Enjoy!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qvhRjKlZf3o

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!

NEW VIDEO! Christmas Hanging Sign by Kendra Krebs

Hello Ai Fans!

Watercolor Wednesday is upon us! You ready?!

Guest artist, Kendra Krebs is here again this week with a VERY cool idea using our WC Serif Letters Set! She created a hanging sign, perfect for a door or home decor, and featured the word Noel with a designed wreath for the letter O. Kendra added red and purple flowers from our WC Mini Flower, the pine branch from our WC Foliage Set 2 New, and the thin branch from our WC Foliage Set 4.

If you grabbed last week's Bundle Discount, this week's Christmas Hanging Sign Bundle is a great extension using two of the same foliage sets! Use the link to save 20% on the Serif Letters and Foliage Set 4 stamps until November 26, 2019, at 11:59pm PT! As a reminder, after the week is up, our video bundles will still be listed at a 10% discount!

We want to know where you would hang a sign this pretty? Leave a comment on the video over on YouTube!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xYTVXgG2KJw

NEW VIDEO! Winter Swing with Cat Watercolor

Hello Ai Fans!

Welcome back! We missed you so much we came out with another Watercolor Wednesday! 😉

We are excited about a special launch with this new video! We will now offer Bundle Discounts with every new Watercolor Wednesday! How does it work? We will offer 2-3 of the sets shown in our latest YouTube tutorial at a 20% discount for the full week after the video launch! Occasionally, we will offer add-on items at a 10% discount when you purchase the bundle!

For example, this week you can purchase the WC Swing Set, WC Mini Critters, and WC Branches Set together for $48.26 (normally $60.32 on our website!). If you buy the bundle, you can click the checkboxes on the product listing to add on the WC Foliage Set 2 or WC Foliage Set 4 for $16.51 each (normally $18.34)!

Once the week is up, our video bundles will still be listed at a 10% discount! Just another way you can view our videos and get started on this fun technique! Such as this tutorial, where Bonnie creates a square scene with a wooden swing and sleepy kitty, surrounded by a snowy, winter landscape!

We are excited for the holiday season and this video is now added to our Winter Watercolor playlist! Hop over to YouTube to watch all 23 videos and find inspiration for the most cardmaking time of the year!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/o2gXyFvuE1U

NEW VIDEO! Ai Bible Journaling Scroll Set Part 1

Hello Ai Bible Journaling Fans!

We are excited to be back with a new tutorial video from our latest Bible Journaling release! Bonnie kicks off our five new sets with the Scroll Set. One of the features we love most about this set is that with the open areas inside the design, you can see the lines in your Journaling Bible to write on!

Bonnie works today in Psalm 78, focusing on verses 1-5.

"Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might and the wonders that he has done."

We hope you enjoy today's video! Leave a comment on this video of what you would write inside the scroll!

Join in the Ai Bible Journaling Fun!
Sign up for our NEW Bible Journaling Newsletter
Subscribe to Art Impressions' YouTube
View our Bible Journaling YouTube Playlist
Follow Bonnie's Bible Journaling account on Instagram

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yZNJPCbKHz0

Hop over to YouTube and leave Bonnie a comment, then tag us in your projects on Instagram or Facebook using #AiBibleJournaling!

Happy Bible Journaling!

NEW VIDEO! Fall Tire Swing Watercolor

Hello Ai Fans!

Autumn is in full swing (see what we did there 😉)! Welcome to another week of Watercolor Wednesday and a continuation from last week featuring the WC Swing Set! Bonnie selectively inks the bench image to create a post for the windblown tire swing, included in the same set! We cannot get enough of the oranges, reds, and browns of the season, which are perfectly contrasted by a blue-sky breeze!

There are so many ideas to create with this WC Swing Set! What would you create? Leave a comment on our YouTube video to let us know!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/w019tPYE9lM

NEW VIDEO! Autumn Swing Watercolor

Hello Ai Fans!

The seasons are changing and the colorful leaves here in Oregon inspired this week's Watercolor Wednesday! Bonnie featured another set from our latest release - the WC Swing Set! We love the elements she pulled from the WC Desert Set, WC Foliage Set 4, WC Branches Set, and WC Flower Set 1 to add pops of red and yellows to this bench design!

Hop over to our YouTube channel if you have missed any of our latest videos and leave a comment on this video of any autumn or winter scenes you would like to see! We are excited to bring you new seasonal designs in the next coming weeks!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T7MlkP_Fayw

Watercolor Weekend Roundup - Rustic Fall Projects!

Happy Fall, Ai fans! We're so excited to watercolor with autumn hues, and the team is here to share some lovely rustic projects today! Let's take a look at what the team created today. Remember to follow these ladies on social media by visiting the links next to their names!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

Have you seen Art Impression's new 5198 - WC Mountain Set? I'm in love with it! It comes with two sizes of traditional mountains and two sizes of Southwestern mountains. They are so easy to use yet make a wonderful impact on any scene! This is my card for the bi-monthly Watercolor Weekend on the Art Impression's blog. I stamped the mountain in 969 and pulled the color out of the lines. I watercolored them with four different colors - 977, 757, 969 and 933, trying to get that orange color of the Utah mountains that my adventurous son Brad (with his dog Sgt) always captures in his photos. I used this photo below for inspiration.

Next, I stamped the boot in 969 from the 4871 - WC Rustic Container Set then colored the bottom with 969 and the top with NO. 17 steel blue. I used the flowers from 4868 - WC Flower Set 2 and stamped them in the steel blue and 158. I stamped the cacti in 177 from the 4763 - Southwest Set and then added 228, 155, NO. 48 leaf green and No. 52 yellow green to them. I used the fine tip of the No.72 pine green to draw some of needles back in. I stamped the rocks in both 969 and 565. I stamped the flowers with 933 from the 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set on top of the round cactus. I stamped the grasses in 977 from the 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 then added that color to the ground from the palette. I added dots with the fine tip of the sepia pen. I used 565 to add the shadows, the sky and to darken the boot heel. I cut out my scene with the largest 5061 - Square Double Stitched Die and used double sided foam tape to adhere it to the base which I cut out using the largest of the 5063 - Rectangle Double Stitched Dies. I stamped the happy birthday from the 4194 - Buzzard stamp and cut it out with the 5132 Tag Stitched Die Set.

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest

I began my wreath by tracing a 2 1/4" circle onto my Canson Watercolor paper with a pencil, to use as a guideline. I picked my colour palette of softer, faded colours of Tombow Markers. Using #098 Avocado, I coloured up the leafy branch from 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4, stamping it in first and second generation in four clusters around the circle. Using both of the vine stamps from the same set, I coloured them both up in #992 Sand and tucked them around the greenery (I love it that there are two vines bending in different directions - they make great filler stamps on a wreath!).

Now I wanted to add in the pumpkin elements before my wreath got too full, so I started with the cluster of tiny flowers from 4868 WC Flower Set 2. Using #533 Peacock Blue I stamped them 3 times in a circle in the lower left corner of my wreath, and then tucked them in three other places around the perimeter. Starting with the smaller pumpkin from 5059 - WC Harvest Set, I coloured the body in #946 Gold Ochre, and the stem in #098 Avocado. I masked it, and stamped the larger pumpkin behind it. I softened the lines with a damp #4 paintbrush, pulling out the colour - leaving the top edges white as the highlight. I picked up some #879 Brown from my palette adding shadows to the lower sections of the pumpkins, and in their crevices. I took the wheat image from 5008 - WC Flower Set 3 (I think it's supposed to be lavender, but today they are wheat stalks!) and colouring it with #991 Light Ochre - I stamped them repeatedly behind the pumpkins, and cascading below them. And finally I used one of the berry images from 4963 - WC Fall Set coloured in #879 Brown and #837 Wine Red for the berries, and tucked them in and around the wreath where I could. I only dabbed lightly with my damp brush, as I don't want the lines of the images to deteriorate with the addition of too much water. I picked up #098 from my palette, and wherever I had white space, I hand painted in a few extra leaves. The sentiment is from the 4205 - Harvest TF Set, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I die cut my panel with the 5063 Double Stitched Rectangle Die, matted it with black cardstock, and used 3D pop dots to adhere it to my kraft paper base. I added a few amber coloured tiny sparkles to finish it off. 

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

It’s that wonderful time of year again, FALL!! It is my next favorite time of the year, Winter being first LOL. I decided to make a really sweet fall scene. I put one of the little sitting boys on the tire swing.

To start I masked off around my picture using Post-It tape. This gave me a nice clean border around my picture. I inked the tire, from the NEW Swing Set, up with 569 and 969 and stamped it slanted in the middle of the paper. I wanted it to look like it was swinging in the air. Using my #4 paintbrush, I pulled the color from the lines making sure to leave some white space in the middle of the tire. 

I masked off the tire with some Post-It tape and, using my positioner, stamped the sitting boy from the Little Boys set. I stamped him off once and placed him on the tire. I pulled color out of the lines to just the shadowed areas. I didn’t pull any color into the face. I added some 47 to my palette and added it to the face, neck, arm and foot. I added 526 to my palette and added it to his overalls.

I stamped the small leaves from the Foliage Set 4 set in yellow, red and orange randomly around the top of the picture. I added some water to them to create a feeling of trees with their leaves changing into Autumn colors. I added some 569 between the trees and the boy as a sky. I added some 249 to my palette and painted in the field and mountain. I used it to also ink up the pine tree from the Trees set. I stamped these randomly to the left and right of the boy to create some depth. I added water to them. 

I inked the branch from the Desert set in 969 and stamped it along the bottom of the painting. I again used my small leaves stamp inked in 757, 925 and 025. I added water to the leaves. I added some additional color between the trees to extend the grass.

Using a small ruler and my black marker, I drew a line from the trees to the tire swing. Finally, I signed and dated the picture. 

I cut the painting down to 4.75 x 3.5 and mounted it on a piece of Gina K Designs Red Hot cardstock. I added that to a white card base.

I hope you get to do some water coloring this weekend! Be sure to tag us on Instagram with #AIWatercolor so we can see what you are working on.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks, team! We love these projects in lovely fall colors! The reds, oranges, and browns really pop in your cards!

We hope these cards have inspired your weekend creations!

Happy Stamping!

NEW VIDEO! Vintage Shoes Watercolor

Hello Ai Fans!

Bonnie is BACK with a new Watercolor Wednesday! We are excited to kick off our latest release with this video! Bonnie designed two of our WC Shoe Set images, including an antique boot and adorable baby bootie! This set is so fun to fill with your flowers and foliages and design with colors for any recipient!

Make sure to check out artimpressions.com today to view all FIVE new Watercolor sets from our summer release!

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!

View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VP9gLvGkT-E

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!