Watercolor Round-Up Spring Feelings

Hello, Ai Fans! Happy Watercolor Weekend!

We this winter season finds you happy and healthy. It has been a pretty busy season, and we are now getting into that time of year where we can slow down and take a breather. Our ladies have made some super cute cards this week that have us dreaming of all the spring flowers!

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,

The weather has been wonderful in Las Vegas so I made this Spring-like card for the Art Impression's Watercolor Weekend. I actually used Ranger Archival Ink in Coffee to stamp the boots from the 5194 - WC Shoe Set and the umbrella from the 5118 - WC Beach Girls Set. I knew I was going to put glossy accents on them and I didn't want the lines to blur. The glossy accents really make the boots and umbrella look like they are made of vinyl or rubber. Next, I watercolored them in 993 and 977. To add the shadows, I used 565. I masked off the boots, then stamped in the flowers from 4868 in 177 and No. 6 violet. Then I stamped the flower from the Flower Set 4052 in 177 and 755. The foliage is from 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 inked in 177. Then, I dabbed at the flowers and foliage with a wet brush. I used 565 to paint the ground shadows and the sky. I used the 5063 - Double Stitched Rectangle A2 dies to cut out my scene and the background pieces. I put it all together and then added the glossy accents. Set it aside, in a safe place for a few hours, so it can dry.  I accidentally dropped mine and ruined my first one.

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

I began using the largest hanging swing image from the 5195 - WC Swing Set, colouring it first in my Tombow Dual Brush Marker #565 Deep Blue, stamping it off on scrap paper, and then colouring it again with #879 Brown.  I stamped it onto my Canson XL Watercolour paper.  *Instead of masking, when I coloured the swing, I left an open area in the corner where I intended my bunny to sit.  I've used the bunny from 5016 - WC Mini Critters Set, coloured him up in #N45, and used my stamp positioner to place him where I wanted him.  With my damp #4 brush, I softened the lines of the swing, pulling out the colour to fill in the shaded areas on the wood frames, and between the cushions. 

 To create my floral vine, I started with one of the smaller twig images from 4964 - WC Branches Set, and colouring it with #879, I stamped it numerous times, in different directions, creating the flow of the vine.  Using the trailing foliage stamps from 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 coloured in #177 Dark Jade, I stamped the greenery along the same path, winding it around the swing frame in first & second generation.  Before stamping the flowers, I softened the images with my damp brush.  Using the Daisy Bunch from Flower Set - 4052, I coloured a few of the blooms in #993 Chrome Orange, and created the yellow floral sprays around the base of the swing, stamping them in a cluster.  I filled in any open areas with the tiny dot flowers from 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set coloured in #533 Peacock Blue, and then I added clusters of them along the twisting vine - then touched all the flowers with a damp brush.  I used the fine point end of my #993 marker to draw in the stripes on the seat cushions.  The bunny got a touch of #850 Blush in his ear, and I used a fine tip black marker to define & darken his eyes & nose.

On my palette, I scribbled #992 Sand and picked it up with a wet brush to add colour to the wood frames, keeping it streaky to suggest a wood grain pattern.  I did the same with #565 Deep Blue and used this to add shadows where needed to the swing, bunny, cushions and under the swing.  Using the smaller mountain stamp in 5198 - WC Mountain Set, I selectively coloured it in #533, omitting the largest peak, and used my stamp positioner to place it in the background.  Then using my brush and picking up colour from the palette, I used #565 to paint in the mountains and sky, and #177 to add a grassy hillside.  Since some of my twigs were 2nd generation, they were a little too light, so I went in directly with my fine Twintone Chocolate marker to darken them up.  I die cut my scene with a stitched square die and mounted it on dark brown cardstock.  The sentiment is from 5136 - WC Sentiment Set 2, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink, and die cut with a small stitched tag from 5132 - Tag Stitched Dies, and it got a small yellow Baker's Twine bow.  I did some zigzag stitching with my sewing machine on my background papers and mounted it all onto a 5 1/2" square card.  

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

Welcome to watercolor weekend AI Fans!  This weekend felt like spring so I thought I would do a quick little spring vase to bring a little color to my life.  This project is so quick and easy and, like most of the projects I do, it is really versatile.

Project Details:

First, I inked the vase from the Decorative Jar set in 565.  I stamped it off so that it would be really light.  I added water to the vase and using my palette added some additional 565 to the left side and bottom of the vase to make it really dark.  I added some 569 to the bottom of the vase to create a shadow and to anchor the vase.

Next, I inked the top of the vine, from the original foliage set, with 177 and stamped it along the top of the vase.  I re-inked it and stamped it several times above the vase.  I added water to the leaves to soften them.  I did this first so that when I added water to the blooms they wouldn’t blend together (and make brown). 

For the flowers, I used the dots from the mini flower set inked in 725 and stamped it several times in a circle inside the vase and around the foliage.  I added water to all the blooms to soften them.

From my palette, I added some 055 to the right and left of the bottom of the vase to create a background that gives the vase depth.  I signed and dated my project.

Card Details:

I cut my watercolor piece out with my oval stitched die.  I also cut a mat out of Wild Dandelion with the next side up of the nested oval stitched dies.   I cut it from the middle of a 4x5.25 piece of Wild Dandelion card stock that I attached to a Neenah card base with Connect Glue.  I then attached a matching piece of patterned paper cut to 3.75x5.  I attached the watercolor piece to the mat with Connect Glue and added some foam tape to the back of the mat and attached it to the card.

I placed the piece into my MISTI and stamped the Hello Sunshine sentiment from the WC Sentiments set using black Amalgam Ink.

And that’s it…easy peasy.  I love the versatility of all of the Art Impressions watercolor line.  I hope you will give this project a try.  We hope we inspired you to create something special this weekend. 

Happy Crafting!

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

Happy Stamping!

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! 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 Watercolor Sets NOW Available! PLUS, Challenge 265 Watercolor Stamping!

Watercolor enthusiasts rejoice! We have FIVE new Watercolor sets available today at artimpressions.com! Bonnie's newest favorite is our WC Shoe Set, featuring footwear from baby to antique boots, which you can fill with your flowers and foliage. As we draw closer to the holiday season, Bonnie created a WC Winter Kids Set, with the littles dressed in their snow gear and one even giving a hug to a snowman. Use your critters or kids sets with our new WC Swing Set for nostalgic outdoor scenes. For our southwest friends, we included a WC Desert Set featuring cacti, an adobe house, tall grasses, rocks, and twigs. You can also use the WC Mountain Set plateaus with our Desert Set, or add a snowy mountain in the background of your watercolors! The possibilities are endless! Watch the video below, as Bonnie introduces the summer release and all her favorite details. You can add all five sets to your collection at artimpressions.com!

Let's take a look at what the designers have created today! Remember, you can visit the designer's blog or social media by clicking the pink links by their name - and give them a follow while you're there for more inspiration in your feeds!

Dot Freel - Instagram - Blog - Pinterest

 
Hello Friends,

Have you seen Art Impression's brand new stamps 5194 - WC Shoe Set? There are 6 different shoes! I actually had these little white leather shoes for all three of my sons, long ago, when they were babies. Some people even had them bronzed and mounted on a plaque. I stamped the shoes in two colors, first the 969 then the 565. I stamped them off on scratch paper first and then pulled the color out of the lines. I added the foliage from the 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 in 177 and 249. I stamped the longest ones in 105 lt. teal for the girl card and in 993 for the boy card. I stamped the heart flowers from the 4868 - WC Flower Set 2 in 725 for the girl card and in 526 for the boy card. I used 565 to paint the shadows under and on the shoes. I stamped the shoe again in random orientations all over the background using Memento grey ink. I stamped the long stem flower all over both cards as well. I used the 5072 - Block Letters Die Set to cut out the words "girl" and "boy" and ran the letters through a Xyron Create-a-Sticker. I used the 5063 - Rectangle Double Stitched Dies to cut out the background pieces and the watercolored pieces to complete my cards.

Karen Day - Blog - Facebook - Pinterest

I had the idea to combine these two sets on my projects, so decided to use the tire swing from 5195 WC Swing Set, the mountains from 5198 WC Mountain Set, and created a scene around them. I first sketched out my idea on scrap paper to determine exactly where I wanted things to be - nothing worse than being half way through a scene like this, and stamping your mountains too high! It also helped me determine that my tree swing would be up on a hill overlooking a lake and the mountains beyond. I started by diecutting my Canson XL watercolour paper with the 3 3/4" x 5" Rectangle Double Stitched Die, and I sketched in my tree with a pencil. Using #N45 Cool Grey 10, I coloured and stamped the tire, and then masked it. With my stamp positioner, I placed the little girl from 5053 WC Little Girls Set, coloured in #992 Sand. With my #1 paintbrush, I added #850 Flesh to her skin, and #899 Redwood to her hair. With the fine point of the #992 marker, I added short sleeves to her t-shirt. #565 Deep Blue was painted as her jeans, and after adding more water to it, I used it to add shadows. I added several layers of the N45 to the tire to build up the colour, creating it darker on the underside of it. Next I stamped the mountains, after colouring them with 2nd generation #565, and a layer of #533 Peacock Blue over top. I used my damp #4 paintbrush to soften the lines and pull out the colour to add shading to the mountains. I painted in the hills in front of them, and the lake - pulling the colour from my palette, and used a light wash for the sky. I used my Twintone marker in #41 Chocolate to outline my tree, and added a few texture lines to the trunk. I painted shades of #969 Chocolate over the entire tree, keeping it darker on the undersides of the branches, and added #565 as shadows. With the large leafy image from Foliage Set - 4051 coloured in #158 Dark Olive, I added greenery on either side of the swing, and softened it by dabbing with a damp brush. I also used the Jumbo Grass stamp with #158 stamping it multiple times, then using the colour from them to paint a suggestion of a grassy bank. I picked up #992 from my palette and painted in the shore line around the lake. And finally, to add leaves to the trees, I used the larger leafy image from 4867 - WC Foliage Set 2 New. Oh - and the last step was to use a fine point grey marker to draw in the chain of the tire swing. I matted my image with a light kraft cardstock, and used pop dots to mount it on some textured dark grey cardstock.



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

First I inked up the entire cactus from the NEW Desert Set with 126. I then added some 249 to just the areas I wanted to be a little darker. I stamped it towards the bottom right hand side. Next, I masked it off, re-inked it with the same colors and stamped it to the left of the first one but down a little. I pulled the color out of the lines. 

I inked up the southwest house with 969 and stamped it to the left of the cacti close to the middle of the paper. I masked it off and stamped the Large mountain from the NEW Mountain Set inked with 969. I also used the same smaller mountain inked in 969 and stamped it a little up and to the right. I wanted it to appear to be further back. I pulled the color out of the lines, making sure to leave white highlights. I pulled some additional color underneath the mountains to give them some depth.

I added some 565 to my palette and added it between the mountains for a small river flowing between the mountains. I added 969 to my palette and added some additional ground around the river and darkened beneath the mountains. I added some 969 and 847 to the small grass and stamped it on either side of the house. I pulled the color up and out of the lines. I added water to the house making sure to make the left really dark. I pulled color out of the lines around the house. I continued to add 969 from my palette to create more ground.

I added some 969 to the small rocks and placed them to the left in the white space. I pulled the color out of the lines making sure to leave a highlight. I added some pink to the cactus and added water. I replaced the mask on the cactus, inked up the other cactus in the set with 177 and using my positioner stamped it to the right of the cactus. I pulled the color out of the lines and added some additional 126. I added the small cactus near the rocks and pulled the color from the lines. Using my fine tip, I added some dark shadows beneath the house and softened them with water. I continued to add 969 and 847 to the ground.

Finally I used some 565 watered down to create clouds in the sky. Lastly, I signed it.

Thanks, team! Your projects are so inspiring and fun to see in your unique styles!

For our new challenge, we want to see you try watercoloring stamping! You can watercolor the art impressions way or another watercolor stamping technique, we can't wait to see!

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 the deadline to enter your creations.

✻ Good luck and happy stamping!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Before we go, let's recognize the winners of last week's Gotta Gingham challenge!

Top Spot goes to...

Reeta!

Congrats, Reeta! We love your Perfect Duet singing on this easel card with pretty pink and red gingham paper! Such a sweet anniversary card! Email annelise@artimpressions.com with your address to claim your prize pack!

Honorable Mentions go to...

Mary Ann!

Helen F!

 Congrast, you two! Mary Ann, we love how you created a nostalgic card with your class WC Truck image! Thanks for joining us in class at Scrapbook Expo! And Helen, we love your blue-toned gingham with this snowy scene with our retired Whoots set! Too cute. Email annelise@artimpressions.com with your address and a stamp set of your choice!

We hope to see your entires and more in our new challenge! Have an awesome weekend!

Happy Stamping!