Cornucopia Card by Jil lebel

Hello Ai fans!

I love fall colors, so as soon as the new release came out I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Grateful Hearts Set. I really wanted to color the large cornucopia image.  I chose to paint it this time, but I'm sure I'll color it many different ways in the future because it might just be my favorite image from this new release.  I'm sure I'll feel that way about every image from this release.  I was also really happy to get a chance to use one of the five new die cut sets that were just released.

The large image from Grateful Hearts Set was stamped onto Canson XL watercolor paper with Coffee Archival Ink and painted with Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors using a #1 brush.  The colors are listed at the end of this post. The image was then cut out with The New Rounded Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies.  It is mounted onto copper glitter paper and mounted again onto paper from the American Crafts Cedar Lane 6x6 paper collection. 

Daniel Smith Watercolor Color's used:
Cornucopia - Burnt Umber, Raw Umber
Grapes - Quinacridone Violet
Large Pumpkin - Transparent Pyrrol Orange
Tomato/ Orange - Quinacridone Red, Raw Umber, Sap Green
Gourds - Naples Yellow, Permanent Yellow Deep
Pepper - Quinacridone Gold
Eggplant - Cobalt Violet Deep, Sap Green
Acorns - Quinacridone Gold, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber
Corn - Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, Burnt Umber, Napthamide Maroon, Hansa Yellow Medium

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Owl Flutter Birthday Card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

The new Flutters line are a fun addition to the interactive Ai stamps.  I still can't get over how the wings move on this owl card! I have slowly been building my collection of them.  I used the Owl Flutter Set 4972 for this card.  It comes with the stamps, dies and silver brads to make your card.  You have enough brads to make five cards, but I ended up using the white brads from the White Brad 50 Pack 4957. 

I started by stamping the parts of my image onto Strathmore Bristol paper with Onyx Black Versafine Ink. I used the matching files to cut out the images before I colored them. I colored them using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers my brush.  I colored the owl in layers starting with Beige #72.  I applied the color to the shadow areas and would pull the color out and let it dry.  I would move onto another area while it was drying.  Once it was dry, I came in with Mid Brown # 65 to darken the Shadow areas.  I applied Brown #65 along the feet and beak in different layers.  The hat is colored with Pink #25, Bright Yellow #52 and Light Blue #36. I assembled the Owl and the mechanism using the directions that come on the packaging. 

I used papers from the Echo Park Party Time by Dani Magstad 6x6 paper collection for this card.  I put all of the rectangular layers over top of a thin layer of silver glitter paper.  It's very hard to see the glitter in the picture because I was having a very hard time taking photo's because of the glitter paper.  I added Silver Stickles around the oval layer and the greeting strip.  The owl is added to the oval with one layer of foam tape.  The oval is added with two layers of foam tape.  Just be sure to leave a channel for the pull tap to operate freely.  

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Tea Party Pop Card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

I am a huge fan of the Pop Card line.  I especially love the newer release that has more involved scenes.  Today I'm showing you the Tea Party Pop Card 4942.  I used it with the Pop Card Template 4862. Remember that all of the Pop Cards come with all of the stamps and dies that you need to make them, except for the Pop Card Template.  You only need to buy the template one time for use with all of the Pop Cards.

My card started with a pre-cut linen card base that had an eyelet edging. I just cut a circle into the top side of it so the recipient could catch a glimpse of what was inside the card.  I added paper to the card front from the DCWV Garden Tea Party paper stack.  I also added a die cut doily that I had cut to go around the circle. I edged the entire card and all of it's layers with Tea Dye Distress ink.  All of my images are colored with Peerless watercolors.  They are concentrated watercolors on special sheets of paper.  I find it's easiest to apply them with a fine point waterbrush.  I used just a few colors on this project.  They were; japomica scarlet, olive green, bismark brown, tea rose pink and pearl gray. Once all of the images were dry, I applied Diamond Stickles to a few areas.

I assembled the inside of the Pop Card following the directions that are in the packaging.  I cut the Pop Card template out of acetate.  It makes it easier to get the template through the thick watercolor paper, and you can barely see it.  I just love how everything pop's up and comes to life when the card is opened! I hope you give these fun cards a try.  Once you see how easy they are to make, you'll want to do more and more of them.  

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Cat Crazy by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

It's no big secret that I love cats.  I have a few cats, but there are still days that I feel like this lady.  There are days when my cats all want of my attention.  No matter how many times I look at this image, I still laugh at it! Today, I used Cat Lady TF 4340.  It's part of the TryFold collection, but I kept it as a one layer card.  I like to use the TryFold images in many different ways than they were first intended.  It stretches out the life and value of your stamps.

I started by stamping all three parts of the stamp set onto Canson XL Watercolor paper with Jet Black Archival ink. I used my Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils and the fine tip Tim Holtz water brush to add color to my images.  I pulled color directly from the tip of my pencil with the tip of my water brush.  I added it to my image starting in the darker areas and spreading the colors out.  I added two layers of color.  Once everything was dry, I can in and added in shadows with my Prismacolor colored pencils.  I used Gamsol and a blending stump to spread out the pencils. I used a black glaze pen on all of the open eyes to add shine. The background of the card is patterned paper for the from American Crafts Cedar Lane 6x6 paper pack. I fussy cut out all three of the images and added them to the background with different heights of foam tape.  I added the greeting onto a string and "hung" it on a brad to make it look like a picture.

Watercolor Pencils Used:
Face - Burnt Ochre, Burnt Carmine for blush
Cats - Cool IV, Black, Burnt Ochre, Burnt Umber
Brown furniture - Walnut Black
Blue- Prussian Blue
Red - Madder

Prismacolor colors used:
Sienna Brown, 945, French Grey 70% 1074, Yellow Ochre 942

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Get off the Sidewalk by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

Most of the men in my family are golfers, so I've had plans to use the Par-Tee Golfers set 4902 since it came out.  I just haven't gotten around to it .  Well, now I have.  I made up two very similar cards with the crazy old guy zipping along in his golf cart.  I loved all of the sayings in the set, but I had to add the Get off Sidewalk G2628 saying to one of the cards.  It just fit the image so well.

I stamped the image onto Canson XL watercolor paper with Jet Black Archival ink. I colored the Image using Lumin Arte Twinkling H2O's.  They are a watercolor paint that has a mica shimmer in them.  The colors used will be listed below. I used my #4 brush and the Watercolor Palette to help me while I painted. The mica in the paint covered many of the stamped lines, so I ended up tracing over them with a black pen. I cut the entire image out of the second smallest of the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle Dies.

The greetings are stamped with a Versafine Onyx Black ink pad and die cut with two different banner die cuts. I used the Pebbles Garden Party 6x6 paper pad for the card layers.  The Enamel Dots are from My Minds Eye.

Twinkling H2O's Colors:
Face - Pale Porcelain, Sand Dollar, Rose Petal
Shirt - Mango Mambo, Orange Peel
Pants - Sea Glass, Moss Green
Bag - Nutmeg
Cart - Pale Porcelain
Background - Sea Glass, Stargazer
Everything Silver - Pewter, China Black

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Sweet Easter Watercolor by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

I have been dying to use the new Sweet Easter stamp set 5004 since I saw it. It has some of the cutest Easter animals I've seen in a while.  I kept everything very fast and simple by using Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to watercolor the images. 

I started with some simple masking.  I wanted the chick image in front of the flowers, so I stamped the chick image onto Stathmore Smooth Bristol Paper with my Jet Black Archival ink pad.  I also stamped the chick stamp onto masking paper and cut it out just inside the black line. I stuck it over the chick image and stamped the tulip image with the sleeping bunny just over top of the chick.  Once I removed the mask the bunny appeared over the top of the tulip image.

I colored my image using Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. I added the marker to my paper where I wanted the darkest color and used my Tim Holtz Fine Tip Water Brush to pull the color out to the rest of the image.  I let each part dry before adding another layer of color.  I slowly built my colors up by adding darker colors to each layer.  I added three layers to most areas. I cut out the image with the largest of the MFT Double Stitched Oval STAX. I used the Pebbles Garden Party 6x6 Paper Pad for the layers.

Colors Used:
Chick - Yellow 50, Bright Yellow 52, Orange 70
Leaves - Mid green 46, Olive Green 43
Tulips - Pale Rose 230, Wine Red 24, Bright Yellow 52
Bunny- Warm Gray 2 900
Background - Haze Blue 302

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Blessings to You Shaker card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

I wanted to use 4758 Blessings to You Mini Try Fold stamp set in a way that was different than intended.  I know you're all shocked! LOL!  I decided to make a shaker card that has two sections of different colored sequins.

I started my card with a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper and four Distress Inks. I sponged on the color with the mini ink blending tools with the round foam applicators on them.  I used Spun Sugar, Scattered Straw, Bundled Sage and Weathered Wood.  When I had applied all of the colors I wanted to my paper, I spritzed them with a Distress sprayer.I let the water sit on the paper for about 30 seconds before I dabbed it off with a paper towel.  Then I sprinkled on a mixture of water and Perfect Pearls colored Perfect Pearls and left it to dry.

Once my paper was dry, I stamped the image with the tulips from the Mini Try Fold stamp set along the bottom of the card with Jet Black Archival ink. I also stamped the other two images  onto a half piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper. I stamped one on top of the other.  Then I used a #4 brush and Marvy LePlume II Markers to color in the images.  I scribbled the marker color onto my Ai watercolor Palette and lifted the color off of my palette with my brush and water colored with it. I used Magenta 20, Suede 90, Olive Green 15, Sepia 45, and Prussian Blue 29. Once my images were colored, I used the matching die to cut out the window from the top watercolor panel.  I also cut out the words Happy Easter along the top of the piece of watercolor paper.

I cut a piece of acetate to the same size as my top watercolor panel. I used glossy accents to glue it behind the panel.  I also glued all of the negative parts of the Happy Easter words. I added a double layer of foam tape all around the back of the panel to create and area to hold the sequins.  I wanted two separate areas of color, so I put foam tape between the words and the bunny scene. When I added the foam I was sure that I didn't have any gaps where the sequins could get out. I went with a variety of colored sequins for the top section that went behind the words.  I added a very small amount of 4mm clear sequins behind the area with the bunny image.  I added the sequins in a pile over onto the flat card and attached the top of the card over it so the I had perfect placement.  Once I secured everything, my card was finished.  

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Easter Blessings Watercolor by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

I am in love with the Easter Blessings 4886K stamp set.  The image I used today has the cutest little bunny hiding in the flowers.  I used my Marvy LePlume II markers to color the image because the color is transparent so it can be layered.

I started by stamping my image with Jet Black Archival Ink onto 140 Lb. Strathmore Watercolor paper. I needed to stamp the image a few times because the paper has a very heavy texture so I used my Mini Misti. I colored my image using my Marvy LePlume II markers.  I colored the markers directly onto the flower centers and pulled the color out with my brush and water. I added a second layer of color onto most of the flowers using my Ai Watercolor Palette to add color from the markers to my images.

Colors Used:
Iris Purple 55, Violet 8, Brilliant Yellow 43,
Olive Green 15, Steel Blue 17, Brownish Grey 40

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Deer Window Box Card by Jil Lebel

Hello Ai fans!

It's almost November and you can't even tell here in Florida.  It's still unusually hot here. All of the leaves on the trees are green.  Nonetheless I had to make a fall card.  I think the Deer Window M4879 Window to the world stamp is so peaceful and serene, so  I decided to use it for my card.  I made a shadow box card.  I used different measurements, but this tutorial shows the basic way I made it. 

Start the card with one piece of craft card stock. Cut it into two pieces that are 7" x 4 1/4". Score them at 1/2" and 1 1/2" on both sides of each piece. Fold each piece as shown on the link. You'll want to die cut a window to fit the front. I used the Tim Holtz Bigz Die Window and Window Box because it gave a large viewing area.I cut it out of a piece of Cherry Sticky Back Wood.  I added a piece of White Birch Sticky Back Wood to the center section of the front piece. Then measured the window opening and cut it with a craft knife.  Attach the window and window box onto the front of the card.  Attach the sides of the card together at the outermost 1/2" of craft paper by matching up your sides.  Use a strong tape like ScorTape.  Attach your colored Deer image at this point lining it up with the window.  Use a adhesive like Ranger Multi Medium Matte so you have a few seconds of wiggle time. I added a few flowers from Hobby Lobby along one side of my card along with two pieces of paper that were punched from the Martha Stewart Branches punch.  I attached them with Beacon Fabri-Tac. When you put your card into the envelope, push the sides in so the card pops up when the receiver takes it out of the envelope.

The image is colored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers onto Strathmore Bristol paper. Use clean water and a #4 paintbrush. Just applied use the brush on your marker to apply color where your image would be darkest.  Use a damp paintbrush to pull the color out into the image.  It is important to use a damp brush.  If you use too much water, it will just bleach out your color. Once they were dry I added a drop of Diamond Stickles to the center of each flower.

Here is a view of the image outside of the frame. 

I used the following Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.

Tree Trunks - Beige 72, Deep brown

Grass and Trees - Olive Green 43, Beige 72

Deer - Beige 72

Flowers - Cornflower Blue - 37

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Great Day!

Spooktacular by Karen Day

Hello Ai fans!

I am using another one of the Ai 2017 Halloween sets today - Spooktacular Set (Sku #4941).  This is about as scary as I get for Halloween!  Not very!

 I stamped and coloured three of the mummies with my Copic markers, then pulled out my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours to make some festive backgrounds.  I mounted my image with pop dots, added one of the sentiments that comes in the set, and stitched 1/4" in from the edge with some black thread (always a little nerve wracking, one slip and it's toast!).  Here's a slightly different version:

I can't escape the fact that I'm a patterned paper fan... so with my last image I did the busier version:

 I hope you're enjoying some Halloween crafting time!  Be sure to join our current challenge on the blog "Create a Scene".  Happy stamping!
Copics used: C3, C1, YR18, YR16, YR15, YR12, Y35, Y11, G43, G40

  

Watercolor Background by Dana Warren

Hello AI fans!!

Dana, here with two cards featuring the His & Hers Gardeners! I created a watercolor color background for each card and it was really easy!! If you already create with AI's Watercolor stamps you have the supplies to make your own watercolor background!!

I started by stamping most, if not all of the images from the His & Hers Gardeners clear set on white cardstock. With my Spectrum Noir markers, I colored them and then fussy cut them all out.

 For the Guy Gardner card, I used AP1, AP3, AP5, FS2, FS6, FS9, GY1, GY2, GY5, IG1, IG2, IG5, IG6, TN2. The Girl gardener I used in addition to the above AB1, AB2, AB3, TN9, TN8.

Next, I trimmed to panels of watercolor cardstock that would fit the card bases. With my images cut out, I could move them around on the panels to plan out what I wanted to paint and where.

For both, I started with the grown and worked my way up. The Guy Gardner got a tree, a bush and a little bit of grass along with a nice blue sky for the background of the scene. When it was dry I stamped the Howdy-hoe sentiment and added my colored images with foam tape. 

For the Girl Gardner, I did a few bushes and the sky of course! I kept her background a little bit more simple because I was adding more colored images. I stamped the sentiment and the dot swirl and then added everything else with foam tape.

Last, both panels adhered to white card bases. The Girl Gardner card I did more simple (less layering/shading) and for the guy made it a little involved with the shading! Regardless of your skill level, any water coloring looks good!!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping & wateroloring!!

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AI Garden Wagon

Hello AI Fans!

My card today is one I'm teaching at Scrapbook Paradise on Monday. So if you are in town and want to come make one, just call and get signed up!  It features the new Garden Wagon Mini Set #4875, WC Flower Set 2 #4868,  WC Foliage Set 2 New #4867, and WC Foliage Set 1 #4051. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and hope to see you back again soon! Until then, stay crafty!! 

Marvy markers used: #45 Sepia, #28 English Red, #15 Olive Green, #75 Sky Blue, #58 Peacock Green

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