Hi Friend! by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

I love mushrooms and instantly thought of the Mushroom Cubbies set for the Art Impressions "When One Door Closes" challenge.

I grabbed mushrooms and other elements from a few different Ai sets to complete both the front and inside of my card.

I know most people think of brown when they think of mushrooms but they come in MANY different colors and I love trying out different combinations. In my woods we have orange, white, black, red, yellow, and purple. Probably more if I looked hard enough. We've picked and eaten the Chanterelles and Black Trumpet mushrooms.

 I wanted to make this card extra special so I decorated
the inside of the card pretty elaborately too.

I'm kind of wishing now that I had a little fairy tucked in there somewhere too.
Next time, I guess...

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

Gnome Home Matchbook Set by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fans!

There's no place like gnome, right?  Who else besides me is in love with Gnomes and Mushrooms?! If you are like me, you're going to be bonkers over the new 5908 Gnome Home Matchbook Set!! This is soooo cute! Bonnie is such a genius!! He's snoozing in his chair and the little mushroom table is so adorable!! I love every single detail, and believe me, there are sooooo many details!!  I stamped the images onto Copic friendly paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored them with Copic markers listed below. 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit. Until next time - stay crafty!

Copics used:

C0, 1, 3, and 6

G21 and 24

R11 and 12

Y04, 08, 11, 17, 35, and 38

YR61 and 65

W1

T2

B21 and 23

R35

E00, 11, 30, 33, 35, 37, 41, 42, 43, 81, and 84

Whimsical Watercolors by Karen

 Happy Watercolor Weekend, everyone!

Valentine season is almost upon us... and if you don't own any Valentine stamps, no problem!  Use what you have.  You can do a lot with the right sentiment, or just adding a heart to your card (or in my case, a heart shaped balloon!)

The 5785 - Gnomes Set has been so popular, so I decided to use the largest gnome - stamping him in Tombow #969/565 onto my Canson XL Watercolor Paper.  I didn't intend to make him a Valentine, but realized with his arm extended up, that I could easily attach a balloon, so I also stamped the heart shaped one from 5722 - Birthday Journal Set, then sketched in the string with a fine marker.  I pulled out the colour with a damp brush, then started adding #991/992 to his pants and mitts, and #526 to his jacket.  I used layers of #847 on his hat, adding layers of colour to the sides, and finally shading with a bit of #565.  N57 was painted in on his shoes, again layering to achieve my darker shades, and it was also used to paint around the edges of his beard, to give it some texture.  

I also used #847 on the balloon, using layers to create the shadows - focusing on the underside of the balloon to suggest the rounded shape.  A little #533 was washed around him, and #565 streaked at the base, to ground the image.  He was cut out with 5724 - Nested Rectangle Dies.  The sentiment is from 5734 - Friend Sentiments Set stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink and adhered with 3D foam tape.  My background papers are from 5741 - Valentines Paper Pack.

I really love making wreaths with my Ai stamps, so created this little whimsical one with an assortment of stamp sets:

I started by planning my wreath out on scrap paper, stamping the images to see what worked, and how to place each image within my design.  Beginning with 5788 - Whimsical Mushroom Set, I stamped the house in #N57, masked it - and stamped the large and small mushrooms behind and beside it.  I kept the masks in place, and started to build my wreath outwards from there.  I added multiples of the following:

Fern from 5830 - WC Mini Wreath Set in #126

Small broadleaf fern from 5830 in #296

Leaves and strawberries from 5795 - Berries Set in #249/847

Round leaf stem from 5828 - WC Poinsettia Set in #346

Twig from 4964 - WC Branches Set in #969

Mini Foxglove from Flower Set - 4052 in #565

I touched everything with a damp brush, painting in more colour where needed.  I used shades of #847 on the strawberries and mushroom lids, using layers of colour to achieve darker tones.  #565 was painted on the door and the smaller mushrooms, and shades of #977/992 were painted on the mushroom stems.  I made sure to concentrate shadows under the mushroom lids where it would be the darkest, and added the grass directly to the paper with the 126 marker.  There was a lot of 'white' space in my wreath, so I pulled out colour from the leaves, and painted it in and around them, to fill gaps and keep the arched shape of my wreath.  A final touch was adding black dots sprinkled around the image.  I used my sewing machine to stitch the square down to a green mat, and adhered it all to my 5 1/2" base with 3D foam tape.

  

Gnome Window Scene by Reneé Matarese

 Happy Thursday everyone!

Be sure to check back later today for the winners of the Give Us a Fright challenge and to see what the new challenge is!

Until then,  you can take a look at my most recent gnome card.

These little guys are just so cute!

Since all of these sets are the perfect size for this window die I thought it would be cute to create a bit of a different type of window scene.

I will list and link all of the Art Impressions products that I've used below.

5785 – Gnomes Set
5788 – Whimsical Mushrooms
5794 – Whimsical Flowers
5797 – Little Things Sentiment Set
5543 – Journal Template Die Set
5588 – Journal Oval Frames Die Set
5795 – Berries

Copics used:

Y11, Y15, YG13, YG17, B00, B02,
RV14, RV29, E33, E40, E47, E53

Twintone markers used:

Chrome Yellow, Chocolate

Thinking of You by Sharon Caudle

 Hello AI Fants!

My card today features the cute #5790 Fairy Houses Set along with the #5785 Gnomes, #5788 Mushrooms, #5794 Whimsical Flowers, #5561 Birds and Bugs Set,#5797 Little Things Sentiments, #5064 Circle Double Stitched Dies, #5543 Journal Template Die Set, and #5832 Gnome Paper Pack.  I stamped the images onto Cryogen White and then colored them with Copic markers listed below.  To get the flowers and mushrooms positioned behind the house, I made a mask of the house using Stamp Masking Paper I got from Art Impressions. 

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit and until the next time - hope you get to stay crafty!!

Copic markers used:

G21, G24

YG01, YG03, YG07, YG13, YG17

E00, E11, E21, E33, E35, E41, E42, E43, E44, E51, E55, E70, E71, E81, E84

YR61, YR65, YR68

Y13, Y17, Y18

C1, C2, C3, C4

T1, T2

B000, B21, B23, B24, B26

R00, R24, R27, R29

Fall is for Fairy Houses by Reneé Matarese

Happy Sunday everyone!
Do you love these new Fairy Houses as much as I do?

I created two cards to share with you today.

Both of these little houses nest perfectly into the new leaf frame die.

For the first card I used the white leaves from the first frame I cut and colored them with Copic markers.  For the mushroom house I cut the leaf inserts from colored paper.  I couldn't tell the difference between the two so moving forward, if I've cut the frame in white, I'll use the little pieces that are scraps and just color them.  That will save on colored cardstock.

I love that the new frame creates a frame yet also has some stand alone dies that you can cut.

There's a complete list of supplies and links below if you'd like to give something like this a try.  These are perfect for any time of year.

5783 – Fall Leaf Frame Die Set
5790 – Fairy Houses
5794 – Whimsical Flowers
5788 – Whimsical Mushrooms
5063 – Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies
Bleed Proof White


Copics used:

Mushroom House:

Y21, Y26, YG03, YG25, E17, E31, E55, YR15, R83, R89 TT Chocolate

Fairy House:

Y21, Y26, YG03, YG25, BG000 BG02, YR15, E17, E31, E55, R83, R89, W2, W5, W6 TT Sky Blue, TT Chocolate

Friendship Mini Journal - Pages 3-7 by Janet

Today I'm happy to be with you to share pages 3-7 of my friendship mini-album. Just to set the stage, I've repeated the cover of my album. Throughout the album, I've used the new 5832 Gnome Paper Pack. You can see my post on this and pages 1 and 2 HERE.

Page 3 utilizes mats and pocket included in the 5718 Mini Journal Template. I created a strawberry pie using the scallop die in this set and a circle die from the 5543 Journal Template Set. I cut scallops in Kraft and red cardstock. Then I cut thin strips in Kraft. I cut a circle out of the Kraft scallop and layered the red cardstock and Kraft strips before putting another scallop with the middle cut out on top. I layered a little white glitter on the top of the pie too. It look like a yummy pie that's good enough to eat!

Page 4 also utilizes the scallop shape for the sun. A little ink on the edges adds to the illusion of a hot sun. I stamped, colored and cut out a gnome from the 5785 Gnomes Set. The mushrooms are from 5788 Whimsical Mushroom Set. I staged the cute little gnome on a fence from 4967 WC Fences Set.

Here is another look at the two pages with the pie in the pocket. I love it!

Page 5 is another pocket page. The pocket itself is from 5589 Journal Pocket Die Set. This will work in the mini journals if the ends are trimmed straight across like I did here. That way it will fit on the min-sized page. I made a tag using the 5718 Mini Journal Template Set and stamped it with a strawberry from 5795 Berries Set. 

Page 6 and 7 features the window die in the 5718 Mini Journal Template Set. I used the Front Back Gnome in the 5785 Gnome set and also little butterflies from the 5561 Birds and Bugs Set. Last, I added more mini mushrooms from the 5788 Whimsical Mushroom Set.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be continuing my mini journal with you until it's complete. In the meantime, I invite you to stop by the store to see all the new releases for your card and tag making projects.

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