Christmas In July Challenge - Santa Gift Card Holder by Janet

It's the second week of the Christmas in July Challenge. I love getting a jump start on holiday card making and it's also a good time to make some gifts like my Santa gift card holder. This is a fun little project you can make in so many ways. You can use any colors or kind of paper you want. For mine, I imagined him in his Christmas pajamas that have messages of peace, hope and joy. These are sentiments the world really needs right now. This cheerful paper pattern can be found in 5853 - Christmas Magic PP.

I made this using two Ai Gift Card Die Sets. The base is created using 5344 - Envelope GCH Set. The Santa face is created using the companion set 5339 - Santa GCH Set. I just love his mustache and his rosy cheeks! To make his cheeks a little more rosy, I broke out the old fashioned chalk set I've had for decades. It still comes in handy once in a while!

The gift card holder is pretty easy to assemble but once you glue the envelope together, I find that it's best to start by adding the hat pieces and next work from the bottom up. This way, I'm able to make sure his facial features are in the right places and not too crowded. I also added a tag to his hat. The die for that is included in the envelope set, along with other handy shapes you can cut and use on the gift card. I chose the sentiment from the 5566 - Christmas Sentiments set. Love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by and spending time with me and Art Impressions today. Please visit the Ai store to pick up your favorite stamps, dies, papers, accessories, and supplies. 

Happy Crafting!

Christmas in July Challenge - Christmas Keepsake by Janet

It's July and that means I can break out the Christmas sets without ANY sheepishness for being into Christmas early! Like many of you, holiday cardmaking is my favorite time of the year so when July rolls around, it's time for Christmas in July projects. Conveniently, Art Impression's current challenge is Christmas in July so I'm taking full advantage of it!

This charming little Christmas Set is 6104 Christmas Keepsake. It come with matching dies so after I stamped and colored the images, I cut them out so I could place them in the frames of  6158 - Story Tile Template Die. Before I placed the frame and images on a card base, I used a stencil to create a background that reminds me of pine boughs. Then I put some of the images straight on to the card and others are lifted on foam tape for additional dimension. I stamped the sentiment from the 5566 - Christmas Sentiments set. I added some white highlights using a Signo White Ink Gel Pen. Finally I added some red and green bling in the corners and the middle to add a little more shine to the project.

I hope you'll join us for this super fun challenge. I look forward to seeing all the projects that are created.

Thanks for stopping by and spending time with me and Art Impressions today. Please visit the Ai store to pick up your favorite stamps, dies, papers, accessories, and supplies. 

Happy Crafting!

Merry Elves by Janet

It's July, but I'm already getting into the Christmas spirit! I love making Christmas cards, and I'm excited to share this one with you.

I used the 5040-Sleigh Bells Set to create this card. The stamps are perfect for creating festive and heartwarming cards, and the reindeer and elves are so cute!

To begin, I cut four round circles out of the card front. Before doing that I attached a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of cardstock from the 5712-Christmas Journal Paper Pack on the front. I colored the images and cut out the reindeer image. Then I used the 5064-Circle Double Stitched Dies to cut out the other images with a larger circle. I positioned them behind the window and glued them in place. I think it's super fun how the elves peak out from behind the windows!

To finish this card, I added white and red glitter enamel dots, a strip of fancy pearl and jewel bling to simulate snow, and a sentiment from the set. I thought it needed just a little bit more so I applied some Copic red marker to a tan button and some silver gilding wax to the edges of it. This makes it look a little more rustic. Then I made a small bow out of twine and attached it to the button which was then attached to the card front. It did the trick! Last I applied red, silver, and purple Stickles to the tree. I couldn't resist making one of these guys into Rudolph so I added red Stickles to the lead reindeer's nose.

I hope you like this card! Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you'll stop by the store soon for all your card making needs.

Merry Christmas in July everyone!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest 

Making Spirits Bright by Janet

 It's July and you know what that means? Yep, it's time to break out your Christmas! I love July because I love Christmas and although we don't need an excuse to Christmas craft, it just feels so good to do it in July. I look forward to it like I do December so it makes Christmas come twice a year. 

For this card, I started by creating a foiled background of bubbles using a stencil and Deco Gel before running it through a heat process to adhere the foil. The colors in it make me so happy but if you've been paying attention, you know that I love bright colors and I enjoy blinging things up as well. This cute penguin image comes from 5192 - Penguin Cheer Set. I can't tell you how much fun I had coloring these guys with my markers. Then I used Dr. PH Martin's Bleed Proof White to create patterns on their hats and scarves. Finally I added a little crystal snow at their feet before I heat embossed the sentiment in gold. It certainly made my spirits bright! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you'll stop by the store soon for all your card making needs. 

Wishing you a very crafty day!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest 

Christmas in July Cards by Tasha!

 Happy Friday Ai Fans!

Tasha here sharing two Christmas in July themed cards featuring the #5042 - Christmas Bee Set!

My first card has the sweet little bees singing around a Christmas tree. I stamped the tree directly on to the card and layered the bees with foam tape. I also added Distress Oxide Ink around the edges to bring in a honey colored glow to frame the scene. It looks like the star is lighting up the center of the card and I love the bright yellow color!

To complete the card, I added the flying bee to the top of the card and used a white gel pen to add falling snow to the background. I also attached layers of gold, red, and green pattern paper to go with the Christmas theme.

The second card is a smaller design perfect for gift cards or to hang on a gift bag. I stamped the singing bees and colored their winter accessories in holiday colors. Their little hats are just too cute!

To complete this card, I stamped one of the included Bee-themed greetings and added layers of red card stock, silver mirrored paper, and green pattern paper. I also added the honey color around the edge to frame the trio. I love all bee-themed things, and the Christmas Bee set is perfect for this year's holiday cards!

Thank you for checking out today's cards and I hope you are inspired to create a Christmas in July themed card or project!

Have a great day!

Summer Fun Challenge #332

 Hello Ai fans!

It's time for a new challenge here at Art Impressions.

In the US we're in the middle of our summer season and we want to celebrate that!

So... SUMMER FUN! it is!

Before we see Mercy's fabulous summer themed cards let's announce the winners of our last challenge.

Our Top Spot goes to Mary C. for her 4159 – Lazy Boy Set card.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com
to claim a free stamp set of your choice!
Also, be sure to grab your badge to display on your blog, Facebook or Instagram!

Now for the Lucky Random Winner of our Perfect Plaid challenge...

Leslie T. with her cute 5210 – Easter Twist Set.

Please contact Leah at Feedback@artimpressions.com

to claim a free stamp set of your choice!

Now that we've wrapped up our previous challenge, let's get started on our new challenge!

This week our featured artist is Mercy! 
She created two fun projects using 4788 – Tropical Christmas Set.

Show us what you've made Mercy...

 

Hello Crafty Friends....Happy Christmas in July once again, this is Mercy with a new challenge, Summer Fun! 

In today’s cards I used a very unique and fun set 4788, Tropical Christmas Set.

I created a tag on a card, it’s a great way to make a unique card. Simply create the tag and decorate as desired and then adhere to a card base. Pretty simple!

The second card is a slimline style card using the same set. The inspiration of the card is the same, Santa at the beach, with a few changes. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and continue sharing your unique cards 

Take care! 

Thank you Mercy!  Your cards are so fun and festive.  Just perfect!

Yesterday Bonnie began her WC Christmas Journal series of tutorial videos. 

Though her journal tutorial is geared towards WC artists it can easily be made with Art Impressions

regular stamps and markers or colored pencils.  We know Janet is planning a Christmas Journal 

using Copic markers and Reneé  will be making one for a baby boy's first year.  You can find

the Journal dies HERE and hope you'll be inspired to create your own.

You can see photos from Bonnie's tutorial and link to her video HERE.

Enjoy your day and happy stamping!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Christmas in July Series-Sweet as Honey by Mercy Sauer

Welcome back to my Christmas in July Series, this is Mercy, let’s get started!

I created three cards using the same set, The Christmas Bee Set # 5042. By now you know how much I enjoy critters and coloring them, this is a perfect set just for that.   

In this card the mother bee is dancing on a honey jar to the tunes of the little ones, so cute!

The second card is all about the choir. Once again, these bees are putting up a show! 

Lastly, we find the dancing queen once again! 

I hope you guys are enjoying the Christmas series, it’s been fun playing and coloring these cuties. I hope to see you back next Thursday with more Christmas fun! 

Time To Deck the Halls! by Janet Axtman

 

I'm SO excited that it's July because that means I can break out the holiday stamps and celebrate Christmas in July! Woohoo! It's a great time of the year to look forward to the holiday season and get a jump start on your seasonal card stash. Getting some or all of your holiday cards done in July means you will feel pretty darn smart come December!

Ai has so many darling holiday stamp sets. Today I'm pulling out 5192-Penguin Cheer Set. This set has several adorable images of penguins frolicking in the snow. This set also includes holiday tree decorations including a light string, ornaments and snowflakes.

I picked traditional coordinating papers from a holiday paper stack and used 5061-Square Double Stitched Dies and 5063-Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies to cut the shapes used in the card. I stamped the sentiment from the set to create a tag and a bulb punch in my stash for the light bulb. I love bling and holiday cards allow me to use as much as I want! Love! The snowflake gems and single gems are from Eyelet Outlet.

I colored this trio of penguins with Copic markers and then cut them out before adhering them to a bright white glitter cardstock rectangle made with the Double Stitched Rectangle Dies. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you'll get your jingle on and check out the extensive holiday stamp sets available in the store. It's so much fun!

Wishing you a very crafty weekend!

Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest  

Christmas in July Series--From our Family to Yours by Mercy Sauer

 Welcome to July crafty friends, I am so excited for the projects this month. For the entire month I will be featuring and showcasing some of the Ai Christmas sets....

This is Mercy and welcome to my Christmas in July Series! 

This week I'm featuring one of my favorites, The Chubby Snowmen Set 5351 

I love creating my own shadow boxes since I can customize them to any size. In this case, this card will collapse to create a regular size A2 card. 

When creating a custom element, I like to assemble the “main” piece and write down the details and dimensions on the back, for reference.

Here’s my shadowbox prototype that I regularly use.

The dimensions for the A2 size are as follows (sorry for my messy notes...this is what I use!) 

At this point I assembled my box (you can find many YouTube videos for more instructions). I used “acetate picks” to hold up the elements and to make them look as if they were floating.

And just like that, after a bit of cutting, lots of coloring, die cutting, and ink blending you have a super cute card. It does take a bit more time but the final product is totaling worth the extra effort! 

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays in July!