Girlfriend Blend Coffee Card | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

Today I'm sharing another coffee themed inspired card. I couldn't resist coloring up the Girlfriend blend set! Don't forget to enter in your own coffee cards in the current challenge. 

Using a stamp platform, I stamped the Girlfriend Blend image on Neenah 80lb Solar White card stock with Gina K. Amalgam ink. I really had coffee on my mind for this one. Which is why I kept my coloring to mainly neutral tones. I used BV00 to add shading to the caffeinated ladies light skin tones. Blending that out with E51 and E00. I shaded in a table for them to lean on and sketched in the blue sky, B41 & B00.

Once the coloring was done I used the largest Hexagon Double Stitch die to die cut the Girlfriend Blend image. Since I was die cutting I went ahead and die cut a green card stock with the Stitched Rectangle Double Stitch die and also the ovals, or petals/leaves. Twice with a shimmer green card stock and four times with a Chartreuse felt. The oval die is from the Tag Double Stitch die.

I added a strip of Simon Says Stamp Dark Chocolate card stock to the bottom of the image. For the sentiment, "Never underestimate the power of being properly caffeinated." I heat embossed with white embossing powder on Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate card stock. 

Copic Markers Used:

W9, W6, W3, W1, W0

C5, C3, E81, E77, E74

E59, E51, E43, E35, E34, 

E31, E18, E17, E15, E07

E00, RV55, RV11, R81, 

R83, R27, R17, R14, R12

B41, B00, BV00

Thank you so much for joining me today! Happy Stamping!!

Desert Window Pop Art Inspired | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

It's officially summer! This Desert Window set is perfectly paired with a few Succulents set sentiments to make a bright pop art watercolor design. I even used Tombow Markers for the first time and the Art Impressions Watercolor Palette. So easy and fun! I hope you enjoy the card process video I have below. 

To start this card design off, I stamped the Desert Window image 4 times on a piece of Arches Cold Press watercolor cardstock. I used Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and clear embossed each one. I'm going to use this Desert Window image in a similar way as I did with the Eagle Window in this blog post for Art Impressions that I did last week. I love the elegant sentiments that come with these window images but I also like the versatility of using other Art Impressions sentiments with them to make something even more unique. In this case, I used several phrases from the Succulents set. I even used one of the succulent stamp images as a backdrop to the center "Just for you" sentiment. I used vellum cardstock and white embossing powder for a subtle look. 

It's been a while since I have colored with a marker like the Tombow, so I really took some time playing with them. By mixing and layering the colors in this funky pop art inspired design, it was so fun letting loose and creating purple suns and pink cacti! The great thing about this though is if you are not a big fan of bright colors as I am this would also look lovely in pastels or muted tones. Since today is the first day of Summer I thought the bright colors were appropriate. 

Card Process Video

Tombow Markers Used:

Brights set

755 Rubine Red

743 Hot Pink

933 Orange

055 Process Yellow

133 Chartreuese

173 Willow Green

493 Reflex Blue

665 Purple

636 Imperial Purple

Thank you for joining me today! Happy Stamping! 

Home Grown Eagle Window By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai fans!

This month I'm using some of the Windows to the World stamps. This Eagle window caught my eye, and with it getting warmer in the Northwest, Americana decor is popping up everywhere! Today is also Flag Day (June 14th, 1777) in America. Perfect time to combine the eagle with these red white and blue pattern papers.

I first stamped the Eagle Window image with Gina K. Amalgam ink and colored it in with Copic markers, colors listed below. I used a Gelly Roll white pen to add a few highlights through out the image.  This went really quick and I also used minimal markers. Images like these window stamps, are great for the summertime, when we might be a bit more busy. All of them  are so picturesque,  they can simply and easily be the focal point to any card front.

This image has a beautiful sentiment that surrounds the square image but I trimmed that off and added a sentiment "Home Grown" from the Succulent set. I thought that sentiment fit so well and I really enjoy mixing stamp sets together. I knew I wanted to add a gold border with embossing powder around it. This is easily done by swiping your clear embossing ink pad across all the edges. 

The pattern paper I used for today's card is from the Pebbles America paper pack. Unfortunately it is another bundle of pattern paper that I've stashed away for years, I've linked to a similar one below. I love that I am using my pattern paper more instead of hoarding it! To add a bit more stars I used a die set from Papertrey Ink and die cut the three sketch stars from vellum. I adhered those to the card in a cluster with liquid glue and added the heat embossed sentiment "Home Grown" from the Art Impressions Succulent set. I left the inside blank. This card could be used for anything, from celebrating someone in the military, to July Fourth greetings to a friend.

Copic Markers Used:

W9, W6, W3, W1, W0

E77, E74, Y18

B99, B95, B93, B91

YG67, YG45, YG03

Thank you so much for joining me today!

Happy Stamping!

Road Trip | Father's Day Card By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

Today I'm sharing a fun card using the Road Trip set. I thought this would be fun to make a comic book style card where you fill in die cut shapes with stamps. 

I started with die cutting a panel of white cardstock using Art Impressions Square Double Stitch dies and a few rectangle dies. I made sure to check to see if the stamps would fit in the die cut pieces before cutting. I did use some of the dies twice to get the desired look.

On another Neenah 80lb cardstock panel I took the die cut piece and placed it over it, then traced the die cuts with a pencil. Now that I had a layout of where to stamp I began doing so with some black ink. A few of the stamps are a bit larger then the die cut areas I had mapped out for them. I used a post it note to mask off those overhangs so that the images would only be in their designated areas.

I started coloring all my images with Copic Markers, listed below. I stamped the car and the lunch box so that I could fussy cut those out. I wanted to layers those over the top to add some dimension. I also took one of the sentiments from the Road Trip set and heat embossed it 3 times on black cardstock using white embossing powder. Then trimmed off the excess paper so that there was a bubble effect around the sentiments.

I used my ATG to adhere the die cut panel over top of the copic colored images and attached the sentiments. For the inside I used a sentiment from the Art Impressions Hop Hop set, which says "Admit it life would be boring with out us"! I can easily add a die cut sentiment that says Happy Father's Day, to make this a fun and slightly out of the box Dad card. I know, when I was little, I often asked my dad, "Are we there yet?!" on family road trips! 

Copic Markers Used:

W6, W3, W1, W0

YG67, YG41, YG03, G14

E43, E35, E31

BG13, BG000, Y13

Happy Stamping!

It's me or the house! | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

Happy Friday! This Housework set had me laughing after reading all the wonderful sentiments in it. I couldn't wait to color this glamorous lady! I love that she's wearing her pearls, heels and a fancy dress, which I had to paper piece with this shimmer textured cardstock. She had me laughing, but wait until you see the inside. lol!

I started this design out by stamping the lady from the Art Impressions Housework set, using Amalgam ink. All the images are colored with Copic Markers, except the dress portion which I stamped on to a piece of Tonic Luxury Embossed paper and fussy cut out. Then adhered over the stamped dress. It is very hard to see in the photo but it has a floral embossed pattern and is a shimmery aqua color. 

Since the challenge for this week is shape cards I wanted to play around with shapes. I cut the colored card panel using the largest Double Stitch Hexagon die and a rectangle stitch die, only cutting part of the hexagon. I layered a piece of pattern paper (Pink Fresh Indigo Hills) behind. This pattern cardstock already had a bit of texture and splatter to it but I added more by using a couple of Distress Oxide inks. I was going for a coffee splatter kind of look lol. Which seems to be the mess I clean up almost daily. 

I also stamped the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and clear embossing powder on to a piece of vellum. Then, I cut the stamped vellum with a Flag Stitch die. Vellum can be tricky to adhere but I find that you can't see the adhesive through the sentiment or with the splattered background, I just used my ATG to do that. 

I like to add just a bit of the front of the card to the inside of the card. For this one I used the hilarious cat riding the robot vacuum image, which is also included in the Housework set! All I had left was to stamp another great sentiment and add a strip of pattern paper to the bottom. 

That cats face Lol! 

Copic Markers Used:
C5, C3, C1
E51, E35, E31
Y26, Y21, Y13
R85, R81, BV00
BG18, BG15, BG13, BG11, BG10
Colorless Blender

Thank you guys so much for joining me today. Happy Stamping! 

Hop Till You Drop | By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

The challenge #254 has started for the release of the new Girlfriends clear stamps sets. Perfect time to break out this Art Impression Hop Hop set! I thought these ladies looked like they were up to some spring picnic shenanigans with all their fun hopping objects. 

I stamped the ladies with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink on Arches watercolors paper. Using my Koi watercolor set I water colored these ladies and the background, adding in a bit of a finish line in white to seem like they are racing to win! 

Once my piece was dried I trimmed it down to attach to a A2 card base. I added a black and white stripe of pattern paper on the left and some lovely jewels that match the colors of the hopping ladies clothes. 

For the sentiment I die cut the smallest Double Stitched Oval die on white cardstock. Then stamped the sentiment from the Hop Hop Set with Distress Oxide ink. Placing on the top left of the card, then trimming off the top that overhangs.

That is it from me guys! Thank you so much for joining me today. Happy Stamping! ❤

NEVER Underestimate the Power of Being Properly Caffeinated.

Hi Ai fans! 

Nothing is better then a coffee date with friends! This week I played with the Girlfriend Blend set 4132. 

I started with stamping these fun ladies onto smooth cardstock using Memento black ink because I planned on coloring them in with alcohol markers. 

After I colored them in I fussy cut them out. I did use a white gel pen to add a little bit of detail to two of the ladies shirts. One shirt I added some fun polka dots and the other one some strips. I love to color any of the girlfriend images in with fun colors. 

When I'm not feeling very inspired on a lazy Saturday I enjoy playing with ink for backgrounds on future cards. I just save my backgrounds for cards to use in the future. After I fussy cut these ladies out I looked through my backgrounds and found this one I did with green ink onto Kraft cardstock I thought it went with them just perfectly. 

I stamped the sentiment on the bottom of the card with and heat embossed with silver embossing powder. 

Spectrum Noir Markers:

FS6, FS7, FS8, PP3, BGR1, BGR2, BGR3, BGR5, MB1, MB2, MB4, EB1, EB2, EB3, DR3, DG1, DG2, DG3, GY1, GY3, GY5, CR1, CR3, CR6

Happy Stamping! 

There's no Topping You! By Crystal Schneider

Hi AI fans!
This week I played with this Hamster Mouthful set-4948. Have you ever tried to do mirror stamping? I have a few times and I love the look and it adds more uses to your stamp sets.

To start this card I die cut a rectangle with the largest die from the Rectangle A2 double stitched die set. I used a stamp platform for all of my stamping. I started with the mirror image first. Their are a few ways to do mirror stamping the way I do it is to grab a piece of scrap acetate and stamp on to it and then I take my paper and place it over the image and gently rub it onto the paper. Some times when stamping this way spots don't transfer completely to solve this all I do is take a fine black pen and draw in the rest of the image. 

This is the original image so I die cut his little arms so he could hold a couple gifts. 

Here is my mirror image. 

I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder.

Spectrum Noir Markers:

FS2, IG1, IG2, JG1, JG4, LV1, LV3, AP1, AP2, OR1, OR3, MB1, MB2, BGR1, LV1, EB2, EB4, VN2, VN3

Happy stamping! 

Valentines Critters By Jessica Shier

Hello Ai Fans!

There is just a little less then a week left until Valentine's Day and I wanted to create another card using the, oh so cute, Valentine Critter set. Plus I've been wanting to work on coloring animal fur and this was perfect! I do have a video of this card down below! ❤

I thought it would be cute if the happy beaver was holding out a heart for the cute little mouse to fly in on his balloon to grab, they just look like they would be having some fun valentine day shenanigans.

I first stamped the beaver and the mouse with Copic friendly ink and colored them in. I used Copics first and then added some shading in with Prismacolor Pencils.

I used a stencil and some Tonic Mousse on the red cardstock for the background. I also utilized the large tag die from the Tag Stitched Dies set to cut out the critters and a piece of shimmery silver cardstock. I wanted this to have a bit of glitz!

I used the one of the smaller tag dies, from the Tag Stitched Dies set, to die cut some black cardstock and white heat emboss the sentiment that coordinates with the mouse. (yes I did notice that I forgot to color a bit of the balloon... oops!)   We'll just leave that between you and I. 😅

The inside I kept simple, and stamped the beaver again but in a light gray ink and the coordinating sentiment in red. 

Watch the video here.

Copic Markers Used:

Critters

E74, E59, E31, E35, E15

W0, W1, W3, C3

R83

Heart

Rv69, R29, R05

Balloon

BG18, BG15, BG13, BG11, BG10

0CB

Prismacolor Pencils Used:

PC946 Dark Brown

PC1056 70% Warm Gray

PC938 White

Thank you all so much for joining me today! Happy Stamping!