My head is in the Clouds ...

Hello Ai Fans !!

Today my Ai Zoo Crew giraffe sku #4190  friend has his head in the clouds , when I received this new stamp I was so excited, I love the tall elegance of a giraffe not to mention the long batty eyelashes .

I kept this card kind of simple, I used Kraft card stock as my base A2 card and the layer is Kraft also , I ran it thru the Tim Holtz wood-grain embossing folder then tore the outer edges and the sponged SU soft sued ink around the edges and over the entire layer to bring out the wood grain next I zigzag stitched this layer on the front , my clouds are from a sizzix die cut from SU pool party card stock sponged in SU pool party ink and the used pool party marker to make faux stitch lines on them I added the ribbon to the card and then popped up the clouds on foam tape , I placed the clouds and trimmed off the over hang , I then stamped my giraffe on SU Naturals ivory card stock and with brown memento ink and colored him with my copic markers and then fussy cut him out and popped him up on foam tape , I then made a banner to stamp my sentiment that came with my set and faux stitched it with a brown sharpie, I love that Ai sells stamp sets , images with the sentiment that go perfect with them.
 to keep the flow of the front of the card I continue it inside , I  made another big banner and cut a cloud in Naturals Ivory to write greetings inside too
and last but not least... I love to give the mail man eye candy ( don't you think he likes to see nice envelopes , I am sure they make him smile  ), I love to stamp my envelopes to match the card , after all the envelope it the first thing you see when you present the card , if it has eye candy on it you know it's  the first one you will open ..lol
I am going to show you how I colored my giraffe step by step  , step one  color all the spots with E33
next I color the center of all the spots darker with E25
then I shade all the twist and edges  with E13
next I color inside ears and down nose with RV10 and then color entire image with Y21 and blend over entire giraffe
next I shade around entire image with W1
with a cloud stencil I use SU pool party ink and a dabber and create clouds
now I have you covered inside and out , I hope you enjoyed my step by step ,I would love to hear from you ,please take a minute and post a commit and tell me what you think.
Supplies : Ai Zoo Crew Giraffe set sku # 4190 , SU pool party ink and marker , Inky antics cloud stencil ,copic markers , TH wood grain folder , sizzix cloud die , stitched edge ribbon,memento rich cocoa ink , SU soft suede ink

Thanks for stopping by ,see you tomorrow with the Ai Thursday Challenge come see with the Ai design team has whipped up now..

Outdoor Yoga

Hello Ai Fans! 

This week I'm sharing a little scene with Yolanda. She's enjoying her yoga workout outdoors.

I stamped the images and colored them in with Spectrum Noir Markers. For the background I used ink pads and a blender tool to add color to the grass and sky.  I stamped some grass clumps randomly.

I stamped Yolanda  on white cardstock, and then again on two different design papers, and cut out all the pieces.

I cut her out and placed her in the scene, in the fresh air. :o)  Please come back tomorrow and see what Crystal has for you!!

List of Supplies Used: Stamps - Summer CHA release Ai People Yolanda (check your local stamp/scrapbooking store), Picket Fence (Sku#G1215), Lg. Forest (Sku#G689), Grass Clump (Sku#AA1375); Paper - Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock for Alcohol Markers, Stampin' Up! black, Basic Grey design paper; Coloring/Ink - Memento Black ink pad, Spectrum Noir Markers, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad; Accessories - white gel pen, Tim Holtz Blending tool

Thanks for visiting!

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Good Friends!

Hello and happy Monday to you!  I have a super fun card for you today.  I just love these four ladies from the 2012 Girlfriends Picture Perfect, are they just too cute?  And they totally remind me of my crafty friends and I.   The four of us craft, shop, and laugh so much every time we get together.  I even matched the ladies' hair with ours too and some of our favorite colors, hehe!   And of course, we need a sentiment, right?   The All Together sentiment is too cool!   I hope you like it.

Goodies that I used:
2012 Girlfriends Picture Perfect
2012 Girlfriends All Together
Bo Bunny Ad Lib paper pad
Bazzill cardstock
Copic Markers
Stardust pen
Distress ink pad
Buttons and twine

Mamma Mia, It's wonderful to be young...

Hello Ai Fans!!

Today I'm sharing a stamp that makes me think of my friend.

We do so love our red wine and chocolate.

 

 

My friend Carrie is turning 40 next month and we're renting a limo bus and touring the wineries with a bunch of friends to celebrate.  I'm setting this card aside to give to her on the trip.  It's just so us. (although I don't see a gaggle of kids in the background trying to get us to help them with something or other!)

 

The image is called Gigi and Monique (Sku#U2837).

The verse is called Wonderful to be young (Sku#G1446)

 

 

 

I used a couple more verses on the inside of the card...

 

Mamma Mia! (Sku#F2831)

and

GF Happy Birthday (Sku#E3578)

 

 

 

Don't forget there are still a few more days to enter the Pin it to win it contest!!

 

 

Uptown Girls! (with pizzaz)

Hi friends! Hope you're enjoying your weekend. The weather in Seattle is beautiful, and while you're reading this, I'm off camping with my family on the Oregon coast!

I don't have a video tutorial for you today because I spent a few days coloring this image. I've used Uptown Girls, and it's not easy color coordinating four ladies... so I actually picked paper first. Which I rarely do. I have to say it's much easier!

Here's what I've done...

Here's the ladies before I added the glitter.

And here they are with some pizzaz!

I find a lot of people are confused when it comes to the variety of gray's offered by Copic, so I have a quick tutorial on my blog about the differences, in addition to the uses for each one. I wanted to use the grays on this image so you can see what they look like together, and how different they look. I hope you'll find the tutorial useful! I also have a photo of all the colors I used to color the ladies...

Crop Til You Drop!

Hello Ai Fans!
Today I have a super fun card for you that is near and dear to my heart, and just makes me smile. It's a new Ai People stamp called "Cropper". SKU# 4103. So many fun Ai people in the Ai store. Ever been to a crop? It's a blast, just look at her face and you can tell! She was so much fun to color too! Crops are so much fun, and the women who attend them are so fun, such camaraderie. I'm going to a crop this weekend and I can't wait.

I hope you enjoyed the card I've shared today. Thanks for stopping by.

Materials used: Stamps: Cropper set: SKU# 4103; Kraft, white, and red cardstock; Designer paper from Cosmo Cricket, Mini Deck, Baby Jane; corner rounder, Scallop rectangle die by Spellbinders. Oval punch by EK Success. Black ink: Memento; Tea Dye Distress ink By Tim Holtz/Ranger. The size of my card is a regular A2.

Challenge 80 - Rainbow

Hello Ai Fans! 

Hope it's been another fantastic week for you! Here, we're clinging onto the last bit of sun before our rainy seasons starts. We want to push the limit on color this week and make you use FIVE of the basics :) That's right, we're loving rainbow colors!

RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE

and don't forget ...

We want to see your colorful cards! Your submissions should at least have these five, more if you choose. You do not need an actual rainbow image. Check out the beautiful submissions from our DT!

Kerry 

Trena

Crystal

Tammie

Aren't they fun? Way to go DT! Always thankful for their inspiration! Our winner from last week's School/Office Supply challenge is ...

DENEEN TREBLE

with her fantastic upcycled pen holder. We have a couple of those tubs around the office ... will have to try this out! Congratulations Deneen! Email me at kate@artimpressions.com for your $10 coupon code for artimpressions.com!

Here are the guidelines for our weekly challenges:

1. Please make a new card or creation. You can make any crafty item you wish; this is not limited to cards!

2. Limit two submissions per person. You will receive extra votes if you use Art Impressions stamps!

3. Include a link back to the Ai Blog or grab our button on the top left of our sidebar!

4. Share the Ai love by clicking and commenting your fellow crafters.

5. Make sure to get your link up by Wednesday at 6 p.m. PST to enter your creations.

Little Athlete baby card

Hello Ai Fans !!
Today's card was made in mind for my dear friend's daughter Nicol , she just had a sweet baby boy and when I saw this stamp Little Athlete sku# H939 I knew this would make a perfect card for her to welcome her new little one .

I colored my Little Athlete with copic markers and created lots of layer to make this card pop,my base color and all designer papers are SU Bashful Blue , I inked around all my layers to keep the color palate flowing , the white background layer was embossed with SU stripes folder , when you sponge ink it the stripe really show and this creates lots of texture ,I then stitched this layer with my sewing machine . the middle layer I added gromlits and laced it up with denim bakers twine , for the half circles I made one circle with 3 layers inked and cut in half , the stars were added to create more interest and filler( this little guy is a super star)with a white gel pen add stitch lines. add a sentiment and punched out with a SU label punch ( only used half).Inside I kept it simple , the band at the bottom is a pocket so if you want to add a gift card you canSUPPLIES : Little Athlete H393 , SU ink and paper and designer paper in bashful blue , white gel pen , copic markers , Spellbinders label 8 and standard circles , SU decorative label punch , gromlits , SU star punch , SU Itty Bitty Banners , SU petite pairs , SU stripes embossing folder


Go to the Art Impressions store ( click here )and I know you will find the perfect stamp you need to create that perfect card , thx for stopping by and come back tomorrow for the Ai Thursday Challenge # 80 get your creative mojo going after you see what the Ai team as created.
Have an 8UpScrapin Day : )

Country Music Song

Hello Ai Fans!
This week I'm working on creating a little scene with my "go to" stamps. 

 You probably have your "go to" stamps also.  The stamps you use when you need a quick card - that occasion you just remembered, or your children you told you about. :o)  I just grab the Ai wooden fence, some grass,  and with any image and I can make a quick cute card.

First, I stamped and colored this poor tied up giraffe and the fence. The fence is so easy to color! Just give it a little shading and it's ready!  I used my Spectrum Noir markers to color - love them...such vibrant colors and fun to blend!

Next I cut out the fence and base card. I laid my fence at the bottom of the card and drew a pencil line to show where to cut. I cut down the seam and across.

All that was left was to stamp the clouds and grass on the blue sky. I adhered everything, stamped the perfect little sentiment to match his expression and it was ready!  Please stop by tomorrow to see what Crystal has for you!

List of Supplies Used: Stamps - All Tied Up (Sku#T4180), Fence (Sku#P1499), Clouds (Sku#E1025), Grass Clump (Sku#AA1375), Country Song (Sku#G2626); Paper -  Cryogen, Neenah Solar White, Stampin' Up! blue; Coloring/Ink - Spectrum Noir Markers, Marvy LePlume II markers, Memento Black ink pad, Stampin' Up! white craft ink pad.

Thanks for visiting!

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Dollar Bills for the Slot Machines!

Hello Ai fans, Kerry here, I'm so happy to join the Ai family!  And I'm super excited to show you my piggy bank featuring one of the Golden Oldies, the coolest Slots Jean.  Isn't she awesome?  So, save up your dollar bills and head to the slot machines!!

For the piggy bank... the dimension is 4.5" (ht) x 3.5" (wt) x 2" (deep).

I cut the paper to 12" x 8.5".  On the 12" side, score at 3.5", 5.5", 9", and 11".  Then I turned the cardstock 90 degrees.  I scored again at 2", and 6.5".  Cut the top and bottom flaps (to create a box)

For the top, I created an opening slot using a punch (for the money).  And I cut the pattern paper, the dimensions are 4.25" x 3.25" and 4.25" x 1.75".  

Here is the close up!

Goodies that I used:

Golden Oldies UMP3500 Slots Jean

Copics Markers:  BG10, BG11, BG32, BG34, E00, E01, R20, R22, R24, R30, R32, Y21, Y23

Bazzill cardstock

Distress ink pads in broken china and scattered straw

Spellbinder in scalloped ovals and ovals

Lace ribbon (dyed with distress stains in broken china) and yellow ribbon

Stickles in ruby slippers 

Stardust pens and glossy accent

I hope you like it and have fun creating!