Lots of Love card pack

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

I have a fun card gift pack for you today that fits in perfectly for Valentine's day and for the bi-weekly challenge "Love, Love Me Do".  Do you have a friend that loves to give their family members a card for Valentine's day?  What a perfect little gift for you to give them.  My mind instantly goes to our elderly in the senior homes or your cute little elderly neighbor.   I created a fun, quick gift set of six cards all bundled in a sweet pouch.   The cards do not have a sentiment, so they can fit any occasion, if Valentine's day is not your thing.

For the images, I used the Armful stamp sets - #5903 Treasured Armful and #5904 - So Sweet Armful.  The arms of each animal have a slit cut to allow you to slip a cute little heart, flower, star, etc.  These sets also include the corresponding dies.

I stamped each of the images twice on copic friendly cardstock with Memento black ink and colored with copic markers listed below.  I also stamped, colored and die cut the heart, that is included in the "So Sweet Armful" set, 6 times - one for each card.  I learned a little copic technique from my fabulous copic teacher and friend, Sharon Caudle, many years ago in a class and I use it whenever I can.  For the little bear image, I color him in the browns leaving the overalls until later.  I then take a little piece of wash cloth and dab some blender solution onto it.  Lightly tap that part of the cloth onto the colored part of the bear and it will make him look fuzzy (see the individual card below for a better visual).  Let it sit for a little bit and then finish coloring the overalls.

It's a great effect!  Many thanks, Sharon!  

Above is the A2 Card Gift pouch that will hold up to 6 cards (with minimal dimension) and 6 envelopes.  I found the template for this on The Paper Pixie or you can youtube A2 card gift pouch.  It uses one 12x12 piece of heavy weight pattern paper.   I then decorated using the #5972 - Bible Journal Decorative Margin dies and #5721 - Nested Heart dies.   The sentiment is from the #5817 - Potting Garden Shed set.  Lastly, I used one of the #5967 - Hook and Loop Fasteners to keep the pouch shut.

Here are the six cards in the pack:

That's it for me today!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Make sure to check out the bi-weekly challenge and play along for a chance to win a free stamp set.  

We love to see your creations!

Copics used:  C0, C1, C3

R20, R11, R12, R14

E21, E23, E25, E31, E33, E35

Hello Sunshine

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Have you seen the newest AI release?  This one is fantastic!  I know, I probably say that about every one of them, but let's be real - they ALL are fantastic!  This is definitely a fave of mine!

Two new stamp sets were released - #6103 - Baby Keepsake and #6106 - Spring Keepsake, which is the one I used for my pop out card.

I stamped the images onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  I cut each of them out with the corresponding dies that are included in the set.  Love it when dies are included, don't you?  Adds so much dimension!  Check out this cute little frog!  He is definitely my favorite, however, the bunny and duck are just as adorable.  

I created a pop out card so that I could layer each of these cute little images.  I added a few images from other sets, like the flowers in the water can (#5935 Fairytale Houses), the Easter basket (#5869 - Easter Bunny Puppet) and the bird (#5100 - Woodland Tree cubbies).  The sun was from my stash.

I used the #6009 - Basic Green PP for the grass and the #5873 - Mini Birthday PP for the cloud background.

That's it for me today!  Make sure to check out the new release!   It includes some beautiful valentine papers and a new scalloped rectangle die set.  Great bundle!

Hope you have a wonderful day!  Keep creating!

Copics used:  N0, N1, N2, B000

G20, G21, G24      V12, V15

R02, R05, R08, R20

B12, B14           YR12, YR16

Y11, Y13, Y17, Y19, Y32, Y35, Y38

You are My Sunshine

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Well, the current challenge "Pocket Full of Sunshine" just shouts warm and happy to me, so I got carried away!  I apologize, but, how can you not love the color of yellow and the feel of sunshine?  It just makes you smile, doesn't it?

I created several projects today, but I couldn't stop!  I just kind of kept on going.  😊

I started out with a card, then a pouch and finally a box.  As long as I had paper, I kept on playing.

Card:  Stamped the images from #5925 - Honey Bee stamp set onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with copic markers listed below.  I created a pocket by cutting a rectangle and scoring 1/2" around three edges.  Fold and burnish each edge.  Snip off a bit of each of the folded corners creating tabs to glue down to the base.  I added a scallop top from the #5952 - Portfolio Template die set for the top of the pocket.  I then created a bookmark using the #5723 - Journal Cover and Bookmark die set as well as the #6043 - Bible Bookmark and Word die set to insert into the pocket.  The sentiment die is from the #6114 - Holiday Lane Village Template.  The sun die is from my stash.  

Treat Pouch:  created from a 6 x 6" piece of cardstock.  Fold and burnish one corner diagonally to the other creating a triangle.  Fold and burnish the front corner down halfway towards you.  Lift that corner back up and fold the left bottom corner up and align with the halfway fold line.  Do the same for the right bottom corner.  Glue those in place.  Fold the top front corner back down towards you and tack into place.  The pouch is now ready to decorate and fill with treats.  

Box:   I saw this video on youtube for The Paper Pixie.  Julie Dimatteo is the host of this youtube and she is fantastic.  Her explanations are soooo well done.  This video is called the Sweet Jar Treat box.  

I thought this was the cutest thing so I had to try it out.  I created the box the same but used the Art Impressions #5785 - Gnomes stamp set as well as the #5925 - Honey Bee set.  It calls for two strips of plain card stock - one at 1 5/8" x 6 1/4" and the other is 1 5/8" x 5 15/16" (see says 5 5/16" but s/b 5 15/16").  The box holds one Ferrero Rocher candy and would be a sweet treat for a teacher, special friend or any other special person in your life.  

Well, that's it for me today. 

Have a great day and keep creating!

Copics used:  N3, N4

R20, E21

G43, G46, B21, B23

Y11, Y13, Y15, Y17

Wanna Build a Snowman

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

I have a cute little snowman card for you today using the #6085 - Woodland Snowman Scene stamp set.  The stamp sets in this series fit nicely within the #4619 - Window die.  A great way to highlight the scene and add a touch of interactive to your card.

I began by stamping the scene onto copic friendly paper with Memento black and coloring with my copic markers listed below.   I cut the window die from red cardstock using the #4619 - Window die.  I cut the front panel and card base using the #5408 - Shadow box window to position the scene behind the window.  I created the sentiment using my computer and die cut with a tag die from my stash.  I placed a few red hearts onto the card for an extra touch of fun.

Lastly, I added a bit of wink of stella to the hillsides and the snowman.  It isn't noticeable in the above picture so I zoomed in to show below.

Thanks for joining me today!  

Have a great day!  Enjoy and keep creating!

Copics used:  N0, N1, N2, N4, N6, N7

R8, R20, R22, R24

E21, E23, E93, E95, E97

BG70, BG72

B0000, YR16, YR18

YG61, YG63, YG67

Button Baby Panda card

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Today I have a cute little baby card for the "Button Up" challenge.  Check out the "Bi-weekly Challenge" tab on the Art Impressions blog for the simple requirements to qualify for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice.  

I created this fun shaped card using the 6017 - Baby Panda set with the 6057 - Baby Girl PP.

I stamped the image onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  I die cut the image using the coordinating die that is included with the stamp set.  As per my usual, I die cut a second image out of basic white cardstock and adhered it to the back of the colored image to give it more strength.  I like to do this because it adds a little extra "pop up" as well.

To create the card front, I die cut a scalloped circle using the largest die from the 6045 - Scalloped Circle die set.  I then die cut two circles (one pink cardstock and one patterned paper) that fit nicely over the other giving it a slight border.   I then die cut the heart scallop from the 5721 - Nested Heart dies and a 1" piece of white cardstock with a slightly smaller strip of patterned paper to fit over the white cardstock.  I layered these all onto the white scalloped circle as shown above.

For the card base, I folded a piece of cardstock in half (approx. 4 x 4 inches) and die cut the second largest circle from the 5726 - Nested Circle die set placing the die over the fold so that approx. 1/2" of the top does not cut.  This will create the fold for the opening of the card.  Glue one side to the back of the scalloped circle card front.  Pop up the image with foam tape.  Add two small black buttons for the wheels (I threaded white string through the button holes for added detail).  Tie a three loop string and adhere to the button bow with glue dots or liquid glue and then adhere just below the sentiment.

After I put this together and took my pictures, I realized that I didn't add shading to the buggy base or canopy.  Oops!  LOL!  Simple coloring works just as well, yet we always think we need to add more.  Maybe we don't!  😀 

Thanks for joining me today!  Make sure to check out the current challenge and play along.  We love to see what you create!  

Have a great day and keep creating!

Copics used:  N0, N1, N3

R20, R81, R83, R85

No. 1 Book and Gnome Bookmark

 Happy New Year AI Friends!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are ready for the New Year!

 Can't wait to see all the fabulous creations from Bonnie and Kim.  I have no doubt that they will have lots of fun products for us again this year!

I'm starting off the New Year using #6114 - Box Village Template dies from the Holiday Lane series.  

I slightly changed the book cover to make it look like a number 1 for my granddaughter's first birthday.  Hope it's clear for you to see - made with the #5940 Journal Cover Paper Pack - Purple Plaid paper.  

I used #5873 - Mini Birthday Journal Paper pack for the inside of the book.  The inside contains pictures, pockets, notes and details from her first year and as much as I would love to show her off, my daughter asked that I didn't, so, unfortunately I don't have many pages to show.  However, my main purpose in showing this book was to emphasize how you can make slight changes to extend the die sets to fit your occasion.  Let your mind go!  Mine sometimes goes in odd directions but it's fun to see what can be created.  LOL!   

  Her birthday was S'mores themed so I created a S'mores with a square die from the #5725 Nested square dies set and the #5407 Birthday Cake GCH frosting die.  The graham cracker part was cut in rectangle shape and rounded the corners with a corner punch.  I inked the edges, stamped a cute little face on it and added a bow.  The sentiment tag is from the #6121 Storybook template.

Gnome Bookmark:  Another slight alteration of dies - here's a bookmark I made into a Gnome using the #5931 Santa Puppet die set.  The only real change that I made was that I added an additional beard layer by partial die cutting to make it slightly smaller so that it fit on top of the bottom one.  Then the nose fit nicely in between the top beard layer and the rim of his cap.  I omitted the brows, mustache and eyes.  Since he isn't a Santa, I also omitted the belt and fur parts of his outfit.  I die cut his outfit using the #5832 Gnome PP.  This paper choice made him look like he was wearing PJs so I added a cookie and coffee mug (from my stash) in his hands.  I placed him onto a bookmark made with the #5223 - Bookmark die.  He actually resembled me after Christmas.  I was a complete couch potato with my PJs on and my coffee mug in hand.  Life is good! 

Welcome to 2026 and another fun year with Art Impressions. 

Thanks for joining me today!  

Have a great day and keep creating!

Dancing Elf Box

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Today I have a fun gift bag for you featuring the new #6119 - Elf Puppet set.  These puppet sets are so fun to make and so dang adorable!  I did my usual and stretched his legs to make him dance.

I made one of these boxes last year decorated with a gnome.  You can find the dimensions and instructions on how to make the box here.  

To stretch the Elf legs:  partial cut the bottom of the legs with the die and then hand cut an additional 1/2" or so for the top of the legs.  Punch a hole towards the top for a foam dot to fit.  Place the foam dot on the back of the shirt and slip the legs over the foam dot.  Die cut an extra shirt out of cardstock and adhere that to the other sticky side of the foam dot (the legs should be in between the shirts).  The legs will swing back and forth.

I die cut all of the other pattern pieces out of #5853 - Christmas Magic PP.  For the face of the Elf, I die cut it from a copic friendly paper and colored it with copic markers listed below.  I stamped the eyes from a set in my stash and I drew the nose and mouth.  

I finished decorating the box with bells and baker's twine and closed it with a red clothes pin.

That's it for me today.  Hope you find yourself creating some of these boxes and filling with little treats for Christmas.

Have a wonderful day and keep creating!

Copics used:  R20, E11, E01, E000

Black Zig pen for drawing face features.