Thursday, July 17, 2025

Gardener Gail

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

WOW! WOW! WOW!  Have you seen the newest Art Impressions release?  OMGosh this release has got to be the best EVER!  I just LOVE the girlfriends line and this is right up that alley.  Add the papers to go with and WOW!  Bonnie and Joel knocked it out of the park with this release!
Picture a happy dance right now!!  Sorry, no video attached.  LOL!

My card for today uses #6076 - Gardener Gail.  These AI People are so fun to color and they are a great size (about 3 1/2 inches tall).  And the best part, they come with corresponding dies!  
I stamped each of the images onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers (colors listed below).  The bee and flowers come from the #5925 - Honey Bee stamp set and the papers are from two different paper packs - #5742 - Easter PP and #5939 - Fairy Garden PP.  
The watering can with the little flower is from the #5336 - Garden mini dies.  These mini dies make such a cute little addition to any card.  I love them as a simple accent or a charm hanging from a bow.  Adds a perfect extra little touch.

Make sure to check out yesterday's watercolor wednesday video  to see and hear all about the other sets.  Also, make sure to visit this blog daily for other inspirations.  There will be many more posts for these as well as other available sets.

Thanks for joining me today!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy creating!

Copics used:  E000, E00, E11, E21, E23, E25
E51, E53, E55
N1, N3, BG32
 R20, R22, R24
Y11, Y13, Y15, YR65, YR68
YG41, YG61, YG63

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Golden Mermaid

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

My card today was inspired by the current blog challenge "Spritz, Splatter and Paint!"  A perfect way to showcase the new Winsor Newton Ink 14ml - Gold Paint sold now on the Art Impressions website.  Although the challenge does not stipulate that you have to use gold, you can use any spritz, splatter or any color paint.  I chose to use the new product, since it was new to me too.

This gold paint is awesome and adds such glimmer and shimmer to your project.  I played with it a little bit to see how I wanted to use it.  I loved the look with stencils and a makeup sponge, smooshed onto the paper and spritzed or splattered.  For my card, I chose to paint with it, stamp it and also used it in a mister (mix with a touch of water in a mister).  


I stamped the #5903 - Treasured Armful Mermaid images onto copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  I then die cut each of the images using the coordinating dies that come with the stamp set.  I'm using a background that I made awhile back but thought it would be perfect for this card.   Using the backside of photo paper, I believe I used Ranger alcohol inks - Mermaid and Glacier - but any blues will work.  I also used a bubble frame die that I had in my stash.    


I painted the treasure chest with the Winsor Newton gold paint as well as the middle of the flower in her hair.  When you zoom in, you can really see the result.  I painted some gold onto the sentiment stamp and stamped it onto white cardstock.   But, I liked the use of the gold paint in a mister the best.  This produced the best shimmer and still left the color underneath showing through.  See the sand in the picture above and the mermaid tail and hair in the picture below.  One or two mists will do the trick, but it's hard to stop.  I actually sprayed too much the first time but was able to wipe some of it off.  Wait until it slightly dries first, then wipe a paper towel lightly over it.    


After all the images were colored, painted and sprayed, I assembled the card.  This little mermaid actually swings back and forth as if swimming.  
Punch a hole in the background behind where her head will be, large enough for a foam pop dot.  Glue a penny, button or paper disc to one side of the pop dot.  Place the pop dot through the hole from the backside and adhere the mermaid (approx. forehead) to the pop dot poking through.  She should rock nicely at this point.  Place a thicker layer of foam tape on the backside of the background avoiding the penny, button, or disc.  Adhere onto your card base.  Test to make sure that she moves freely.  Pop up the frame so it is slightly higher than the inner square.  This will help stop her movement so she doesn't flip all the way around.

I hope you join in our blog challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set.  We love to see what you create!
Have a wonderful day and keep crafting!

Copics used:  E000, E01, E11, R20
E30, E31, E33, E35, E37, YR31
RV63, RV66; V05
YG09, BG05

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Hello 4th

 Happy Independence Day AI Friends!

WOW!  Have you seen the newest release of papers at Art Impressions?  Holy cow!  I couldn't stand it, I had to put a card together using the new #6090 - Patriotic paper pack.  Although a lot of the papers are 4th of July themed, there are many that can be used for any occasion.  The patterns are incredible and the colors are vibrant and fantastic.  Make sure to check them out!  I can't wait to design with the rest of the pack!!!

I started out by stamping the images from the #5452 - Swing Window set onto copic friendly paper and coloring them with my copic markers, listed below.  The little puppy has a coordinating die that comes with the set so you can pop him up, if you choose.  


I used the #5408 - Shadowbox Window Die to display the image and then I created an interactive venetian blind which was inspired by a Technique Tuesday die tutorial that I found on YouTube.

To create without the die:  Cut a piece of pattern paper 2 3/4" by 4 7/8".  Score every 3/4" along the longest side.  Before folding, punch a small hole, approx. 1/8" in, between each score line on both sides for the strings.  Try to center punch each of the holes, but it does not have to be perfect.  Fold each of the score lines into peaks and valleys.  The valley end should be at the top, this is the side that adheres to the base.  Thread a string up both sides leaving the loose ends at the top.  Thread a bead or knot the loose ends for the string pulls.  Adhere the valley side of the blinds down to the base by placing glue between the string holes.  Make sure to place glue only between the holes or the mechanism won't work. 
 
Valance:  Cut the valance out of another piece of pattern paper and partial die cut with the #6047 - Scalloped Square third largest die (should measure 3 1/4" wide by 3/4" tall).  Make a slight snip on either side at the bottom scallop to hold the string when pulled up.  Pop the valance up with foam tape and adhere just above the top of the blinds.
The bow and the flag heart are fussy cut from the pattern papers of the same paper pack.  Makes great accents!  The Hello die cut is part of the Shadowbox Window die set.

Thanks for joining me today.  Hope you have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend.
Keep creating!!

Copics used:  E000, E01, E11, E21, E23, E25, E50, E51, E53, E55
Y13, R20, R22, R24, R27
G20, G21, G24, G28
B0000, B000, B00, B32, B37

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Christmas Magic

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Today I have a Christmas card inspired by the "Leon" blog challenge.  "Leon" is Noel backwards and since we are halfway to Christmas, a "Leon" challenge makes perfect sense.  Now is the time to start getting in the mood for creating our annual Christmas cards/tags/etc.  Hope you will join us and enter the blog challenge for a chance to win a free stamp set of your choice. 

I used the #5775 - Front/Back Santa.  He is just the cutest peeking Santa Claus!  I also used the presents in the #5457 - Christmas Truck set.

I began by stamping the santa and the presents on copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and coloring with my copic markers listed below.  I then die cut each of the images with the corresponding dies that come in each of the sets.  I added Dr. PH Martin's bleed proof white paint to Santa's fur.

I cut three trees from the #5853 - Christmas Magic PP using a die I had in my stash.  I scored each tree in half and glued the fold into the next scored tree until all three trees were adhered together by the folds.  This allows for the trees to flair out for dimension.   I adhered the stripe pattern paper onto a green base and then added a strip of red cardstock to the bottom.  I then glued the bottom tree stack, at the fold, to the pattern paper card base.  I glued the santa front to the third layer tree and adhered his backside to the back of that layer.  I adhered the colored presents on each layer at the base of the trees.



Lastly, I added streamers to the tree, the sentiment, bow and jewels.  

I hope you enjoyed my "Leon" card and you enter the challenge.  We love to see what you all create!

Have a great day and keep creating!

Copics used:  E000, E01, E11
N0, N2, N4
R20, R22, R24, R27
Y13, Y15, Y17, Y26
BG53, BG57
G24, G28

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Baby Boy Panda Bear

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Today I have a cute little baby boy card for you using the #6017 - Baby Panda set.  This is the absolute cutest little set and makes the cutest baby cards!  


I started out stamping the images on copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers listed below.  I cut each out with the corresponding dies that come with the stamp set.  To create the background, I using my cloud stencil and Distress Oxide Broken China ink.  The papers for the frame and the grass are from the #6011 - Basic Teal PP and the #6009 - Basic Green PP.  I paper pieced one of the balloons and the carriage sun cover using the #6036 - Easter Bunny PP.

The upper panda moves as if floating in air (see video).  This is a simple interactive mechanism. 
To provide more stability to the swinging panda, I suggest die cutting a second panda w/balloons out of heavy cardstock and adhere to the backside of the colored image.  Punch a circle in the cloud background, small enough to hide behind the balloon.  Place a foam dot in the center, adhering the bottom side to the card base, and the top side of the foam dot to the back of the top balloon.  The panda will swing back and forth as if he is floating in air.   

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your summer!  Have a great weekend and thanks for joining me today!

Copics used:  C00, C0, C3, C5, C7
B00, B12, B14
Y11, Y13, Y15, Y17
YR12, YR14, YR16
G40, G43
R20, R22

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Father's Day Cubs

 Happy Thursday AI Friends!

Thanks for joining me today!  I thought I'd share a couple of Father's Day cards I made for a few of the men in my life.  I used the #6064 - WC Bear set and the #6072 - Father's Day PP for both cards but changed the layouts.   


I started by stamping the images on copic friendly paper with Memento black ink and colored with my copic markers, listed below.  I then fussy cut each of the bears and cubs.  For the little girl cubs, I stamped the little girl panda from the #6017 - Baby Panda set and fussy cut the bow from her hair. 
 
For the top card, I die cut the pattern paper panels using the #5063 - Rectangle A2 Double Stitch die set.  I also cut a couple of trees from dies in my stash.  I popped up the Papa bear and the littlest cub with foam tape and placed onto the background pattern paper.  I stamped the sentiment from the #6063 - Just for Him set onto an oval die cut using the #5727 - Nested Oval dies.  I finished this card off with a couple of red hearts to add color and love. 

For this card, I used a postage background die for the base and placed pattern papers within each square.   Everything else is basically the same as the top card, but just wanted to show how different they can look by using different backgrounds.

I hope you enjoyed my cards today and they inspire you to create a few for the men in your lives.

Have a great day and keep creating!

Copics used:  R20, R22
E50, E51, E53, E55, E57

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Blossom and Blooms

 Hello AI Friends!

I am so excited to feature our newest blog challenge - "Blossoms and Blooms".  I definitely drew the lucky straw on this challenge.  Who doesn't love florals?  Especially with all the beautiful pattern papers and floral stamps/dies from Art Impressions.  I have to say it was pretty hard to decide which ones to use but, man, it was fun playing and I have lots left over for future projects.  

 I ended up using the #6041 - Flower & Bug die set as well as the scallop circle dies from the #5588 - Journal Oval Frames and the #5543 - Journal Template die set.  


I started off by die cutting a bunch of floral pieces from an assortment of AI pattern papers #6051 - Mother's Day PP and #5955 - Encouragement PP using the scallop dies and the flower die mentioned above.  Don't forget to die cut the small floral centers too.  These papers all coordinate so nicely so it was fun putting the flowers together. 
 I added a lot of dimension to my flowers by layering with a shift, curling and crimping.  If you don't prefer the dimension, you can layer flat, curl under vs. upward or ink the edges. 

Flowers using the #6041 - Flower & Bug die set
      Curl the petals upwards using a rounded tip of a paint brush, skewer, etc.  (see striped pedal below)
      Crimp the petals using the paint brush by placing the brush in the middle of the petal and pinch the sides up. (see floral petal below).    
      After curling and crimping all pedals, place some glue to the back center of the floral petal and adhere to striped petal at a shift to the right so that the striped petal shows through the floral petal.  Adhere the flower center with a pop dot (or glue if no dimension preferred).  For the finished flower, see the top center of the final project above.


Flowers using the scallop circles from the #5588 - Journal Oval frames and the #5543 - Journal Template die set.
      These are prepared the same as above except it has an extra layer and includes a first step to perform on all of the scallop pieces.
       Take the scallop circle and cut towards the center every other scallop (see striped piece below).  Be careful not to cut too far so that it doesn't cut into another slit.  This does not have to be perfect as it will be covered by the next petal.  
       Do this for each petal and then curl and crimp each petal as above.  See picture below - step 1, 2, 3.  Do each step for each petal.  Glue each pedal together or pop up for added dimension.  Adhere small circle to the center.   Finished scallop flower should resemble the bottom left of the project.
            

Now, for the flower pot.  
      Cut two 4 x 4 inch pieces of kraft cardstock.  Mark, with a pencil, at 1/4" from the left and right of one 4" side.  Line up the pencil mark on your trimmer and shift the cardstock so that it cuts at an angle to the opposite corner tip.  Do the same for the other side.  This will create the angle of the flower pot. 
      Using the #6009 - Basic Green PP, I cut a piece of green striped paper for the front of the pot, in the same way as the base of the pot, just leaving a slight edge of the base showing.  If you want to place a ribbon on the front (like I did), make sure to adhere to this piece before gluing the pattern paper to the flower pot.  Tuck the edges of the ribbon around the pattern paper.
      Cut two strips of 4 3/8" x 2" using the #5972 - Decorative Margin die.  Try to line up the scallop edge to be even on both sides.  Determine how much of this you want to be your pot top.  I cut mine down to 1 1/4" vs. the 2", but this is up to you.  I also rounded the top edges with a corner rounder before adhering with foam tape to the pot.  Now that you have a front and back of the pot, let's create the sides to make it stand and hold the card insert.
       Sides - Cut two strips of 3 3/4 x 1" and score and fold (M, V, M) at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4" down the long edge.  Glue the mountain sides to the front and back of the pot, just inside the edge so it doesn't show from the front or back.  (See picture below.)
       I also cut an easel piece from kraft cardstock using #5902 - Mini Scallop Frame die.  Adhere it to the back side of the pot.  This is to assure that your flower pot will stand firmly.


For the card insert, I cut a 3 1/2" by 5 1/4" piece of kraft cardstock for the mat and a 3 1/4" by 5" piece of white cardstock for the sentiment.  Using one of the newest release sets #6062 - Hydrangea Floral set, I stamped the sentiment onto the card insert and another one of the sentiments onto a piece of green striped paper left over from the pot front.  I picked up some plastic plant picks from the dollar tree and adhered the sentiment onto it. 

Now, for the funnest part, arranging the flowers into the pot.  This is your preference and might depend on how tall you want your card to be.  My card measures just under 5 x 7.  After arranging my flowers, I added some leaf sprigs die cut from a piece of the Green Basic PP, using a die from my stash, and placed them sporadically within the flowers.  I then adhered the plant pick to the inside of the flower box with strong glue.  Lastly, I added a few extra touches to the front of my flower pot.  I tied a piece of twine and added the garden tool charms to a jump ring and knotted onto the twine.  I added a pink ribbon bow and a die cut heart to the sentiment and the watering can.