Sympathy Card

Welcome to the fourth day of the Impression Obsession sneak peek week. Today's photo ended up with a bit of a glare, so I appologize for that. The close-up lets you see the colors a bit better:

To make the card, I added some red, orange, and purple Distress Ink to a piece of white cardstock using a foam blending tool. I didn't realize that the paper had a subtle texture to it until I finished adding the colors. I then blended the colors by spritzing the paper with some gold Shimmer Spritz. After letting the paper dry completely, I embossed the new Dandelion Stem (F8714) and saying from the Sympathy Sentements clear set (CL114) with black powder. To finish the card, I added a layer of gold metallic paper to bring out the gold in the spray.

Need more inspiration? Check out what Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Vicki created.

Don't forget to leave comments for your chance to win an Impression Obsession gift certificate!

You Make me Smile

Welcome to day three of the Impression Obsession sneak peek week. I hope you have been enjoying it so far!

For today's card, I used the Darling Dahlia flower (H8715), Circle Fusion 2 background (CR002), and You make me smile saying (C8761).

To color the flower, I stamped it twice onto white cardstock, sponged yellow, orange, and red Distress Inks on top and sprayed it with some gold Tsukineko Shimmer Spritz. I then highlighted parts of the flower with a white Prismacolor pencil. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but I cut out the center of the flower and popped it up onto the background flower to give it a bit of dimension.

Want to see more new images? Check out what Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Vicki created. Don't forget to leave comments. One person a day will win a $25 IO gift certificate. All you have to do is leave a comment on each of the designer's blogs as well as the IO blog. If you leave comments all week long, you will be in the running to win a $50 IO gift certificate. Good luck!

Want to play along? You can find all the information here, and you could even win a $25 IO gift certificate!

Panda Hug

Welcome to the second day of the Impression Obsession Sneak Peek week. Yesterday I showed you a card with a Leigh Hannan image. Today, I am focusing on a Gail Green image. She draws the most amazing and intricate animal images. I instantly fell in love with the hugging pandas (Panda Hug F7668) and thought they paired well with the Hugs saying from the CL307 All Occasion II Kalani Allred clear saying set. For the background, I used the Bamboo Cover a Card (CC090) in Olympia Green ink.

I hope you will visit Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Vicki today to see their creations. Don't forget to leave comments. One person a day will win a $25 IO gift certificate. All you have to do is leave a comment on each of the designer's blogs as well as the IO blog. If you leave comments all week long, you will be in the running to win a $50 IO gift certificate. Good luck!

CHA Sneak Peek Week

Well, the Craft and Hobby Association is having their big conference in California, and I think a lot of us are living vicariously through the people who are lucky enough to attend.

Perhaps the second best thing to attending the conference in person is to check out the blog posts this week by the Impression Obsession design team. It will be a great way to see all the latest and greatest IO images!

For my first post this week, I want to share with you one of the new Leigh Hannan images. I just love this ice cream cone (Three Scoops E2448). I paired it with a clear stamp saying from one of the new Kalani Allred clear saying sets (CL352 Social Greetings 1). I tried to make the whole card look like neapolitan ice cream so I added some layers of brown, white, and pink cardstock. I also wanted to match those colors in the ice cream cone, so I chose an assortment of brown and pink Copic markers to color the image. To finish the card, I cut out the ice cream and popped it up on the card with some foam tape.

I hope you will join us this week in celebrating the new images. Each day, Shirley will post a master list of participating designers on the Impression Obsession blog. You can find that information here. Today, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Vicki all have something new and wonderful to show you.

Don't forget to leave comments on the various blogs. Each day you will have a chance to win an Impression Obsession gift certificate. Good luck!

Upcoming Class

Hello all! I just wanted to mention a couple of upcoming events. First, be sure to check back a lot next week. The IO designers will be posting CHA sneak peeks, and I have something to share every day next week. I hope you will stop by!

Next, I just wanted to give a reminder that I have a Memory Box Valentine class this Sunday from 12:30-2:30 pm at Angela's Happy Stamper. Today I am posting the cards that we will be making. They use the latest stamps and die-cuts from Memory Box.

Finally, if you are anywhere near Albuquerque, I will be teaching a couple of classes at the Hen House Paperie the weekend of March 10th. The details aren't finished yet, but I will be sure to update you when I know more!

IO Challenge- Oldie, But Goodie

Today's Impression Obsession challenge was to use an "oldie but goodie" stamp. Of course, I had to pick a Leigh Hannan stamp. Usually when I used this stamp, I only use part of it so that I don't have to spend a long time coloring. I often use a circle punch to cut out a fish and some coral then pop it up onto a card. However, I thought it best to use the whole stamp so that you could see what the entire image looks like.

To make the card, I colored the coral (J2219) with an assortment of Copic markers. To get a washed out look for the water, I first colored the background with a blue marker and then scribbled over the whole thing with a blender pen.

Want to get more inspiration for your older Impression Obsession stamps? Check out what Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Vicki created.

Want to play along? You can find all the information here, and you could even win a $25 IO gift certificate!

Latte Love

Today's Impression Obsession challenge is all about Hearts, Flowers, and Valentine's Day. I must admit that my card only has one tiny heart on it, but I was dying to use my new Latte Love image (D8679) as well as the coordinating Latte Love Words (D8680). I also thought that the Damask Cover a Card (CC081) works great as a Valentine background. To color the image, I used my R35, R39, and E31 Copic markers.

Need more Valentine inspiration? Check out the work by Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Vicki.

Want to play along? You can find all of the information here, and you could even win a $25 Impression Obsession gift certificate!

Quick Impression Obsession Valentine

Hello all! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and is ready to start thinking about Valentine's Day. I thought it might be appropriate to make a card that is really quick and easy to make. I think that after all the time people spend on Christmas cards, an easy Valentine to is a welcome thing!

I wanted to make a Valentine that would be appropriate to make for both men and women. I stamped the new Impression Obsession Rosy Ledger (H8666) onto cream cardstock using ColorBox Chalk Creamy Brown ink (my favorite). The stamp has a rose and leaves on the bottom. However, I didn't feel like coloring those elements. Instead, I overstamped that part of the image with the Vintage Rose Spray (C8652) in VersaFine Crimson Red ink. It isn't a perfect match, but I found that the brown roses and leaves worked as nice shading for the red roses/leaves. To finish the card, I stamped the Valentine Heart (D8654) onto kraft cardstock, cut it out, and popped it up onto foam tape.

I hope everyone had a happy 2011 and is ready for an even better 2012!

Pink Challenge

Nothing says Christmas quite like the color pink! Today's IO challenge was a pink color challenge, so I thought it would be fun to use it with one of my Christmas images.

To make the card, I used part of the Tall Trees (F2343) stamp. The original image actually has 5 trees on it. I stamped the trees with pink ink and then embossed it with JudiKins Psychedelic embossing powder. I love that stuff! I don't think you can tell from the picture, but the trees are sparkly and remind me of tinsel. I added some pink accents with a pink watercolor pencil and added some pink jewels. For the background, I used the Retro Floral (CC010) Cover a Card stamp.

Whenever I do a monochromatic challenge, I really like to try and only use that one color. I am proud to say that I made the card using only pink materials. It might have ending up a little too "Blush and Bashful" though. Did you get the Steel Magnolias reference? :)

Need some more pink inspiration? Check out the work by Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, and Vicki. If you want to participate in the challenge, you can find all of the information here.

IO Challenge- Only Stamps

First of all, let me apologize for my picture. It doesn't look very good and the colors are off. My Ott-Lite that I use to take photos needs a new bulb, so I was left with a sad side lamp.

Today's challenge was to make a card using only stamps....no patterned paper allowed. I love my Cover a Card backgrounds, so it wasn't hard for me to ditch the paper.

To make this card, I used the Gingerbread with Treats house (F7637), the Have a Sweet Holiday saying (B7654), and the Cover a Card Fluff background (CC014). I find that it is really hard to get a bright white look on kraft cardstock, so I embossed the background with white embossing powder to really make it pop. To color the house, I used watercolor pencils and a blender pen.

Here is a close up of the card so that you can see the sparkle of the Stickles:


Need more inspiration? Check out the work by Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Vicki.

Want to play along? You can find all the challenge information here, and you could even win a $25 Impression Obsession gift certificate.

Don't forget, if you want to win an advance copy of "Sugar Rush," you have until Sunday night to leave a comment on my previous post (the one with the snowman/cupcake).