Thursday, December 20, 2018

IO Challenge- Holiday Greetings (Any Holiday)


Greetings friends.  It is time for another IO challenge.  This time the theme is holidays....any holiday.  For my card today, I made a holiday card for a very specific friend who LOVES holiday Hallmark movies.  She gets so excited anticipating them each year.  You could just as easily swap out the sentiment for another holiday greeting, but I was thrilled I could make a card just for my friend.


To make the card, I started with a blue notecard and embossed the Cover a Card Snowflakes in silver powder for my background.  This is a really good generic background for holiday or winter cards.

Next, I added a white strip of cardstock and stamped my Hot Cocoa sentiment onto top with black ink.  The curve of the hill I cut freehand and then added some Stickles for sparkle.

For the house, I stamped the Gingerbread Cottage onto 140lb watercolor paper, colored it with Zig Clean Color Brush markers and a waterbrush, cut out the image and then popped it up on my card.

Impression Obsession Items Used:
Cover a Card Snowflakes CC066
Hot Cocoa C19883
Gingerbread Cottage E19885

Don't forget to visit the Impression Obsession blog today to see the list of all the designers participating in the challenge and to read more about how you can join the challenge too!

Impression Obsession Blog

Monday, December 17, 2018

Find Joy and New Release Winner


First and foremost, I want to announce the winner of last week's new release contest.  Congratulations Helen Budz, you are the winner of the $10 Impression Obsession gift certificate!  Please email me to collect your gift certificate code.

For today's card, I used two more of the latest release designs.  The first is the Toucan, which I stamped onto 140lb watercolor paper and colored with Zig Clean Color Brush markers and a waterbrush. The second is the "Find Joy" sentiment that comes from the Skinny Words cling set.
The background I made myself using the Herb Leaves Cover a Card stamp.

I hope everyone has a great start to the week!


Impression Obsession items used:
Toucan D7994 
Skinny Words 3213-LG

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

IO Winter Release- Day 3 (Final Day)

Impression Obsession is having a three day event to share with you the latest release.  I have a $10 Impression Obsession gift certificate to give to a randomly chosen person who comments on my blog for those posts.  Enter one day for one entry on enter all three days for three chances to win.  For today, comment below with your favorite stamp from the release! If you answered that question already, let me know if you are making holiday cards.  If so, are you finished yet?  All comments will be open until Sunday, December 16th at noon CT. Winner will be announced on my blog on Monday, December 17th.  Good luck!
All of the new stamps are available now! You can find them HERE

The list of today’s participants can be found on the Impression Obsession Blog
Also, you will want to make sure to stop by the IO blog because there are 3 more chances to win there!


The other day I posted a quote by Anne Frank and today I am posting one from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I guess I have been in the mood for positive sentiments filled with love.

To make the card, I first made a background using the Rose Leaves Cover a Card stamp.  At the top part of the white cardstock, I have the Denim Cover a Card in the background using Baby Blue ink.  The rest of the card has the rose leaves on top in Navy ink.

To finish the card, I added the brand new sentiment on top and colored a few of the letters and heart with colored pencils.

Impression Obsession Items on the Card:
Rose Leaves CAC 309
Stick to Love D19898

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Impression Obsession Winter Release-Day 2





Impression Obsession is having a three day event to share with you the latest release.  I have a $10 Impression Obsession gift certificate to give to a randomly chosen person who comments on my blog for those posts.  Enter one day for one entry on enter all three days for three chances to win.  For today, comment below with your favorite stamp from the release! If you answered that question in yesterday's comments, let me know what you are looking forward to this holiday season. All comments will be open until Sunday, December 16th at noon CT. Winner will be announced on my blog on Monday, December 17th.  Good luck!
All of the new stamps are available now! You can find them HERE

The list of today’s participants can be found on the Impression Obsession Blog
Also, you will want to make sure to stop by the IO blog because there are 3 more chances to win there!


Greetings friends.  Today I wanted to share a card to make for the important friends in your life.  It would make a good Valentine card, but really, it is something that you could send year- round.

To make the card, I stamped the sentiment and flowers onto the card using Impression Obsession black ink.  Next, I colored my hearts and flowers with an assortment of Prismacolor pencils.  The nice thing about the Prismacolor pencils is that they show up really well on kraft cardstock.  To finish the card, I added a pink watercolor paper scrap and a brown notecard.

Impression Obsession Items Used:
The Heart Needs C13737
Floral Swag D19902

Other Items Used:
Prismacolor Pencils

Monday, December 10, 2018

Winter IO Blog Hop- Day 1


Welcome to the Winter Hugs Hop!

Impression Obsession is having a three day event to share with you the latest release.  I have a $10 Impression Obsession gift certificate to give to a randomly chosen person who comments on my blog for those posts.  Enter one day for one entry on enter all three days for three chances to win.  For today, comment below with your favorite stamp from the release! All comments will be open until Sunday, December 16th at noon CT. Winner will be announced on my blog on Monday, December 17th
All of the new stamps are available now! You can find them HERE

The list of today’s participants can be found on the Impression Obsession Blog
Also, you will want to make sure to stop by the IO blog because there are 3 more chances to win there! 



Greetings friends.  Today I wanted to share a card featuring a quote from the new release that I really loved.  In this day and age, I don't think it is a bad idea to focus on the positive and how we can each improve the world.  I am also impressed and humbled by how wise Anne Frank was at such a young age.

To make the card, I started with a coffee filter, sprinkled it with some Colorburst Powders, spritzed it with water and then placed the entire filter onto some glossy photo paper.  It is important to use photo paper rather than regular glossy paper.  I think the inkjet photo paper works better because it allows the inks to dry, the paper doesn't tear (even when it gets wet), and the paper doesn't warp even when you add lots of water.

Next, I allowed the paper to dry completely before stamping the How Wonderful sentiment on top with black ink from Impression Obsession.

Sometimes when I want to make a sentiment the focus of a card, I like to make an interesting background that doesn't overpower the wording on the card.

Impression Obsession items used:

Other Stamping items used:

Happy crafting!



Thursday, December 6, 2018

IO Challenge- Quick Christmas Cards


Greetings friends.  Need ideas for some quick Christmas cards?  Want to participate in the challenge yourself?  You can find a list of all the participating designers as well as information on the challenge over on the Impression Obsession blog.


For my card to day, I made a quick design that involves two stamps and some basic coloring with Zig Clean Color Brush markers.  I didn't bother to do any sort of blending.  I simply colored the holly and leaves with the markers.

To make the card I stamped the flower/holly image that is called Swag onto 140lb watercolorpaper at the top and bottom using black Versafine ink.  Versafine is my "go to" inkpad when I am doing any watercolor work.  Notice that I flipped it over so that the image would "frame" my By Gosh By Golly sentiment in the center.  I colored the outside edges with a light brown marker and a waterbrush, but if I were to do it over again, I would have just sponged on some brown ink.

Impression Obsession Items Used on the Card:
Swag D19881
By Gosh By Golly E19878

Other Items Used on the Card:
Zig Clean Color Brush Markers
Black Versafine


Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Huge Impression Obsession Sale!

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1176319&u=1809425&m=79613&urllink=iostamps%2Ecom%2F&afftrack=

Six Days Only!


Our biggest sale of the year starts tonight at midnight!

Use coupon code THANKS to take a big 25% discount* off EVERYTHING on our site from Wednesday, November 21 until Monday, November 27 at midnight EST.

This INCLUDES all clearance and sale items on our site and there are LOTS of those!
 

Thursday, November 15, 2018

IO Challenge- Autumn Colors


Greetings friends.  Today's challenge is all about Autumn Colors, but that doesn't mean you have to choose Fall images!  I decided to go with red, orange, yellow and brown and then use those colors to make a card that was inspirational instead of autumnal. 

To make the card, I started with a piece of cream cardstock and sponged some Pan Pastels onto the cardstock to make it look like a sunset.  I then stamped the elephant design onto the card with brown Versafine ink and colored underneath the wildlife scene using some brown Pan Pastel chalk.

To create the background, I used the Map Cover a Card background and stamped it onto kraft cardstock using the same brown Versafine ink.

Super easy!  If you wanted to make an actual fall card, why not choose a different cover a card pattern and stamp a bunch of leaves on top of the Pan Pastel background instead?  So many choices...


Impression Obsession items used on the card:
Elephant Scene F7920
Cover a Card Map CC063
Unfortunately, I didn't realize the sentiment has been discontinued.  May offer a replacement suggestion?  How about this one-
Great Adventure C14157


Don't forget to visit the Impression Obsession blog today to see the list of all the designers participating in the Autumn Colors challenge and to read more about how you can join the challenge too!

Impression Obsession Blog


Thursday, November 1, 2018

IO Challenge- So Very Thankful (Thanksgiving/Thank You)


Greetings friends.  The challenge today is all about making Thanksgiving or Thank You cards.  For my card, I wanted to share a card using one of my newer Cover a Card Backgrounds.  The Leaf Ledger Cover a Card is great for making autumnal-themed cards. I used it with bright fall colors, but it also looks great in greys and blacks for Halloween.

To make the background, I sponged yellow, red, and orange PanPastels onto cream cardstock, stamped the background on top with Versamark and then sponged more of the same PanPastels on top.

For the top piece, I added the Sunflower Pumpkins and Happy Thanksgiving sentiment before coloring the pumpkin with Zig Clean Color Brush markers.

On the topic of giving thanks, I appreciate you all stopping by today!



Impression Obsession items used:
Leaf Ledger Cover a Card CC329
Sunflower Pumpkins C19853
Happy Thanksgiving C19863

Don't forget to visit the Impression Obsession blog for the list of all the participating designers as well as information on the latest challenge.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

IO Challenge- Happy Haunting


Greetings friends.  Today I wanted to share a  Halloween card that I colored with  IO Halloween images, some Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and a waterbrush.

For my card, I created a background starting with white cardstock and then stamping the Medallion Cover a Card Background on top using grey Versafine ink and then stamped the Flourish 2 pattern on top with black ink.  The funny thing about that stamp is that I often use it for Halloween cards as well as wedding cards.  Who knew you could own a Halloween/Wedding stamp?

To layer on top of my background, I added my Boxkin pumpkin onto some 140lb watercolor paper, colored it with my Zig pens and then blended everything with a waterbrush.  I let the purple paint drip to the bottom to "ground" the image and to give it more of a Halloween feel. 


Impression Obsession Items Used in the Cards:
Medallion Cover a Card CC032
Flourish 2 H5575
Boxkin D19849

Don't forget to visit the Impression Obsession Blog to see the links of participating designers and to read more about this current challenge.



Saturday, October 6, 2018

World Cardmaking Day and Impression Obsession Sale!

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1176319&u=1809425&m=79613&urllink=iostamps%2Ecom%2F&afftrack= 

Greetings friends!  Happy World Cardmaking Day!  In order to celebrate this happy day, Impression Obsession is offering a 20% off deal that is good for today only.  

Here is a link to the Impression Obsession site:  Impression Obsession
Here is a link to the new release of dies: New Release Dies

As a personal celebration, I made a card using my new favorite die.  This card was so quick and easy to make!


The card uses one die that has all the pieces connected.  It is called Haunted House frame, and it is really easy to cut.  To make the card, I simply layered it onto a Distress Oxide background:

 
The colors of Distress Oxide inks I used were Vintage Photo, Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Candy Apple, Seedless Preserves and Faded Jeans.  Next, I spritzed the paper with water to give it some splotches:


All that was left was to glue the die on top.  Quick and easy!  You could crank out a lot of these in a short amount of time.

Impression Obsession Items Used:

Happy Cardmaking day everyone!

Thursday, October 4, 2018

IO Challenge- Make it Sparkle

Greetings friends.  First I would like to apologize that I still don't have the hang of taking a picture of glitter.  I wish that I was able to better capture the sparkle of the card.

This card is really simple in that I layered the cutout of the new Merry Word Block onto some gold glitter paper by the Paper Cut.  The gold glitter paper is amazing because none of the glitter comes off....my kind of glitter paper!  The word block is great because it is intricate, but it cuts as one piece, and it cuts beautifully. 

To accent the card, I cut out a jingle bell from the new Jingle Bell Set and some gold mirror paper.  I then popped up the jingle bell with some foam tape and added some neutral twine.  Here is a close up:



Impression Obsession items used:
Merry Word Block DIE766-W
Jingle Bell Set DIE759-E

Don't forget to participate in the challenge yourself and to visit the other designers for inspiration!


Monday, October 1, 2018

Llama Card and Winner Announcement


Greetings friends.  Today I wanted to do a quick post to show you my llama card and to announce my winner from last week.  First...the post

I fell in love with the Lolly Llama stamp and planned to pair it with the Fa la la Llama sentiment to make Christmas cards.  However, I forgot to order that sentiment, so I chose to use one from the Llama Love clear set instead.  The good news is apparently llamas work great for many occasions!

To color the card, I stamped my llama and sentiment onto 140lb watercolor paper with versafine ink and then colored everything with some Zig Clean Color Brush Markers and a waterbrush.

And now for what you have been waiting for!  Congratulations to Kristy Vittetoe for winning the $10 gift card to Impression Obsession.  Kristy was chosen at random from the comments left on last week's Monday and Tuesday posts. I will be tracking you down on Monday afternoon to get your information.  Congrats again.

Impression Obsession Items Used on the Card:
Lolly Llama H19864
Llama Love MC715

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Impression Obsession Fall/Winter Die Release- Day 2


Greetings friends.  Today is day two of showing you a project using some of the new release of dies from Impression Obsession, which you can view here-  IO New Release

For today's card, I used then new Santa on Roof die as well as a sentiment from the Christmas Stitched Words die set.  The great thing about a solid silhouette die is that it is really easy to cut out and glue to a card.  I wanted a quick and easy card that could be replicated in mass quantities, so I glued my black silhouette to a blue watercolor background.  As a finishing touch, I popped up the die cut sentiment with some foam tape.

Impression Obsession Items Used:
Santa on Roof DIE736-V
Christmas Stitched Words DIE 764-YY

And now for the fun stuff!  I have a $10 Impression Obsession gift certificate to give away on my blog.  I will select a random winner from the comments left on today or yesterday's posts to win the gift certificate.  The comments will be left open till Saturday, September 29th at 12pm EST to give people a chance to enter and I will post the winner on my blog on Monday, October 1st.  Good luck!

Hint...there are other IO designers sharing ideas on Monday and Tuesday with a chance to win a $10 gift certificate.  To see a list of designers posting today, please visit the Impression Obsession blog.  Good luck!

Monday, September 24, 2018

Impression Obsession Fall/Winter Die Release Celebration- Plus Blog Prize!

 
Greetings friends!  Impression Obsession has an amazing new release dies that I know you are going to love  You can see all the new designs here-  IO New Release I will be posting a card today and tomorrow to give you some ideas of how to use the new dies.
 
For today's card, I wanted to use Ickie Sickie coordinating stamps and dies.  The set of stamps includes a robe, jammies, slippers, tea, tissues, etc.  Pretty much anything you need to make your get well soon cards.  I really love the bunny slippers and am excited about the coordinating dies.  I knew I would never cut  them out myself, but I thought they would look great popped up on a card.

Here is what the what the stamps look like.  The images that are shaded in grey show you which stamps have coordinating dies in the die set:

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1176319&u=1809425&m=79613&urllink=www%2Eiostamps%2Ecom%2Fmm5%2Fmerchant%2Emvc%3FScreen%3DPROD%26Product%5FCode%3DDIE713%2DYY%26Store%5FCode%3DIOSTAMPS%26search%3Dickie%26searchoffset%3D%26filter%5Fcat%3D%26PowerSearch%5FBegin%5FOnly%3D%26sort%3D%26range%5Flow%3D%26range%5Fhigh%3D&afftrack=

To make my card, I die cut the robe and bunny slippers and then stamped the coordinating images on top using black Memento ink.  I then colored the images with Copic Markers and popped up my bunny slippers with foam tape.  For my background, I used a Cover a Card Background called Tapestry 2 in yellow Versafine ink. Here is a close up of the card and markers I used:




Impression Obsession Items Used on Card:
Ickie Sickie stamp set CL889
Ickie Sickie die cut set DIE713-YY
Cover a Card Tapestry 2 CC025

And now for the fun stuff!  I have a $10 Impression Obsession gift certificate to give away on my blog.  I will select a random winner from the comments left today or tomorrow on my posts to win the gift certificate.  The comments will be left open till Saturday, September 29th at 12pm EST to give people a chance to enter and I will post the winner on my blog on Monday, October 1st.  Good luck!

Hint...there are other IO designers sharing ideas on Monday and Tuesday with a chance to win a $10 gift certificate.  To see a list of the participating designers, please visit the Impression Obsession blog.  Good luck!

Thursday, September 20, 2018

IO Challenge- Things With Wings


Greetings friends.  For today's challenge, I went outside my comfort zone.  I have to admit, I don't do as much mixed media.  Sometimes I get intimidated by it.  However, my mom and I got together and created a lot of backgrounds using gelli plates, stencils and acrylic paint.  I thought this particular one in greys and blacks made a nice backdrop for the Bee Collage stamp.

I stamped the bee collage onto my background with black Versafine ink, let it dry and then highlighted parts with white and yellow Prismacolor pencils.

To finish the design, I added one of the borders from from the Lindsay Borders clear set.  This border that looks a bit like barbed wire is something I use all the time for Halloween cards.

The last step  was to add the Artful Soul sentiment with the same black ink.


Impression Obsession items used on the card:
Bee Collage F22007
Lindsay Borders CL766
Artful Soul C20394

Don't forget to check out the other designers! 

Thursday, September 6, 2018

IO Challenge- Rainbow Colors


Greetings friends.  I hope you are in the mood for lots of colors today because the current challenge is all about rainbow colors.

For my card today, I wanted to make a rainbow watercolor drip background, so I started with 140lb watercolor paper, wet it with water and then let assorted watercolor paints drip down the paper.

I cut off a strip at the bottom of the paper so that I could add the Colorfully sentiment onto it with black ink and mount it on the top of the card.  To finish the card, I added colorful butterflies I cut from the Butterfly Set dies.

Very simple and very easy.  Here is a closeup:


On a different note, if you are one of my Virginia friends, Impression Obsession has an upcoming warehouse sale.  IO is located outside of Richmond, so you might want to think about making the trip.  There are great deals to be had!

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1176319&u=1809425&m=79613&urllink=www%2Eiostamps%2Ecom%2F&afftrack=


Impression Obsession items used:
Butterfly Set dies DIE046-A
Colorfully C17064

Don't forget to visit the other designers for more colorful inspiration!


Thursday, August 23, 2018

IO Challenge- Pop Up Your Words


Greetings friends.  Today is all about making words the focal point of your card.  I don't know if you have noticed, but Impression Obsession has lots of amazing quotes from the funny and ridiculous to wonderful inspirational advice.  For my card today, I wanted to pop a sentiment I really enjoyed an pair it with a Cover a Card background that matched well with the words.

To make the card, I started with the Shattered sentiment and stamped it onto white cardstock with black Versafine ink.  Next, I colored in the mosaic with various colors of Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.

I thought the new Faceted Cover a Card looked like it would match well with my sentiment, but I didn't want to color in individual sections.  I had already done that with the sentiment.  Instead, I brushed white cardstock with an assortment of PanPastels, stamped the background on top with Versamark ink and then brushed more of the chalk on top.  That will give you a two-tone effect, and it is really, really quick to do.

Impression Obsession items used on the card:
Shattered F18966
Faceted Cover a Card CC330


Need more sentiment inspiration?  Don't forget to visit the other designers!



Thursday, August 9, 2018

IO Challenge- It's a Guy Thing (Masculine Cards)


Greetings friends.  I know that sometimes it is hard to think of masculine card ideas.  Hopefully, today's challenge will provide you with lots of inspiration.

For my first card, I chose to use my Beetle 3 stamp.  I have been really wanting to color him, so this was the perfect chance.  I stamped him onto 140lb watercolor paper with black Versafine ink and then colored him with some Zig Clean Color Brush markers and a waterbrush.  Here is a closeup:


The background paper is woodgrain watercolor paper from Hero Arts that I colored with distress stains.  I made the background quite some time ago, and I forgot to write down the exact colors of Stains I used.  I used an assortment of grey (predominantly), blue, and brown.

The Artful Soul font is a bit feminine, but it was the sentiment I wanted for this card.  I'm sure some of you have artful men in your lives.  If not, any other sentiment could be substituted.

For my second card, I once again used my beetle stamp and paired it with the coordinating Mini Beetle 3 stamp.  I wanted both sizes because I knew I would be using them together to make some collages.  I had to take the picture from the side so that my metallic paint would show up.  Yes, you can use metallic paint for masculine cards!


To make the card, I stamped my beetles and an assortment of Seth Apter stamps onto regular black cardstock and then embossed everything in gold.  Then I colored the images with some Twinkling H2O paint, which shows up great even on dark cardstock.  Remember, because I didn't use watercolor paper, it is important to not use too much water.  Otherwise, the paper will really warp or tear.

Speaking of Seth Apter....  his images are absolutely perfect for collage or masculine projects.  I used his artwork again on the last card.

Card 3 is a Halloween card I thought would be perfect for a guy.  Okay, I already have plans to use it for my brother.  I wouldn't be a proper sister if I didn't taunt him at any chance:


To make the card, I sponged the bottom of some white cardstock with brown PanPastel chalk and the top with grey PanPastels.  Next, I stamped my dots from Seth's Grunge Grids set with Versamark ink and then sponged them with the same grey chalk, which made them appear darker than the background grey.  I then embossed the Black Cats and Scaredy Cat sentiment in black so they would really pop on the card.

Impression Obsession Items Used in the Card:

Card 1 (Artful Soul Beetle)
Beetle 3 E13647
Artful Soul C20394

Card 2 (Metallic Beetle Collage)
Mini Beetle 3 B13644
Planner Moments 3187-LG
Planner Basics 3196-LG

Card 3 (Scaredy Cat)
Grunge Grids 3209-LG
Black Cats E7983
Scaredy Cat C3527


Need more Christmas inspiration?  Be sure to visit the other designers:



Thursday, July 26, 2018

IO Challenge- Christmas in July


Greetings friends.  Today's challenge is all about finding inspiration for holiday cards while you aren't in a holiday rush to get everything else done.  I still talk about the one year I had my Christmas cards done over the Summer.  I was so happy!  Every other year I have pretty much procrastinated till the last minute.

Because it is still Summer, I decided I wanted to challenge myself and use warm Summer colors instead of cool Winter ones.  I rather liked the effect.  They are not colors I usually choose for Christmas, so it was fun to change things up a bit.  For the main part of my card, I stamped one of the new reindeer images onto 140lb watercolor paper with black Versafine ink and colored everything with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and a waterbrush.  Remember to let each section that you color dry completely before you more on to the next.  If you don't, all the colors will run in to each other.

For my background, I used two Cover a Card Backgrounds.  The first one is one I usually choose for Summer cards called Sand.  I stamped it in Impression Obsession Banana ink onto white cardstock.  I covered it with a second background image called Lattice, which was stamped in Impression Obsession Goldenrod ink.  Here is a closeup so that you can see the sand pattern better:


I love the mottled look it gives underneath the Lattice pattern.

Impression Obsession Items Used:
Sending Cheer B13678
Big Buck (Reindeer) C19884
Sand Cover a Card CC216
Lattice Cover a Card CC202
Banana Ink
Goldenrod Ink

Other Materials:
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Need more Christmas inspiration?  Be sure to visit the other designers: