Impression Obsession - Christmas Card Hop Day 1

November 1st and 2nd the Impression Obsession Team will be sharing projects to inspire your holiday crafting! Don't forget the  discount on remaining IO stock - enjoy 50% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I love how this card turned out - I had cut the base to figure out an answer for a newsletter question on Splitcoast, so it was ready to go, and the focal panel was just perfect for this image! (Tutorial is here if you want to make one too!) The image is watercolored with the typical added details using pencil and acrylic pens. When the panel was dry, I stenciled the stars around it lightly with coordinating ink. I love that added touch! 

IO Products:

CS1389 Unto Us clear stamp set

CS1386 Holiday Greetings clear stamp set

PP082 Vintage Christmas paper pack

STEN068 Stars stencil

You can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog each day through the event. Here are the links to today's projects:

Impression Obsession Blog
Anna Wight
Dina Kowal <<<<<<< you're here!
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Robin Clendenning
Angela Bode

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - don't forget digital!

Howdy doo! I'm pulling in late because I started a new job today as a graphic designer at Jostens! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work there. Today I learned to use their online editor and worked on templates for elementary school memory books. (in step 2, that's me creating the pages!)

Today you'll find our design team sharing favorite projects. I have a couple of Halloween cards today featuring our digital stamps, because I don't want you to forget them! If you love Gary Robertson's artwork, be sure to browse through this gorgeous collection of drawings exclusively  made for IO, and tuck a few into your cart!

both of the images I used are printed on watercolor paper and painted with QoR watercolor paints. I started here with a base of yellow, and layered in more paint and some colored pencil, adding highlights with a white paint pen.

For the second card, I used the same process, layering in some extra shadows on the front of the house. I should have brightened up the pumpkin so it would pop - another time I'll have to color it up like a night scene with a light inside the jack-o-lantern.

One of the most delightful things about Gary's images are black cats - did you notice this one?

IO Products:

E1842-DG Cat in the Jack digital stamp

H1838-DG Jack with House digital stamp

CL1365 Little Monster clear stamp set

CL886 Monster Mash clear stamp set

PP007 Vintage Halloween paper pack

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession DT Theme - Color Challenge

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share today with a beautiful Fall color palette - we hope we inspire your crafting and your IO shopping!  Enjoy 50% (or more!) off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

Many of the newer and more popular products were recently restocked for your benefit, so if you were interested in any of the Pooh sets, they are in again. Here's a set I designed last Fall - I used the color palette from the inspiration photo to warm up the view through the windows in this little scene.  I love this sentiment, and the way it fits with the image.

I used watercolors to color in the little scene, adding a little more shading with a brown colored pencil. The white lines on the windows were added with a paint pen - I intended them to look like reflections on the glass but they look a little more like rain instead. Oh well!

Speaking of bears, I completed my first custom memory bear order and he will ship off tomorrow! Isn't he the sweetest?

IO Products:

CS1138 Pooh Window clear stamp set

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the links and  details! 

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession DT Theme - Birthday

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share today with a birthday theme- we hope we inspire your crafting and your IO shopping!  Enjoy 40% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I did some wet-into-wet watercoloring to fill in these gift images, then cut out and arranged them on my card panel, popping up a few. Such a simple effect!  This is a great all-purpose birthday set, with outlined images perfect for coloring with your favorite medium.

IO Products:

CL1341 Birthday Hugs clear stamp set 

PP051 Chicken Wire paper pack

DIE1195 Rounded Rectangle Layers die set (sold out)

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details! 

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - More Halloween Inspiration

We're back with more Halloween projects to inspire your crafting and your IO shopping!  With October also comes an increase in the discount on remaining IO stock - enjoy 40% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I dug out some older dies and just let the card design itself - I started by cutting the web panel in black, then thought it might be pretty to layer 2 cuts in a window opening. I glued the webs into the frames, then layered them on the front and back of a die cut card base (I used a rectangle die from Spellbinders for that opening). The grey layer is rotated 180 degrees for some variation in the lines.

The spider is cut from brown fun foam, and I used alcohol and acrylic markers to color him. The little dew drops in the web are actually hot glue - I was poking through older blog posts and saw another card I had done that way, so the idea was fresh. I made the drops on a non-stick craft sheet. When they were cool I set them where I wanted them on the card, then heated them with my heat gun just until they went clear - that activated the glue enough to stick to the card. So fun, and much easier to control that way, rather than trying to drop hot glue directly on the card. Any glaze product could be used too, but I didn't want to wait for glue to dry.

IO Products:

DIE313 Spider Web Background

DIE115-J Spider Web die set

DIE291 All-in-One Frames - Rectangles 2 die set

CL1365 Little Monster clear stamp set

You can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog each day through the event. Here are the links to today's projects:

Impression Obsession Blog
Dina Kowal
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Robin Clendenning
Angela Bode
Anna Wight

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.

It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - Halloween Hop

Howwww is it October already?! I am unprepared. 

October 1st and 2nd the Impression Obsession Team will be sharing projects to inspire your Halloween crafting! With October also comes an increase in the discount on remaining IO stock - enjoy 40% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I thought this card was fun because the ghosts are made using the Primitive Snowman die - I just left off the arms and other accessories! Such a fun way to expand the use of a die set. The ghosts are brushed with a little yellow and grey ink for some spooky dimension. I used dark purple ink to stencil some clouds on purple cardstock, then splattered some white gesso for a starry sky. 

IO Products:

 DIE1353 Primitive Snowman die set 

STEN020-A1 Cloud Grass Scene stencil 

DIE968 Whimsical Rectangle die set

CL1365 Little Monster clear stamp set

You can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog each day through the event. Here are the links to today's projects:

Impression Obsession Blog

Dina Kowal <<<<<< you are here!

Giovana Smith

Jeanne Streiff

Laura Fulcher

Laura Williams

Robin Clendenning

Angela Bode

Anna Wight

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Memory Bears

I decided to teach myself a new skill, so over the last few months I've been learning to make jointed teddy bears! It's been a fun process, and I learn a little more with each one. I'm set up to make memory bears now, so if that interests you, you can find all the information here! I've also got a Facebook page set up so I can collect photos in one place, and answer any questions you may have. 

Bears can be made completely from sentimental fabrics, or I can make plush bears wearing the fabrics in a little (unremovable) outfit.

I've been having fun searching for blankets and plush fabrics at the local thrift stores - this one is made from a blanket and some upholstery scraps.

Here are the 3 sizes together. The small bear is 7" tall in a seated position and 11" standing. The medium bear is 9" tall in a seated position and 13" standing. The large bear is 11.5" tall in a seated position and 16" standing. 

I hope  these will become treasured keepsakes! Please message or email me if you're interested in something customized. I'll be making some holiday ones as well! 

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - September Team Favorites

The IO Team is back today to share a favorite card from this month's release, so here's mine! Head over to the Impression Obsession Blog for all the links so you don't miss anything. All the newest releases can be found HERE.

This card ended up being a little showcase of quite a few different products! After several hours of cardmaking I had strips of paper on my desk and these 3 wanted to stay together. I used the colors to inspire my focal panel - the mittens are loosely watercolored, and the sleeves are actually made from the scarf of the large snowman set, just flipped and cut in half. 

IO Products:

DIE1359 Snowman in Scarf die set

DIE1365 Mittens & Stockings die set

DIE1353 Primitive Snowman die set

PP081 Nordic Patterns paper pack

PP068 Heart Gingham paper pack

PP019 Basics 11 - Greens paper pack

CL1362 Winter Hello clear stamp set

Hope you are staying cool wherever you are today! Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details! 

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession DT Theme - Holiday Cards & Tags

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share  featuring holiday cards and tags - we'd love for you to hop along with us!  

By coincidence, I made a card and a tag using this adoooorable snowman die set, so let's talk about those today! to make the card, I first folded a card base to be just larger than the main die. I set the edge of the die just outside the fold line and ran it through the die cutting machine to create a folding base in the shape of the head. A second cut was layered over the base to hide the fold. I cut the other pieces out of the same white cardstock, and cut an extra scarf for balance. Coloring was done with Copic and OLO markers. 

For the tag, I used a different color scheme - and by the way, the configuration of these faces is much different than the sample on the site, so have fun giving your snowmen their own personalities! So many possibilities. I love the slot punch too - it's intended for ribbons but that little slot is so much easier to 'thread' twine through! I love it. The one I have is from EKSuccess but there are a lot of other options linked there as well.

IO Products:

DIE1359-Z Snowman in Scarf

The die set is temporarily out of stock but will be back soon! Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the links and  details! 

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!