Impression Obsession - Old is New

With such a huge collection of wonderful stamps from so many artists, sometimes the older stamps in the Impression Obsession catalog find their way out of the spotlight. We don't want them to be forgotten, so we like to feature them regularly. We hope you're inspired! 

This was one of my favorite stamps from my 2018 release - it reminds me of those nature walks we used to take as kids, collecting a little of this and that to bring home for fall crafts or inspiration. I used CanvaPaper here so I could do some coloring with Copics and some with watercolor.  The string is 'hanging' on a couple of copper brads... when was the last time you pulled out mini brads for a card? Hm?

Here's a closer look at the coloring, and you can also see where I've cut around the edges of a few of the leaves to shape and pop them up for more dimension. It's one of my favorite things to do on an image like this! You can use a stylus or the handle of a paintbrush to add lines or a curve as well. I've got a tutorial for that technique HERE.

Stamps I used: 

F13714 Nature Walk

C13677 Thanks for All

Remember that IO still has  grab bags of unmounted stamps! For just $5 you'll receive a bundle of "dozens" of unmounted rubber stamps!

Our fall sale is still on as well - remember to use code 2020 at checkout for a 20% discount on your order!

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

Sales and store updates!

Everyone is looking for a good deal this week! I have a few things going on:

As always, my blog readers can take 10% off any purchase from my Etsy store! It is a bit of a hodgepodge in there right now - I've added some jewelry and rubber stamps, and you can still find my art work there as well as jewelry and prints. This link will pop the discount code into your cart for you. Free shipping over $35 too!

I do still have items for sale on my Facebook page - lots of dies, coloring mediums, foils, unmounted stamps, and more. 

I also have a running list to help direct you to small craft businesses that are having sales - you can find that page here!

I hope you find something you love! 

Impression Obsession - Die Cut Obsession

There are so many amazing dies at Impression Obsession - this special Wednesday feature lets them have the spotlight! We hope you're inspired!

Before I go further...................................... 

You'll need to enter promo code 2020 at checkout to get the discount. Also, notice the order tiers - free shipping at $20 and a free gift at $50! There will be additional discounts on clearance items as well! Don't miss out!

I made a card today following this week's tutorial over at Splitcoast - it's a Mini Bendi Card! So cute. The base is a single panel, but it has 2 pop-out pieces - a folding panel in the middle and a curved panel at the bottom. It folds flat to fit in an A2 or A6 envelope (mine will need an A6 envelope, since the reindeer hang off the corner a little). 

I thought it would be fun to have the sleigh and reindeer flying off the card when it was propped up - that's a little piece of foiled kraft cardstock from Tonic. I love their cardstock, especially the metallics! 

IO Dies I used here:

DIE081-O Santa

DIE905 Typewriter Sentiments

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for die cutting inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the links and details! Have a great week!

Spellbinders Faith Collection.............jewelry!

Spellbinders has a beautiful new inspirational collection that released this month! There are gorgeous sentiments for foiling, as well as two die and foiling sets that can build crosses. Of course when I saw the foiling set, I immediately took it downstairs to my polymer clay table... and used it as a clay stamp instead! The two components for the cross image are perfect sizes for drop pendants. Here is the set I made, which is available in my Etsy store, if it wants to be yours...!
Here's a closer look at the earrings - I used copper components, and those beads are handmade out of paper. 

I spent the majority of the weekend at an "online retreat" playing with clay and making beads in my basement - this abstract copper wire oak leaf was a teaser project that I followed along with before the retreat, and now that I have all the tools to do these kinds of pieces, I'm excited to take my jewelry in a different direction, incorporating polymer clay, wire, stamps, paper and paint, and all the tools I already use and love. The larger dangle bead is an upcycled thrift find. 

Here's what the cross set actually looks like - I love that it can have so many different uses!

I hope you have a wonderful week! I'm still reeling a little after the end of Falliday Fest, high school play season and football season... this week I'll be working on catalog samples for Impression Obsession's January release as we switch to a monthly release schedule... making more jewelry pieces with the beads I made this weekend - here's a peek... can you tell I had fun?! ....working on some holiday jewelry ideas and starting a new portrait. That should be enough to keep me off the streets! 

Take care!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Give Thanks

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a project featuring a message of thanks. 
I pulled out a couple of stamps from my 2019 fall/winter collection - I had requests for Christmas stamps that weren't especially wintry, so there are several focal stamps featuring shells. This border can really be used any time of year! There's also a shell wreath, a shell tree, and a branch of shell ornaments. 

I started by brushing a little ink on the background (just the ink that was left in my brown brush), then stenciling and also embossing with the Falling Snow stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. The border design is colored with colored pencils, and then dotted with a white Posca paint pen.

I love this sentiment and this scrawly font. Here are links to the stamps I used: 

J13831 Holiday Shell Border
E13828 Give Thanks

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration, and remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Splitcoaststampers *throwback* tutorial: Diamond Shaped Ornament

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is actually one that Beate published in 2008 that didn't have a video - the Diamond Shaped Ornament. 

I was able to update it with a new video this week and include it in our Falliday Fest lineup! I hope you enjoy it! 

I was surprised at how quickly these came together! You could use plain or decorative cardstock - I followed another one of our Falliday Fest tutorials to create a full sheet collage, and used 1/3 of it for my ornament here. Here are the other pieces:

Today is day 5 of Falliday Fest - it's been a fun time of community and creating! There's still time to come and join us - the challenges and tutorials are easy, and they're a great way to build up your stash for giving this holiday season!

Spellbinders November kits!

If you've had your eye on stitching dies, this is your month for Spellbinders' Large Die Kit! This set of 6 holiday dies has so many possibilities. 
Each stitching die has a coordinating outline die, so you can use the stitching portion alone and anywhere on a panel, or cut it out to have a standalone embellishment. I decided to use the snowflake die on an ornament. so I did the stitching and then cut out a circle. I hope you've been able to see some other samples - if not, pop over to the kit page to see the samples there! There are so many possibilities, from thread colors to stitch patterns.

For the ornament hanger I used a stencil from A Colorful Life Designs - just a small section from one of the Marvelous Mask Ornaments with gold embossing paste. I happened to find the sentiment in the bottom of a box when I was shuffling things around - it's from a card kit that came out last year.

This month's Glimmer kit has some beautiful ornaments as well! I foiled with the Skybright foil, which is a beautiful pale blue, then colored in the ornaments lightly with Copic markers. I have a tutorial for the Acetate Tent Card over on Splitcoaststampers.

As usual, here are the club details, if you're not a member yet! My favorite perks are the extra sales and the 10% discount on the Spellbinders site (even on sale items!)! You'll begin receiving kits the month that you sign up, and the date you sign up will be your shipment day.

Spellbinders Monthly Club benefits: 

 Past Club Kits at Member Rates

 10% Store Savings

 Members Only Offers and Deals

 Earn Creative Rewards for Each Purchase

 Monthly Inspiration

 Cancel Anytime

 Skip Any Month

 Annual Membership Gift

 Exclusive Deals 

Here are the kits - the snowflake and border can even be used beyond the holidays, and the dies etch lines that make them beautiful even without stitching.

Love the modern look of this set as well, and the different sentiment options there are with separate pieces. There's a die that cuts around the bottom edge of the ornaments, which is very convenient too.

Thank you for stopping by!