Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Pink and Green (and a giveaway!)

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a project using the colors pink and green.

This is a pretty simple card - I love building backgrounds out of strips of paper, especially ones that are just hanging around on my desk. My focal image is colored with Copics, and the whole card is 'tied' together with a piece of silk ribbon, attached with a clothespin. (Overseas we used to hang our laundry out to dry - I miss that!)

I have an extra copy of this set to give away, so leave a comment below for a chance to win it! Please make sure I have a way to contact you. I'll announce my winner Sunday morning (Apr. 8). Good luck!

Fresh Laundry clear set (Pink Ink)

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Daniela @ For the First Time
Dina @ Dina Kowal Creative
Giovana @ Believe
Ilina @ Creativity Within
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat 
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink 
Kelli @ Stamping with a Dream 
Kittie @ Kittie Kraft
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio


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.

Splitcoast tutorial: Punch Board Snowman

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is this adorable Punch Board Snowman - these are fun and easy to make with an envelope or gift box punch board, and the width is perfect for making 4 from one sheet of cardstock!

The face details are made from the pieces punched from the hat, which I think is so clever. His nose was made by accident when I put the first corner of the hat in the wrong side of the punch. The dies I used are from Impression Obsession (Patchwork Holly, Patchwork Stocking) and the ribbon came from my friend Sharon at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store. The snowman is just the right size for a peppermint patty inside. 

Have fun with these!

Falliday Fest tutorial: Snowman Tea Light

With today's Falliday Fest tutorial, find out how to turn battery tea lights into these adorable Snowman Tea Light favors! I used die sets from Impression Obsession (Snowman set and Holly Flourish to ease the process - check the tutorial to find out how to use oval dies for a cute snow hat! That sweet green lace is from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Come over to the Falliday Fest Challenge Forum for all the details!

Falliday Fest tutorial: Nugget Cake

It's day 2 of Falliday Fest and our tutorial for the day is this adorable Nugget Cake! The sample on the site is done in a Halloween theme, but it can really be done for any occasion - or for no occasion at all! Who wouldn't love a cake made of chocolates?

I went with a Christmas theme for my sample, and topped it with a special sneak peek at a tutorial coming later...! That pretty crochet lace is from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store and the dies are from Impression Obsession - Snowman set and Holly Flourish.

Forming my layers are these 3 beauteous rings, made from a salt box and a TP roll.

So far my project is still intact, but I have a feeling it will fall prey to hungry boys soon. We'll see how long it lasts. ;)

Come over to the Falliday Fest Challenge Forum for all the details!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: It Must Be Love

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a project that expresses love. I pulled out a favorite sewing image and sentiment from my stamp line, and had a little fun with Brusho Crystal Colors for this card! The image was embossed with white detail powder first, then sprinkled with Brusho crystals (they've just released 8 new earthy colors - so exciting!).

Some of these colors are a fascinating mixture of color crystals that blend when wet, and I love how the detailed embossing captured some of the colors in there - some oranges, blues, and greys. In the space around the image, I blended a little more to add contrast, and added some shading with Distress markers. That beautiful silk ribbon is from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

I have a fascination with the Large Bow die:

That's what I used to create the loopy lacy border around the edge of my panel - this is 2 die cuts, each cut into 4 pieces.

I've added all my booth pictures from the CHA show to our Pinterest board - you can view them all HERE! The boards were beautiful and this was the largest stamp release ever!


Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for challenge inspiration -

Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Daniela @ For the First Time
Dina @ Mama Dini's Stamperia ---- you're here
Ellen @ The Serendipitous Stamper
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink
Kittie @ Kittie Kraft
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio

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.

Splitcoast Tutorial - Winter Watercolor Scene

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is brought to us by Heather Telford - Heather does beautiful watercolor scenes, and she's sharing some of her tips for making scenes with falling snow.

My scene is kind of a happy accident... I cut my masks from stencil film, then stamped this Impression Obsession image in Versamagic chalk ink...

Winter Scene 1

I remembered Heather saying in the video that she misted the stamp and the paper, so I did the same... aaaaand lost most of the detail of the image. But... with the brown ink, it looks a bit like a vintage photo, and I liked the way the ink feathered in the misted water.

Here are links to the the other products I used:
Christmas Comes Anew, Pine Pair, Twig Wreath Die Set

I'll have another scene to share on Friday.

Join us!

Mix-Ability Challenge: Roly Poly

Jeanne's Mix-Ability challenge this week is to roll color onto our projects. I used a brayer to roll a mixture of acrylic paints onto the raised areas of my embossed background.

Here's a closer look at the focal panel of the card - it's colored using Touch Twin Markers, and the colors I used are below. This image is a new one from Impression Obsession and her name is Olivia. The sentiment is from one of my clear sets, called Life Stuff Sentiments.

 

Come and join us!

CHA Sneak Peeks Day 1

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on our designers' posts throughout the week for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate daily from Impression Obsession!

My new release has a fun set of coffee and tea themed images, so I'll share a couple of those cards today! I made a matching set of 2 cards using a favorite print done with my Gelli Plate. The images are stamped with Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink onto clay-coated cardstock, then flicked with rubbing alcohol.

I stamped some of the other new designs into the background - here's a close up where you can see those images a little better.

I added some shading and highlighting to this silhouette image with Touch Twin Markers as well.

I used the same techniques and the other side of the background panel for the second card. The pendant is made with a decorative head pin and some glass beads.

Stamps I used: Steam Flourish, Grinder, Coffee Ring, Coffee Pot, Coffee Mug, Coffee Beans

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration, and comment for more chances to win!

the Impression Obsession blog
Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Daniela @ For the First Time
Dina @ Mama Dini's Stamperia ---- you're here
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink
Kittie @ Kittie Kraft
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio

Splitcoast Tutorial - Faux Metal Figures

Today's tutorial over at Splitcoast is so, so cool! Julia Aston is showing us how to make a faux metal figurine, using a paper mache shape. Her elephant circus wagon is adorable!

I did the video tutorial, and my mind ran wild with all the possible variations of products and methods of coloring and distressing... it was a feat of strength to pull all my thoughts and ideas into a video that represented the tutorial well. I hope you'll watch the video too! I had a lot of fun shooting and editing it.

This is the box project that you'll see me working on in the video. I absolutely love (LOVE!) how it turned out. Hard to believe both the bird and the box started off as unfinished wood pieces. The box cost .75 at a consignment store - I love deals like that! To decorate the box, I started by spreading it with Crackle Paste (DecoArt). It was my first time using the product, and I loved the way it spread. I added a few layers of acrylic paint and more crackle paste while it was in various stages of drying.

 The bird's wings came from a foil-covered die cut flower that was one of my practice pieces. I just cut it straight in half for the wing shape The nest is made mostly of bits of twine and twill, and some scraps and die cuts from my desk.

I love that coffee twill, don't you? That came from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

I made another project in the video - I'll share that with you tomorrow! Thanks for popping by today!