Hello Ai fans! Are you ready to hear about something new for 2024? Don't worry. We're still keeping our Bi-Weekly Thursday challenges where you simply follow a challenge prompt and you have a chance to win a free stamp set. Now, we're taking that a step further and you'll have some work to do. Each month we will offer a new challenge and we hope you'll play along. Here's the catch...if you win, you'll be our Guest Designer in two months! January and February are already covered. If you win the January challenge here is what will happen. You will be the Guest Designer in March. You will receive a free stamp set of your choice mailed to you at no charge. You will make at least one card or project for your upcoming challenge with the theme you are assigned. You will mail your card to Art Impressions at your expense. (Cheapest way possible is fine) We will promote you card(s) and or project(s) on Art Impressions social media. These do not have to be just cards. If an ornament, tag, gift box, journal, or something else strikes your fancy then go for it! For our very first Guest Designer Challenge we have a color challenge. These challenges are for Watercolor, Marker, Colored Pencil and other artists. We're looking for pastels in this color scheme. I'd like to thank Joel Krebs for all of the amazing artwork he creates to support the Art Impressions challenges. They make it extra special. I just ask and he magically makes beautiful things appear. Think Pink, Rose, Pale Greens or Blues, Gray, Peach, Apricot, Tan etc. Perfect colors for your Valentine projects that I'm sure you're ready to start working on. Now to introduce our amazing first Guest Designer. I'm so proud of her for her bravery. She isn't a Blogger so this was totally new to her. She's been practicing taking better, brighter photos. She was unsure along the way. (I hope she doesn't mind me sharing that) That being said, I couldn't have asked for a better first Guest Designer. She had no previous posts to look at since she's the VERY FIRST ONE! That's something she can always say. She was first. I know who will be second...I've already selected her and she is also fabulous. Will YOU be next? Let's give Gennette Houghton a very warm welcome. She stepped outside her comfort zone and created a GORGEOUS card to help inspire you for our January color challenge. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello! My name is Gennette and I found my first AI watercolor tutorial in 2020 on Facebook and have been hooked ever since. One of the things I love most about the watercolor line is the immense versatility of the stamp sets. I don’t think I could even pick a favorite set because I love them all, I do however, tend to lean towards a more rustic and country vibe. My love for the Art Impression watercolor stamps also expanded out in to their other lines as well. One of my favorites would be the Funny Farm line, fitting since I live in the country and on a farm. You could throw me a snowman set and I would also be happy as well. I only dabbled a little bit with stamps prior to finding that first tutorial and had only made a small handful of cards, mainly for my husband and kids. AI has sparked a passion and I am so glad I found a beloved creative outlet that I so needed in my life. I am deeply honored to have been asked to be the first guest designer in Art Impressions new challenge. It’s cold here in Michigan, so of course I am already dreaming of spring, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. This month’s challenge is based on a beautiful soft and spring like palette, so I chose the 5435-WC Foundations Potting Bench. I inked the stamp in 565 and 969, leaving off the two short lines for the leg of the bench just above the bucket. I then stamped off twice before stamping the final image. I also created a mask for the bucket and birdhouse with post-it tape. I tend to prefer stamping and cutting out my masks and then keep them with the stamp set to use in the future. I then chose a cat from the 4873-WC Cats set and inked it in 969, stamping off 3 times and with the mask on the bucket in place used the stamp positioner to stamp the cat into the bucket, and I created a mask for the cat as well. Using a pencil I created a guideline for the foliage and the word Love on the bottom large pot and used a masking pen to create heart flowers. I also penciled in the band, strings and hearts on the hat. I then used a Micron on the strings of the hat, and eyes and nose on the cat. I then started pulling the color out of the lines to give the images definition. Then painting the base image and the cat, using the Tombow colors – 312, 761, 772, 992, N52, 969, and a mix of 565 and 969. Masking off the cat, bucket and birdhouse to put the foliage in the large pot with TB 177 using my guideline for the shape. I then removed the masking fluid once everything was dry and used the bullet tip of TB 761 to fill in the heart shapes. Leaving the cat mask in place I then stamp some foliage, with TB 177, hanging down around the bucket, then removed the mask and placed a couple going up around the backside of the cat. The rest of the containers were filled with a multiple sets of flowers and foliage, using TB colors – 177, 133, 885, 856, 685, 676, and 772. Finishing off with Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed proof white for the white flowers. Using the 5063 Rectangle Double Stitched dies, I cut out my image and placed it on a gray mat with a pink background paper. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, please share the love and join this month’s challenge. Best of luck to you! UPDATE: Nettie created a second card to inspire you even more! This time she used the retired #5230 SBC Exclusive Roses Set. She used Tombow #803, N52, 126, 177, plus Signo Pigment Ink Gel Pen – Gold and 5065 – Oval Double Stitched Dies. Gennette Houghton Tombow colors: 177, 133, 312, 885, 856, 685, 676, 761, 772, 526, 992, N52, 969, 565 Sets used: 5435, 4873, 5474, 4051, 4604, 5126, 4052, 5258, 5476, 5475, 5418 Dies: 5063 I hope that you like this new Monthly Guest Designer Challenge and that you'll give this a go! Thank you so much Gennette! You set the bar high. Update: I have a bunch of duplicate stamps. For as long as I have duplicates I will be giving them away here on the Monthly Guest Designer challenges to a lucky random winner. This will be for U.S. addresses only since they will be mailed by me and not Art Impressions. All you need to do is enter a card into the challenge and you will automatically be entered into the drawing. This month I have the sweet little bear and bee from 2022. EXX5582 Exclusive Bear Freebie His cover art matches this challenge so well which is why I chose him for my first giveaway. Good luck everyone! Here is the fine print: ✻ Please make a new card or handmade crafty creation. ✻You can make any item you wish; this is not limited to cards! ✻ Limit two submissions per person. ✻You MUST use Art Impressions stamps or dies! You may use other companies products but the main focus should be on Ai items. ✻If you win, you will receive one free stamp set of your choice. In return you will create a brief write up explaining how you made your item and email it to me. (Reneé) and you will mail your project to Art Impressions at your expense. (cheapest method possible is fine) International winners may submit photos through email. We will share your creation on Art Impressions social media. ✻Please include your first name and last initial on your submission. ✻We love to comment on your entries, but keep in mind if you use a private group or a platform that you need to sign up for, we probably won't be able to. ✻ The Ai Challenge is open to everyone, international submissions are welcome! ✻ Include a link back to the Ai Blog or grab our button on the top right of our sidebar! ✻ Share the Ai love if you can, by clicking and commenting on your fellow crafters. ✻ Make sure to get your link up by the deadline to enter your creations. ✻ Good luck and happy crafting! You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter