Block Watercolors

 Hello!  

It's official!  School is out for the summer!  What. A, Year!  Now I am really trying to hit the craft room as I am so behind.  

I love floral sprays.  And the new-in-June Botanical Branches from Sweet n Sassy Stamps are perfect fillers for your favorite flowers.  

I started with some watercolor paper and distress ink reinkers.  I used the sketch from this week's challenge at There's A Stamp For That (thanks to FSM for letting us use your sketch).  Join us!  This week it is this sketch, frogs or paper piecing! 

As you can see, I rotated the sketch and made it into a mini slim card.  The colored blocked areas were painted with reinkers.  The flower from the True Beauty Stamp Set was stamped in InkOn3's No Line Coloring Fade Out Ink and watercolored with distress ink.  I lost some of the detail in the flower so I put it back in my MISTI and overstamped the image with Ripe Persimmon Distress Ink.  The leaves from the True Beauty Set were stamped in Versamark ink on vellum and heat embossed in Brutus Monroe's Alabaster Embossing powder.  The leaves and flower were fussy cut out with my Cutterbee Scissors-brand new pair and wow,  do they do a fab job!  

The branches are from the Botanical Branches Stamp Set; they were watercolored with distress ink and then fussy cut out.  The spray was arranged in the lower corner of the card and adhered.  A sentiment strip, using a sentiment from the Birthday Wordfetti Stamp Set was added along with a few sequins.  The panel was mounted on a Grout Grey card base.  

I am linking up to Addicted to Stamps and More, Make Your Mark

as well as The Krafty Chicks Challenge- All Occasions.   

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Summer!

Lee Ann 

For Grand Daughters

 Hello, Hello!  

Well, the countdown is on!  We officially have 4 1/2 days of school left!  In some ways this year has flown by and it others, I can't believe we are still in the same school year as last September!  

I am looking forward to spending more time with friends this summer.  Many of them have grandchildren; when I saw the new Cameo Etched Dies from Spellbinders, they immediately reminded me of a their grand daughters and I had to have them to make cards for my friends' grands.  

Isn't this just precious?  I started by die cutting the traditional black silhouette. Then I die cut several of the wreaths, playing around with colors until I found just the right combo.  I added yellow centers to the sweet, little flowers using Copics.  I then assembled all of the pieces.  

One of the dies from the Classic Large Ovals worked perfectly as a mat for the wreath and silhouette.

The whole thing was popped up slightly onto a piece of kraft cs.  The kraft layer, a peachy pink patterned paper layer, teeny tiny white strip and narrow yellow strip were all adhered to the card.  

I stamped the sentiment and added some white pearls around her neck to finish it off.

  

I am linking this card up to Addicted to Stamps and Things- Die cuts and Stencils  

Thanks so much for stopping by and happy summer!

Lee Ann  

Get Your Adventure On!

 Hello Everyone! 

The Impression Obsession Design Team has set aside a day to share fun, themed projects.  This month's theme is 'Adventure'!  

Have fun checking out what our designers have made today.  Today's participants can be found on the Impression Obsession Blog.  

Yes, I am a huuuuge fan of the great outdoors and adventures! It was my inspiration for this card.  *see photo below for my inspiration!

The Snow-Capped Mountain dies.  Oh goodness, how fun are these!  The mountains were diecut from a lavender cs and then sponged with whites and greys to get the desired shading.  Obviously, the snowcaps were die cut from white cs.  Next up were the fabulous new Trees Dies, which were colored with Copics.  Lastly was the awesome Birch Tree Rectange Frame Die which was die cut from light brown cs and then details added with Copics. 

The background was stamped with a light brown ink using the  Cover a Card Pine Trees Stamp.  Next, the die cuts were assembled and adhered to the card base, with everything being framed with the Birch Tree Frame Die.   The sentiment, one of my favorites ( I have a t-shirt with this quote on it!) is Wander and is perfect for the mountains I love to wander in the summer time.  

I am linking up to Addicted to Stamps and More- Die cuts and Stencils. 

And my inspiration?  The beautiful Rocky Mountains, as seen from the Golden Gate Canyon State Park camp site near Denver. 

Thanks for stopping by!  You can see all of the themed inspiration on the Impression Obsession blog.  

Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  

Lemons and Lettering

 Hello All!  

I am up on the Sweet n Sassy Stamps blog today with this card.  We are featuring stamp sets from Rebecca Rios this week of Customer Appreciation Month.  

This CAS card features the Life and Lemons Stamp Set.  Rebecca's lettering is just amazing!  The lemon was stamped on Tim Holtz Watercolor cs and watercolored with Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  

I used the sketch from MFT, which I turned 90 degrees.  

Inspiration came from the Inspired By Challenge~

Details are on the snss blog, along with mini set of thank you cards.  

Thanks for stopping by~

Lee Ann 

Impression Obsession Team Favorites Blog Hop for May!

 Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the Impression Obsession Team Favorites Blog Hop!  Impression Obsession Designers are sharing their favorite projects from the May release.  

If you came from Laura Williams's blog, you are in the right place.  If not, head over to the Impression Obsession blog to start the hop. 

We will be giving away 3 Impression Obsession Grab Bags so the more designers' blogs you comment on (1 comment per blog) the greater your chances of winning!  Comments will be open until Monday, May 17th at 11:59pm CT. All winners will be announced on Tuesday,  May 18th on the Impression Obsession Blog.  

If you have been around a while, you know I am a nature lover and travel lover.  I love the Southwest.  I turned the Mountain Layers Slimline stamps into the red rocks of the southwest.  I stamped the mountains in corals to oranges, then sponged the sandy foreground.  I fussy cut along the top edge of the mountains.  

The sky was sponged on a separate panel and clouds were added using the new Cloud Border Dies.  Scrubby shrubs and dead trees were die cut using the Bare Branch Die.  I die cut parts for the Cute Trailer Die and assembled it.  LOVE this sentiment! Park It was stamped with IO Black Ink.  My parents took us all over the country as kids, travelling in various sized trailers, so this is a total sentimental card for me! 

Finally, I assembled the whole card creating a scene in a national park.  Can you guess what national park the trailer is parked at?  

The sky panel was adhered to the card base; the red rock panel was popped up on foam tape and adhered to the card base.  The shrubs and trailer were adhered to the card.  I free handed my own red rock die cuts and added them to the scene to finish the card.  

I am linking up to Addicted to Stamps and More for their 'Die cuts or Stencil' Challenge. 

You can get all of the new stamps and dies HERE! 

Your next stop on the hop is Lynda!

Impression Obsession Blog 

Laura Williams 

Lee Ann Barrett

Lynda Pleckan

Vicki Garrett

Angela Bode

Anna Wight

Dina Kowal

Giovana Smith

Ilina Crouse

Jeanne Streiff

Kia Gibson Clapper 

Laura Fulcher 

Enjoy the hop!  

Lee Ann  

Birthday Blue Bird

 Hello Hello! 

I hope all of the moms out there had a lovely weekend.  My mom celebrated both Mother's Day and her birthday.  I can never have too many feminine birthday cards, and my mom happens to be a bird lover.

What's this???  Patterned paper you say???  Every now and then I take a look at the huge stash of patterned paper I have and decide I need to make a dent in it.  Not sure if using 1 sheet is making a dent, but...

I have so many 'favorite' stamp sets; sometimes it just depends on the day and the mood I am in!  But this set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps, designed by Nina B., will always be at the top of my list!  Singing Praises can be colored so many ways and if you are into realism, her birds are just spot on.  

I opted to get the watercolors out for this card.  I went with my Arteza Watercolor Brush Pens.  Sometimes I feel like my stamp lines get a bit muddy with watercoloring, even with using waterproof ink.  This time I stamped the image in InkOn3's No Line Coloring FadeOut Ink using my MISTI and then watercolored.  I really did not know where I was going with it and ended up with a variety of pastels on the bird.  These colors were carried over into the flowers as well.  

After my image was totally dry, I placed the image back in the MISTI and stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  I love the crisp lines that I ended up with.  My simple sentiment is from the Birthday Wordfetti Stamp Set.  I gave the flowers white centers with a white gel pen and added a few Simon Says Stamp Moonshine Sequins.  

It is Customer Appreciation Month over at Sweet n Sassy Stamps and all of Nina B.'s stamps are on sale this week!  It's a great time to pick up the stamps you have been eyeing! 

I am linking up to Just Us Girls for their latest challenge~

And Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog- 'Feminine'

And also linking up to Addicted to Stamps and More for their 'Any Occasion' challenge

And the Mix It Up Challenge, 'Layering'.

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week everyone!

Lee Ann  

Spring Has Sprung

 Hello Everyone! 

I am still over here making slimline cards with new slimline stamps from IO.  I tried to do white blossoms on this card.  

This is the Magnolia Stamp in the slimline line.  The image was colored with Copics on Neenah Solar White cs.  The sentiment, which is from the Spring Sentiment Set, was heat embossed with Simon Says Stamp Rose Gold Embossing Powder.  

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- feminine.  

I used the sketch at Stick It Down. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  

Featured Artist at Sweet n Sassy Stamps

 Hi All!

I have a couple of cards up on the Sweet n Sassy Stamps Blog today.  It is customer appreciation month and each week of May we are highlighting one artist's stamps.  This week we are showcasing Jenn Nilsson.  I love her sweet and whimsical style.  And, you can get in on a great deal when you purchase her stamps- buy 2, get 1 free!  

This is one of my favorite sets of Jenn's~

Country garden has sweet, floral images like this bucket of flowers.  This was colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  

The inspiration for this card came from the sketch at Sunday Stamps~

And have you noticed that embossing folders seem to be making a comeback?  Well, I was in need of some new ones, so I picked up a couple, including the one used here.  I started out by watercoloring a panel of cs with purple watercolor paint- I used Ken Oliver Colorbursts (surprised??!).  Once the panel was dry, I took my new Diamond Star Embossing Folder from Altenew and spritzed one side of the folder with water, placed the paper in the folder and ran it through the embossing machine.  The water did wonderful things to the watercolor paint, mottling it, lightening it and just plain giving it such a cool effect.  I let the paper dry again and then once dry, I die cut a circle from the paper with a die from the Scalloped Stitched Circle Dies from IO.  

I also framed the card front with a MFT scalloped frame die in white and then assembled my card.  The sentiment is from the Precious Poppies Stamp Set. 

I am also linking this card up to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge- I used embossing, layers and scallops (scallops did not show up in the photo).  

And the Cupcake Challenge- Mother's Day~

Next up, this adorable puffer from the Fin-tastic Friends Stamp Set.  I wanted to pair him with another new embossing folder, Ribbon Waves 3D embossing folder from Altenew.  I pictured in my head how great this folder would be for an underwater scene.  I didn't do much of a scene here as I wanted to keep the card CAS, but I love the look of swimming in the ocean.  

The puffer was colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  The background was done similar to the one above.  I started by sponging on distress inks in various shades of blue on some cs.  Next, I inked up the inside of the embossing folder with distress ink and spritzed it with water, put the sponged panel in the folder and ran it through the machine.  It turned out OK, but I wanted more variation in the blues, so I did a little distress ink water coloring, following the curved lines of the embossing.  This gave me the look I was going for.  

Once I liked the background and it was dry, I stamped the sentiment using my MISTI.  The words fit perfectly, following the curves of the embossing.  A few sequins finish the card. 

Remember, all of Jenn's stamps are on sale this week, so if your were thinking of buying, now is the time! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week, all!

Lee Ann  

Day 2 of the Impression Obsession New Release Blog Hop

 Hello, Hello! 

Welcome back to Day 2 of the Impression Obsession May New Release Blog Hop! If you came from Laura Williams's blog, you are in the right spot. If not, head to the Impression Obsession Blog to start the hop.  Each day (May 3rd and 4th) you can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession blog.  

We will be giving away THREE Impression Obsession $25 gift certificates-the more you comment (one comment per blog post per day) the greater your chances of winning!

All comments for each of the hop days will be open until Monday, May 10th, at 11:59pm.  

Winners will be announced Tuesday, May 11th on the Impression Obsession blog.

I camped as a kid, in various sizes of travel trailers.  The thrill of traveling has been with me ever since.  So a trailer die??  Yes, Please!  Pieces in white, blue, orange and silver were die cut with the Cute Trailer Die.  Details were added to the pieces with Copic markers and then the trailer was assembled.  Trees using the Trees Dies were also die cut from white cs and colored with Copics.  

And what is camping without a camp fire?  The Small Campfire Die is the perfect size to go with the trailer.  It was diecut, colored with Copics and assembled. 

This scene needed a night sky and I just happened to have one in my background stash.  It was paired with a couple of hills that were diecut with the Hill Landscape Layers Dies. 

The card was assembled and the finished off with a heat embossed sentiment from the S'Mores Stamp Set.  

I don't know about you, but when I am camping S'mores are ALWAYS on the menu! 

Oh my goodness.  These are the cutest dies ever!  I paired the S'Mores Dies with the adorable Thermos and Mugs Dies.  All pieces were die cut from white cs and then colored with Copics.  I loved being able to give the marshmellows different looks.  

I googled vintage thermoses for a fun design and came up with this one.  Loving the retro feel!  I added the perfect piece of patterned paper and another adorable sentiment from the S'Mores Stamp Set that was stamped with IO Black Ink. 

So I have to say, these dies are just super fun!  You can find them and all of the new products HERE. 

Next up on the hop is the talented Lynda! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Lee Ann  

May Impression Obsession New Release!

 Hello!  

Welcome to the Impression Obsession May 2021 New Release Blog Hop! If you came from Laura Williams's blog, you are in the right spot.  If not, head over to the Impression Obsession blog for the start of the hop.  

Each day (May 3rd and 4th) you can find

a list of participants on the Impression Obsession blog.  We will be giving away THREE

Impression Obsession $25 gift certificates-the more you comment (one comment per blog post per day) the greater your chances of winning!

All comments for each of the hop days will be open until Monday, May 10th, at 11:59pm.  

Winners will be announced Tuesday, May 11th on the Impression Obsession blog.

So can you say cuteness??  Country cuteness?  Camping cuteness?  Either works here!  The new Birch Tree Rectangle frame is just fabulous!  I love the detail of the branches and the sweet leaves that come with it.  I colored the frame with Copics.  

Next up, the adorable Big Bear stamp.  He is actually a mix of watercolor and colored pencil.  Once colored he was fussy cut out.  The sentiment panel was first stamped with the Mountain Layers Slimline Stamps.  They work just as well on a regular, A2 size card as well.  I had to get those purple mountains in there.  Lastly, the What's Up sentiment was stamped in IO Black Ink.  

At this point I decided I needed some trees in my background so die cut and colored with Copics the new Trees Dies.  

Everything was assembled on a dark gray card front.  The card front was stamped tone on tone with the Wooden Plank Cover a Card.  This stamp is one I use frequently as it comes in handy for so many designs.  

The new tropical image, Hammock Time,  is perfect with the new Happy Retirement sentiment! I stamped the image with IO Black Ink on Mixed Media Paper and then loosely colored with Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  

The new stamps and dies are available now!  You can find then all HERE.  

Next up on the hop is the talented Lynda!  

Enjoy the hop! 

Lee Ann  

Field of Flowers

 Hello Everyone!  

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!  We have had some amazing weather here in the midwest. 

I am sharing a simple, yet striking card made with the slimline line of stamps.  

I love these layeringing stamps!  I started with the Meadow Floral Stamp Set, stamping the grass and stems in green.  Next, I used the Grass Set, stamping the  shorter grass in darker green.  This grass set is just perfect-love it for scenes.  The flower heads were stamped in yellows and oranges.  

The sentiment is from a new set, aptly named 'Sentiment Set'.  

I love how this turned out.  Simple but oh so bright and cheery for someone who is ill. 

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- 'Anything Goes', 

Krafty Chicks Challenge- 'Anything Goes', 

and Addicted to Stamps and More- 'Any Occasion'.   

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed Sunday!

Lee Ann  

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

 Hello All and Happy May! 

A couple of years ago I headed to the Grand Canyon.  I did not realize until on the road, just how much of route 66 we would be on.  Such a fun, nostalgic road trip!  I did the real route 66 as a child with my family when we drove all the way from Chicago to California.  That was a big deal back then! 

So when I spotted this Route 66 themed stamp set, Hit the Road, I had to have it.  I love the little linear route 66 map. 

I colored up my images with Copics and fussy cut them out to create a collage style card.  I stamped the 'one way' image down the side of the card in ombre fashion.  I used my MISTI to do this so I could line up the image perfectly as I went down the paper.  I stamped the route map in Versafine Onyx Black Ink and then layered the gas pump, route 66 sign and old truck, adding dimension to the sign and the truck.  Happy Birthday was stamped across the bottom of the collage.  3 sequins finish the CAS card.

Have you checked out the challenge at There's a Stamp for That yet?  Fun, laid back challenge- check it out!  This week you can choose between masculine, card, belated birthday or bicycles.  I have gone with masculine birthday.  

I am linking up to Krafty Chicks Challenge for their Anything Goes Challenge

And to Addicted to Stamps and More- Any Occasion. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful rest of the week!

Lee Ann