Welcoming back one of our Designers ...

Good morning. I am truly happy to announce the return of Julie Odil to our Design Team. She is a great friend and designer, and I'm excited that she has returned to share her creations with us.

My name is Julie Odil, and I am thrilled to be back on the Great Impressions Stamps Online design team.  Great Impressions stamps have impressed me (pun intended) for a long time!  I love how easily and cleanly they stamp.  I’m so pleased to be resuming this fun journey!

I’ve always been creative – I play many instruments, like to write, and have been crafty my whole life.  I began scrapbooking about 10 years ago and cardmaking about 6 years ago, but things really took off when I began my blog 5 years ago.  It was a life changing experience.  I can’t believe how much fun I’ve had and how many friends I’ve made through my blog. I’d love it if you’d stop by for a visit: Muddy Paws & Inky Fingers

Please join me in giving Julie a BIG Welcome Back! 

New Designer ...

Good morning. We are saying goodbye to Dori Shelton, and wish her all the best as she spends time with her family and other endeavors. With Dori stepping down please join us in welcoming Debi Brile as our New Designer. Debi was our Guest Designer back in November, and we are so happy to have her join us.

Hi! My name is Debi. Card making has opened up a wonderful world for me. My dear husband, of 35 years, always worried about what I would do with my time when I retired. Now it is filled with stamps, paper, blogging, and fabulous crafty new friends. Different techniques and fancy folds intrigue me. Most of the cards I make are geared toward children and go to Send A Smile 4 Kids. Occasionally, I teach card classes for a group of Red Hat friends - feathers, bling and tons of fun! I also enjoy crocheting, sewing, baking, Sudoku puzzles, and reading (you'll find an occasional book review on my blog among the card posts). And, I am so happy to be joining the Design Team at Great Impressions Stamps.

Please join me in giving these ladies a BIG Welcome! 

New Designer Team

Good morning. This past week we said goodbye to our Designers Julie and Leah. Both of these ladies will truly be missed and we wish them all the best. With Julie and Leah leaving us, we are bringing on two New Designers.

First up is Dori Shelton from Perfectly Created Chaos! You met Dori in October when she was our Guest Designer for the month.

My name is Dori and began scrapbooking in 2003 while living in Okinawa during my husband’s deployment to Iraq. I was pregnant with my second child, and it was just a great way for me to keep my mind off of many things that were stressing me out at the time! Gradually, I got more into card making and started my blog to share that creativity with others in hopes to inspire and teach others as well. I’ve also learned so much from the paper crafting community over the years. We are still a military family, we still move…all the time…and I still pack up all my craft stuff and unpack it every 2-3 years! Our 2 children in Okinawa turned into 3 children and now they are all a little older (16, 12 and 10) leaving me more time to craft which is great! But at the same time, I’m still a “school taxi, homework helping/suffering, laundry doing, lunch packing and baseball mom” So in other words, I can’t really remember the last time I was bored! 

I do still scrapbook; but I do that on a personal basis when I have time. I don’t blog or share them online. However,  I love my paper crafting hobby. It keeps me sane, it keeps my mind focused and it’s just for me. I love designing an idea in my head, sketching it out, and then pulling the materials from the shelves and then putting it all together!

Next up is Robin Craddock from Robin's Reflections. 

Hi my name is Robin Craddock. I have two beautiful daughters. I started crafting about six years ago when we moved to Ohio. I was born here but lived all of my adult life in Georgia. I mainly make cards but I have started dabbling with mixed media. I am ecstatic about joining the team here at Great Impressions.  I love these stamps and am so exited to share my projects with you. 

I can't wait to share their projects with you starting with our first 2017 Challenge on January 1st.

Please join me in giving these ladies a BIG Welcome! 

New Team Welcome!

Hi, friends!  We had a Design Team call recently, and now it's time for us to announce our *NEW* design team members!  We are excited to have these ladies join us here at Great Impressions, and we hope you enjoy their work as much as we do!  And now, our new team will introduce themselves...

Donna Phelan: Crafting By The Beach

Hello!  I have always been a crafter, dabbling in creating stained glass ornaments and lots of beading and jewelry making.  I’ll try anything once!  I started my love affair with paper and card making a little over 5 years ago and most other crafts have been left far behind.  So may pretty papers, so little time!  I finally started my blog just over 2 years ago and find it a fun way to share my creations.

I have been married to a great guy for almost 27 years and we are both self-employed.  We live on Old Cape Cod and have for the past 15 years.  Our beautiful daughter will be getting married this fall at a Vineyard here on Cape Cod, a magical setting.

I was so pleased and honored to be invited to the Great Impressions Design Team!  I love the quality and the wonderful assortment of images and sentiments of these stamps, and hope to share some unique creations with you all.  I am very excited to get to know all of these very talented ladies on the Design Team…..my new online BFFs, if you will!  Happy Stamping!

Emily Daggett: Studio M

Hi! I'm Emily- a thirty something single gal enjoying a simple, quiet life in the Midwest. I've been a card maker for about ten years. I started out in scrapbooking but decided a full page was just too much space to work with, and that's when I made the switch to cards. I also enjoy the practicality of it, and the chance it gives me to share my creativity with others. When I'm not making cards I like to spend time gardening, sewing, biking, hiking and birding.

Ruza Rebel: Ruza's Craft Corner

I'm a stay-at-home mom to a very special young lady in Northern Illinois. I've been crafting since I was a young child, and when I became a "SAHM" I turned to crafting to stay busy. Creating cards, altering items, and just having fun with paper and Copic Markers is an amazing hobby that I truly love. I'm very grateful that I have a husband that supports me, that my son loves seeing my creations as well, and that my special young lady enjoys getting into my crafts (sometimes). I truly love the challenge of making something beautiful with the various products available in the crafting industry, and I look forward to sharing my love of crafting with Great Impressions amazing stamps.

Toni Maddox: Frankie Helps Craft

Hi there!  My name is Toni and I live in the Pacific Northwest just outside of the Seattle area.  I've been here for nearly 15 years (when did that happen?!) but am a Midwest girl at heart, having spent many years in Indiana.  I have a wonderful partner who indulges my hobbies, two stepkids who are all grown up now and living in CA for school, and Frankie the cat who's as crafty as I am.  I've dabbled in various crafts my whole life and have explored about everything, including quilting, cross stitch, dyeing, jewelry-making, knitting, and currently card-making.  When Seattle weather permits, I like to be in the garden (think about it anyway--LOL).  Otherwise, when I'm not crafting or working, you'll likely find me lazing about on the sofa reading or watching a movie with cat at my side.

That's all for us today, friends.  We hope you take some time to visit our new gals and check out their beautiful blogs.  Stay tuned for some fabulous creations from these new gals!  We'll be back tomorrow with more crafty posts.  Until then, HUGS and happy stamping to you all!

Ghoulish Boo!

Just a reminder...Have you signed up for our charity blog hop

to benefit the Ronald McDonald House, yet?

Can you feel it?

A little coolness to the air, a tinge of yellow in the trees...Fall is just around the corner!

My most favorite season is coming and with it the holidays!

Halloween is one of those holidays that crafters seem to love or not...with very little in-between. I'm one of those that loves Halloween. It's a holiday full of color, glitter and fun! I mean, c'mon...you get to dress up and eat chocolate...caramel apples, cider, pumpkin donuts...have I mentioned I'm a bit of a foodie? *grin* If you've got a favorite Fall recipe, I'd love to hear about it!

Speaking of recipes, I have one for you featuring Great Impressions Stamps'

Ghoulish (F501)

and Distressed Background (K94)!

A few layers, scraps of patterned papers and fiber, an embossing folder, Distress Inks...

and Stains and Stickles...

and a Tim Holtz Sizzix die...an oldie, but goodie!

Okay, here we go...stamp Ghoulish with Staz-On on the front of the vellum. Use Distress Stain in Picket Fence on the back...don't worry about staying in the lines. It's okay to get messy! Once dry, use Spica pens to add a little color and glitter to the ghosts eyes on the front side. Carefully tear along the edges of the vellum

I embossed the orange panel with an embossing folder, but if I had Spider Web (G379), I would have heat embossed it to make the background instead! Use Distressed Background to give the background more character.

The rosette was made using scrap paper and the Tim Holtz Mini Rosettes die. Now you can get out those Distress Inks and go to town making each layer look a little more vintage and add Stickles where ever you need some sparkle!

Don't forget to visit our September Challenge post

& enter your fabulous creation for a chance to win!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Abundant Blessings

Hey, Crafters! Are you making plans for Labor Day weekend? Are you planning a few days of getting inky? I know between the grilling and fishing I hope to get some time in the studio to make cards for our upcoming blog hop for the Ronald McDonald House...are YOU signed up, yet?

The stripes are painted onto watercolor paper using a waterbrush and Stampin' Up! inks.

I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Great Impressions Stamps has wonderful versatile images and sentiments. This sentiment is actually a Thanksgiving saying, but since I only used the first 2 lines...for now it's not! 

This is a lovely dandelion stamp, isn't it?

Washi (Smash Tape) Banners.

If you want to make this card, you'll need Great Impressions Stamps:

Abundant Blessings (C384)

Seeded Dandelions (G298)
Blowing Seeds (A118)

Have a GREAT weekend!

Inky hugs,
Angi

Very Creative

Hello, hello!

Are you just loving the stamps this week?

I'm having a great time using the back to school themed ones...like this Very Creative kitty! Kitty is colored up with a few Copics.

When I saw this stamp, I just knew what I was going to do...color splats with the Distress Stains! Open the bottle and SMACK the dauber on your project...really...that's it! Practice on a tag. If you don't really like the results, spray it with some Perfect Pearls mist - makes wonderful backgrounds!

(This technique is great for working out a little stress...

just make sure to wear an apron and cover up your work area!)

I added some clear embossing powder over the paint bits on the palette and the splats for some shine and texture and a computer generated sentiment.

I hope YOU find some 'di-stressing' time this week!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Oh Baby Two!

Woohoo! It's Thursday and I've got another baby project for you - this time it's baby tags times two!

I love that there are girl shoes AND boy shoes. Having both made it super simple to change up the colors while using the same layout design. Now I'm prepared!

I used Ranger's Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy to give the shoes texture and dimension.

You can make these tags, too! You'll need these Great Impressions Stamps:

Baby Girl Shoes (E757)

Baby Boy Sneakers (E756)

New Little Baby (C434)

Have you entered our August Challenge, yet? What are you waiting for?  :) You can enter up to 3 projects! (No backlinking, please. Only new projects.)

Inky hugs,

Angi

Simple Collage Tag

After my crafting hiatus, I needed a little bit of play time! Out came the tags and bits of ribbon and a few of my favorite Great Impressions Stamps!

Distress Inks, Versamark and clear embossing glitter give this tag its soft colors and texture.

Water Swirl Border (H200)

(Did you notice the item number is H-2-O? lol)

Butterfly Flourish (G405)

4 Squares of Summer (F527)

Just a few more days until our next monthly challenge begins...why don't you warm up with a few tags and your favorite Great Impressions Stamps?

Can't wait to see your lovely creations!

Inky hugs,

Angi

New Release Week - 4 Squares of Summer

Welcome to Day 5 of Release Week!

Have you enjoyed the projects so far? All week our Design Team members have been sharing projects using the latest Great Impressions Stamps!

Want to win some Great prizes? It's easy...

1. Be a follower of our blog.

2. Leave some comment love

You can leave comments EACH DAY of Release Week on the Great Impressions Stamps blog

and the Design Teams' own blogs. 

** The more comments you leave the better your chances to win! **

You ever see those stamps that have adorable multiple images and not know what to do with them?

Here's an idea!

This is a viewmaster card...remember those toys?! Simply use the tip of your finger to rotate the sidewheel and new pictures show up in the window!

This 4 Squares of Summer stamp was perfect for this card!

Using my current go-to coloring medium: Distress Markers and the direct to rubber technique, a little huff and viola! darling bitsy color images! These would be great for inchie art, too.

The Release Week stamps are available now - no waiting in line -

visit the Great Impressions Stamps' online store!

If you can't order all you want now, use the wish list feature...

Don't forget to share your thoughts on the Release Weeks stamps, projects or just leave a comment to let us know how we're doing! Come back tomorrow for more inspiration!

Inky hugs,

Angi

InLinkz.com

Heaven Sent Spring Frame

Hope you had a great 4th of July! I don't know about you, but my summer has flown by! In only a few weeks my kiddos will be back in school and we will be working on getting back into that school routine.

I've been taking quite a few photos with my phone this summer and I'm always on the lookout for  a way to display those smaller pictures. Using a few dies, Great Impressions Stamps and some leftover chipboard I made a few clipboard type frames.

This one uses the Spring Floral Border (H228) and Heaven Sent (B221) to showcase those adorable memories!

Love the way this turned out - the vintage feel with the bits of color. Love it even more with a photo...

What have you colored lately? Don't forget to enter your "Stay in the Lines" coloring project in our monthly challenge!

And if you love Great Impressions Stamps, we're looking for one more Design Team member; check out the Design Team Call!

Stop by tomorrow for more Great Impressions Stamps inspiration!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Cherish

Good morning!

Angi here, filling in for Jenny today. There have been a few changes going on behind the scenes on the design team and the blog and Jenny has been working hard making sure everything goes smoothly...not to mention she's been doing a lot of the work while on the road! We look forward to seeing her creations again next week!

For now, I have a card for your viewing pleasure...

This is the Flower Flourish (K87) - such a simple and elegant stamp, large enough to use as a border or background, but with enough detail to use in smaller parts, too.

What? You haven't seen the word stamp before? Actually, you might have seen it...

it's the Always Cherish Memories (E745) stamp!

There's a lot going on this month on the Great Impressions Stamps Blog:

Design Team Call - we're looking for one more member

and the monthly challenge - Coloring in the Lines!

Click the links for the details!

Hope your Tuesday includes some crafty fun!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Sweet Birthday Wishes

This week I thought I was on top of stuff - finished my projects early and all I had to do was write up the posts...then I went to check the calendar to see what was next...oops! I designed my card using next week's theme.

Go figure. Well...at least my project's finished for next week!

So, say 'hello' to the pinch hitter...

This Skunk stamp is adorable, isn't it? Super easy to color with the new Summer Distress Inks and a water brush.

Clear embossing powder adds nice dimension without taking away from the image.

This Flourish Birthday Wish stamp has become a go-to stamp - love the swirls.

(The patterned paper was from my stash...I think it's a Bo Bunny Press paper...)

Okay...there's just a few days left to enter the monthly challenge...finish up your project & link it up!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Sing, Oh Sing!

Hello! This summer I've enjoyed birds hanging out in our trees: robins, sparrows and doves, to name a few, and, in case you haven't noticed, I love nature themed stamps! Lucky me, Great Impressions Stamps has quite a few and I just love this BIRD IN ROSES stamp, such an elegant image!

Distress Marker and Copic colored. Highlighted with Spicas.

Love using black and white patterned papers - so easy to add a color or two. I used paper from Bo Bunny's Enchanted. The 6x6 pads are fabulous - the patterns are sized just right for cards!

Found those little wooden letters in my stash!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you've found a little inspiration and time this week to make a little something yourself...and if you do...considering entering our monthly challenge!

Inky hugs,
Angi

InLinkz.com