Vintage Milk Box ...

Good morning! Ruza here to share a Fall card featuring the lovely Vintage Milk Box (F530) and Hello Friend Sentiment (B152) from Great Impressions Stamps.

Using Ranger Coffee Archival Ink I stamped the Vintage Milk Box on watercolor paper. I applied Marvy LePlumme Markers to my palette and used my brush with water to color the image. I created a little shelf under the milk box, cut the image out with my circle die, added Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges, and then distressed the edges with my tool from Tim Holtz. I cut out a couple of stitched rectangle dies, inked the edges and layered them on my inked cardbase. After lining up where I would put the milk box, I stamped the Hello Friend Sentiment with Memento Cocoa Ink. Using 3D Foam Tape I added the milk box. The final step was to add yellow enamel dots to the flowers.

The October Great Impressions Challenge is live so make sure you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Until next week ... Enjoy!

Guest Designer: Dori

Good morning all. We are taking another look at all of the beautiful Fall projects that our Guest Designer Dori Shelton shared with us during the month. 

First up is the gorgeous card that Dori made for our October Challenge. I really love how she combined the colors perfectly along with the monochromatic design.

featuring ... F558 Double Trouble and C488 Wicked Pair Sentiment

Next, Dori created such an adorable Fall card! She did a great job coloring those adorable kitties and finished it with a sweet design.

featuring Kitties in Pumpkins (H272) and Fall Kaboodle Sentiment (D510)

Dori's final project is a Spooktacular Halloween card. The way she used her distress inks to created the night scene is amazing!

featuring Batty Trees (K103) and Halloween Sentiment (C486)

It has been a pleasure having Dori share these awesome projects with us.

You still have time to join in our Great Impressions October Challenge! Make you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Hello Friend

Hello friend!  It's Julie sharing with you today. Great Impressions Stamps has a whole line of Harry stamps.  They are all adorable. Today, I'm featuring F591 Harry & Sunflower:

I colored F591 Harry & Sunflower with Copic markers.  The sentiment is B152 Hello Friend (another favorite of mine).

Have you joined in with the Great Impressions Stamps monthly challenge yet?  It's anything goes, and it goes all month, so there's still time!

Don't forget to check out all the awesome Harry characters in the Great Impressions online store -- and the other wonderful rubber stamps!

Autumn Bird Bath

Hi! Leah from Paper Blossoms here. I am always sad to see the warm weather go but my garden is still pretty with a few flowers in bloom. I have a little bird bath in my garden as well so I really liked this stamp.

The image is called (H19) Bird Bath. The sweet sentiment is called (E900) More Than Nice. I stamped the image in Versafine Onyx Black ink and watercolored it. I went with fall colors. A twine bow and a few sequins finish is off.
Come and join our monthly challenge!  If you use a stamp from the Great Impressions online store, please link it up in our Customer Gallery, too! 

Fall Garden ...

Good morning! Ruza here to share a Fall card featuring the lovely Fall Garden (H23) from Great Impressions Stamps.

I stamped the lovely Fall Garden with Memento Rich Cocoa and color the image with my Copic Markers, leaving the fence uncolored. Antique Linen Distress Ink was applied around the edges of the cut-out image, and the cream colored DP I used. Each section was layered onto Cocoa cardstock and layered together. The final step was to add the three bling along the bottom of the card. Clean and Simple with layers.

The October Great Impressions Challenge is live so make sure you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Until next week ... Enjoy!

Guest Designer: Dori

Good morning all. Our Guest Designer Dori Shelton is joining us today with a Halloween card.

For the background of Dori's card, she used a variety of distress inks to create the blended night background. Dori stamped Batty Trees (K103) over the background in black ink and then stamped the Halloween Sentiment (C486) in Seedless Preserves in the corner.

She did a awesome job! I really love that background she created. Make sure you stop by Dori's Blog for more details on how she created today's card, and don't forget to leave her some love.

One more thing to share with you today. The Holidays are fast approaching and it's the perfect time for a HOLIDAY SALE over at the Great Impressions Store! So get out your Wish List of stamps that you have been wanting and take advantage of the 15% Sale using Sales Code, listed below, during check-out. Make sure you check out the NEW HOLIDAY STAMPS while you are there.

The Great Impressions October Challenge is live! Make you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Boo!

Hello, fellow stamp lovers!  Julie here today. Are you ready for Halloween?  I have a super cute Halloween card to share with you.

I like Halloween to be cute, not spooky, so these 2 rubber stamps from Great Impressions Stamps were perfect for this card. 

I used F617 Caped Buddies and A135 Boo! on this card.

After stamping F617 Caped Buddies onto white card stock, I colored the image with Copic markers, then stamped A135 Boo! onto some white space near the colored image. 

I'm trying to get enough Halloween cards made for all the residents in my nursing home.  Add another to the pile!

Great Impressions Stamps has a monthly challenge going on that goes all month. It's Anything Goes.  Come join us! 


Check out the many awesome stamps in the Great Impressions Online Store.  You'll find free shipping on orders over $25!

Pretty Sea Shells

Hello! This month's challenge is still anything goes but feel free to use the above photo for inspiration. I am not a fan of Halloween personally so I really went with anything goes ;)

For my card I wanted to use this pretty shell stamp and watercolor them. The image is called (E587) Sea Shell. I stamped it repeatedly onto watercolor paper and used Gansai Tambi watercolors to color them. The sentiment is called (D374) Simple Things. 

Come and join our monthly challenge!  If you use a stamp from the Great Impressions online store, please link it up in our Customer Gallery, too! 

Thank You Card Set ...

Good morning! Ruza here to share a set of A-1 Thank You cards I created featuring Great Impressions Stamps.

I'm participating at a Craft Fair this weekend at a local school, and here is one of the projects I created for the sale.

I pulled out my much loved Elegant Butterflies (J119) along with the Being You Sentiment (D509). Using various inks I created a 1/2-inch panel on the left side of each card and envelope. I then used my Misti to stamp the butterflies and sentiment on each card, and I also added a butterfly to each of the envelopes. Using the Misti allowed my stamping to be identical on all of my cards. Love this piece of equipment.

I've used this technique in the Fall last year on a full size card and I really love the design/layout. Once done with all my stamping I added some enamel dots, and tied the bundle of cards up with some twine.

We all need extra Thank You cards in our stash, and I know that the parents attending this weekends event will be looking for some. I went with Fall colors for my panel, but you can use any seasonal colors with this design.

The October Great Impressions Challenge is live so make sure you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Until next week ... Enjoy!

Guest Designer: Dori

Good morning all. Our Guest Designer Dori Shelton is joining us today with a Halloween card.

Dori used Kitties in Pumpkins (H272) along with the Fall Kaboodle Sentiment (D510) for today's card. She stamped the image with Ranger Archival Black Ink and used a variety of Copic Markers to color it in. She then stamped the sentiment and separated it, in order to make it work better with her design.

She did a awesome job! Make sure you stop by Dori's Blog for more details on how she created today's card, and don't forget to leave her some love.

The Great Impressions October Challenge is live! Make you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Simply Delightful Christmas

Hello, and happy Friday!  Julie here today with a fun Christmas card.  This week, Great Impressions Stamps is sponsoring the MOD Squad challenge blog, where the theme is "For the Birds".

I love flamingos.  How can a bird be so pink and still survive in the wild?  I think they are just awesome!  But, flamingos in Santa hats?  Well, that is simply delightful!

This card uses 2 rubber stamps from Great Impressions Stamps -- G446 Holiday Flamingos and C426 Simply Delightful.

I colored G446 Holiday Flamingos with color pencils, then stamped the C426 Simply Delightful sentiment directly onto the colored image. 

Great Impressions Stamps has a monthly challenge going on that just started. It's Anything Goes.  Come join us! 

Check out the many awesome stamps in the Great Impressions Online Store.  You'll find free shipping on orders over $25! 

Pretty Birdhouse

Hello! Leah from Paper Blossoms with you today. This week Great Impressions is sponsoring the Mod Squad challenge. The theme is "for the birds." So I pulled out this gorgeous stamp called (K12) Floral Bird House.

I stamped the image in Versafine Onyx Black ink and watercolored it. I added some patterned paper, stitching and a hydrangea flower with a sewn on button. 

Come and join our monthly challenge!  If you use a stamp from the Great Impressions online store, please link it up in our Customer Gallery, too! 

Have a Wonderful Day ...

Good morning! Ruza here to share a card I created for Breast Cancer Awareness featuring Great Impressions Stamps.

I recently ordered the Have a Wonderful Day Sentiment (F231). I love the sentiment with the butterfly. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this stamp is a perfect match. I stamped the sentiment with Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink on Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor Paper, and went to work watercoloring the image and background with my Marvy Markers ... #57 Rose Pink, #20 Magenta, and a bit of #75 Sky Blue.

I really love how the image pops against the soft colors.

The October Great Impressions Challenge is live so make sure you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Until next week ... Enjoy!

October Challenge: Anything Goes

Good morning and welcome to another monthly Challenge here at Great Impressions!

Before we get started, we have some Winners to Announce! 

The Random Winner for the month of September is ...
#5 ~ DebiB

Congratulations DebiB. Please email Ruza

 at greatimpressionsstamps@gmail.com to claim your prize and
the Guest Designer information. 

Now for our "Top Picks"
#43 ~ Bettina
#41 ~ Cynthia O
#33 - Elizabeth H

Congratulations! Please grab your badge and proudly display it on your blog!

All of you have made a GREAT IMPRESSION on us!

********************************************************

It's time to move on to our New Challenge.

Here is the Prize you can win ...

Let's give a BIG Welcome to our Guest Designer Dori Shelton. 

Dori will be sharing her creations during the Month of October will all of us.

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!

Now let's see what Dori created to inspire you!

featuring ... F558 Double Trouble and C488 Wicked Pair Sentiment

Dori did an amazing job coloring these lovely ladies with her Copic Markers!
Such a lovely layout also. Make sure you head over to her blog and leave her some love.

Now it's time for a little Inspiration from our Designers ... 

Ruza

featuring F413 Ghostly Friends and E811 Happy Halloween Sentiment

Julie

featuring ... F617 Caped Buddies and A135 Boo Sentiment

Leah

featuring ... E587 Sea Shell
and D374 Simple Things Sentiment

Our Designer's would love to hear what you think of their projects.

Hop on over to their blogs to leave them a little love!

If you don't have a blog, you may post your entry in the gallery at Splitcoaststampers using the keyword GISMC in the Title, and then link it up below so we can find your project. This way we can also leave you a little love. If you don't have a Blog or Splitcoaststampers Gallery, please email Ruza at greatimpressionsstamps@gmail.com with the Subject line "GI Monthly Challenge Entry", and she will enter it for you.

As a bonus entry, if you use our stamps leave a comment on this post 

to let us know. You will have double the chance of winning 

this months Prize that is being offered.

You may link up a Maximum of 1-project per month.

To view all of our Challenge Rules just click on the "Challenge Rules & Badges" tab above. Don't forget to link all of your Great Impressions Stamps projects in the Customer Gallery!

We look forward to seeing all of your beautiful creations!

An InLinkz Link-up

Candy Flowers

Hello! Leah from Paper Blossoms here today I am sharing a blast from the past project with you. A cute little gift giving idea too :)

The little box was cut using my Silhouette Cameo and I attached a tag to the front and hand stitched it. The image is called (D362) Watering Can of Flowers and was colored using Copics. The cute little butterflies are called (A32) Flitting Butterflies. 

Come and join our monthly challenge!  If you use a stamp from the Great Impressions online store, please link it up in our Customer Gallery, too! 

Guest Designer: Patty Eifert

Good morning all. I'm a little late is sharing today's post. We are taking another look at all of the beautiful projects that our Guest Designer Patty shared with us during the month.

First up, is the card Patty created for our September Challenge. I love how she pulled the colors from our September Challenge Inspiration Photo. The heart embellishments draws the eye to the sentiment.

featuring ... G416 Rose Bouquet and D500 So Very Special Sentiment

Second, Patty created this a lovely holiday card. I love how she embossed the Poinsettias prior to coloring them. They just pop against the background.

featuring ... Poinsettias & Berry (K40)
and Elegant Merry Christmas Sentiment (F48)

And Patty's final card is an adorable Valentine. I really love that elephant!!!

featuring ... All a Flutter Lottie (F541)
and Would You Sentiment (E779)

It has been a pleasure having Patty join us to share her creations!

There is still time to play along with our current Great Impressions Challenge. Make you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Special Thanks -- a Recap

Hello, fellow crafters.  Julie here today from Muddy Paws & Inky Fingers with a Friday Flashback post for you. I'm sharing one of my favorite cards I've made since being on the design team.

I created this card in the spring, but I think this stamp is wonderful anytime of year!

I love this big, bold rubber stamp that is both image and sentiment in one.  It is Great Impressions Stamps G364 Spring Special Thanks.  

I'm forever in need of thank you cards, and I believe the recipient of this one will enjoy it anytime of year!

You'll find this fantastic stamp, and many many more in the Great Impressions Stamps store. 

Whale

Good Wednesday to you! Leah from Paper Blossoms here. I have a cute card to share with you today! This image makes me smile :)

This image is aptly named (G373) Smiling Whale. I think it's super cute! The sentiment is (G483) Tags. I stamped the whale onto white cardstock and used Copic markers to color it. I did the same with the sentiment banner.

Come and join our monthly challenge!  If you use a stamp from the Great Impressions online store, please link it up in our Customer Gallery, too! 

Kitty with Latte' ...

Good morning! Ruza here to share an adorable card featuring some of the NEW Stamps released in August by Great Impressions Stamps.

I love coffee images even though I'm not a coffee drinker. That being said, I really had to create a card featuring the adorable Kitty with Latte' (E901). Copic Markers were used to color this adorable Kitty. School is in session, and we all need Teacher Thank You cards so I used apple design paper for my design.

I added the Latte' Sentiment (C498) to the inside of my card, and brought the apple design paper to the inside.

Here is a closer look at Kitty with Latte' ...

The September Great Impressions Challenge is live so make sure you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!

Until next week ... Enjoy!

Guest Designer: Patty Eifert

Good morning all. Our Guest Designer Patty made a super cute Valentine to share with us today.

She used the adorable All a Flutter Lottie (F541), which she colored and framed beautifully. The Would You Sentiment (E779) is a perfect match for this lovely image. 

I don't know about you, but I can see myself using the All a Flutter Lottie (F541) for many occasions ... birthday cards for kids, Anniversary card, or just for FUN to cheer a loved one up.

Patty did a beautiful job on her card. Make sure you hop on over to her Blog for all of the details on how she created her card, and don't forget to leave her some love!

There is still time to play along with our current Great Impressions Challenge. Make you stop by for all of the details, and if you use some Great Impressions Stamps make sure you link them up in our Customer Gallery!