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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2z Days with Jenny


I'm so happy to be joining you each Tuesday here at the Great Impressions Blog!

Has everyone survived the holidays?
I'm getting back into the swing of things by jumping 
right to the next holiday (giggle!)

Yep, time to think about those Valentines Day projects.  My card showcases the 
"Heart Blossoming Tree".    Really a versatile stamp...you can dress it up with ornaments for Christmas or add Fall leaves.  I was a bit nervous lining up my stamp next to my computer generated sentiment.  But no worries...with the new Stickable Stamps the image is printed on the backside
 of the stamp which makes it super easy to line up.

I punched out some tiny hearts, glued them on and added a few falling just for fun.  The dainty flowers and leaves are colored in with my Copics and a tiny pearl added in the centers.  My tree is planted on a half circle cut with a Nestie, 
then covered with a shiny satin ribbon tied on with an embellie.  
For a close-up come visit my blog here.
Below you will find thumbnails of the supplies I used...click on any 
and it will take you to a website that offers the product.  
Gotta love that - it's like my own personal shopper!

Supplies
Similar flower embellie shown below
I shall be back next week....hopefully I won't chatter away too much (grin!)
Can't wait to see what all of you create with Great Impressions stamps!   

Hugs,

Jenny




Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy New Year and a Hi

Happy New Year!!!! Can you believe it... it is already 2012. 
Well everyone my name is Shanna and I am soooooooo pleased to be making my first post as a design team member for Great Impressions. These stamps are amazing and when I saw how many there were I went crazy picking them out. 

Great Impressions has such a variety and stamps that can work with anyone's budget, and guess what..... they come with your choice of wood mounted or cling mounted (STICKABLES) for acrylic blocks. 
Who doesn't love more room for more stamps???

For my very first card, I thought I would make something bright and different. As we all have just finished up Christmas and Happy Holiday cards, I needed a drastic change . If you are anything like me I was done with Christmas the day after and got almost all the decorations put up last Monday. 
I am ready for BRIGHT, SPRINGY, and SUMMERY cards and that is what I brought to you all today!



I used A School of Fish (E649) and Just Floating (E648) to create my bright summery card. I used some plain white, light blue, and hot pink cardstock. I also used a sheet of paper from Fancy Pants: Beach Babe paper pad. I thought the paper complimented the stamps perfectly.



 I also used some lime green baker's twine and a dew drop to make it look like a hanging pitcure. I did my sentiment (Just Floating) in white embossing powder, added some glossy accents to the bubbles, used clear microbeads for inside the shaker, some saved acetate from packages, SP dies large scalloped circle and classic circle, foam tape, memento black ink for the fish, veramark watercolor ink for the and I colored my image with distress inks spiced marmalade and broken china. 



Stop by my blog for any extra details I may have left out

and last but not least

make a GREAT IMPRESSION!!!



Friday, December 30, 2011

New things in the New Year!!

Good morning wonderful Great Impressions followers! It's almost the new year can you believe it? 2012....wow!!! Anyone have any resolutions they'd like to share? I personally don't do resolutions...not sure why; I guess mainly because I feel like if I need/want to make some changes in my life I shouldn't wait for a certain day to roll around to do so....lol! But there is nothing wrong with setting goals for things you'd like to accomplish in the coming year. My goal would be to get more organized. I feel totally out of sorts lately so I need to come up with a few things for remembering things (my brain is gone as well) and for keeping track of things, especially DT commitments.
Anyway.....for the New Year at Great Impressions a brand new online store is about to be opened! They are "trying" very hard to have it up and ready around the 1st but if not....I promise it won't be too long after that, that you will be able to do all your Great Impressions shopping at their personal online store! That was one of the reasons for starting up this blog again. To help spread the word about Great Impressions and their store so I really hope to see this blog grow over the new year and of course see some amazing sales over at the online store!
I hope you'll frequent the blog because each day we will have a design team member doing a post for all of you using the wonderful Great Impressions stamps and they have been hard at work getting their posts ready to start next week.
So I hope all of you have a wonderful New Years Eve and an amazing New Year!!!!!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Monday, December 12, 2011

Dec. stamp of the month program

I wanted to share with all of you the Stamp of the Month program. This is a program was designed for stores only! So if you want the stamp of the month you need to find a craft store near you that carries them. After that month is over you are then able to buy the stamps online or from the catalog!

Here is the Stamp of the Month for Dec.


Yum, Yum...those cupecakes look amazing...and I have a love love relationship with coffee so I live those little coffee cups


And here are some lovely works of art made by some employee's of Great Impressions!

Keep your eyes out for a few DT cards to pop up in the next few days. They couldn't wait to get started even though we won't be "officially" starting till January!!


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Welcome our new DT!!!

Oh my golly....after a week of reviewing all applications and blogs...we had over 40 of them....we finally made our decision for the 5 girls that will be joining this great company and help represent Great Impressions Stamp Co.!!

Please join me in welcoming and congratulating them!
We will be fully starting in January to give the girls time to pick out their stamps and recieve them in the mail and also allow them to enjoy Christmas. Until that begins we will be doing posts and sharing some of the creations we are able to make throughout the holidays so stay tuned in and don't forget to become a follower so you won't miss out on anything!















Friday, November 25, 2011

DT call is now closed!

Wanted to let everyone know that our DT is now closed and I am looking through all the applications and blogs....we had a ton of wonderful ladies apply!! We will try to make the announcement by the end of next week....Dec. 3rd...if you applied you will receive an email from me either way and we will also announce here on the blog the team!
I hope all of you that are here in the states enjoyed your Thanksgiving. I am home in Pa. visiting family and having Thanksgiving with them....it feels wonderful to be home, eat some yummy homemade food, and just relax!!! 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

DT call Closer

Just wanted to let everyone know that Monday 21st will be the closer of the DT call....so if anyone else is interested get your applications in now!!! We will be looking over everything this week and making our decisions final to announce next week! Thank you all for the wonderful amount of applications we received...we are very excited to get going with a DT!!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Wow!!!

I just had to stop in quick and tell all of you that we have had a really big interest in this DT call and the applications just keep pouring in! We have also gained some new followers, which we love, and you all are really making it hard for us to pick JUST 5!!!! We will be reviewing all applications and blogs this week and next week we will be making the hard decision and letting all of you know via e-mail! We will also announce the team here on the blog!
THEN...the real fun will begin!
So please stay tuned, follow our blog and be read to participate in all the goodness we will be having here!!!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Please Excuse......

The Mess!!!! I am going to be doing a bit of a revamp on the blog this week so it might look terrible the next few days! But we are gearing up to get the blog fully functioning with the new DT team (that will be picked next week)!!
Please see the post below if you are interested in apply to be part of the DT...the call will end on the 21st of Nov.

Monday, November 7, 2011

DT CALL!!!!!

Hello!!! My name is April and I have been awarded the position of DT coordinator for Great Impressions! I say awarded because even after just one conversation with the wonderful ladies that run this company I am in love with them and have you seen their stamps???? I get to use these stamps and creative wonderful creations with them! So with that being said I/We are looking for 5 other ladies (or men ;-) ) to join us!!!


Here is what is asked of you:
~Be able to work independently by making timely blog posts here on the blog
~Promote Great Impressions Stamps whenever possible (if you use one of the the stamps...be sure to give Great Impressions credit)
~Enjoy creating with rubber/clingable stamp images
~Make at least one project per week to be posted here and also on your own blog
~Have an active blog with followers
~Previous DT experience is NOT needed so don't hesitate to try out
~Be able to grow with us...we are starting out slow and will be working one expanding with the growth of this blog. Your responsibility may include participating in challenges, blog hops, etc.
~This term will last for 6 months so please be sure you are able to commit to this length of time


You want to know how you will be compensated right?

Here is what you will get in return for your dedication and creativity:
~A Welcome package of Great Impressions Rubber Stamps worth 40 (wholesale) dollars
~A monthly package of Great Impressions Rubber Stamps (your choice) worth 20 (wholesale dollars)
~A link to your blog on the sidebar
~An opportunity to help this company grow and for you to grow with it

So here is what you need to do if you are interested and can commit to the above:
~We will need your full name, address (so we can send you your goodies), email address you actively use, and blog address (we will be stalking your blog to see your wonderful work so be sure to keep it updated ;-) )
~Previous DT's you have been on and are currently on
~A short bio about yourself, i.e. how long you have been crafting, your favorite thing to craft, where your from, what you do, family, whatever you feel is important in your life and best describes you

THIS CALL WILL BE OPEN FOR 2 WEEKS.....PLEASE APPLY NO LATER THAN NOV. 21ST

I WILL RESPOND TO YOUR EMAIL TO LET YOU KNOW WE HAVE RECEIVED IT AND WILL SEND THOSE WHO ARE SELECTED AN EMAIL TO ASK FOR YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE POSITION NO LATER THAN NOV. 26TH (I KNOW THIS IS A HOLIDAY WEEK)

Good Luck and we can't wait to see all the talent out there!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

New Autumn and Warm Winter Wishes designs - Available Now!


Check out the new designs!!!!
These new christmas designs will be great for those people who travel to spend their winters in warmer weather!

Friday, October 14, 2011

We are looking for a Design Team coordinator!!!

This special person will help in organizing our future design team. They will be responsible for maintaining a working relationship with the design team and Great Impressions R.S. Inc. We ask that you keep the blog flowing and coordinate any special events related to the design team and the blog. We also ask that you will be responsible for posting one project a week on the blog using Great Impressions stamps. You will be in charge of the Great Impressions group that will be our main form of communication and organization. We ask that you post regularly on your blog and that you are able to post high quality photos of your projects. At times we might ask for physical examples of projects for presentation at trade shows and other events.

In return, we will send you a start up package of $50 in Great Impressions red rubber Stickablestamps. Then every month after that, you will get $35 worth of Stickablestamps to create with. If there are special images that Deone would like to promote, we will send you the designs in addition to your monthly choice of stamps.

To apply please send us an email at greatstamps@localaccess.com with Design Team Coordinator in the subject line. Be sure to include a short paragraph as to why you think you would be the best design team coordinator. Don’t forget to include your name, address, phone, email address, and a link to your blog.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to respond to each submission. If you are chosen, you will hear from us by November 4th 2011. If you have any questions please feel free to email us. Just make sure you put DT questions in the subject line.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Did you know.....


All stamps from Great Impressions are available wood mounted or as Stickablestamps, red rubber mounted on cling foam for your acrylic blocks.  Starting in September you will also be able to purchase our current program stamps as Stickablestamps too!


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Stamp of the month for August 2011 in stores now!

This months Stamp of the Month program is a farm board.  Check out http://www.greatimpressionsstamps.com/ to see each card individually under the sample cards.
Our new website is still under construction, we will let you know when it is up and running.    We are super excited about our new website as it will have a lot of features that our current website does not have.  We feel that this will make it easy for everyone to find and order Great Impressions stamps in either our wood mounted stamps or our NEW Stickablestamps.  We will also have a large gallery for card ideas.

You can now purchase all of our open stock stamps as Stickablestamps.  These are our new stamps on cling foam.  These are indexed on the back for easy placement with the exception of some of the smaller sized stamps.  The stamp of the month stamps will be available as Stickablestamps once they are no longer part of the program and are available as openstock. 

Our new 2011-2012 catalogs are available.  They are $8.00 plus shipping.  To order a catalog you can call us at 800-373-5908 or email us at greatstamps@localaccess.com.  If you have any questions regarding our stamps or programs, please feel free to contact us. 

If you have a store in your area that you would like to see carry our line of stamps, let me know and I can send them one of our catalogs as well as some of our program information.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

NEW 2011 - 2012 Catalog available and the NEW Stickablestamps!

We have our new 2011 - 2012 catalog available.  Catalogs are $8.00 plus shipping costs.  All the stamps in the catalog are available as wood mounted or in our new Stickablestamps on cling foam. 

Stamp of the month stamps are available in wood mount only until they are added as our open stock product line.

If you have any questions or would like to order a catalog please contact us at (800)373-5908 or email greatstamps@localaccess.com

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

May Stamp of the Month Program

Mays program is now out in stores.  Visit our store locator at http://www.greatimpressionsstamps.com/ for a store participating in the program that is close to you.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

Cat and Dog board remade

These cards were made by Sharon Jones of Horseshoe Crafts in the UK.

Great cards Sharon!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A new look at our 2009 Elongated Flower Flourish Board

Sharon Jones from Horseshoe Crafts in the UK has sent us a photo of a remake of the 2009 Elongated Flower Flourish Board.

Great job Sharon!!!  Love the cards! 

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day!

Just wanted to share another card that Jody created.  This one is for Valentines.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A Card by Jody

We have been extremely busy here getting a new catalog organized and ready for the printer, now we get to tackle the new website!!!  I have to say that you will love the new website and it will have a search engine so you can find your favorite GI stamps faster.

In the mean time, I thought I would put a card on here that one of the GI employees has created.  Jody works in the shop making the rubber stamps.  We think she is a very talented card maker, dont you agree?
Stay tuned as I have a few more of her cards that I will share with you tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Important Challenge information and possible exciting opportunites.

November will be our last challenge for awhile.  We have a few things in the "works" and we feel that in order to focus more on these new projects we should put the challenge on hold until we can get our "to do" list a little smaller.  We are excited to bring you a brand new website and catalog to name just a couple projects.

There is more exciting stuff in the works that I think you guys are going to LOVE...but we will keep that a secret for now.   

Keep checking back, I will continue to post each stamp of the month and will bring you updates on our progress.

Also........ 

We are looking at bringing more artists to work with Great Impressions on our projects!!!!!
So......

If you like to draw and think that you would like to be part of our talented art team.....we would love for you to send us an email telling us a little about yourself and some samples of your drawings or portfolio to greatstamps@localaccess.com  please put artist submission in the subject of your email.

We appreciate your patience while we are under construction, and we hope that you enjoy our new website and catalog when it comes out shortly. 

Novembers Winner!!!!

The winner for Novembers challenge is Kendra Sand she get the stamps from our December program.   Congratulations Kendra!!!! 

Card Details:


Card Size: 6.5” x 5”

Stamps: Great Impressions “Holly Branch” (G390),“Country Snowman” (G392) and “Magical Holiday Season” (E692) - Inside, “Merry Christmas” Recollections Merry Merry Set


Ink: Memories Dye Ink Pad, VersaMark, Dew Drop Brilliance “Pearlescent Ivy”, VersaMagic “Hint of Pesto”


Paper: the Paper Studio “Red Country Crackle, My Mind’s Eye Antique Dots Stack,


Creative Inspiration Paints: Blue Ice


ProMarkers: Burgumdy, Apricot, Cool Grey 3, Marsh Green, Pastel Blue, Pale Pink, Sandstone


Misc: Circuit George and Basic Shapes (Ovals) and Storybook (Scalloped Oval), Ranger Glossy Accents, the Robert Stanley Collection Green and Red Shear Ribbon, iRock Clear Gems, Hero Arts Snowflakes, Needle

Monday, November 1, 2010

Octobers Challenge winner!!! and...... Novembers Challenge

Sorry I am late in posting this.  Things have been a little crazy with Christmas coming upon us.

OK... on to the winner... The winner this month is Kassi Hulet!!!!!  She wins one of each of the stamps for Novembers program.  Congrats Kassi!

supplies:




Paper: Georgia Pacific white cardstok

Ink: Archival Ink (black), Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Pumice Stone, Weathered Wood, Black Soot, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Chipped Sapphire, Spiced Marmalade, Stormy Sky, Vintage Photo), VersaMark

Stamps: Great Impressions "Snow Friends", "Dotted Snowflake Border"

Creative Inspirations paint: Winter Frost, Tutu Pink

Other: Distress Crackle paint "Rock Candy", Ranger "Frosted Glass" embossing powder, ribbon, rhinestone, feather, Ranger Glossy Accents, flocking

We would like to thank everyone who submitted their cards.  All the cards were wonderful and it was a very difficult decision!!!  One of the reasons why we were late this month in posting the winner.

Are you ready for Novembers Challenge????



We have one more month with the Christmas theme so use the Stamp of the month G390 and any one of the coordinating stamps to make a card and submit it for a chance to win Novembers Challenge.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

All cracked up and shimmery

Hey everyone! I'm Kassi, and I'm the DT leader for Creative Inspirations paints. I was asked to jump on over here, to share a tutorial using the fabulous CI paints... Which Great Impressions carries! Fabulous, huh! For those of you not familiar with Creative Inspirations Paint, it is a water based shimmer paint that is very versatile. It is a great way to add that little extra something to your stamped images!

I'm using two of the GI stamps for October (Snow Friends, and Christmas Globe). Christmas and snow just calls out for sparkle, don't ya think?

for the main image, I used:
Water Color paper
Great Impressions stamps (#K92, #G384)
Creative Inspirations Paint (Garnet, Coal, Winter Frost, Mango, Tutu Pink, Denium, Tanzanite, )
VersaMark clear embossing ink
Black Embossing powder
Distress Ink (Walnut Stain, Pumice Stone)
Glitter (white)
Ranger Glossy Accents
Ranger Crackle Accents
Fantastix
Mist Bottle (with water)
Sticky Note
Q-tip
Toothpick
Waterbrush


Step 1: Stamp the Christmas Globe in VersaMark on watercolor paper.

Step 2: Heat emboss with black embossing powder

Step 3: Create a mask by stamping the Globe onto a sticky note, and cutting out the globe part

Step 4: cover Christmas Globe with the mask


Step 5: mask off all but one snowman on the Snow Friends stamp.

Step 6: Ink with VersaMark ink

Step 7: remove the masks on the snowmen

Step 8: stamp snowman in the globe, and heat emboss with black embossing powder.
You can now discard the globe mask (or keep it and reuse it, like I do....)

Step 9: Let Fantastix sit in a cup of water for a few minutes to get nice and wet


Step 10: Lightly mist the snowman with water


Step 11: Using the wet Fantastix, paint in the snowman with a nice coat of Winter Frost CI paint.

*You can wash out your Fantastix, and use them over again... Love that!*


Step 12: Dip just the tip of a clean wet Fantastix into a little bit of Tanzanite CI paint.


Step 13: Using the side of the Fantastix, paint in your shadows. Keep the tip of your Fantastix against the edge of the image. Because the CI paints are water based, they blend fabulously! I've never had shading be so easy to achieve great looks! The color will be darkest at the tip and fade beautifully towards the center of the image.


Because of the light nature of the colors I am using, it is hard to see in photographs... You can build as many shades as you want. Just remember to go light to dark.

*If you find you have an area that is too dark, use a clean wet Fantastix, or a water paintbrush to wipe a little off. It is a very forgiving medium!*

Step 14: Paint in the hat and scarf with Garnet CI paint

Step 15: shade the hat and scarf with Coal CI paint (this is a dark color, and a little goes a long way....)


Step 16: Add a little bit of blush to the cheeks with Tutu Pink CI paint. This is a very light color, and you may want to use a little more paint than you had to for the darker colors.


Step 17: Small areas like the carrot nose can be hard to paint... So, grab a toothpick!


Step 18: While all the paints are drying, watercolor the base using Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I like to swipe the pad on an acrylic block, and pick up a little ink at a time on a water brush. You could paint the base with CI paint, but I wanted to have more of a contrast between the wood and the glass.


Step 19: Add a little shading to your base using Pumice Stone Distress Ink. This gives it so much more dimension.


Step 20: While the base is drying, go back to your now dry snowman. Add Glossy Accents (or your favorite liquid adhesive) to the fuzzy parts of the hat.

Step 21: Dump on the glitter!


Step 22: While that is drying, paint the snowflakes on the base with Denium CI paint. I like to use a lining brush for the fine detail work, but you can also use the Fantastix, or a toothpick.


Step 23: (this is why you emboss the image to begin with!!!) Take a damp q-tip and gently rub across the embossed areas. This will take off any paint that went onto the lines. (keeps everything looking so much neater!)


You can stop here if you want, but..... I wasn't ready to stop playing yet. =)


Step 24: Cover the globe portion of the Christmas Globe with Ranger Crackle Accents. Start by outlining the circle, then fill it in.

Step 25: (the hardest by far!) Set it aside to dry. This can take a LONG time, so I suggest letting it sit overnight and coming back to it in the morning. =)


Isn't he cute all cracked up! And the shimmer from the paint still shows through amazingly well!

Here is a finished card using this main image


I painted the ribbon and the button with Winter Frost CI paint to make them match the snowman. I also added a layer of Ranger Glossy Accent over the button to give it a nice glossy finish.


Don't forget to enter the GI Challenge for October! It is a fabulous time to get started on those Christmas cards, if you haven't done so yet.

Have a wonderful day!

Materials used in this card:
Paper: Bazzill, DCWV, watercolor paper, white cardstock
Stamp: Great Impressions "Snow Friends", "Christmas Globe"
Ink: VersaMark, Distress Ink
Creative Inspirations Paint: Garnet, Onyx, Winter Frost, Mango, Tutu Pink, Denium, Tanzanite, Beige, Mocca Latte
Die Cut: Spellbinders "Label 6"
Other: Glitter, Ranger Crackle Accents, Ranger Glossy Accents, rhinestones, ribbon, button, thread, Crop-a-dile Corner Chomper


Challenge October 2010

Here are the current cards for the Octobers challenge!!!

Are they cute or what???

You have until the 20th to enter!!!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Did you know......

Great Impressions has more than just stamps in their line of products!!  Great impressions has their own line of glitter!  Sparkling Ice is a dry fine glitter and comes in a 1 oz jar. It is used on almost all of our art boards.  We also have some chunky glitter as well as Jazzy sparkles Crystal and Gold glitters. 

We have cloud stencils.  This has been around for a long time.  So long, in fact, some people forget that we have them.  They crop up on our boards occasionally but they are always available. 

We have started something new and it is taking off... for each stamp of the month, we put together a ribbon package (18" of each ribbon used on the board).  Some months we do run out of packages but we still have some packages available from previous stamp of the months. 

We also carry lines from other companies.....

We have the complete line of Inspirations paints.  If you want to add some color and sparkle to your creations, Inspirations is the way to go!  This paint has 55 colors that are vibrant and versatile.  Inspirations has so many different ways to be used, it is a must have for everyone!!  You can watercolor with them, stamp with them or turn them into your favorite spritz.  That is just to name a few!

Do you like to add pearls to your projects?   We are a distributor for Viva Decor and have the complete line of Pearl Pens!  This is a brand new product for us and it is so much fun to play with. 

Keep your eyes open, these products are regularly on our boards for the Stamp of the Month Program.  Any of the stores that carry our stamps can order them.  Some items like prior embellishments, card stocks, and ribbons related to a particular Stamp of the Month program, we still have too.  If your store takes special orders they can still order them or some of the online stores keep everything in stock too.  To find a store near you click here.

In the future we will start putting up some tutorials using our stamps and some of the products we carry so keep checking back!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Octobers Challenge

Are you ready for another challenge?  Here is the stamps for Octobers challenge.  Use the stamp of the month and at least one of any of the coordinating stamps on a card/scrapbook page and you could win Novembers stamps from the stamp of the month program. 

We cant wait to see your creations!!!!

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