Loving from the Kitchen

    Today, I am so excited.  This is my very first post as a member of the Great Impressions design team.  I am absolutely honored to be working with their fantabulous design team.  I am a happy, happy camper.  Today's card is also a sample for the monthly card contest.  This month's contest is  anything goes so it's an easy one to enter.  You do not need to use Great Impression stamps, but if you do you will have an extra chance in a random draw for a $20 code for anything in the store.  Just make sure you mention which Great Impressions stamp you used in your creation and link up with our blog.  You can find a button on the side of the blog that will take you right to the challenge.

   For my first card I am doing a card using one of my all time favorite color schemes, blue and white.  I went stamp crazy for this card and made my background papers too.

    I also chose to use one of my favorite Great Impression stamps for the focal image.  I just love the idea of have canisters of patience, kindness, laughter, and love in the kitchen.  Hmm, that gives me an idea for an entirely new project.

     For the inside of the card, I used a bit of the leftover background paper and a couple more stamps.  Can, I just say that Great Impressions has some awesome cooking stamps?  

    I don't know about anyone else's kitchen but this sentiment is absolutely true for my home.  In fact, when you walk into my front door, you step directly into our kitchen.

     The stamps I used today are H193 Cooking Border, G355 Cooking is Like Love, E661 Cooking Time, 
K90 Cooking Background, and G317 Heap of Love

For Someone Special

Happy Independence Day to all of you living in the USA! :)  It's Mynn here with my first ever card made for Great Impressions Stamps!  I am so incredibly excited to be a part of the amazing team here and can't wait to show you how to use these fabulous stamps to create cards and projects! :)  Today I have a mostly red, white, and blue creation to share with you.

Here's my card~

Stamps used: G305 Seaside Lighthouse, A109 For Someone Special

Since it's Independence Day, I went with a patriotic color scheme.  I water colored in the gorgeous lighthouse image to give it a soft and summery feel.  I think this card will be going to Operation Write Home as an AnyHero card. :)  

Ready for some more news?!  I'm excited to announce that every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, I will be sharing a video tutorial featuring a fun new technique using stamps by Great Impressions!  I'll post the supplies you'll need for each new technique for two weeks before the tutorial goes live.  Since this is my first week here, however, you've only got one week to grab the supplies you need.  Next week's tutorial is called Triple Time Stamping!

Here's what you'll need for that technique~

• G304Sea Grasses stamp
• K47Water Iris stamp
• B233 For Friends stamp
• 1 piece white/cream cardstock measuring 2” x 3.25”
• 1 piece white/cream cardstock measuring 3” x 4.25”
• 1 piece white/cream cardstock measuring  4” x 5.25”
• 1 piece colored* cardstock measuring 2.25” x 3.5”
• 1 piece colored* cardstock measuring 3.25” x 4.5”
• 1 piece colored* cardstock measuring 4.25” x 5.5”
• Removable adhesive
• Permanent adhesive
• Coordinating inks
• Other embellishments to finish card

 *Use the same color or coordinating shades—I'll be using all purple.

Thanks for stopping by today to take a peek at my creation!  Don't forget to pop back over here on Sunday for our monthly challenge--it's gonna be fun--and don't forget to gather the supplies you'll need for next Thursday's tutorial!  HUGS and happy stamping friends! :)

Love is All You Need!

Hi everyone Monica here and my inspiration for today is the Love is All You Need! I used Great Impression stamp Beth & Jane I absolutely love this cute stamps from Great Impressions.  There are several different ones.  Be sure to check them out!

I went for black and pink for this card.  I used some Spellbinders dies and if I remember correct hm.. Glitz paper and added some flowers.  You know me flowers are usually somewhere in the mix!

Hope everyone enjoyed my post and Happy Hump Day everyone....

Thinking of You

Good morning! 

I hope everyone is having a great week. I love that my mom has her own office/studio full of stamp supplies... I am on vacation but still get to create cards. It's a win-win! 

For this week's card I pulled out Flower Bouquet, a definite favorite of mine, for a pink & teal "thinking of you" card:

 (Supplies - Stamp: (Great Impressions) Flower Bouquet. Ink: (Memento) Tuxedo Black. Cardstock: (Stampin' Up!) White, Pool Party, Strawberry Slush. Markers: Copic. Dies: (PTI) Edgers Die. Embossing folder: Stampin' Up! Letter stickers: Kelley Purkey for Simon Says Stamps. Other: Ribbon, buttons, twine, gems.)

That's it for me today. The kids and I are off to the zoo in a bit... hopefully we don't melt in the heat! 

Have a great week. :)

Celebrate!!

Hello friends!! I am so excited to be posting here as a DT member!! First, I am so sorry for posting this a little bit late, my camera battery died last night, and this morning I noticed my card had a spot on the side, in addition of that my editing program didn't work, after all that I just laughed, I think that is better than cry ;)

Ok, now back to the project I have for you today! Baby cards are one of my favorites card themes and this card is just too cute for words, LOL. I used Baby Emma Bear Stamp, stamped and colored 3 times with Copic Markers, cut different parts to create  a 3D image. I mounted the parts with thin foam tape. I added a tiny button on top of the little blanket. The tag was embossed and added little banners to the side.
For the sentiment I stamped only the "Celebrate" part from Time to Celebrate Stamp in Coffee Archival Ink, then added dots of Start Dust Stickles to the stars.

Hope you like it!!
Have a fantastic day!!

Tis the Season!

Jammie Day Sunday!

Today I say good-bye to the Great Impressions Design Team. I have had a great time getting inky with them! My year on the team is over, and I want to thank them for having me as part of their family!

So let's grab our oaties, a big sip of milk, and off we go on our last Jammie Day! 

Today I am making my very first Christmas card of the year! Oh my-I better get with it...and you had to know I would  have to use an image with the meeces!  Gotta love 'em!

This sentiment is a perfect fit for this snowman and Christmas light paper, don't you think?

Thanks to Molly and Deone for keeping me going at Great Impressions and to Jenny for being such a great team leader!

This is not goodbye for me, you will still see many Great Impressions creations coming from my blog!

Thanks for stopping in to say Hello today-I always look forward to your visits!

♥ Sue

card details:

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Great Impressions Stamps:

Build A Snowman
Fosty Nights

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Wasabi, Winter Wonderland (MME)
Copic:
Meece-YR 12,21,24,27 R 20
Green: G43,46
Red: R46
Bells: Y 28
Snow: B000,02

Misc: dimensionals

Silhouette files: 
snowflake
6 banners

Goodbye and Hello

Hi Crafty Friends!

I wanted to pop in today to say goodbye,  no, never goodbye to two

of our Design Team Members.  Sue and Mary have been with Great Impressions Stamps

almost from the beginning of our on-line store opening.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow as designers and I know great things are in store for them in craft land!  I will miss you ladies and consider you both part of the Great Impressions Stamps family!  Please come back and visit often, you are always welcome! 

We have some new designers to greet today too!

I'm thrilled to have Giovana, Mynnette and Mary Anne join us!

They will start their terms with us beginning this Monday.

I know you will adore the unique and delightful styles they bring to the mix.

I created my card today for all of the Design Team.

You ladies are the best and I am blessed to work with you!

Hugs,

Jenny

Ten Little Fingers

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Great Impressions Blog.
I read some statistics recently that the summer months are the top months for births in the U.S. August, June and July is the ranking. With those odds, I am sure to be invited to  a baby shower. So,  I decided to make a baby card to post today.

I just love this sweet sentiment stamp - "ten little fingers G49"  from Great Impressions Stamps. It could be used for either a boy or girl. My card is using bright colors so I think it could go either way as well.

I had these cute baby feet in my stash. I used a glue dot to place them on a blue corduroy button.

On another note, this post is my last as a Great Impressions Design Team member. My time on the team went by so quickly and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Jenny (our DT coordinator) and Deone (GI owner) have been so wonderful. So thank you both for the opportunity to work with these fabulous stamps.

 Have a great weekend everyone. Hope you have some fun summertime plans.

Mary Marsh

Friends - GDT Kendra

Hello Great Impressions Stamps Friends!!

Kendra, from Luv 2 Scrap n' Make Cards, here today as a guest designer!!

I am so super excited!! 

I live in Northeast WI, with my high school sweetheart and two little kids, who keep me very busy!  When I'm not spending time with them or working in my flower beds, I love to be in my craft room!!  I have been crafting for about 13 years now, as my husband and I both raced at a local racetrack and I wanted to scrapbook all of our wins and memories!  From that it became a HUGE addiction!  About 6 years ago I began creating all my own cards!  (I can't believe it's been 6 yrs since I bought a card! WOW!)  I get such a huge joy out of each of my creations!  

I have been in love with GI's stamps for many years now!  Actually they were the first stamp company I was introduced to!  A local stamp store carried many of their stamps, but sadly is no longer open. :(  

For my card today I used the adorable Stamp of The Month "Birdies on a Swing"!  Along with the sweet "A Friend" sentiment!

 Close-up of the sentiment:

With the "A Friend" sentiment, I decided to mask that stamp when inking it up, as I wanted the "Everything" to stand out and be highlighted!  

And one last close-up of the adorable birdies!!

Such a cute stamp!

Thanks for having me as a guest designer!!  I am so overjoyed!!

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful Great Impression Stamps here!

Have a wonderful day!

Kendra 

Love is in Bloom...

  Love is in Bloom here are at Great Impressions with this adorable Love is in Bloom Giraffe stamp.  I stamped it onto a scallop tag and used my Prismacolor pencils and Copics to color it.  I then added a die from Spellbinders and used it behind the tag.

I thought this paper from DCWV that had the flowers blooming was perfect and matched the sentiment so well.   Blooming flowers - Blooming love right hmm..

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to join in on our challenges we love to see your projects using GI stamps!

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Good morning!

A couple of new stamps from Great Impressions caught my eye this month and I pulled one of them out for today's card: Homes. I did some paper piecing with 6x6 paper pads by Echo Park (also available in the Great Impressions shop!) for the houses for something different. I die cut the clouds and sun from a couple of PTI dies and adhered them to the top of my card. The sentiment was added last with letter stickers and my typewriter.

(Supplies - Stamps: (Great Impressions) Homes. Ink: (Memento) Tuxedo Black. Cardstock: (PTI) Rustic white, Limeade Ice, Soft Sky, Harvest Gold. Dies: Papertrey Ink. Patterned Paper: Echo Park. Other: Buttons, twine.)

 

 

Have you tried paper piecing on a card? Line art stamps are perfect for this technique! And 6x6 paper pads make it really easy to coordinate patterns.

 

Don't forget to check out this month's challenge! You can find all the info here.

 

Have a great week!  

 

Erin.

Friends Like You!!

Jammie Day Sunday

Know What's Nice About a Friend Like You?-Everything!

Hello my Great Impressions Friends!  My Jammie Day Sundays are winding to a close, but I still have two oaties/jammie/robe/ slipper days to go! 

Today I am using Birdies On a Swing and A Friend all framed by a pretty swirly frame I cut with my Silhouette. 

Don't you love  these chicks in their matchy matchy colors? I think they color coordinated their feathers with the heidi grace designer paper! 

I will see you all next week!

♥ Sue Kment

Card details:

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Great Impressions Stamps:

Birdies On a Swing G486

A Friend E794

Cardstock-heidi grace and Garden Green

Copics:

B000

R81,83

G 20,24

YR68

Silhouette Store cut file: Fancy Frame

Never Give Up

Happy Saturday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Great Impressions Blog. It's official, summer has arrived. I am so looking forward to long, warm sunny days.

Also this weekend the biggest, brightest full moon of the season will be shining in the summer evening sky.  Hope the weather cooperates where you are to be able to take a peek at something we sometimes take for granted.

Now onto my card for today. I am using a new image and sentiment from Great Impressions Stamps. The image is "tricycle E795" and the sentiment is "never give up A145".  I think both the image and sentiment combined make for a great card to encourage someone who needs a lift.

I created a little mini scene by adding some die cut clouds and grass. I also sponged in some background clouds. I colored the image with markers.

That's it for me for this post. I will be back again next Friday. Don't forget that our online sale is still going on. It 's a chance to get 20% off and free shipping. You can get this cute tricycle and sentiment.   Shop here.

Mary Marsh

Pretty in Pink

Hi everyone growing up I thought pink was the most hideous color in the world.  I was never the girly girl type I was always following my brothers climbing trees lol, but now pink is my color.  So today I created a card sharing my love of Pink!

I used Great Impression Sweet Hedgehog, a spellbinder die, a handmade ric rac flower using May Arts ribbon and if interested my tutorial can be found here.

I then inked the edges of my Spellbinder die in pink too.  I hope everyone enjoyed my post and thanks for stopping by Great Impression Stamps!

Hugs

Monica

Enjoy the Day

Good morning!

I hope everyone is having a good week. Last night I whipped up a fun birthday card using three Great Impressions stamps: Polka Dots, Wildflower Silhouette, and Tags. I love layering stamps, which is what I did on the white die cut. I stamped the Polka Dot stamp with Stampin' Up's Pink Pirouette ink, then layered Wildflower Silhouette on top with Pink Lemonade ink by Impress. I carefully inked the Enjoy the Day sentiment with black ink before stamping it onto my tag.





(Supplies - Stamps: (Great Impressions) Wildflower Silhouette, Polka Dots, Tags. Ink: (Ranger) Archival Black. (Impress) Pink Lemonade. (Stampin' Up!) Pink Pirouette. Dies: (Papertrey Ink) Small banner, Mat Stack Number 6. Cardstock: (Stampin' Up!) Aqua Mist, White. Patterned Paper: Studio Calico. Other: Buttons, twine, enamel dots, ribbon.)

 

(In person the pink flowers match the light pink polka dots on the paper. I photographed the card over and over, but my flash distorted the colors a bit.)

 

What about you? Do you like layering stamps? I usually start with a piece of scratch paper and try out different stamps & inks until I get the result I want. It's all about experimenting, right? :)

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Erin.

Wishing You Tons of Happy Days!!!

Welcome to Jammie Day Sunday!

Hello to you all this morning! I do hope you enjoy your oaties and cocoa ...and do a little crafty inspiration surfing this morning-what better way to start off the day?  Unfortunately, it is cherry harvest time here in Oregon, so I am off to work. (Yes, cherries ripen 7 days a week LOL!)  This morning I had to trade in my slippers and pj's for work clothes and car keys...what kind of trade is that?....geez.... 

Today I went very clean and simple-these stamps  seem to take very few embellies to make them shine, don't you think?
These are  new release stamps from Great Impressions. 

My crafty friend Deloris has been rockin' tur-ker-roiz cards lately and I could not get them out of my head. Seems turquoise and white  is such crisp and clean combo!

I opened my new pack of Simple Stories SN@P! color  vibe papers (yes, I have been saving them for a special occassion card-but aren't they all?)...so here we go! 

The little kite and elephant are added on with pop dots to add a little extra dimension. I cut the half banner for the sentiment with my Silhouette. Added a little twine with a bow and added the completed panel onto the card base with dimensionals. 

I think this is one of my favorite Great Impressions card...although I think that of every card I make. My time on the design team is coming to an end-June 30th will be my last posting for the team, but certainly not my last Great Impression's cards...so let's not be sad! 

Right now there is a sale going on at Great Impressions-20% off and free shipping in the US with a $25 order. A great deal!

 Our June challenge is Leave A Little Sparkle-don't miss it!!!

Sorry for being so chatty today-just wanted to say thanks for stopping in to say Hello-We always look forward to your visits!

♥ Sue

card details:

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Great Impressions Stamps:

Elephant with kite F548
Tons C449

Cardstock: Base is SU and DP is SN@P color vibe from Simple Stories
Copics:
Elephant-T 1,3,5
Kite BG 53,57
Ground-W 1,2

Misc: Twine, dimensionals

Silhouette files: 
6 banners

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Great Impressions Blog. We are celebrating Father's Day this coming Sunday. So in honor of that event I created a card to honor the Dad's out there.

My card is using 2 Great Impressions Stamps. The sentiment is "all about men"- G266 and I stamped in olive ink. The word "Dad" is from the "circle framed alphabet stamp- K83".  I stamped in black ink on olive card stock and used a circle punch to punch out the letters. 

I made the bow tie with a die that is designed for paper bows. I like how it turned out. I saw the idea on Pinterest. I don't usually make cas cards, but I think this one is perfect for the right guy. I will be giving this to a friend of ours who fits the bill.

Well that's it for me for this week. So until next time........inky hugs.

Mary Marsh

Dreams

Hi everyone Monica here from the Sunshine state and all I can say is it is definitely sunny!  Way to sunny for me I have lived here for over 20 years and I am still not used to this weather.  Enough of the sun on to my project for today.  I made a 3 Step card I first saw this card from Norma's blog.  I am not sure where it actually originated though irregardless it is a beautiful concept.

I used Great Impressions Gardening Susie on the front.  This is a great stamp it is the nice thick rubber and measures about 3.75 in height - perfect.

 I used a sticker sentiment on the front of the card

This is the inside when you open the card is opens to 3 Steps I used different dies form Spellbinders on each step and papers from HFC..

Hope everyone enjoyed my project today and welcome summer.

Hugs

Monica

Using a Sketch

Good morning!

On Sunday I posted a card on my personal blog that I created based on a this week's RetroSketches challenge. I LOVE this week's challenge, so I challenged myself to create another card using the same sketch. This time I pulled out two fantastic Great Impressions Stamps: Watering Can of Flowers and A Little Hello. I paired the stamped images with paper and a chipboard photo frame from Crate Paper's The Pier collection (what a cute line!) for a clean and simple card:

 (Supplies - Stamps: (Greta Impressions) Watering Can of Flower and A Little Hello. Ink: (Memento) Black. Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned Paper: (Crate Paper) The Pier. Slide Frame: (Crate Paper) The Pier. Other: Copic Markers, Enamel Dot.)

 

 



As you know, Great Impressions Stamps is the sponsor this week at The Play Date Cafe! We thought it would be fun to do a little give away of our own.  Karon Hughes will be finding some delightful Twinery Twine in her mailbox soon.  Congrats Karon! 

 

 

That's it for me this week!

 

xoxo,

Erin.

Hang In There!

Jammie Day Sunday!

Hello to you all this morning! I am here to share this fun 3D card-reminds me of a diorama card. I love the dimension! This poor kitty is hanging on for dear life...off an Oregon cherry tree LOL! 

I cut out the 3d card, tree, grass and banner with my Silhouette. I extended the length of the branch with a copic multi-liner so that it would be long enough to reach the full width of the window and a wee bit more so that I could tape it to the inside of the card. To finish it off I added the scenery and sentiment banner. Done!

Right now there is a sale going on at Great Impressions-20% off and free shipping in the US with a $25 order. A great deal!

Don't miss our June challenge --- Leave A Little Sparkle.

Thanks for stopping in to say Hello-I always look forward to your visits!

♥ Sue

card details:

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Great Impressions Stamps:

B196 Hang in there
G367 Just Hanging Around

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Green Bazzil, , MME dots, American Crafts City Park Sky
Copic:
Kitty-E51,53,55
Tree-E27
Bird-B 93
Leaves-G46

Misc: Crystals, dimensionals

Silhouette files: 
5 grass Shapes
3d standing spider card
Echo Park Tree and Tire Swing
6 banners