Topflight Stamps Hop - Happy 8th Birthday!

It's Topflight Stamps' 8th birthday!! Happy birthdayyyy! To celebrate I’ve teamed up with some great designers to showcase celebratory projects using the unique products available at Topflight Stamps. Please hop with us and see all the beautiful talent from this group of amazing designers - I love being invited to hop along! I'm otherwise quite a bit out of the loop these days. 😊

You can go to the Topflight Stamps Blog for the full list of links and other hop info - in addition to the blog hop there is a hop on Instagram, and you'll find that info there too. Keep reading for prize info!

If you're not familiar with Topflight Stamps, they have the most amazing collection of hard-to-get products from outside the US all in one convenient online shop! You will love browsing there if you haven't before - or even if you have! I'm always finding things I've never noticed before. For today's hop I ended up with a fun collection of dog and mail-themed products. We have a new puppy, and Sunday was National Puppy Day - that's all something to celebrate!

For my first card I used the Happy Mail clear stamp set by Heffy Doodle to create some faux postage stamps. I did a couple of layers of masking to create my little scenes - all of those images are separate stamps. Coloring was done with colored pencils. I used the Art of Traveling stencil by Stamperia to create the background panel, adding in a few stamped hearts from the Happy Mail set to bring my colors together. 

I also wanted to test out the Fallen Leaves Versafine Clair ink - I have had their Pinecone pad, which always blends out with a reddish tone... THIS was the brown I have been looking for. It's a nice dark espresso brown and it's perfect for brushed edges.

I used the same stamp set and stencil to create a little background vignette for my second card, coloring up that circle panel with Copic markers and Distress Oxide inks. The Rufus die set here is the star of the show - he is part of the Pet Pals line from Creative Expressions. I took some color cues from our puppy, Terra - she is a Great Pyrenees mix! About 3-1/2 months old and already a big girl.

To color the die cuts, I brushed the Fallen Leaves ink around the edges, then did a little masking to brush ink on the ears and tail. Extra shading was added with colored pencils. The die for the head piece has openings that can be stenciled for the eyes and nose - very clever! I used a black pen to color those in, then added highlights with dotted white paint.

Here are links to the products I used from Topflight today:

Creative Expressions - Pet Pals - Rufus die set

Stamperia - Art of Traveling - Postal Stamps stencil

Heffy Doodle - Happy Mail clear stamp set

Tsukineko Fallen Leaves Versafine Clair Ink Pad

During our birthday hop, your order from Topflight will be 20% off - no code is needed!

Annnnnnnnnd it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without prizes! Topflight Stamps is giving four lucky winners a $50 Gift Certificate to the store. Two winners will be chosen from commenters on the blog hop and two will be chosen from commenters on the IG hop. For a chance to win, make sure to visit the stops on the hop and leave a comment by April 1st. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on Thursday, April 3rd. U.S.A winners only due to shipping issues. Good Luck! Please be sure your comment or Google account gives us a way to contact you.

Here is a list of the designers who are sharing projects today to celebrate this special occasion:

Topflight main post

Kathi Rerek

Dina Kowal <<<<<< you're here with me!

Esther Asbury

Annette Allen

Rachel Kleinman

Connie Mercer

Lisa Hoel

Gwen Lafleur

Colleen Dietrich

Ericka Strange

Autumn Clark

Natasha Vacca

Colleen Balija

Alanna Moses

Sara Naumann

I thank you for visiting me, and for celebrating Topflight's birthday with our talented crew!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Kylie Jo's bears

Just finished the 2nd of these twin bears, made from Grandma's fleece sweatshirt and a t-shirt that both had special meaning to the recipients (daughter and granddaughter). I split the rhinestone embroidery between the 2 bears, and tried to get as much of the floral portions of the t-shirt print on both sets of feet. The t-shirt was very worn which made it a challenge to work with, even though it was backed with woven interfacing. 

I wouldn't normally put these colors together, but that is the wonder of memory bears - it works because the colors match memories, and the bears only need the approval of the person receiving them.

If you are interested in having a memory bear made, you can find my information HERE! 

Ladybug Bears!

I've been working on this batch of bears for a while - I am ready to deliver them today! This whole project began with a yard of the ladybug material, which was gifted to a friend. Her mother had had a shop with 'ladybug' in the name. She didn't know what to do with the fabric, and she thought of me. She ended up buying more coordinating fabrics for me to use, and these will be Christmas gifts for her family. There are 3 large bears here and 2 medium ones. I have one more to make for her, which will be mostly white with red accents on the ears and paws, and ladybugs on the feet.

Each one is so different! She requested a random patchwork style, which was interesting with the different types and thicknesses of fabric she provided.

I'm booked for Christmas orders, but my books are open for the new year! If you have some sentimental clothing items set aside that want to be a bear, please contact me! You can find more information HERE or HERE!

Closing a Chapter - Impression Obsession

Friends, this post is so hard to write! After over 20 years as a customer, 16 years as a design team member and 12 years of creating stamps, dies, stencils and papers under their brand, it's time to say farewell to Impression Obsession. I'm so grateful for the opportunities to attend trade shows, create catalog samples, teach classes... for the platform to share my heart and enable others to use my artwork to encourage and cheer their loved ones... for the opportunity to work with such amazing artists and designer friends week after week - we have watched each others' kids grow up, laughed and cried together, walked through a lot of life together, and made so many beautiful projects to share. It's been a wonderful ride.

I have lots of favorite projects - most of them were made using products that are now gone, so I'll save them for another reminiscing post. If you haven't shopped the sale yet or need another run-through to make sure you didn't miss anything, the site will be open until Monday midnight Eastern time. The discount is set at 70%, and there are still lots of beautiful products to choose from! 

This little guy is still in stock, along with his matching dies - I think he's so sweet! And this card sums up my sentiments today - so glad this whole IO thing happened. This stamp set comes with a flag pole, an American flag and a blank flag, but you can trim around the trunk like I did above  to have him hold just about anything.

IO Products:

Extra Fun clear stamp set

Extra Fun coordinating dies

Be sure to visit my friends for more inspiration and heartfelt messages - 

Impression Obsession Blog
Anna Wight
Dina Kowal
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Robin Clendenning
Angela Bode

Mitra has been THE best to work with - she was always endlessly patient with my creative blocks and missed deadlines (sorry!!), very generous with mentoring and guidance in the industry, and always encouraged and believed in me. I had a few opportunities to work with her in person, and my kids still remember staying in her house with the fire pole when we were on an extended road trip. I learned so much from her - so resilient, open, and adventurous. I wish her the best in whatever she jumps into next! 

Thank YOU too, for being on this journey with me - my days have been full with work at Jostens and making memory bears, a necessary transition as other creative doors have closed. This blog has been my space for 18 years, so I'll have to think of something else to fill its pages now! We'll see what happens.

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - one last week

Sigh.... so hard to believe we are coming to the end of our time with IO! If you haven't shopped, go take a peek and see if there's anything you'd like to have to remember us by. I'll be working over the break to continue converting my designs to digital and uploading them to Etsy - other than that I don't have plans to rehome them. 

I saw that the penguin die below is still in stock, so I pulled up an older set of tags where I used him - these were so fun to make, and they came together quickly. It's a fun set, and a good reminder that you can just use parts of dies on  your projects! Here was the full set of tags I made. 

I layered a scalloped circle with a stitched circle on each tag, then had some fun building the characters to embellish them. I used the edge of the circle die to cut the characters off and match the edges.

IO Products:
DIE889-V Penguin die set
DIE888-O Penguin Outfits die set (hat)
DIE831-YY Scalloped Stitched Circles - sold out
DIE837-YY Wacky Stitched Circles - sold out

The tag I used here is sold out, but check out these others that would work:
DIE937-S Stitched Tag
DIE971-V Stitched Tag #4
DIE1164-YY Stitched Tag #6

I hope you have a good week! I'm looking forward to some days off. Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for more inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details! 

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - heads up!

Remember to check the IO site when you have a chance - the discount has gone up to 70% off remaining stock and there are some special products left! I might need to go back through myself!
 

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - November color challenge

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share today with a beautiful color palette - we hope we inspire your crafting and your IO shopping!  Enjoy 50% (or more!) off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

Here are the colors we're working with today! I couldn't resist one more Pooh card, and I had some fun with a new liner brush.

The paper pack I used is sold out and I apologize for tempting you with it, but it matched so perfectly! I may need to find a new home for those designs, or add them to my Etsy shop. One day I'll figure out how to balance life and work and work!

IO Products: 

CS1329 Pooh Pleasures clear stamp set (just a few left!!)

PP054 Pooh paper pack (sold out)

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!  It's hard to believe that IO will be closing in just a few short weeks.

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - More Christmas Cards

Today the Impression Obsession Team is back with more projects to inspire your holiday crafting! Don't forget the discount on remaining IO stock - enjoy 50% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I'm sharing this card because I was so tickled with the design - this paper from the Vintage Christmas paper pack made such a perfect background for my bird! He's listed as a penguin but his little cowlick has a sort of cardinal crest quality to it, so I colored him red and it works. If you have (or need!) this set, now you have a fun little way to make it stretch.

IO Products:

CS1387 Penguin clear stamp set

PP082 Vintage Christmas paper pack

DIE1195 Rounded Rectangle Layers die set

You can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog each day through the event. Here are the links to today's projects:

Impression Obsession Blog
Anna Wight
Dina Kowal <<<<<<< that's me!
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Robin Clendenning
Angela Bode

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - Christmas Card Hop Day 1

November 1st and 2nd the Impression Obsession Team will be sharing projects to inspire your holiday crafting! Don't forget the  discount on remaining IO stock - enjoy 50% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I love how this card turned out - I had cut the base to figure out an answer for a newsletter question on Splitcoast, so it was ready to go, and the focal panel was just perfect for this image! (Tutorial is here if you want to make one too!) The image is watercolored with the typical added details using pencil and acrylic pens. When the panel was dry, I stenciled the stars around it lightly with coordinating ink. I love that added touch! 

IO Products:

CS1389 Unto Us clear stamp set

CS1386 Holiday Greetings clear stamp set

PP082 Vintage Christmas paper pack

STEN068 Stars stencil

You can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog each day through the event. Here are the links to today's projects:

Impression Obsession Blog
Anna Wight
Dina Kowal <<<<<<< you're here!
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Robin Clendenning
Angela Bode

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Impression Obsession - don't forget digital!

Howdy doo! I'm pulling in late because I started a new job today as a graphic designer at Jostens! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work there. Today I learned to use their online editor and worked on templates for elementary school memory books. (in step 2, that's me creating the pages!)

Today you'll find our design team sharing favorite projects. I have a couple of Halloween cards today featuring our digital stamps, because I don't want you to forget them! If you love Gary Robertson's artwork, be sure to browse through this gorgeous collection of drawings exclusively  made for IO, and tuck a few into your cart!

both of the images I used are printed on watercolor paper and painted with QoR watercolor paints. I started here with a base of yellow, and layered in more paint and some colored pencil, adding highlights with a white paint pen.

For the second card, I used the same process, layering in some extra shadows on the front of the house. I should have brightened up the pumpkin so it would pop - another time I'll have to color it up like a night scene with a light inside the jack-o-lantern.

One of the most delightful things about Gary's images are black cats - did you notice this one?

IO Products:

E1842-DG Cat in the Jack digital stamp

H1838-DG Jack with House digital stamp

CL1365 Little Monster clear stamp set

CL886 Monster Mash clear stamp set

PP007 Vintage Halloween paper pack

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!