My First Attempt with Art Impressions

This last weekend I attended CKC in Portland for the sixth year in a row.  It's changed a bit since I first started, but one thing that never changes is the inspiration I find there.  I happened upon a booth in the vendor fair for Art Impressions.  I remembered that I had watched Kristina Werner make the cutest cat card using their stamps, so I just had to check them out.  They had some of the cutest whimsical stamps, but then I saw the most amazing demonstration of their watercolor stamps.  I stood there for the longest time with another group of crafters watching the owner, Bonnie Krebs, create such beautiful scenes with just a handful of stamps, markers, a little water, a brush and some watercolor paper.  I knew immediately I was going to have to try it myself.

I picked out a few stamps that I thought would be basic enough to get started but also versatile enough to let me be creative.  As I was purchasing my new stamps, I struck up a conversation with the owner's husband and learned that they live not to far from me and my favorite local art store, Runaway Arts and Crafts carries their products - no wonder the name was so familiar.  I'm sure I've walked by their stamps in that store a ton of times and never gave them a thought because I simply didn't know how to use them. 

So tonight, I pulled them out because I thought they may do well for the sympathy card I need to make for a co-worker.  I was so surprised how fun, easy and FAST it was to make the potted plant on this card.  I watched their You Tube video and then just followed the easy steps to make my own version.  Then it was just add a background with Fancy Pants paper from the 6x6 pad called Park Bench and a little ribbon.