Dina Kowal Creative

Topflight Stamps Hop - Happy 9th Birthday!

2026-03-24T00:00:00.168-04:00

I'm always so delighted to help celebrate Topflight Stamps' birthday - can you believe they've been supplying hard-to-get stamping products from outside the US for 9 years? Happy birthdayyyy! It is so fun for me to browse through their amazing collection to see what's new in the world. A bunch of other amazing designers have done the same thing, and we've got projectsssss to share with you today. Please hop with us and see what everyone has made!

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 we haven't met, I'm Dina - I have mostly retired from the paper crafting industry, but you might recognize me from my product line at Impression Obsession and my tenure as Artist in Residence at Splitcoaststampers! These days I am working full-time as a yearbook specialist for Memory Book by Jostens, making memory bears at Thoughtful Spot Memory Bears, and creating community with local artists in my county as president of our new arts council.

I found a couple of bird stamps that just made me happy - this little guy from AALL & Create really fit the 'bill' for a card of celebration! I stamped him in Versafine Clair ink on watercolor paper, and applied several layers of watercolor paint, letting each layer dry before adding more depth and color. This glazing technique is my favorite way to watercolor. I added some deeper shading with a colored pencil, and added some highlights and spatters with a white acrylic paint pen.

There are a few dots of glaze on the image for shine and dimension - on the bird's eye and on the roses. The sentiment is from Katzelkraft, and I love the freedom and mix of fonts in this set. I always seem to choose stamps that go out of stock - just a reminder to BUY something you love on the Topflight site - some of their items are difficult to restock and you don't want to miss your chance!

The layering base on both of my cards is from an AALL & Create cardstock pack - I absolutely hated covering up these papers because they are so beautiful!. I hope you'll check out their paper range. The cardstock is very heavy, and it would stand up well for mixed media bases too.

My second card is my favorite - there were some gridlines in the background of the stamped image from Crafty Individuals, so I used a colored pencil to extend them to the edges of my panel (Versafine Clair ink on watercolor paper again). I didn't take pictures of my process, and I'm sorry - but the colors you see in the top row filled each column of the grid, and when those were dry, I glazed the 2nd and 3rd rows with other colors. I have a tutorial for this technique HERE on Splitcoaststampers, and it can be done with different mediums as well.

Following that, my process was pretty much the same as above - watercoloring the image and then adding details with a colored pencil and white paint pen. The sentiment banner partly covers up an area where my paint pen blurped!

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

Versafine Clair Ink - Fallen Leaves

AALL & Create - Design Papers - A5 - 20 - Woodsy Whispers

AALL & Create - A7 - Clear Stamps - 1139 Buttercream Birdy Bliss

Crafty Individuals - Unmounted Rubber Stamp - 653 - Goldfinch (out of stock)

Katzelkraft - A5 - KTZ291 - Unmounted Red Rubber Stamp Set - Enjoy Quotes (out of stock)

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

Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without prizes! Topflight Stamps is giving four lucky winners $50 Gift Certificates 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 March 31st. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on Thursday, April 2nd. 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!

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

Fall/Winter House Mouse release at Spellbinders

2025-08-05T21:04:00.004-04:00

Do you miss me?! I'm over on the Spellbinders blog today with a coloring tutorial - please come learn something and say hello!

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!

Topflight Stamps Hop - Happy 8th Birthday!

2025-03-25T00:00:00.165-04:00

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. 😊

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!

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

Kylie Jo's bears

2025-01-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

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!

2024-12-16T14:27:00.003-05:00

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

2024-12-01T20:00:00.120-05:00

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.

Impression Obsession - one last week

2024-11-25T20:00:00.052-05:00

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!

Impression Obsession - heads up!

2024-11-18T20:00:00.004-05:00

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!

Impression Obsession - November color challenge

2024-11-11T20:00:00.045-05:00

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.

Impression Obsession - More Christmas Cards

2024-11-02T20:00:00.000-04:00

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

Impression Obsession - Christmas Card Hop Day 1

2024-11-01T20:00:00.037-04:00

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

Impression Obsession - don't forget digital!

2024-10-28T20:00:00.090-04:00

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!

Impression Obsession DT Theme - Color Challenge

2024-10-21T20:00:00.054-04:00

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share today with a beautiful Fall 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!

Many of the newer and more popular products were recently restocked for your benefit, so if you were interested in any of the Pooh sets, they are in again. Here's a set I designed last Fall - I used the color palette from the inspiration photo to warm up the view through the windows in this little scene. I love this sentiment, and the way it fits with the image.

I used watercolors to color in the little scene, adding a little more shading with a brown colored pencil. The white lines on the windows were added with a paint pen - I intended them to look like reflections on the glass but they look a little more like rain instead. Oh well!

Speaking of bears, I completed my first custom memory bear order and he will ship off tomorrow! Isn't he the sweetest?

IO Products:

CS1138 Pooh Window clear stamp set

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

Impression Obsession DT Theme - Birthday

2024-10-14T20:00:00.033-04:00

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share today with a birthday theme- we hope we inspire your crafting and your IO shopping! Enjoy 40% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I did some wet-into-wet watercoloring to fill in these gift images, then cut out and arranged them on my card panel, popping up a few. Such a simple effect! This is a great all-purpose birthday set, with outlined images perfect for coloring with your favorite medium.

IO Products:

CL1341 Birthday Hugs clear stamp set

PP051 Chicken Wire paper pack

DIE1195 Rounded Rectangle Layers die set (sold out)

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

Impression Obsession - More Halloween Inspiration

2024-10-02T20:00:00.052-04:00

We're back with more Halloween projects to inspire your crafting and your IO shopping! With October also comes an increase in the discount on remaining IO stock - enjoy 40% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I dug out some older dies and just let the card design itself - I started by cutting the web panel in black, then thought it might be pretty to layer 2 cuts in a window opening. I glued the webs into the frames, then layered them on the front and back of a die cut card base (I used a rectangle die from Spellbinders for that opening). The grey layer is rotated 180 degrees for some variation in the lines.

The spider is cut from brown fun foam, and I used alcohol and acrylic markers to color him. The little dew drops in the web are actually hot glue - I was poking through older blog posts and saw another card I had done that way, so the idea was fresh. I made the drops on a non-stick craft sheet. When they were cool I set them where I wanted them on the card, then heated them with my heat gun just until they went clear - that activated the glue enough to stick to the card. So fun, and much easier to control that way, rather than trying to drop hot glue directly on the card. Any glaze product could be used too, but I didn't want to wait for glue to dry.

IO Products:

DIE313 Spider Web Background

DIE115-J Spider Web die set

DIE291 All-in-One Frames - Rectangles 2 die set

CL1365 Little Monster clear stamp 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
Dina Kowal
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Robin Clendenning
Angela Bode
Anna Wight

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 - Halloween Hop

2024-10-01T20:00:00.056-04:00

Howwww is it October already?! I am unprepared.

October 1st and 2nd the Impression Obsession Team will be sharing projects to inspire your Halloween crafting! With October also comes an increase in the discount on remaining IO stock - enjoy 40% off your order, and remember that once these products are gone, they're gone!

I thought this card was fun because the ghosts are made using the Primitive Snowman die - I just left off the arms and other accessories! Such a fun way to expand the use of a die set. The ghosts are brushed with a little yellow and grey ink for some spooky dimension. I used dark purple ink to stencil some clouds on purple cardstock, then splattered some white gesso for a starry sky.

IO Products:

DIE1353 Primitive Snowman die set

STEN020-A1 Cloud Grass Scene stencil

DIE968 Whimsical Rectangle die set

CL1365 Little Monster clear stamp 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

Dina Kowal <<<<<< you are here!

Memory Bears

2024-09-27T22:59:00.001-04:00

I decided to teach myself a new skill, so over the last few months I've been learning to make jointed teddy bears! It's been a fun process, and I learn a little more with each one. I'm set up to make memory bears now, so if that interests you, you can find all the information here! I've also got a Facebook page set up so I can collect photos in one place, and answer any questions you may have.

Bears can be made completely from sentimental fabrics, or I can make plush bears wearing the fabrics in a little (unremovable) outfit.

I've been having fun searching for blankets and plush fabrics at the local thrift stores - this one is made from a blanket and some upholstery scraps.

Here are the 3 sizes together. The small bear is 7" tall in a seated position and 11" standing. The medium bear is 9" tall in a seated position and 13" standing. The large bear is 11.5" tall in a seated position and 16" standing.

I hope these will become treasured keepsakes! Please message or email me if you're interested in something customized. I'll be making some holiday ones as well!

Impression Obsession - September Team Favorites

2024-09-23T20:00:00.038-04:00

The IO Team is back today to share a favorite card from this month's release, so here's mine! Head over to the Impression Obsession Blog for all the links so you don't miss anything. All the newest releases can be found HERE.

This card ended up being a little showcase of quite a few different products! After several hours of cardmaking I had strips of paper on my desk and these 3 wanted to stay together. I used the colors to inspire my focal panel - the mittens are loosely watercolored, and the sleeves are actually made from the scarf of the large snowman set, just flipped and cut in half.

IO Products:

DIE1359 Snowman in Scarf die set

DIE1365 Mittens & Stockings die set

DIE1353 Primitive Snowman die set

PP081 Nordic Patterns paper pack

PP068 Heart Gingham paper pack

PP019 Basics 11 - Greens paper pack

CL1362 Winter Hello clear stamp set

Hope you are staying cool wherever you are today! Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!

Impression Obsession DT Theme - Holiday Cards & Tags

2024-09-16T20:00:00.056-04:00

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share featuring holiday cards and tags - we'd love for you to hop along with us!

By coincidence, I made a card and a tag using this adoooorable snowman die set, so let's talk about those today! to make the card, I first folded a card base to be just larger than the main die. I set the edge of the die just outside the fold line and ran it through the die cutting machine to create a folding base in the shape of the head. A second cut was layered over the base to hide the fold. I cut the other pieces out of the same white cardstock, and cut an extra scarf for balance. Coloring was done with Copic and OLO markers.

For the tag, I used a different color scheme - and by the way, the configuration of these faces is much different than the sample on the site, so have fun giving your snowmen their own personalities! So many possibilities. I love the slot punch too - it's intended for ribbons but that little slot is so much easier to 'thread' twine through! I love it. The one I have is from EKSuccess but there are a lot of other options linked there as well.

IO Products:

DIE1359-Z Snowman in Scarf

The die set is temporarily out of stock but will be back soon! Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the links and details!

Impression Obsession - Final Release Day 3

2024-09-03T20:00:00.079-04:00

We've got even more projects from the new release from Impression Obsession today! If you haven't seen the new release, you can find it all HERE - go check it out!

This poinsettia frame actually released in August, but I intended it to be released with this sentiment set so I saved it to share this month. The mix-and-match sentiments are designed to fit in this opening but you can obviously use them in alone or in any layout of your choice. The main sentiment can be matched with any of the single words, and there is also a large ampersand so you can combine them too.

The die is designed to cut out the frame, but it outlines the poinsettias in broken lines which allow them to stay in the panel. If you want, you can pop up certain portions or you can leave them flat on your card panel. On my first card I just cut the die and left the cuts alone. I used watercolor markers to color the petals, then misted to let the color bleed out. When it was dry, I added more shading and details.

For my second card, I cut the poinsettias out and popped them up as an embellishment.

I love the loose strokes on this iteration. I colored some of the bracts (never stop learning!) green to add some contrast to the panel.

IO Products:

CS1386 Holiday Greetings clear stamp set

PP081 Nordic Patterns paper pack

DIE1341 Poinsettia Frame die

PP068 Heart Gingham paper pack

DIE1304-YY Rounded Corner Stitched Squares die set

Two lucky customers who place an Impression Obsession order during release week (September 1-8) will be chosen and will have a very special Impression Obsession prize package added to their orders!
September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd the Impression Obsession Team will be sharing new projects with the NEW clear stamps, stencils, papers and dies! 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
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Robin Clendenning
Angela Bode
Anna Wight
Dina Kowal

Sale note: there are a few items listed as "Temporarly Out of Stock" ... they should be back in the store within a couple weeks.

Impression Obsession -September Release Day 2

2024-09-02T20:00:00.078-04:00

We've got more projects from the new release from Impression Obsession today! If you haven't seen the new release, you can find it all HERE - go check it out!

I wanted to highlight my paper packs in this post - I have 3 in the new release. I used papers from 2 of them on this first card - the snowflake design is in the Nordic Patterns pack, and the children are in the Vintage Christmas pack. Vintage Christmas features imagery from vintage books as well as some of my silhouette designs.

This image is from one of Nola's sets - such a cute snowman! Very sweet set.

The other paper pack is called Christmas Prayer, and the color palette and illustrations are from a small vintage book of the same name. You can read it here - it's basically a prayer of blessing for friends on different paths in life, and it's very sweet. I created a couple of collage sheets like this one for quick cards - you can crop to any side, and add embellishments or more layers of paint or paper as you wish. Here I added a snowflake die cut and sentiment, and the paper design did the rest.

IO Products:

CL1343 For You clear stamp set

PP082 Vintage Christmas paper pack

PP081 Nordic Patterns paper pack

DIE1195 Rounded Rectangle Layers die set

DIE837 Wacky Stitched Circles die set

CL1362 Winter Hello clear stamp set

PP079 Christmas Prayer paper pack

DIE893 Primitive Snowflakes die set (sold out)

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

Remember the new releases are included in the closing sale! New items that have sold out will be restocked, so if you missed something that says "temporarily out of stock" don't lose hope.

Impression Obsession - Final Monthly Release Day 1

2024-09-01T20:00:00.080-04:00

It's time for the final monthly release from Impression Obsession. Haven't seen the new products? They're all HERE - go take a peek! (It's hard to get excited about a final release, isn't it...? It is a beautiful collection and I hope you will love it, but I didn't love typing these words. Sigh...)

This is artwork that had been released as a red rubber stamp, so enjoy it in a clear format if you missed it before! I love this set combined with the Christmas Stars stencil. I did a simple layout here, masking off the image to do a little watercolor background and stenciled stars.

Here's another quick card with the stencil and a new mix-and-match sentiment set. This monochrome look would be so easy for mass production on my favorite kraft cardstock! I brushed Versafine ink through the stencil and did a little stamping through the lower part of the stencil while it was still in place.

Heat embossing remains my poorest stamping skill... but here's a closer look at the sentiment - there are a number of words that you can fill your holiday with, and a large ampersand so you can fill it with more than one thing!

IO Products:

CS1389 Unto Us clear stamp set

STEN056 Christmas Stars stencil

CS1386 Holiday Greetings clear stamp set

CL1362 Winter Hello clear stamp set

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

Impression Obsession - August Team Favorites

2024-08-26T20:00:00.046-04:00

I love everything vintage, and this lantern is such a favorite - I based the die design off of one of my red rubber stamps (you can see it in this blog post). Lanterns bring guidance and hope, don't you think? I used solid cardstocks for my lantern design, adding shading with alcohol markers.

The background was created by inking a watercolor paper panel with Distress Oxide inks, misting the panel, then laying a stencil over the panel until it dried. This is one of the layers from the Layered Candy Corn set. I think that is such a cool effect! I have a tutorial for the technique HERE.

IO Products:

STEN062-A3 Layered Candy Corn stencil set

DIE1358-T Small Tags die set

PP080 Fall Damask paper pack

DIE1342 Railroad Lantern die set

MC1395 Tiny Tag Sayings stamp set

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the links and details! If you haven't been over to the site for the sale, please take a peek to see if there's anything that you'd like to have as a keepsake of IO - also remember the special SALE sections have items that are 65% off, and some are marked down to $1. Thank you all for your kind words of support - IO has been a part of my life for so long and I appreciate your part in my journey!

Impression Obsession DT Theme - Fall Colors

2024-08-19T20:00:00.061-04:00

The Impression Obsession team has some projects to share using fall colors - we'd love for you to hop along with us!

Sometimes a single image needs to sing on a card - I love the simplicity of this wheat stamp by Lindsay, and wanted it to have center stage. The image is watercolored, with an extra splashy wash of color in the background. I lightly inked the edges of the panel and layered it on a base of the same color with craft foam so it stands out a little. The ribbon is one of my favorites - it's woven green and orange, and it's beautiful in person. Sentiment here is from my Sunflower set on one of my favorite rounded rectangle tags.

IO Products:

CL1384 Sunflower clear stamp set

CL1371 Fall Foliage clear stamp set

DIE1195 Rounded Rectangle Layers die set

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the links and details! If you haven't been over to the site for the sale, please take a peek to see if there's anything that you'd like to have as a keepsake of IO - also remember the special SALE sections have items that are 65% off, and some are marked down to $1. I was sad to see how many of my favorites are already gone (again, if you love Pooh please know that those items are selling out quickly). Thank you all for your kind words of support - IO has been a part of my life for so long and I appreciate your part in my journey!

Sharing Impression Obsession's news....

2024-08-15T17:15:00.000-04:00

In case you aren't on the Impression Obsession mailing list, I'm sharing the news just sent via email... This one is tough to share - even with advance notice I haven't fully processed the news. This amazing company has been a part of my life and routine for 16 years... before then, I remember being giddy waiting for each new release. As a licensed artist over the last 12 years, I've poured my heart into so many stamp sets, dies, stencils, papers, and more - over 2000 items. My heartfelt thanks to Mitra, the design team, and those of you who have purchased and used my art to encourage others - I'm honored.

I do retain rights to alllll my artwork, so I will take time to catalog, edit, and repurpose - some of my designs are already digitized and available on Etsy, but I have quite a backlog to process and can now add cut files for stencils and dies. I'm open to licensing to another company, and will proceed thoughtfully with that possibility in mind. We'll still continue with our usual posts and challenges until the end of the year - the September release is beautiful (I'm playing with it now!) and I look forward to sharing it with you.

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Dear Customers & Friends,

After 26 years in the craft industry, Impression Obsession will cease operations at the end of the year.

It has been a wonderful ride, and we thank all of our customers, artists, designers, and retailers for all the support you have shown us. These decisions don't come easily, but it's time for me to start a new chapter in my life.

Our final new release will be September 1, 2024 and it is full of wonderful products for the fall season. Please take this opportunity to support your favorite IO artist in this last release.

Throughout the next few months, we will be clearancing our inventory with progressive discounts. We will not be restocking, so when an item sells out, it’s gone for good.

Please support your independent retailers and small manufacturers when you can, it matters. It has been a pleasure crafting with you all!

Sincerely,

Mitra Palmer
Owner
Impression Obsession, Inc.