Author Archives: Imagine

Let’s Make Winter Decor

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By Anna Escalada York

It was time to reuse a small piece of wood to create a small piece of winter decor to add a little fun to a bookshelf. The stars feature wintery colors (blues and white) surrounded by some winter greenery, a snowflake and sparkly elements.

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 2 hours (active time) + dry time

Directions


Step 1:
Cover the wood block with a layer of Gesso. Allow to dry. Then stamp the block repeatedly with Golden Glitz Delicata Ink on a small woodblock star stamp.

Step 2:
Ink blend a piece of die cut watercolor paper with Blue Belle VersaFine Clair Ink using an ink dauber.

Step 3:
Press the dauber of a Gold Sheer Shimmer Stix Dauber Top stick along the edges of the blue die cut star. After drying, press the edge of the Golden Glitz Delicata Ink pad along the edges to enhance the gold border of the star.

Step 4:
Glue a book page onto a scrap of cardstock. After the glue has dried, die cut the glued page with a smaller star. Then press a Champagne Delicata ink pad directly onto the die cut book page to obscure some of the words on the page and add sparkle.

Not pictured: Die cut a piece of sparkly vellum. This die-cut star should be in between the other two in size.

Step 5:
Ink blend the sides of the star with Paradise VersaFine Clair Ink with a sponge dauber.

Step 6:
Press a stencil into a Night Sky VersaMagic Chalk Ink pad. Then spray the stencil with Silver Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray. Press the inky side of the stencil onto the wood block. Keep the stencil in place by placing something heavy (such as a large wood stamp or book) on top of both and allow the ink to dry. Then remove the stencil.

Step 7:
Spray Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution (in Walnut Ink color) onto a small piece of watercolor paper. After it dried, die cut with a branch die cut.

Step 8:
Color the greenery. Press a Rain Forest VersaFine Clair Ink pad onto a piece of water color paper. After the ink dries, die cut two pieces of evergreen needles.

Not pictured: Spray New Sprout Fireworks! Craft Spray onto another piece of watercolor paper. After the spray dried, die cut the watercolor paper with a mistletoe die.

Step 9:
Add a sentiment on the lower right corner of the block with Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink and heat emboss with clear embossing powder.

Step 10:
(My camera lost the picture of this step. I wanted you to at least see the gold snowflake on the finished project.)

Press Golden Glitz Delicata Ink onto another piece of watercolor paper. Then heat emboss with clear embossing powder. Die cut the paper with a small snowflake die. (The whole snowflake was tucked behind the star in the next step.

Step 11:
Assemble the project. Glue the die cut snowflake in the lower left corner of the block and the greenery (branch, mistletoe and pine needles) in the upper right corner. Add glue along the edges of both the large, dark blue and small book page stars and add glitter. Allow to dry. Then add glue along the upper right and lower left corner of the block and add more glitter. Allow the glue to dry.

Layer the three layers of star die cuts. Glue the medium onto the large dark blue star. Then attach the small book page layer onto the vellum layer with foam tape. After the glue dries, attach the layered star onto the block with more foam tape. Glue star embellishments in the upper left and lower right corners of the block to finish the project.

Art Supplies

Imagine

• Delicata Ink – Champagne and Golden Glitz
• Fireworks! Craft Spray – New Sprout
• Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray – Silver
• Sheer Shimmer Stick Dauber – Gold
• VersaFine Clair ink – Nocturne, Blue Belle, Paradise, Rain Forest and Night Sky
• Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution – Walnut Ink color
• Sponge Dauber

Other

• Altenew – foam tape – Instant Dimension Foam Tape Golden –
• Gesso Semi-Opaque Acrylic Primer
• Simon Says Stamp – die set – Nested Stars Wafer Dies
• Simon Says Stamp – embellishment mix – North Star
• The Crafter’s Workshop – stencil – Stained Glass (TCW 462S)
• Unity Stamp Company – stamp set – …shake your flakes (December Unity Sentiment Kit 2022)
• Woodblock star stamp in my stash
• Small branch die
• Evergreen needles die
• Mistletoe die
• Small snowflake die
• Clear Embossing Powder

Happy New Year Card for 2026!

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By Tracy Fear

Happy New Year!

Let’s celebrate with one of our newest VersaFine Clair inks, Hawthorn Rose. This is a beautiful red-violet color that pairs beautifully with gold!

Tracy

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 60 Minutes


Art Supplies
• Die cutting machine
• 100lb white paper
• A2 Card Base
• Foam Squares
• Dies
• Gold sparkle embossing powder
• Irridescent sparkle embossing powder
• Glue

Imagine Products

• VersaFine Clair in Hawthorne Rose
• VersaMark Ink

Other Products Used

• Brutus Monroe Embossing powders in Gilded Metallic and Fairy Dust
•Embossing Powder
•Multiple Sizzix dies from several sets
• PVA Adhesive
• Foam Tape

ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE USED TO RECREATE SOMETHING SIMILAR

Any Inks, any combination of dies!

Make an Adorable Shaker Ornament Gift Tag

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By Ceal Pritchett

Hello Crafty Friends,
It’s Ceal, here. Today I am sharing how to make this Gift Tag with a Shaker Ornament attached.  The recipient can also use the Shaker Ornament for a gift tag if they want.

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour

Directions:

Gather your supplies. For this project you will need a MISTI Lite or other stamping platform, a Grip or Sticky Mat, a shaker element die set (I used a snow globe) a tag die set, and a die cutting machine. I used several colors of VersaFine Clair ink in Rain Forest, Blue Belle and Warm Breeze

Step 1:
Cut out all your die cut pieces. I ended up also using some trees and a snowman from an old Hero Arts set. You will need 2 frames and two bases of the snow globe

Step 2:
Mask off the bottom portion of the snow globe for the snow.

Step 3:
Using Warm Breeze, ink the bottom portion above the mask.

Step 4:
Using Blue Belle, ink the top portion of the snow globe.

Step 5:
Cover the bottom portion of the snow globe and splatter the top portion with watered down white acrylic paint for the snow.

Step 6:
Ink the trees using Rain Forest ink and color the hat, arms, face, and button of the snowman with a marker.

Step 7:
Add all the elements, trees and snowman to the base.

Step 8:
Recycle and add some packaging to one of the globes to create the shaker.

Step 9:
Add some glitter or sequins to the front of the snow globe and add foam tape to the back of the snow globe frame.

Tip- always add liquid glue on the foam tape so it gives a minute to move it if needed. Glue the two together.

Step 10:
Cut out a tag and stamp a greeting on it. Add a string to the snow globe and then place another backer over it for a clean look.

Add the shaker snow globe to the gift tag.

Craft Supplies:

Imagine products:
• VersaFine Clair – Warm Breeze, Blue Belle and Rain Forest

Other Products:
• Tag Dies- Hero Arts
• Trees and snowman dies – Hero Arts
• Snow Globe Dies – Taylored Expressions

Watercolor a Festive Christmas Door with VersaMagic

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By Jessica Lin

Skill: Advanced
Time: 1.5 hours

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here and I am so excited to share today’s project with you. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year and I love making Christmas cards. I decided to build a doorway scene today using Stampin’ Up’s At Home with You stamps and dies. After die cutting, the door actually opens, making this a special and interactive Christmas card.

Step 1:
The stamp set I am using today is At Home with You from Stampin’ Up. It features a door and various elements that are great for building specific scenes for different occasions such as Christamas, Thanksgiving, or birthdays. I stamped several images with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink. It’s a pigment-based ink that is waterproof and great for being the outlines of watercolored images.

Step 2:
After die cutting the stamped images with coordinating dies, it’s time to watercolor. I decided to use VersaMagic Red Magic, Red Brick, and Delicata Ruby Red for the door. I pressed some ink onto an acrylic block and watercolored with a waterbrush.

Step 3:
For the door frame, I watercolored with VersaMagic Gingerbread and Jumbo Java.

Step 4:
Then I added VersaMagic Mango Madness to the window and the candle. Don’t forget to color the door knob, too! I used VersaMagic Niagara Mist with a hint of Aspen Mist. The candle shade is colored with the same colors as the door knob.

Step 5:
Finally, for the plants and wreaths, I watercolored with VersaMagic Hint of Pesto, Delicata Emerald Green and Ruby Red. Delicata ink pads are shimmery and add the perfect touch of Christmas spirit to these images. I wish you could see the shimmer in person!

Lastly, I colored the planter with VersaMagic Wheat ink pad.

Step 6:
Since we are building a front door scene, I embossed the background cardstock with Stampin’ Up’s Brick & Mortar embossing folder. I love the realistic brick textures of this embossing folder; it’s one of my all-time favorites.

Step 7:
Then I added a piece of 4’’ x 1 ½’’ wood patterned paper as the foreground. I also added yellow patterned paper to the inside of the door; this door die actually cuts around the door frame so that the door can open! Isn’t it a fun, little mechanism?

Step 8:
You can then add a Christmas greeting that will be revealed when you open the door. I decided to keep it simple and stamped a “Merry Christmas” sentiment with VersaMagic Nocturne ink pad.

Step 9:
The At Home with You stamp set also comes with a door mat image. I stamped it several times on burlap paper with VersaMagic Nocturne ink pad.

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • Stampin’ Up! – Stamps & Dies – At Home with You
  • Stampin’ Up! – Embossing Folder – Brick & Mortar
  • Waterbrush
  • Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock

 Create a Winter Card with Minimal Supplies 

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By Jessica Lin 

Skill: Beginner 
Time: 15 minutes 

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Today I have a beginner-friendly project to share with you. If you are just starting out and don’t have many ink pads, this tutorial is for you. I will be sharing some stamping techniques to help you create shades of color with just one ink pad. So let’s get started!

Step 1:
The ink pad I will be using today is VersaFine Clair Spruce. It is perfect for stamping the pine tree images from Stampin’ Up’s Winter Woods set. I stamped the image in the center on a piece of 3 ½’’ x 4 ¾’’ Soft Seafoam cardstock. 

Step 2:
Then I stamped a different pine tree image on the left and right at various heights. You might notice that some of the pine trees appear darker; that is because I stamped the image twice. By using a stamp positioning tool, you can restamp an image at the same spot. In this case, it creates a darker shade of color even though you are using the same color ink pad. On the very left, there is a pine tree that looks lighter in color. To achieve this effect, you can stamp lightly on a piece of scrap paper first. Then, using the leftover ink, stamp on the cardstock to create a lighter shade. 

Step 3:
I then sprinkled some diluted white acrylic paint for a snowing effect. Once the acrylic paint is dried, you can stamp the sentiment. I decided to use Stampin’ Up’s Merry Christmas to All stamp set and stamped it with Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pad. 

Step 4:
For an even more dramatic snow effect, you could add white Neon Amplify to the bottom edge of the cardstock. I drew a wavy pattern that mimics the looks of piles of snow. You don’t have to wait for the puff paint to dry, you can heat set it with a heat gun immediately and the paint will puff up! 

Step 5:
Then I adhered the stamped panel to a piece of Shaded Spruce cardstock that measures 3 ¾’’ x 5’’. After that, mount the cardfront to an A2 Mint Macaron cardbase. For some finishing touches, I adhered some white and gold sequins with On-Point Glue, and this holiday card is complete! 

Imagine Supplies: 

● VersaFine Clair – Spruce 
● Brilliance – Galaxy Gold 
● Neon Amplify – White 
● On-Point Glue 
● StazOn Cleaner 
● Tear It! Tape 
● Craft Mat 

Other Supplies: 

● Stampin’ Up! – Stamps – Winter Woods 
● Stampin’ Up! – Stamps – Merry Christmas to All 
● Stampin’ Up! – Cardstock – Soft Seafoam, Shaded Spruce, Mint Macaron 
● Heat gun 
● Gold and white sequins 

Let’s Make an Elegant Snowflakes Card

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By Katy Ingram

Hello Friends! Katy here with another holiday video using VersaFine Clair inks to create a beautiful mixed media looking snowflake card. Video has all the details. Thanks for watching.

Skill: Beginner, Intermediate
Time: 15 minutes

Art Supplies

Imagine Products
VersaFine Clair https://www.imaginecrafts.com/versafine-clair
Baby Pink, Hawthorn Rose, Arctic and Twilight
On Point Glue 
Double Sided Adhesive

Other Products Used
Hero Arts Stacking Snowflakes
White Cardstock
Hot Pressed Watercolor paper
Stamp positioner tool
Foam Tape
Snowflake Dies

Simon Says Stamp White Christmas Background Stamp