Category Archives: Elina Stromberg

See How To Make A Birthday Card With A Dynamic Look

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by Elina Stromberg

See How To Make A Birthday Card With A Dynamic Look

This card project is a playful combination of two very different design elements; a simple white graphical front and a rich bright colorful background. This design idea can be used for various card projects of different sizes and shapes; this background looks as great on a large square card as on a small ATC. For the background use your favorite colors and color combinations and add additional layers with stamps and stencils. The graphical white card front will calm down even the busiest color burst background making the result look elegant and beautiful.

Skill: Beginner
Time: 2 hours + drying time

Direction


Step 1

Trim a panel from white cardstock. The size should be slightly smaller than your card base (approx. 0.25 inch smaller on all edges). Place the panel on your craft mat, backside up. Using a pencil and a ruler trace a border around the edges. Trace a few straight lines across the panel, letting the lines cross. Decide on the placement of the solid front label that will be the base for the stamped sentiment. Mark the label area clearly so that it will be left uncut.

Step 2

Place the front panel on a cutting mat. Using a craft knife and a ruler cut out the areas inside the crossing lines. Leave a thin border on both sides of the lines. Do not cut into the solid label area.


Step 3

Mist a piece of white heavy watercolor paper with water. Use your craft mat as a palette: Remove the nozzle from the Fireworks mist, pour a drop of color on the craft mat and apply color on the paper using a brush. Add drops of another matching color either with a brush or with the nozzle. Mix colors using both water and a brush, let dry before adding more layers of color.

Step 4

When finished with painting splash the paper with clear water. Let water react with the colors for a few seconds and lift off excess by pressing the paper with a paper towel. Let dry completely and trim to size of your white card front.

Step  5

Using one or two ink colors stamp the sentiment text on the card front.

Step 6

Assemble the card by first gluing the white card front on the colorful background and then attaching the entire front panel on the card base.


Extra Tip:

When coloring a card background I often use a paper slightly larger than my finished project. After trimming the panel to the final size I keep the colorful leftover pieces and use them for decorating the inside of the card. This way I’m continuing the same color and/or pattern theme on the inside of the card!

Supplies

Imagine

Other

  • White cardstock
  • White heavy watercolor paper
  • Solid color card base
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Watercolor brush
  • Craft knife
  • Cutting mat
  • Paper trimmer
  • Glue
  • Double-sided tape
  • Ali Edwards – ‘Hello Birthday’ Stamp

Learn How To Craft A Beautiful Card With Feathers

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by Elina Stromberg

Learn How To Craft A Beautiful Card With Feathers

I hope you will soon get the chance to try the new StazOn Pigment inks. They are amazing! Like the standard StazOn inks, StazOn Pigment inks work well on various surfaces, they dry quickly and are super easy to use. Beautiful and bright colors are opaque and ‘juicier’ than the standard StazOns, giving you a crisp image every time.

I was curious to test the new inks on a bit glossy, non-paper surface, but instead of going for an acetate sheet or a glass jar I remembered a pack of feathers I had purchased several years back. What if I decorated the feathers with stamped patterns to give them a fun and interesting look?

Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

Gently bend the feathers and separate the barbs by pulling them towards the quill until you have reached the look you want.


Step 2

Place the feather on a folded paper towel. This soft surface will ease the stamping over the hard shaft in the middle of the feather. Stamp patterns on the feather, using pattern stamps and ink colors of your choice.


Step 3

Add a hint of white with a gel pen. Let dry. StazOn Pigment ink will dry very quickly, but the gel pen color may need a few minutes for drying.


Step 4

Cut a diamond shape from black cardstock. Cutting lines drawn on the back of the cardstock will help in cutting a symmetrical shape.


Step 5

Tape the black diamond shape on a piece of grey/monotonous patterned paper. Glue the feathers on top. Using Tear It double sided tape mat the card front on a piece of matching color cardstock and adhere on a folded card base.


Step 6

Stamp the sentiment text “Congrats” on a paper strip and glue on the card. I used another stamped feather on a different card layout, and even if that design is even simpler, I think the card looks quite nice!

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Craft feathers
  • Pattern stamp of your choice (I used a stamp from ‘Mini Textures’ set by Carabelle Studio)
  • Letter stamps by Studio Calico
  • White gel pen
  • Tacky glue
  • Cardstock – Black, white, red, patterned grey
  • White/green folded card base
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Paper Towels

Learn How To Make A Hello Spring Card

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by Elina Stromberg

Learn How To Make A Hello Spring Card

Here in Finland, the winters are usually quite long, and when you now look out from the window you still see piles of snow even if it is already March! On a grey late winter day when spring and summer seem to be still quite far away, you can turn your mind already into spring mood: For that, you only need a few stamps, your favorite bright ink colors and some colorful pieces of scrap paper. When you spend a short moment stamping, cutting, and layering your colorful hand-made elements on a beautiful flower card I’m sure you will soon feel your mood rising. Happy and pleased with your creation you quickly feel that actually spring is just around the corner!

Skill: Beginner/Intermediate
Time: 1.5 hours

Directions


Step 1

Mist a piece of watercolor paper with Fireworks Shimmery Craft Spray in Dandelion. Let dry. Place a stencil on the colored paper. Use VersaFine Clair in Summertime and a Sponge Dauber to stencil random patterns on the paper. Do not cover the entire area but leave areas unpatterned.


Step 2

Shape a chipboard grid by cutting out some parts with scissors. Color the plain chipboard with a Fabrico Pen in Real Black.


Step 3

Stamp patterns on the yellow stenciled paper, using the same orange ink. Glue the colored chipboard grid on the paper.


Step 4

Stamp flowers and leaves on pieces of colored cardstock. Stamp each flower twice; first on orange paper and then on yellow. Cut out. Layer each flower center on a base flower. Attach using 3-D foam stickers.


Step 5

Glue flowers and leaves on the card front. Write greeting word with foam letter stickers. Mat on dark brown cardstock and attach to card base.

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Chipboard grid
  • Dutch Doobadoo – Stencil ‘Burlap’
  • Stampin’Up – Stamps ‘Falling Flowers’
  • Wycinanka – ‘Lorem Ipsum’
  • 3-D foam stickers
  • American Crafts – Foam letter stickers
  • Microbeads
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Watercolor paper
  • Cardstock in dark brown, yellow, orange, green
  • White card base

Use a Beautiful Coral Color on These Cute Panda Birthday Cards

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by Elina Stromberg

Use a Beautiful Coral Color on These Cute Panda Birthday Cards

Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute declares a particular color “Color of the Year”. It is chosen in a secret meeting of representatives from various nations’ color standards groups, and the result of the meeting is communicated in Pantone View, which fashion designers and other consumer-oriented companies purchase and use as guidance for their future product designs.

This year the Pantone Color of the Year is “Living Coral”. It is described as “an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge”. Lovely! To celebrate this newly released Color of the Year “Living Coral” is also the color of the month for Imagine AIR’s. I must admit that coral is very rarely seen on my crafting projects, but I was quite surprised how yummy this rich red color looked on my card creation. Especially when contrasted with simple light grey hues!

Skill: Beginner/Intermediate
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

Layer two stencils on the card background: Place the patterned stencil on the background paper and a circle stencil on top. Secure on your crafting mat with masking tape. Apply ‘Electric Coral’ Radiant Neon ink through the stencil with a sponge dauber. Remove both stencils.


Step 2

Place the inked background paper on a sheet of printing paper. Pour clear embossing powder over the stenciled and inked area. Pour any extra embossing powder onto the printing paper and funnel the extra powder back into its container. Heat the embossing powder with a heating tool until completely melted. Trim the decorated paper to size and mat on a piece of coral colored cardstock.


Step 3

Stamp the panda image and sentiment text with black ink on white paper. Cut out and glue on the card front. Attach card on white card base using double-sided tape. When the card was finished the stencil still had still coral ink on it, so I decided to use it for another fun card background: I misted the inked part of the stencil gently with water, placed it upside down on a piece of grey patterned paper, and transferred the ink on the paper by rolling the stencil background with a brayer.


Step 4

Then I removed the stencil, let the ink dry, and dabbed a thin layer of coral ink on the pattern. Then I repeated the mounting on coral cardstock and used a different panda image for this card. I think this reverse version of the stencil pattern looks very nice, too!

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Light grey patterned paper
  • Coral cardstock
  • White paper
  • White card base
  • Heat gun
  • Brayer
  • Water mister
  • Stamps: Stampin’Up: Party Pandas
  • Stencils: Circle stencil
  • TCW: Botanical Garden (6”x6”)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Double-sided tape

Learn How to Make a Set of Retro Style Bookmarks

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by Elina Stromberg

Digitalization has changed my life in so many positive ways, but books I prefer having and reading in the old traditional format. My book-lover’s opinion is that one can never have too many books nor bookmarks. Any scrap piece of paper would, of course, serve as a marker that keeps the reader’s place in the book and enables the reader to return to it with ease. But in my opinion, a good book deserves to be accompanied by a beautiful bookmark. Especially if it’s hand-made.

Bookmarks are great gifts, too: A paperback book transforms easily into a festive gift when a hand-made bookmark is slipped between the pages. I’m sure that beautiful bookmarks will make their receivers happy; just like great books will do.

Skill: Beginner/Intermediate
Time: 45 minutes

Directions


Step 1

Trim a strip of light patterned paper, and secure on crafting mat with a few pieces of masking tape. Attach stamp on an acrylic stamping block, turn upside down with the stamp facing the paper. Center stamp on the paper strip, and position stamping tool accordingly. Leaving stamping tool in place, turn the stamping block around. Color a few details of the stamp with Memento markers. Stamp colored details on a paper strip and leave stamping tool in place.


Step 2

Ink the entire stamp with a lighter VersaFine Clair ink color. Stamp again on the same position.


Step 3

Heat-emboss the stamped pattern using clear embossing ink. Trim the bookmark to size and mat on a piece of matching colored or patterned paper.


Step 4

Create a few bookmarks on the same go. Play with different color combinations and patterns. For this multicolor technique, you can use any patterned stamp that has some simple details suitable for highlighting. Both rubber and clear stamps will work fine.

Supplies

Imagine

Other

  • Stamps – Paper Artsy Eclectica by Tracy Scott (sets 18 & 19)
  • Cardstock – Light grey patterned
  • Heat gun
  • Paper trimmer
  • Double-sided tape

Color of the Month for February is Coral

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The Color of the Month for February is Coral. We see coral as a beautiful pink-orange that can have a hue range from vibrant colors found in Radiant Neon product line with the full-size Electric Coral inkpad, Amplify Texture in Electric Coral to softer colors like Fabrico markers such as Apricot, Brilliance Pearlescent Coral, and VersaColor Seashell. These colors are a great addition to your crafting ink collection.

Here is a sneak peek of the projects for February

Coral Beads by Kyriakos Pachadiroglou

Matching Coral Cards by Kassy Tousignant

Coral Stenciled Card by Elina Stromberg