Category Archives: Elina Stromberg

How To Create A Beautiful Embossed And Watercolor Thank You Card

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by Elina Stromberg

create a thank you card using memento inks and versamagic

Our lovely color of the month is ‘Passion Red’. What a perfect choice for a bright blooming flower card! I wanted to create a soft water-color painted look on my card, and all I needed was my water-soluble Memento and VersaMagic stamping inks and my Craft Mat as my palette.

Tsukineko ink pads come in several beautiful red colors, so I chose a few of my favorite reds and used them both for coloring the card background and for painting the beautiful Penny Black flower image. The trick was to stamp the main image twice and to layer the fuzzy-cut image on top of the stamped background; by using this technique the main image on the finished card has a beautiful, crispy edge, and while painting you don’t need to worry about the wet color running over the stamped lines!

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 1.5 hours

Directions


Step 1

Stamp flower image with VersaFine ink on white watercolor or mixed media paper. Apply ‘Red Magic’ VersaMagic ink on the Craft Mat. Using a hint of water pick up the rich, creamy color with a brush and color the background. Apply more red pigment on the bottom, and mix the color with water to create a lighter color for the top of the card. Do not mind painting over the stamped image; it will be covered with a second image layer later. Let air dry or dry with a heat gun.


Step 2

Add texture to the painted background. Stamp random patterns here and there using red ‘Lady Bug’ Memento color. Keep the stamp in your hand (do not attach to an acrylic stamping block) and bend it while stamping.


Step 3

Re-stamp the main flower image on another sheet of white mixed media paper. Color the image using a water brush and a few hues of red ink. I used Memento ‘Lady Bug’, bit darker red ‘Rhubarb Stalk’, dark purple ‘Sweet Plum’, and VersaMagic ‘Red Magic’ for coloring the background. Use the Craft Mat as your palette and apply more ink if needed. Once dry, cut out the image.


Step 4

Glue the fussy cut image on the background. Trim the background to size.


Step 5 

Color the letters for the sentiment word. Press each chipboard letter on clear VersaMark ink. Pick up the letter with a tweezer, dab into copper embossing powder, and heat-set the powder by heating the chipboard on the Craft Mat. Glue letters on a strip of vellum. Fold ends of the vellum strips on the card background and secure them with double-sided tape. This will keep the strip in place; there’s no need to glue it on the card front.


Step 6

Mat card front on striped patterned paper and attach on the card base. Done!

Supplies
Imagine

VersaMagic DewDrop in Red Magic
Imagine Craft Mat

Memento DewDrop in Lady Bug

Memento DewDrop in Rhubarb Stalk

Memento DewDrop in Sweet Plum

VersaMark

VersaFine Clair in Nocturne

Embossing Powder in Copper
Other
  • White mixed media paper
  • Brush
  • Water brush
  • Penny Black Stamps – Awaken
  • Background pattern stamp
  • White vellum
  • Chipboard letters
  • Scissors
  • Tweezers
  • Heat gun
  • Glue
  • Striped patterned paper
  • White card base

See How to Use Acrylic Paint and Embroidery on a Birthday Card

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by Elina Stromberg

See How to Use Acrylic Paint and Embroidery on a Birthday Card with Memento Inkpad and Craft Paints

Whenever you want to create interesting, bit grungy textures on a card background, I suggest you use acrylic paints for stamping! For this technique, you can use any pattern stamp you have in your stash and choose any colors to match to your main images. 

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 1.5 hours + drying time

Directions


Step 1

In this technique your Imagine craft mat will become handy: First, you use it as your palette for mixing the paints. Then you brayer the paint to a thin layer, add a hint of water should the paint be too heavy and then use the mat as your stamping pad. Simple and easy! The only thing to remember is to clean your stamp right after stamping. If the paint dries on your stamp it will be very difficult to remove. However, cleaning your craft mat you can do later; even if the paint is sticking to it, just mist the paint with water and wipe the mat clean with a baby wipe. Should there still be some paint left, just use a drop of hand sanitizer and your mat will look as good as new! Apply acrylic paint of your choice on the craft mat. I mixed white and red to get a beautiful light pink. Brayer the paint to a thin layer. Use the paint as your stamping pad. Keep the stamp in your hand, bend it, and stamp random patterns on the white paper. Let dry.


Step 2

Ink the background with a matching ink color. If you used a light acrylic paint color, use a darker ink. On a darker paint, a lighter ink color will best highlight the stamped pattern.



Step 3

Mist the inked pattern with water. Press the wet paper with a paper towel to pick up the excess ink. Let dry.


Step 4

Use a plastic stencil or a nesting metal die as your stencil and create a punched frame in the middle of your background. Secure the stencil with masking tape before starting. 
For punching, use a paper piercing tool or a darning needle. Place paper on an old mouse pad for easy punching and for protecting your crafting table.


Step 5

Sew a frame on the background using a straight stitch and three strings of embroidery yarn. Secure the end of the yarn on the back with double-sided tape.


Step 6

Stamp, color, and cut out your main image. Glue on the card front. Trim card to size, mat on a white card base. I used the same technique also for an ATC background; I think it looks quite nice, too!

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Acrylic paint – White, Red 
  • Brayer
  • Water mister
  • Ink blending tool
  • Honeycomb pattern stamp

  • Stamping Bella: Milton (Mouse) Stamp cgr 135

  • Carabelle Studio: Simple Elegance
  • Promarkers for coloring
  • Cardbase – white
  • Cardstock – White mixed media 
  • Dark purple paper
  • Metal nesting dies: Sizzix
  • Embroidery yarn, needle, paper piercing tool, old mouse pad

Learn How To Make A Paper Flower Spring Card

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by Elina Stromberg

Learn How To Make A Paper Flower Spring Card

Have you had a chance to try out the new Dewlets? Those little metal dies match perfectly with the size and shape of Dew Drops ink pads, providing you new possibilities for creative use of your favorite ink pads. Just stamp and die-cut a pile of drops in your favorite colors, and let the fun begin: You’ll be surprised how many different shapes you can make out of them! In this project, I created a spring theme flower card.

Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

Press the DewDrop ink pad on paper to create a drop shaped stamped image. The white paper will replicate the ink color as it is, but you can create exciting variations by using colored and/or patterned papers. Die-cut the drop images with a die-cutting machine, using Dewlets dies.


Step 2

Highlight the drop edges by painting them with a darker ink and a water brush. Let dry.


Step 3

Layer background paper(s) on a white card base using two-sided tape or glue.


Step 4

Assemble flowers. Cut flower stems from green paper. Glue on paper together with the flowers. Finish the project by decorating the flowers and leaves with a white gel pen. Optional: Add more contrast and shadowing with coloring pencils. Do not color the entire die-cut drop, but only add a hint of a darker shade on the edges.

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Card base – White
  • Patterned papers
  • Die-cutting machine
  • Water brush
  • Gel Pen
  • Glue or double-sided tape
  • Color pencils (optional)

See How To Make A Snowman Card

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by Elina Stromberg

See How To Make A Snowman Card

Our color of the month is ‘Frosted Blue’. Imagine provides several product options for playing with this cool color. I decided to use ‘Summer Sky’ Fireworks Spray for creating a light blue background for my winter-themed card. In addition to the beautiful soft blue color, Fireworks adds a lovely shimmer to your project that is just perfect for a frosty, icy blue winter themed card!

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

Stamp and color the snowman image on white paper. When coloring with alcohol markers (like Promarkers, Copics), use water-based ink for stamping. Memento Tuxedo Black is my No. #1 choice for the task!


Step 2

Pour a small drop of Fireworks Shimmery Craft Spray on the Craft Mat. Dab the color on the card front panel with a Jumbo Dauber. Don’t cover the entire card front with the color but leave some areas blank. Let dry.


Step 3

Create a hill scenery on the card background. Cut wavy strips of light blue paper and glue them on card front panel. Mat card front on light blue paper, and attach card front to card base.


Step 4

Stamp the sentiment and paste the snowman figure to the front of the card.

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Card base
  • Light blue paper
  • Snowman stamp
  • Sentiment stamp
  • Promarkers (for coloring the main image)
  • Glue or double-sided tape
  • Scissors

Learn How To Create Cards With Versatile Vellum

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by Elina Stromberg

Learn How To Create Cards With Versatile Vellum

As a paper crafter, I’m sure you’ve come across a material called vellum. Hundreds of years ago ‘vellum’ was used to describe a thin, yet durable paper made from calf’s skin, but today this translucent, parchment resembling specialty paper is made from cotton and pulp. Vellum is usually white, but it is available in various other colors, too. Vellum’s unique characteristics have made it a popular material among paper crafters. However, some crafters consider vellum to be a bit tricky material to work with and knowing a few tips and tricks may help in the process. The best way to get familiar with the versatility of vellum is just to start playing and experimenting. Let me share with you a couple of ideas of how I like to use this great material.

Layering vellum on patterned paper

Vellum is translucent so it can be placed over a patterned background without completely hiding the underlying pattern. This characteristic is a great way to calm down a busy background, and if you place other elements on the vellum layer they will not blend into the background pattern.

Layering vellum on patterned paper

Transparency of vellum has its pros and cons. The background pattern will show through, but so will most of the adhesives that you need to use for attaching vellum on the background. However, lightweight vellum does not require too much adhesive to stay in place, and the trick is to use glue only on spots that you can cover later with other elements like frames, cut-out images or sentimetns, flowers, sequins, enamel dots, buttons etc. For some projects, a stapler is a good option for fastening, and on other projects, a metal brad will do the trick.

In my card sample, I die-cut a paper frame that I used for hiding the glue marks.

In my card sample, I die-cut a paper frame that I used not only as a fun layout element, but also for hiding the glue marks where the vellum is attached to the background.

 

Heat embossing

Vellum is a great material for heat embossing. Same supplies (VersaMark and Embossing Powders) can be used for vellum and for paper, and the melted powder will stick as it does on paper.

Simply heat emboss the text on a piece of vellum and attach the strip on the card.

Translucent vellum takes heat embossing to a new level, providing new possibilities to layer stamped elements. This is especially the case with stamped sentiment texts that in some cases are tricky to position on a card. Simply heat emboss the text on a piece of vellum and attach the strip on the card. While the vellum will highlight the raised text, its translucent background will let the underlying pattern to show through too.

Coloring with inks or watercolors

Vellum can be colored with markers, pencils, paints, inks, and watercolors. Vellum does not absorb wet media too well and a watercolor painted vellum surface may start to curl. However, this vellum characteristics can be utilized for creating beautiful vellum flowers where you can use the curling as an advantage:

I started with stamping and heat embossing simple flower images on a piece of vellum.

I started with stamping and heat embossing simple flower images on a piece of vellum.

 

I colored the flowers with All-Purpose Ink in Cherry Pink, adding with a water brush quite a rich amount of water on the petals

I colored the flowers with All-Purpose Ink in Cherry Pink, adding with a water brush quite a rich amount of water on the petals. While vellum was still a bit moist, I cut out the flowers and dried the color with a heat gun.

On this card the background is heat-embossed also, using clear embossing powder.

Using the heat gun to dry the wet inks curled up the flower petals, and by layering two stamped flowers I created a beautiful 3-dimensional flower to be used on a card.

If you are not big on heat embossing, Delicata and Brilliance inks will dry on vellum without heat embossing. Remember though that it will take longer to dry on vellum than on standard cardstock.

Dry embossing

Vellum has a smooth finish that can easily be dry-embossed. The result looks amazing, as the embossed lines turn from frosty white to bright white. If you’re using embossing folders and a die-cutting machine, make sure that you’re applying as little pressure as possible on the folder. A detailed image and heavy pressure will easily break the vellum. I prefer using a stylus for dry embossing vellum. In this technique, I place the piece of vellum on a surface that is a bit soft, like the Imagine Craft Mat or a mouse pad, and trace the lines with a stylus. It’s important to apply just enough pressure to change the vellum from translucent to white, as a stylus can also tear or punch the vellum if too much pressure is used.

With a stylus, you can write texts, doodle swirls or draw

With a stylus, you can write texts, doodle swirls or draw. Instead of free-hand drawing, you can also use a stencil as your guidance. Just place a stencil on the vellum and trace the pattern with a stylus:

Instead of free-hand drawing, you can also use a stencil as your guidance.

I attached the vellum panel on the card with a few stitches on each edge as I did not want to frame it for this layout. Instead of hand-stitching, I could have used a sewing machine for attaching; it works just as well!

I used this dry-embossed vellum background for a simple card project. The dry embossed pattern adds a whimsical element that does not compete with the bold sentiment.

Hope these ideas inspire you to use vellum on your craft projects. I’m sure you will love the versatility of it!

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • American Crafts – Vellum
  • Stamps: Carabelle Studio – ‘Little girl with ball’, Visible Image – ‘Somewhere In Time’, Honey Bee – ‘Congrats’, Stampin’Up! – ‘Diagonal Stripe’, Jasmine Jones+Studio Calico – ‘Happy Birthday’, Altenew – ‘Freeform Greenery’.
  • Other stamps: “Thanks” sentiment, Flowers
  • Sizzix – Nesting dies
  • Fiskars – Stylus
  • Dot stencil
  • Water brush
  • Cardstock
  • Card bases
  • Embroidery yarn & needle

See How to Create a Beautiful Autumn Nature ATC Card Set

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by Elina Stromberg

See How to Create a Beautiful Autumn Nature ATC Card Set

Artist Trading Cards aka ATC’s are wonderful little pieces of art. Their small 3.5” x 2.5” size doesn’t require too many materials nor too much time. Using just one single sheet of mixed media or watercolor paper you can create a pile of cards on one go. This set of ATC’s was inspired by the beautiful autumn nature. Bright, bold colors, and wilted garden flowers getting ready for winter. Simple but elegant, and so fun to create!

Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

Apply purple, pink, and orange Memento DewDrops on a white mixed media paper with Jumbo Daubers. Sprinkle water on the inked paper, letting the colors to mix. Let dry or dry with a heat gun.


Step 2

Decorate paper by stamping random text patterns on the paper. Use only one pattern stamp, but two ink colors (orange Memento Tangelo and dark purple VersaFine Clair Fantasia). Cut several cards from the inked and stamped sheet. The standard size of ATC is 2.3” x 3.5”. If you want to mat the cards on a solid color cardstock, trim these foreground cards slightly smaller than ATC. Mix white acrylic paint with water, and sprinkle paint drops on the cards. Let dry.


Step 3

Cut ATC backgrounds from dark red cardstock. Attach card fronts on the backgrounds with two-sided tape. Stamp flower shapes on the cards using black VersaFine Clair. Decorate ATC’s with word stickers that express sentiments such as “friends,” “treasure,” and “inspiration.”

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • White mixed media paper
  • Cardstock – Dark Red
  • Acrylic paint
  • Stamps – Text stamp (‘Tekst’ by Wycinanka); Flower stem stamps (Artemio)
  • Word stickers
  • Double-sided tape