Category Archives: Beginner

Quick & Easy: Easy Watercolor Technique

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by Jowilna Nolte

I love cool watercolor effects achieved by artists in making cards and stamping. With a few stamps and a good water brush, it is easy to make a beautiful card. But the real magic happened when I figured out I can use something as simple as a plastic packet or an acrylic block with inks I owned to create those looks I so love. Take a look at how easy it is…


Memento DewDrop in Grape Jelly
VersaFine Clair in Nocturne

Acrylic Block by Stampin’ Up
Waffle Flower Stamp Set

Stampin Up Cardstock

  

 

Directions

Dab Memento Dew Drop inkpad onto a piece of plastic. I used Grape Jelly (purple). Mist the ink with water until the color starts to pool. Lift the packet carefully, flip it over and stamp the ink onto the cardstock.

Stamp the ink onto the front of the folded card and leave to dry naturally. Do not put the packet down flat, but rather keep it curled up with both hands and manipulate and stamp the ink where you want to.

Leave the ink to dry on the background and then add your stamped flower and the “Happy Birthday” sentiment. VersaFine Clair is a great stamping ink and layers nicely over the Memento. This quick and easy card design is complete!

Repurpose Old Tea Bags into a Beautiful Garden Theme Card

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by Iris Rodriguez

Repurpose Old Tea Bags into a Beautiful Garden Theme Card

Got tea? I do and I like to make and create with them in new ways such as these collaged garden-themed cards. I find teabags versatile, translucent and luminous. When colored with All-Purpose Inks, the color on the tea bags are intense, yet they maintain their delicate vintage look. I enjoyed making this crafting project—not only are you making cool cards, but you are upcycling your teabags too!

Skill Beginner
Time: 45 minutes

Directions


Step 1

Begin by cleaning out your teabags. Take them apart by removing the tiny staple or string. Rip open the seams. Take out the dried leaves by sloughing it off. Brush on watered-down All-Purpose inks. Allow the bag to dry naturally or use a heat tool to dry.


Step 2

Continue to paint more teabags using the various colors of All-Purpose Ink. Allow the bags to dry naturally or use a heat tool.


Step 3

Now that all the teabags are dry, make your collage pieces onto the main card.


Step 4

Tear pieces of the bags; ensuring to fit the card. Brush on Creative Medium on the backside


Step 5

Adhere teabag pieces onto to the main card continuing to paste with Creative Medium on the top. Use various colors to vary the look. In the above example, I used Rose Gold and Thyme (green).


Step 6

Stamp on the images using the Piano Black StazOn Pigment Ink. StazOn will stamp on top of the dried Creative Medium. Other water-based inks might take a long time to dry and would not stamp well on the Creative Medium (non-porous).


Step 7

Draw in the border with a pencil. Get creative with the border; add asemic writing, squiggly line, circles, or other doodles.


Close up of each card and the All-Purpose inks used with each one.

Supplies

Imagine

Other

  • Used tea bags
  • Cardstock – white
  • Stamps
  • Pencil
  • Paintbrush
  • Palette

Quick & Easy: Stamp & Drawing Technique

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by Roni Johnson

Sometimes when you’re just starting out stamping you don’t want to have to purchase a bunch of supplies when you’re not sure if you’ll like it or not. Well today I have a really fun and easy technique that will add some spice to your cards and all you need besides stamps, ink, and paper is a pen and a ruler and you don’t even really need a ruler – it can be any straight edge.

What are we going to be doing with the pen…making doodles! It’s really easy and I’ll bet you’ve been practicing this for years without even realizing it. Let’s go!

Memento Marker in Tuxedo Black
VersaFine Clair in Nocturne

Acrylic Block by Stampin’ Up

Imagine Craft Mat

Unity – Naturally Beautiful

Stampin Up Cardstock

Directions

Place the “orange blossum” stamp onto an acrylic block (you can skip this if you have wood mounted stamp). Pounce VersaFine Clair in Nocturne over the stamp. Press the inked stamp onto the paper.

Now for the doodles…we’re going to start out with a really basic line doodle frame. First determine where you want your border. I went with ¼” for this example. So line up your ruler (I find that clear rulers are easier to work with) and make a dot at the ¼” mark in all 4 corners with a pencil.

Now you’re going to take a marker, in this case, I’m using the Tuxedo Black Memento Dual Tip Marker to doodle with. It has 2 tips – a brush type marker tip and the other end is like a pen so you can write with it too.

Align the ruler with your pencil dots, using the pen tip; draw a line from dot to dot. Easy Peasy right?

You can choose to stop right there or you can go back and add a few more doodles like these zig-zag lines.

From here you can mount the card on a card base or leave it as a postcard style, color in the oranges, leaves and add a sentiment for whatever occasion fits. As you can see in the first photo — you can apply this technique to several card designs!

Learn How to Make a Background Pattern with Sponge Daubers

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by Lori Warren

Need a quick and simple background technique for a greeting card? See how I create a patterned background with large sponge daubers and Memento Ink. Sponge daubers are dense foam and can behave like a soft textured circle stamp when inked up heavily. This technique is a perfect start for a card, art journal or even a scrapbook page. The color scheme and options are really endless.

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 45 Minutes

Directions


Step 1

Use a large dauber to apply Memento Inks to the card panel.


Step 2

Stamp floral images onto card panel with Memento in Tuxedo Black.


Step 3

Stamp a single flower and leaf image onto a separate piece of cardstock (with same dauber background) and cut out.


Step 4

Enhance single flower/leaf images with Memento Dual Tip Markers.


Step 5

Apply London Fog Memento to Craft Mat and add water; add ink splatters to the card panel.


Step 6

Edge card panel with Memento in London Fog.


Step 7

Use cutting die to die cut decorative strip from Rinea Foil paper.


Step 8

Adhere Rinea foil paper element to the card base.


Step 9

Adhere Single flower/leaf to the card panel with double-sided mounting tape. Highlight with a glitter pen.


Step 10

Double stamp sentiment. First stamp in Angel Pink then again, slightly offset, with Tuxedo Black.


Step 11

Edge card base with Memento in London Fog and Angel Pink.


Step 12

Adhere panel to the card base.

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Rinea – Double-sided foiled paper
  • Spellbinders Thin Die
  • Hot off the Press – Botanical Blooms
  • Double-sided mounting foam

Learn 3 Different Ways to Stencil on Rinea Foil

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by Lindsay Adreon


Rinea foil is a fun product to work with, but because it is a nonporous surface it can be a bit tricky to stencil on. I am sharing three different ways to add stenciling to your foiled projects in my video tutorial today! They’re all different and have different results, so everyone can find something that works for them!

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour for 3 cards

Directions

Supplies

Imagine
Other

More stenciling techniques – https://youtu.be/M6swiKN0tG4

Create a “Hello Friend” Card with Pico Embellisher

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by Iris Rodriguez

Create a "Hello Friend" Card with Pico Embellisher

I love stamps as much as the next crafty person. Sometimes, I like to hand draw my own images though. Did you know you can draw your images with Imagine’s irRESISTible Pico Embellisher? IrRESISTible is a texture medium; which adds dimension to your project. It comes with a fine-tipped applicator for writing or making doodles. For the background, I used various All-Purpose Inks to create a watercolor painted look and then drew on top with the Pico Embellisher.

Skill: Beginner/Intermediate
Time: 30 minutes

Directions


Step 1

Determine how many colors of All-Purpose Ink. Prepare a water container for each color, so that you do not contaminate the colors; also, avoids running the risk of your ink turning into a mud color. Use a different for each color, or wash the brush between each color if using the same brush.


Step 2

First, wet the area with plain water. Place a small amount of ink into one of the ink wells. Add water to the ink and brush onto the paper.


Step 3

Repeat the same process for each color. Do not blend the colors; just lay them next to each other. Dry the paper.


Step 4

Brush on Creative Medium in order to seal in the All-Purpose Ink. Draw your image using Zeal Teal irRESISTible Pico Embellisher. If you are not used to this medium, first practice drawing on a piece of scratch paper. Always squeeze out the Pico Embellisher onto scratch paper to eliminate the bubbles, before applying to your project. Finally, stamp on sentiment and assemble the card.

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Watercolor paper
  • Ink well palette dish
  • Paintbrush
  • Cardbase – black