Make Your Own Plaid with Tear It! Tape

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Imagine

By Alison Heikkila

Greetings! One of my favorite products from Imagine is Tear It Tape. That may be surprising, considering all of the fantastic inks and colors they offer. But, Tear It! Tape is an exceptional adhesive that has some cool properties you may not be aware of, namely the fact that it is heat safe. That means you can emboss right on top of it, so I decided to make a plaid, embossed background using it. This doesn’t take too long, but you do need to be precise, which is something I don’t normally try to be when I’m crafting.

*Some affiliate links are used in this post. That means that if you shop through these links, I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you. For more information, please see my Affiliates page, where I also have some coupon codes.

Time to Complete: Approx. 30-45 Minutes
Skill Level: Intermediate to Difficult

Step 1: Lay your Craft Mat with the grid side up. It’s going to be necessary to use it to not only make sure our lines are straight, but also evenly spaced.

Step 2: Lay your cardstock at an angle on the grid. The angle doesn’t really matter.

Step 3: Apply a strip of Tear It! Tape at every horizontal grid line. I placed mine above the line consistently.

The panel will look like this when you’re done.

Step 4: Cut off the excess ends to make the tape flush with the edge of the panel.

Step 5: Begin to partially remove the release paper from the Tear It! Tape. I found it to be easier to only pull it off part of the way, so that I could still move the card around without getting my fingers on the sticky tape. When you finish lifting a bit of each strip, finish pulling off the release paper.

Step 6: Pour Copper MBoss embossing powder on to the panel. I put a piece of copy paper underneath so that I can pour the excess back into the bag. I recommend rubbing your finger across the panel to ensure good coverage of the powder.

Step 7: Shake off the excess powder on to the copy paper, and heat set the powder that’s on the panel.

Step 8: Begin applying Summer Sky Memento Ink in the middle of the card panel using the applicator of your choice. Admittedly, my brush wasn’t thoroughly clean, so my inking doesn’t look exactly like the ink color.

Step 9: Apply Nautical Blue Memento around the Summer Sky Ink, in a “U” shape.

Step 10: Lay the inked panel back on to the grid at a different angle from before and begin laying down more Tear It! Tape. This time, I only applied the tape where the lines were bold, so every inch.

When done applying the tape, this is what the panel should look like.

Step 11: Remove the release paper, sprinkle on Shimmering Night Sky MBoss, shake off the excess, and heat set.

Pro Tip: You may be wondering why we didn’t ink the panel after the second layer of MBoss was applied, instead of before. The Shimmering Night Sky powder has glitter in it, which could cause some drag or pulling on your ink applicators when you blend the ink. To avoid that, inking before applying a sparkly powder is advised. The Copper powder is metallic, so there’s no drag, and excess ink can be buffed away with a cloth or paper towel.

Step 12: To make perfectly coordinated cardstock for your sentiment, ink up a piece of white with Nautical Blue. Die cut the sentiment. Cut the shadow layer from vellum.

Step 13: Shake up the Summer Sky Fireworks Spray, unscrew the bottle and flick the straw on your card base to create splatters. Let dry.

Step 14: Assemble your card with Tear It Tape for the panel, and On Point Glue for the die cut sentiment.

I love how this card came out! It’s got lots of shine, but with a masculine vibe. You can change the powders and ink colors however you like to suit your needs. I love the indigo tones we’ve got going here. I hope that you’ll try making your own plaid. Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Supplies:
Imagine:
Tear It!Tape
Craft Mat
On Point Glue
MBoss Embossing Powder in Copper
MBoss Embossing Powder in Shimmering Night Sky
Memento Ink in Summer Sky
Memento Ink in Nautical Blue
Fireworks Spray in Summer Sky

Other:
Pinkfresh Studio: Classic Words Die Set
Blending Brush (or other ink applicator)
Strathmore Smooth Bristol Cardstock (for focal panel)
White Cardstock for card base

Learn to Make An Abstract Hanukkah Card

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Imagine

By Alison Heikkila –

Hello! Sometimes you need a card for a special event, holiday or occasion and you may not have the right stamps for it. That’s one reason why I love having abstract stamps and solid image stamps. You can easily make a very cool card for any occasion and just add an appropriate sentiment to it to make it work for you. Let me show you how to make a Hanukkah card using abstract shapes and lots of blue inks from Imagine.

*Some affiliate links are used in this post. That means that if you shop through these links, I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you. For more information, please see my Affiliates page.

Here are some of the supplies we will be using today. The top stamp set is specifically abstract shapes. The one underneath is actually fruits. but if you just look at the solid images of the set, they just look like funky blobs that are perfect for this technique.

Directions:

Step 1:

Start stamping the shapes across the middle of the card. Use different shades of blue and be sure to overlap the images. You can see my first image started off of the card front also.

*Pro Tip: Using some type of stamp positioning tool or platform is key for this technique, as you will probably want to re-stamp and image a couple of times to get a solid, crisp image. You can do it using a stamping block, but it is much easier with a positioning tool.

Step 2:

Continue to stamp the abstract shapes, varying the direction, size, shape, and color. You can absolutely repeat your shapes, but try turning them so that they appear different. I wound up repeating a couple of shapes and colors, but I kept them apart from each other.

Step 3:

Add some small elements. You can easily add interest to your abstract design by adding in some small embossed designs. Here, I repeated this dot pattern a few times by stamping it with VersaMark and then heat embossing it with gold. You can see that I also stamped my sentiment with VersaMark, and I am about to emboss it.

*Pro Tip: Be sure that all of your stamped images are completely dry before using embossing powder. Some inks, like VersaFine Clair take a long time to dry because they are pigment inks. Heat set your inks, add some anti-static powder, and sprinkle on embossing powder over your complete design to see if it’s dry. If the powder sticks, brush it off and repeat the process. Once the inks are dry, you can start stamping with VersaMark.

This is my finished card front. You can see that I added an additional cluster of dots and a couple of shapes to fill in the lower portion of the design. The panel is 4” x 5 1/4.”

Step 4:

Shake up some Fireworks! Spray and brush it on to your card base around the perimeter. Let dry.

Step 5:

Adhere your card front to the base.

The concept of this card isn’t difficult, nor is the technique, but sometimes we need to be reminded that we don’t have to have a specific stamp for every occasion. Having a couple of abstract sets, or sets with solid stamp like these make perfect cards for any occasion. You can even stamp out a bunch of these panels at once, and omit a sentiment until you need a card. Then you can add something that works for the situation. I hope this gave you some good ideas. Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Supplies Used

Imagine:

VersaFine Clair: Medieval Blue

VersaFine Clair: Twilight

Memento Ink: Nautical Blue

Memento Ink: Summer Sky

Memento Ink: Danube Blue

Memento Ink: Bahama Blue

VersaMagic Ink: Night Sky

Fireworks! Shimmery Craft Spray: Paris Dusk

Mboss Embossing Powder: Gold

Other:

Ellen Hutson: Abstract Nature Stamps

Simon Says Stamp: Organic Fruits (discontinued)

Rubber Soul: Happy Hanukkah Stamp

Stamp Platform or Positioning Tool

White Cardstock

Adhesive

Paint Brush

Join Our YouTube Live!

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Imagine

Join our talented Imagine artist Alison Heikkila in our YouTube Live!

Monday, November 7th at @ 7pm EST

She will be demonstrating our Fireworks! Shimmery Craft Sprays.

We look forward to seeing you at:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ImagineCrafts/

Share this blog post and spread the word!

Let’s Make a Thanksgiving Card

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Imagine

By Annie Collins

Hello crafty Friends – Annie here with a quick and easy Fall inspired card featuring a Fireworks! Shimmery Craft Sprays and irRESISTible Texture Spray.

Skill Level: Beginner

Time to Complete: 30 minutes

Art Supplies:

Imagine:

• Fireworks! Shimmery Craft Spray: Dandelion, Bamboo and Ladybug

• irRESISTible Texture Spray

• On Point Glue

• Tear It! Tape

• Imagine Craft Mat

Other Products Used:

• Recollections Brand 100lb Cardstock: White

• Recollections Brand 80lb Cardstock: Orange & Green

• Die Cuts With a View 80lb Mix Media Textured Cardstock: White

• Recollections Brand 80lb Foil Cardstock: Orange

• Lawn Fawn Dies: Cross-stitched Small Rectangle

• Recollections Brand Stamps: Feathers

• Acrylic Bubble: Orange and Green

Annie’s Blog: https://littlewingscreates.blogspot.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anniec09

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Little-Wings-Creates-275422213079163/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/acollins01/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AnnieCollins09

A Few Ways to Get Creative with Memento Markers

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Imagine

By Alison Heikkila –

Greetings! My latest project for Imagine started off as a Halloween card, but truthfully, it became a card that I could mail out at any time of year, depending on the recipient. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you think it’s just for Halloween or not. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you a few ways to use your Memento Markers, along with a couple of other great products from Imagine. My supplies are listed at the bottom of the post.

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Time to Complete: 1 Hour

Directions:

Step 1:

Stamp the skeleton hand on to Smooth Bristol Cardstock with VersaFine Clair Ink in Nocturne.

Rose 3

Step 2:

Color the image with London Fog, Rhubarb Stalk, Love Letter, Northern Pine, and Olive Grove. Be sure to leave some white space to mimic a shine.

Step 3:

Cut the image out. I used an X-Acto knife for the interior areas, and then my precision scissors for the rest. I left a thin border around the piece so that I didn’t have to be perfect.

Rose 4

Step 4:

Die cut the 4th largest Hexagon die in the Waffle Flower set out of white cardstock, and the 5th largest out of black.

Step 5:

Use the Rhubarb Stalk Memento Marker to color the outer edge of the white hexagon, so that it will perfectly match the rose.

Rose 5

Step 6:

Using Fireworks! Spray in Tuxedo Black, flick the ink on to your card base.

Step 7:

Scribble some Rhubarb Stalk Memento Marker on to an acrylic block. Add some water to a brush, and then flick the color off the side of the block to get splatter.

Rose 6

Step 8:

Glue the hexagons together and the skeleton hand on top using On Point Glue. I usually glue everything at the end, but i knew I would be moving this piece around a bit, so gluing it early is helpful.

Step 9:

Die cut a bunch of foliage from black cardstock and arrange them around the edge of the card. Have them going off the edge and in different directions to keep things interesting. Adhere with On Point Glue.

Rose 7

Step 10:

After the foliage is glued, cut off the pieces that overhang.

Step 11:

On the black cardstock, stamp a sentiment with VersaMark Ink. If you have one, use an anti-static powder bag first. Then, sprinkle on white embossing powder, shake off the excess, and heat set it.

Rose 8

Step 12:

Run the Rhubarb Stalk Marker around the edge of the card base to create a thin border of color.

Step 13:

Adhere the hexagons to the card base.

Rose 11 600

Supplies Used