Creative Inking with Sheer Shimmer 

By Jessica Lin

Skill: Beginner
Time: 30 minutes

– Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Today I would like to share a card with a black and gold color combo. My card creations are typically full of bright colors; so I decided to change it up a bit by using a simpler color palette. Since there are only two colors on this card, I wanted to add various shimmer and glitter textures to create dimension. Let’s take a look!

Step 1:
Trim Stardream Metallic 5 x 7 Onyx cardstock to 3 ¾’’ x 5’’. Paint golden stripes on the card panel with Sheer Shimmer Gold. One trick to avoid the gold shimmer from pooling on the edges is to swipe your paintbrush onto the craft mat. Another alternative is starting with a bigger piece of cardstock, then trimming the panel down to size.

Step 2:
Dry the cardstock panel with a heat gun, and repeat steps 1-2 until you achieve bold, gold stripes. The Stardream Metallic Onyx cardstock has a subtle shimmer as well – it adds an elegant touch to the card base.

Step 3:
Die cut roses and leaves with DCS Gold Glitter Heavyweight 12 x 12 cardstock. I find this glitter cardstock very easy to cut through. Some of the glitter cardstock I’ve used before uses adhesives to bind to the glitter, which takes a little more time to peel the die cut pieces off each other. This glitter cardstock, on the other hand, separates very easily after it’s been cut through.

Step 4:
Next, adhere the die cuts to the strips background panel. I used On-Point Glue since the fine-tip nozzle is perfect for applying small amounts of glue. Then, use an acrylic block to press down on the die cut so that it completely adheres to the background.

Step 5:
Finally, stamp the sentiment with Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pad. This gold ink pad matches the Sheer Shimmer Gold so well! I added some black enamel dots to complete the card. I love the classic black and gold color combo, and I hope this card inspires you to try different kinds of gold shimmer on your project.

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Rose Garden
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – DCS Gold Glitter Heavyweight 12 x 12
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – Stardream Metallic 5 x 7 Onyx

Make a Mother’s Day Card Using VersaFine Clair on Craft Plastic

By Katy Ingram

Hello Friends! Katy here with my latest video sharing a great way to use VersaFine Clair re-inkers on Craft Plastic with felt pads and Isopropyl Alcohol. Video has all the details. Thanks for watching.  

Skill: intermediate, advanced
Time: 15 minutes 

https://youtu.be/VoK1amN7Tq8

Art Supplies

Imagine Products
– VersaFine Clair
– Twilight, baby pink, cheerful, warm breeze, verdant
– Sheer Shimmer Spray – Sparkle

Other Products Used
Yupo Paper
Simon Says Stamp Devine Peony Die
Spellbinders Oceanside Cardstock 
Stampin up Subtle 3D folder
The Greetery Mothers Day Stamp- To Mom with Love Stamp Set
Gina K White Layering Cardstock
100 lb Accent Opaque Cardstock
Felt Pads
Isopropyl Alcohol

Floral Mother’s Day Card

By Anna Escalada York

– I wanted to make a card that represents both my mom and myself. My mom’s favorite color is yellow, and I am all about the grunge and sparkle! Now I just need to be out of my craft room long enough for my kids to have to sneak in and make me a card….

Skill: Intermediate 
Time: 1.5 hours 

Directions: 

Step 1: 
Place a small piece of watercolor paper on some acetate and then spray both with Cottage Ivy Fireworks! Spray. Use a heat tool to dry the spray on the watercolor paper and then flip it over to watercolor smoosh the remaining Cottage Ivy Fireworks! Spray on the acetate and then dry the spray on the watercolor paper again. Repeat the watercolor smooshing once more and dry. Then die cut the watercolor paper with the stem die cut and set aside (not pictured). 

Step 2: 
Stamp the flower’s petals, leaves and center stamps with Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink and heat emboss with clear embossing powder. While only one set of petals is pictured here, 12 petals (3 sets of all 4 petals) and both of the leaves and the center were all stamped in the same way 

Step 3: 
Mix Electric Yellow Amplify! with a small amount of water to dilute the Amplify! Ink. Then use to paint the petals. Use a heat tool to dry and add texture. Die cut all of the petals. 

Step 4: 
Stamp the faux stitching texture stamp onto the stem die cut with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink. 

Step 5: 
Watercolor smoosh the stamped center of the flower with the leftover mix of water and Electric Yellow Amplify! Ink. Dry with a heat tool. Then spray the center with Rose Gold Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray and set aside to dry. Then die cut the center with the corresponding die. 

Step 6: 
Glue collage paper onto a panel of kraft cardstock. After the glue dried, press the Champagne Delicata ink pad onto the collage paper to add sparkle and obscure some of the collage paper’s print. 

Step 7: 
After die cutting the collaged panel, spray part of the panel with Cottage Ivy Fireworks! spray. Set aside to dry. 

Off camera, die cut a piece of gold metallic cardstock with the next size up panel die. 

Step 8: 
Spray some more of the Cottage Ivy Fireworks! spray onto another piece of acetate and then watercolor the leaves with the green color. After the spray dried, die cut with the corresponding dies from the die set. 

Step 9: 
Stamp the sentiment on a scrap of watercolor paper with Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink. Then heat emboss with embossing powder. 

Step 10: 
Assemble the card. Glue the stem onto the collage panel. Glue the leaves onto the panel. Glue the petals behind the center of the flower. (If desired, use some scraps or other small pieces of cardstock to glue behind the petals to help them stay together.) Then glue the flower petals and the center of the card onto the collaged panel. Then paint the edges of the panel with more of the Cottage Ivy Fireworks! spray. Then glue the sentiment on the lower left part of the panel. Add clear gems onto the panel. 

After all of the glue has dried, glue the panel onto the gold metallic panel to add a matte layer. To finish the card, the whole thing was glued onto an A2-sized white card base. 

Art Supplies 

Imagine 
• Amplify! Pigment Ink – Electric Yellow 
• Delicata Ink – Champagne 
• Fireworks! Spray – Cottage Ivy 
• Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray – Rose Gold 
• VersaFine Clair Ink – Nocturne 

Other 
• Idea-ology and Tim Holtz – collage paper – Archives 
• Scrappy Crafts – embellishment mix – Amethyst 
• Simon Says Stamp – die set – Love You Mama 
• Simon Says Stamp – die set – Squovals 
• Simon Says Stamp – stamp set – Love You Mama 
• Spellbinders – stamp and die cutting set – Sculpted Scripted Floral 
• Clear Embossing Powder 
• Gold metallic cardstock 
• Kraft cardstock 
• Heat tool 
• Glue 
• Watercolor paper 

Learn to Watercolor Using Walnut Inks

By Katy Ingram

Hello Friends! Katy here with my latest video! In todays video I create a very simple Spring card. I love the look of watercolors and since I have been with Imagine for a few years as an Artist in Residence, I am trying to explore some of the other products they have available and that I can use similarly to my inks. So I grabbed the Walnut Inks I have and a small paintbrush and got to work coloring my stamps. Fear not if you yourself do not have these magical water-based inks, you can use your ink pads with a smoosh and a bit of water or actual watercolor pans or liquid watercolors or any other liquid ink you may have lying around. Video has all the details. Thanks for watching.  

Skill: intermediate, advanced
Time: 15 minutes 

Art Supplies

Imagine Products

• Walnut Inks: Cherry Blossom, Lilac and Willow
• Sheer Shimmer Spray – Sparkle
• VersaFine Clair Ink – Nocturne

Other Products Used

• Hot Pressed Watercolor paper
• Ivory/Natural Cardstock
• Fog (light) Gray Card Base
• The Greetery Spring Snowdrops Stamp + Stencil set
• Stamp Positioner• Hair Dryer

Make a Mother’s Day Card with Ink Layering

By Jessica Lin

Skill: Beginner Time: 30 minutes

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Are you planning on making a Mother’s Day card this year? I want to share a simple sketch that you can use with any layering stencils you may have.

Let’s begin crafting!

Step 1:
I am using Altenew’s Styled Background layering stencil set for today’s card. Let’s start by trimming a piece of Classic Crest Solar White to 3 ½’’ x 4 ¾’’. After that, we can start ink blending stencil 1 with Memento Lulu Lavender ink.

Step 2:
Next, ink blend Memento Summer Sky ink with stencil 2. I really like the idea of separating the floral images into two layers; it gives us so much creative freedom and the color combination is endless!

Step 3:
Stencil 3 is the base layer for leaves. I used Memento New Sprout ink. It may be difficult to spot in this photo, but I created a color gradient by blending more ink in some areas and having a lighter hand for others.

Step 4:
Now that the base images are ink blended, we can start with the layering. Stencil 4 includes leaf stems, and I used Memento Bamboo Leaves ink. This stencil also contains floral centers. Since the stems and floral centers are quite close to each other, I had to mask some areas while ink blending. If you have smaller blending brushes, you could skip the masking step.

Step 5:
I used Memento Paris Dusk ink to ink blend the floral centers.

Step 6:
This is what the background panel looks like after ink blending all 4 layers. I love the look of soft, pastel colors and am so pleased with the final result.

Step 7:
After ink blending, we are ready to add the sentiment of the card. I chose Stampin’ Up’s Mini Alphabet die to spell out “Happy Mother’s Day”, but you could use any sentiment die you may have. I decided to die cut with CutCardStock DCS Hydrangea Purple and Plum Purple for some added contrast. These cardstock have a smooth side and a textured side; I opted for the textured side today.

Step 8:
Next, trim a piece of CutCardStock DCS Hydrangea Purple to 3 ¾’’ x 5’’ and mount the ink blended panel on top. Then adhere it to a CutCardStock DCS Plum Purple card base. Finally, apply On-Point Glue to the back of the letter die cuts and adhere them to the card panel to complete the card!

Craft Supplies:

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • Altenew – Layering Stencil – Styled Backgrounds
  • Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Mini Alphabet
  • Ink Blending Brushes
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – Classic Crest Solar White
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – Hydrangea Purple, Plum Purple

 Soft Spring Watercoloring with VersaMagic Inks

By Jessica Lin

Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Have you ever tried using a stamp positioner to “break up” stamp images? The wooden stamp I am using today has three teddy bear designs connected together, but I was inspired to create a different sketch. Let’s get creative!

Step 1:
Stamp the teddy bear designs separately on Strathmore 100% Cotton Watercolor 5×7 cardstock, inking only one square each time with VersaFine Clair Sand Dune ink.

Watercolor cardstock usually have a more textured surface, so using a stamp positioning tool would really help with re-stamping and getting a clear image. I used the We R Precision Press today since the base rods are tall enough to secure the wooden stamp in place. After stamping, I heat embossed the images with clear Mboss powder.

Step 2:
Color the images with your choice of coloring medium. I am watercoloring with VersaMagic ink pads today. The colors I used are Wheat (for the bear), Aquatic Splash (for the sky background), and Tea Leaves, Pink Grapefruit, Thatched Straw (for the leaves, flowers, and butterflies).

Step 3:
Once the images are dry, fussy cut along the edges. After that, I swiped VersaFine Clair Sand Dune ink pad around the borders of each square so that the white core of the watercolor cardstock is not shown.

Step 4:
I wanted to decorate the teddy bear frames with some florals, and the images from Stampin’ Up’s Sweet Strawberry stamp set are perfect. They are stamped and watercolored using the same supplies in steps 1 and 2. One of the floral images was even cut in half to fit around the sketch I had in mind.

Step 5:
The Chalkboard Prints 6×6 card stock pad has some beautiful geometric patterns. I trimmed the mint green chevron patterned paper to 3’’ x 5 ½’’ as the background of the card.

Step 6:
Finally, I adhered all of the watercolor elements to the mint green chevron patterned paper with foam tape, and mounted the entire panel onto a Mint Macaron cardbase. I also stamped a tiny “hi there!” sentiment from Flora & Fauna’s Under the Sea stamp set. I hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial on how to create different card sketches from a large framed image stamp.

Craft Supplies

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • K Kingdom – Wooden Stamp – KT-4294
  • Stampin’ Up! – Stamps – Sweet Strawberry
  • Floral & Fauna – Stamps – Under the Sea (sentiment)
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – Strathmore 100% Cotton Watercolor 5×7 cardstock
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – Chalkboard Prints 6×6 pad
  • Stampin’ Up – Cardstock – Mint Macaron