Tag Archives: Paper

December Color of the Month and Artists in Residence for 2019

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December Color of the Month and Artist in Residence for 2019

December Color of the Month is Frosted Blue! We love the bright icy blue color in Christmas decor, Christmas ornaments, and wintery snowflake themed art. Tsukineko and Imagine feature several products in their catalog that are perfect for this color theme. Memento Dye inkpad in Summer Sky, Fireworks Shimmery Craft Spray in Summer Sky, VersaMagic in Seabreeze and any of these inks can be spritzed with Sheer Shimmer Spray in Frost!

Also, stay tuned for craft projects featuring the Dewlet! We are so excited for what our team has cooked up.

We are happy to introduce our Artists in Residence for 2019

Meet the team!

Arjita Sepaha Singh

Arjita works in the early childhood education field but enjoys crafting above everything else. She gets plenty of inspiration for her 12-year-old daughter and hopes to show even the most novice of crafters how to make beautiful things in her crisp and short videos.

“I strongly believe that a creative crafter is like a bee that is always busy with focus, dedication & perseverance to create beautiful things.”

Elina Stromberg

Elina grew up crafting and paper is her favorite material. She likes to focus on layouts and colors that are sure to be eye-pleasing. Inspiring other crafters is the greatest reward for her.

“I love the fact that this hobby is all about learning something new every day.”

Iris Rodriguez

Iris is an arts and crafts enthusiast who has never met an art medium she didn’t like. A short list of her favorites include inks, paper, acrylic paint, sprays, metallic waxes, texture mediums, clay, and metal.

“As it happens to some us, as adults we tend to temporarily abandon our creative endeavors because of this little thing called life. About seven years ago I decided to get back to being creative and have not looked back since.”

clay bowls stamped with versamagic and stazon ink

Jessica Lin

Jessica grew up in Taiwan but now lives in California. She started stamping at a young age and if she’s not busy with work, you will find her in her craft room creating something fun and new.

“I generally like to pack my cards with techniques and unique ideas… I also like to think of creative ways to stretch my supplies!”

 

Jowilna Nolte

Jowilna sees scrapbooking as a natural extension of her love for card making and stamping that also accommodates her love and passion for photography. Jowilna loves to teach new techniques and share with others on her creative journey.

“Creating can be a wonderful journey & therapy—making sense of things where life cannot, and I have turned my life into this philosophy.”

Kassy Tousignant

Kassy grew up surrounded by a family of makers and artists. A longtime believer in the fact that a handmade card is the best type to give, she has recently delved into mixed media and 3D arts; she loves playing with color and texture.

“Creativity is good for the soul and I believe there is room for it in everyone’s life. My goal is to inspire others to find their creative voice.”

Kyriakos Pachadiroglou

Kyriakos challenges himself to find alternative ways to use materials and set them into daily life. He uses mixed media to create everything from simple to complex pieces that are always sure to please.

“When I design my projects I like to make something that goes further of being beautiful to be useful and special to someone.”

Linsday Adreon

Lindsay lives in a small town in Iowa with her husband and two kids. She’s always been a crafter, but really got into card making and stamping after becoming a mom.

“My favorite craft is cardmaking and stamping, but I also enjoy crocheting, home decor projects, and a bit of wood crafting as well.”

Lori Warren

Lori is a mixed media artist, designer, and instructor. Her art often features a combination of collage, texture, and assemblage. Crafting has always been a family adventure for her, and she loves sharing this tradition with her grandchild.

“I enjoy incorporating the use of stencils and stamps into my projects along with reuse items, repurposed materials and other found objects. There is something about bringing the old and new together that just fascinates me.” 

Martha Lucia Gomez

Imagine crafts tsukineko blog artist

Martha Lucia works in public relations by day but has loved crafting always. She finds working with paper to be the best therapy, and if you are looking for a great Spanish language crafting blog, she’s one to follow.

“I love to create cards, 3D projects and alter different objects. I am looking forward to continuing to share my passion with all of you.”

Melissa Andrew

Melissa is a scientist and mother of three who still finds time to devote to her crafting and card making. She is ready to take the inspiration she has received from so many others and pay it forward to all of you.

“I feel my science background allows me to understand the chemical properties of a number of my craft products and therefore I am able to experiment and play without hesitation.”

Nadine Carlier

Nadine has spent a couple of decades trying and loving all things crafty. Scrapbooking, handmade cards, mixed media, and altered art projects make the list of her favorite things to create. 

“I love getting messy, trying new techniques, inspiring others and being inspired.”

Roni Johnson

When she’s not helping run the family farm, Roni can be found creating. There is no term that encompasses all the styles and project types that Roni shares with us, but the joy she finds in creating them always comes through.

“I enjoy teaching others about the joys of ink, paper, and altered arts!”

 

Create an Inspiring Card with Rinea Foil

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by Jowilna Nolte

Create an Inspiring Card with Rinea Foil

What perfect way to create an Autumn inspired card than using the wonderful range of StazOn inks from Imagine and Rinea Foils. These foils are great for coloring and die-cutting and together make for a stunning effect. Take a look at how I achieved this stunning end result using these amazing products.

Skill: Advanced
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

Add a layer of wide double sided tape to the back of a sheet of Rinea Foil and adhere it to a piece of plain cardstock to make it nice and firm for die-cutting.


Step 2

Use a frame die to cut the foil. Because of the added cardstock, the die did not cut through but rather created an embossed look. The double-sided tape also helps to keep all those little pieces intact adding to the overall look.


Step 3

Use your StazOn inks with the direct to paper technique to add color to the foils. Start with the lightest color first and then work your way to the darkest color. Repeat as necessary to add as much color as you like. The raised areas on the foil will pick up the color, but leave some of the green foil visible adding to the multicolored effect.


Step 4

On smooth white cardstock stamp leaves using VersaFine Clair Pinecone ink.


Step 5

Mix Walnut Ink Crystals with water to create a liquid. Then use a water brush to paint your leaves. Create shading by adding plain crystals and then blend them with your water brush to dissolve them into a darker shade on your leaves. Cut out the leaves.


Step 6

Stamp a sentiment on an oval card using VersaFine Clair in Pinecone. Lightly ink the edges with the same color and a sponge dauber.


Step 7

Adhere the foil panel to the front of your card, add the cutout leaves and then add a layer of GlazOn to the leaves and leave to dry. The foil adds a beautiful shimmer and together with all the colors you have just created a spectacular fall theme encouragement card.

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • White cardstock
  • Stamps – feather, sentiment
  • Kaisercraft – Die-cut
  • Embellishments
  • Water brush
  • Double-sided Tape
  • Die-cut machine
  • Card base
  • Pattern Paper
  • Watercolor paint

Learn How to Create a Christmas Card with Rinea Foil Paper!

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by Melissa Andrew

Learn How to Create a Christmas Card with Rinea Foil Paper!

Today, I show you how to create a simple overlay background with Rinea foil paper over a Fireworks Shimmer Spray background for a Christmas card. In addition, I teach you how to use a simple masking technique to double your stamping effect as well as Memento markers to create dimension. Enjoy!

Skill: Advanced
Time: 1 hour +

Directions

Supplies

Imagine

• Fireworks Shimmery Craft Spray – Tangelo, Dandelion
• VersaFine Clair – Nocturne
• Memento Markers – Cottage Ivy, New Sprout, London Fog, Tuxedo Black
• Irresistible Pico Embellisher – Gold Shimmer, Wedding Dress White
• On Point Glue
• Tear It! Tape

Other

• Rinea Ebony Foil Paper – http://bit.ly/2zZa308
• Little Darlings Rubber Stamps – Tree line http://bit.ly/2PyzMHs and Mountains http://bit.ly/2ORquRI
• Whimsy Stamps – Everyday Scripted Sentiments http://bit.ly/2Ke3Sub
• Whimsy Stamps – Penguins Winter Adventure http://bit.ly/2A2uEku
• Paper Trimmer
• Scissors
• Masking Paper
• Watercolor Paper
• White Card Stock
• Heat Tool

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

Learn How to Create a Daisy Flower With Dewlets

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by Arjita Sepaha Singh

For today’s card, I used the new Dewlets Die to create a beautiful paper daisy. I used the die to cut out a few petals and adhered it on the card panel with the On Point Glue. Then I created a striped pattern on the card base using washi tape and VersaFine ink. To jazz up the flower I added tiny dots using the Pico embellisher, which is super shiny and dimensional. I finished the card with a sentiment “Wish Big”. This is a perfect project to be done with kids.

Skill: Beginner
Time: 30 minutes

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Foam Tape
  • Washi Tape
  • Acrylic Blocks
  • Big Shot Die Cutting Machine
  • Cardstock
  • Cardbase

How to Make a Gingerbread House Garland

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by Jennifer Vanderbeek

How to Make a Gingerbread House Garland

Die cuts and a few choice supplies combine to create this darling little gingerbread house garland. Not only is it perfect for the holidays, it’s an ideal craft to let kids help decorate (after the embossing is done!) and it would also look super sweet at a fairy tale themed event—think Hansel and Gretel and the witch’s house in the woods. A fun technique used in this project is layering the StazOn Studio Glaze while still wet. Drawing the tip of the Claret StazOn Studio Glaze bottle over the Cotton White made for near-seamless candy cane stripes once dried. Also, I’ve found it helps to be very generous with the Cotton White, especially on darker papers or backgrounds, if you want it to retain some opacity.

Skill: Advanced
Time: 15 minutes per house

Directions

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Cardstock – Craft
  • Die-Versions – Tall Victorian Home die
  • Sizzix – Big Shot Plus
  • 1/8” Hole Punch
  • Darice – Heat Tool
  • Baker’s Twine
  • Clear Tape