design teams

Imagine That: The Most Hospitable Fruit

In The Studio

Pineapple, that is!

So the story goes, back in the European voyaging days pineapples were very popular with the men and women at court, as were most things deemed exotic from faraway lands. It filtered down to the colonies, but with no refrigeration and the long shipping time between picking and destination, access to a whole, fresh pineapple was a rare and expensive treat. First a symbol of privilege, the pineapple ultimately become a symbol of hospitality as, if you served a whole pineapple to your guests, they knew they were highly favored and being treated like royalty.

Even though pineapples are far easier to come by in any form these days, they’re still a popular choice for guest room decor, newel posts, door knockers, and other home items.

Today’s projects are far less high brow, but very fun!

First, over on the Imagine blog, I’ve come up with a pineapple-inspired wine bottle wrap that would work equally well for a hostess gift or table decor. In fact, I’m sad I didn’t come up with this last year for Todd’s luau party.

Then, using the same ink-shading technique and the cast-off edge from the first project, I make a pineapple-adorned card that would be perfect for welcoming a new neighbor or summer baby.

Pineapple Welcome Card on YouTube

Here’s everything that went into the pineapple card (amazon links may be affiliate links, thanks for supporting my blog!):

Imagine Products:
Fireworks! Spray – Cantaloupe
Brilliance – Coffee Bean
Memento – Desert Sand
Memento Luxe – Dandelion
Sponge Daubers
Memento Markers – Rich Cocoa, Dandelion, Bamboo Leaves
Tear It! Tape

Other Products:
Cardstock – white, dark green (similar)
Patterned Paper – DCWV
Spellbinders – Classic Petal border die
Dienamics – Pierced Oval Stax Dies (similar)
Tape Runner
Helmar Zap Dots (similar)
Paper Trimmer
Scissors

Don’t forget to check out the Imagine blog to see the video of making the pineapple wine wrap!

Another Year of Getting Inky with Imagine!

In The Studio

Since the official announcement has been made, I can now let the cat out of the bag: Imagine has graciously allowed me another year on their Artist in Residence team and I couldn’t be happier!airs-badge-2017

I really enjoyed my first year with the team and appreciate the push it gives me every month to create. After stepping down from Helmar earlier this year I debated whether I’d submit myself for a second term with Imagine, but when the time came to make the choice, the idea of not being on the team (or at least trying) was just too horrible to contemplate!

Of the 32 projects I created for Imagine in 2016, two were selected for their 2017 catalog: the Growth Potential onesie and my Stamped Napkins.

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But there was one project you never saw, and that was my audition piece from last fall, the one that got me on the team in the first place:

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This card uses Iridescent Creative Medium (roughed up with a stipple brush) for the moon, with the background of India ink dropped around and on top of it, creating a space-like background and shadowy craters on the surface of the medium where I made spaces for it. The tree and other embellishments are StazOn Studio Glaze. I remember writing up the project sheet for submission while on our anniversary cruise last November so it would be ready to send when we got back to our home port. Guess it was worth the effort, right?!

So here’s to another year with the fabulous folks at Imagine! I can only hope to do them proud once again.

Nothing But Love for Helmar

In The Studio

But after two years, I decided to step down from the design team to make room for some new blood. My last post went live yesterday.

Another reason for stepping down from this amazing team is that I just don’t have as much mental bandwidth to create as I used to. And while the design team deadlines ensure that I’m creating something each month, some months the only things I finish are design team projects. Meanwhile I have personal projects that keep getting pushed to the side, things to do around the house (fun, decorating things not just chores) that don’t even get started, and only occasionally will I steal the time to do some work-related designing. I also have a lot less time to spend online, so I feel like I’m letting down the social sharing and promoting side of being on a team.

At the same time, design teams are amazing for pushing me out of my comfort zone and trying new things. Not gonna lie, finding out about new products and promotions ahead of the general public is also nice.

I’m still a member of the Imagine team through the end of the year and if they gave me the option to stay on for another term I’m not sure I’d want to say yes. Design teams and creative teams are a great way to keep in the loop about trends and collaborate with others, plus you just learn so much and meat fabulous people through the process that I wouldn’t want to give up on teams entirely.

Helmar is currently looking for those new designers, so if you’re interested in trying out for the team, check out this post: Helmar Creative Team Call Out for October 2016

This Blog Hop Didn’t Get Lost in the Shuffle!

In The Studio

But how awesome is “lost in the shuffle” as an apology for missing a card-worthy occasion? It’s just one of the many sentiments included in the “In The Cards” stamp set (and coordinating “Shuffle” Fri-Dies set) that I received as part of today’s Imagine Crafts/CAS-ual Fridays blog hop!

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While I love the stamp set, I ended up using more of the die set for this card since I wanted to try the inlay technique and I’m very happy with how it all turned out.

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Materials:

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Spray a sheet of cardstock with Walnut Ink and allow to dry.

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Cut numerous diamonds, hearts, clubs, and spades from the Shuffle Fri-Dies set from the sprayed papers. For variation, feel free to cut some from the more speckled edges as well as some from the solid-color areas.

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Cut those same shapes from the card front in a random pattern. Make sure to cut some off the edges of the card front to really “sell” the random pattern idea.

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Apply adhesive to the entire front panel of the card front and match the card front over the adhesive. The glue peeks through the holes, making it easy to slot in the colored die cuts.

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Trim 1/4″ strips from the sprayed card stock and make them into a frame just inside the perimeter of the card.

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Spritz the assembled card with irRESISTible texture spray and allow to dry.

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Stamp a sentiment onto a 1/2″ strip of white card stock. Trim the ends, add a crystal, and pop the strip up with ZapDots and it’s done!

So, the next step on the hop will bring you to Karen Griglione’s blog! And if you missed a stop on the hop, you can find the full list of participating blogs (with links!) over at the Imagine Crafts post.

Now, a little bird tells me that there’s a giveaway happening as part of this blog hop, and all you have to do is leave a comment to enter! And if you can’t think of anything else to say, tell me your favorite card game! I’ve always been a Gin Rummy fan, myself. Winners will be announced on the 27th!

Have You Seen It?!

Just for Fun

I have been a video-uploading fiend lately! (And I still have several videos that need editing and a list of more I want to film.) So the “it” I’m talking about is my YouTube channel.

Over the last week I’ve far exceeded my once-a-week upload habit by putting up a total of five videos:

Whew!

Now, that pace is probably not something I can keep up with weekly, it was just a good week for videos. Still, I do want to increase how often I’m uploading, so I’ll probably be shooting for twice a week by the end of the month.

Adventure! Mixed Media Journal

Adventure! Mixed Media Journal

A couple of the videos were design-team related, including the mixed media journal pictured above. That one’s actually part of an audition for a new team, but I’m pretty pleased with the project on it’s own whether I get the spot or not!

Sympathy Card using BoBunny papers

Sympathy Card using BoBunny papers

The Imagine Crafts team participated in a blog hop with BoBunny and while I’m not an official video-producer for IC, since this was an extra project for the month I figured I’d give it a whirl.

I’ve been on a bit of a card kick, lately, and I see no point in just keeping them around here, so if you’d like a handmade card to just show up in your mailbox one day, email me your address by using that little “Contact Me” link up at the top of the page (or just email me at jenn{at}scrapsoflife{dot}com)!

Of course, if you saw last week’s posts, they each had their own video links, but the Rose Festival video was a little sneaky-sneak on my part. We made it to several of the events this year and I took hours of footage that I managed to then condense into a mere 38 minutes and 47 seconds. I definitely need to work on my camera handling in random event settings, but practice makes perfect, right?

What I’d like to know is what you want to see videos of? Are you enjoying the View from the Countertop videos and want to see more kitchen footage? Would you like to see more crafty tutorials like the card and journal above? Or would you like to see more local events and general life stuff like the Rose Festival and the Pup-date? While I have some of all of them on my list to film, letting me know what you want to see helps me prioritize!

Also, I’m always on the hunt for new YouTubers to watch–who are you loving these days? Some of my favorites include MyFroggyStuff for their doll-craft tutorials, Sandy Allnock for her cards and COPIC videos, and both Pretty Shiny Sparkly and The Michalaks for general life/vlogging stuff. I check out my Subscriptions link each day to see if any of the channels I follow have updated and I get a little thrill when there’s a new video up from one of my current favs.

So check out the links above and subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already so you don’t miss an update! Not all videos have posts to tie back to, after all!

Until next time,

~Jenn