imagine crafts

Imagine That: Moonlit Leaf Stenciling

In The Studio

Fact: Stencils are super-versatile in the craft room.

Another fact: I so often forget to use mine!

This month one of our prompts was to use stencils in something. I always have such fun with them, I really need to get in the habit of using them more. Without needing to be nudged.

At any rate, I had a blast making this simple, yet striking, background using a leaf stencil, VersaCraft, and All-Purpose ink. The light chalk ink stood out just fine on the dark background, but when I added the Plantinum API, it really popped!

The effect I went for with the fourth layer of color (all with the same stencil) I thought looked like the ripples of a pond or a soundwave echo, so that’s why I’m calling it a Stencil Echo technique.

Head over to the Imagine Blog to check out how I did it and give it a try yourself!

Imagine That: DIY StazOn Markers

In The Studio

While at Creativation, someone asked if the new VersaFine Clair inks would work with alcohol markers. Not having any on hand, I devised a quick substitute using Fantastix, StazOn All Purpose Stamp Cleaner, and a StazOn ink pad. VersaFine Clair appeared to hold up quite nicely in this quick trial, by the way*.

It’s been my plan since then to play with it a bit more, so in today’s Imagine project I made a set of StazOn markers in varying shades of 4 different inks, enough to color a pretty floral bouquet (stamped in VersaFine Clair, of course).

You can see how quickly this came together on the Imagine Blog!

*StazOn markers are solvent-based, so not 100% the same as the more common alcohol inks on the market, but the properties are similar. Always test your ink/marker combos before committing to a larger project, just in case!

Imagine That: We’ll Always Have Paris

In The Studio

Or, if not, we can make a memento of it in about an hour and a half!

Longtime readers may have a sense they’ve seen this project before, but that’s because the inspiration came from one of the pieces I did as decorations for my 40th birthday party. I used the same basic techniques, this time in a smaller (8″x8″) format with strictly Imagine products and, of course, filmed the process so that you can follow along and see exactly how I used the wash tape to “draw” the figures.

Head over to the Imagine Blog for the full supply list and the video of the project. Enjoy!

Imagine That: Backgrounds to the Forefront

In The Studio

Background stamps are, by their very nature, excellent as a foundation for a project. But some are just so gorgeous that I hate to cover them up!

For today’s project over on the Imagine blog, I used a white embossing powder resist technique with a very detailed Joy Clair stamp and highlighted it with three ink colors from a Kaleidacolor pad.

The result was a really pretty blend of colors and pattern that reminds me of a color fabric that I could not bring myself to cover up with more than a simple button-and-brad embellishment.

Head on over to the Imagine blog to see how quickly this card came together!

Imagine That: Mixed-Stamp Mermaid Card

In The Studio

Have you ever started a project and realized you needed another element or two, but the stamps you have on hand are in a different style from your focal image? That’s what happened as I was working on my mermaid card for the Imagine blog.

I had the background (Joy Clair) and the mermaid (Santoro) stamped and ready to go, but she needed some supporting elements. I was concerned, at first, that the underwater elements from another set (Waffle Flower) would look too different since the outlines were thicker and, overall, less delicately rendered.

But I soldiered on, just the same, and it turned out not to be a problem. I think the fact that all my stamping was done in the same ink (VersaFine Clair, Warm Breeze) helped quite a bit to unify the different stamp styles. Also, I used the exact same colors on the seaweed, coral, and shells as I had on the mermaid (a mix of pastel Memento Markers), even though it meant some non-traditional colors and shading. The consistent color palette definitely helped blend the entire piece together and the result is a very fun card that I am more than a little pleased with!

Head over to the Imagine blog to see just how the card came together!