paper crafts

Imagine That: I’ll Be Missing You

In The Studio

And I will!

Today on the Imagine blog I’ve got another interactive card–this time a shaker card–that uses both our color challenge as well as the new Dewlet dies as stencil and shaker window. Make sure to check out the video to see the whole process.

This card has another layer to it, though: it’s my final project as an Imagine Artist in Residence! It’s been a fabulous three years on the team and while I’ll miss them all terribly, I chose not to apply for the 2019 team (their’s or anyone else’s) so that I can spend more time on my own projects.

I hope you’ll follow along here on the blog, my instagram page, and–most of all–my YouTube channel to see what I have planned for the upcoming year. I’ll be announcing my personal challenge right after Christmas and I’d be thrilled to have you participate, too!

Stay tuned for more and have a creative day!

 

Imagine That: No-Bake Gingerbread House Banner

In The Studio

The color of the month over on the Imagine blog is Gingerbread and the idea that wouldn’t leave my mind was gingerbread houses.

Basically, this project has all the fun of decorating gingerbread houses/cookies without having to clean up the kitchen. It’s fabulous for crafting with kids, and the sky’s the limit on how much or how little you want to decorate the houses.

Using chipboard or craft cardstock and whatever house die or cut file you want takes care of the base of the banner, getting you closer to the the real fun that much sooner.

And here’s something I’ve learned about working with the Cotton White StazOn Studio Glaze: you can’t be stingy if you actually want it to show up as white rather than clear. Let the Cotton White build up or go back and add a second layer, if need be, especially against dark backgrounds. And layering one color of StazOn Studio Glaze over another while both are still wet works just like layering royal icing on cookies–beautifully!

Make sure to head over to the Imagine blog to see the video of how this project comes together!

Imagine That: Rinea Foil Cornucopia

In The Studio

Imagine teamed up with Rinea foil this month and I’m so glad they did. I’d heard of the lovely double-sided foiled papers but hadn’t had the chance to work with them, yet.

Since the foils are so pretty on both the front and the back, I wanted to do something that showed off that feature. What better than a 3-D bit of paper sculpture that also happens to work as a place card holder?

Above is a cleaner look at the pattern I drew out for the cornucopia. Each row is 1/2″ tall and the spine is 1/2″ wide. On the main piece, the spine is the part you cut up to, plus a separate spine for what will ultimately become the bottom of the cornucopia. After the first four rows, the spine and the “arms” (ribs?) shift over by 1/8″ each row to create a little bit of a curve or angle without having to crush or crunch the paper into shape.

Even though the process somewhat resembles trying to dress an octopus in a onesie at first, I promise these do come together quickly! And once you add a simple stamped and lettered place card inside, your table decorations are taken care of in no time.

Make sure to check out the Imagine blog for the video that goes with this project to see just how simple these cute cornucopia can be!

Imagine That: Simple Shapes Christmas Cards

In The Studio

Fact: There’s only so much room in the craft storage area of your choice–be it a shelf, a closet, or a dedicated room–for supplies. And way too many awesome, cute supplies on the market for one crafter to hoard, right?

Today’s project for the Imagine blog is an answer to that, of sorts: a way to utilize the more all-purpose items in your craft stash to create holiday cards without spending anything extra on special supplies.

The only holiday-specific items were the sentiment stamps, (which I already had from previous years’ projects). So take a look through your pattern stamps, pull out the basic dies or punches, and put them together in some new ways.

Incidentally, this is also a great way to involved kids in holiday crafting as the techniques used here are very simple and straight-forward. They might need a hand with the heat part of the embossing, but otherwise the little ones can have a field day creating the patterned cardstock and decorating the completed cards.

Make sure to hop on over to the Imagine blog to see how each of the three cards came together!