Imagination Project Blog

After sharing a week's worth of non office Office Supplied layouts, we're anxious to see what you can do. Your challenge is to use some sort of office supply on a non work layout or project. We'd love to see you use our new lines, but if you haven't gotten your hands on it yet any generic office supply will do. Make sure you post a link to your page in the comments section, we're excited to see your work!

Posted by Kayla

We've got a double treat today with layouts from both Celia King and Laura Stoller. These fabulous ladies have used product from the same black office line but with decidedly different results.

Both used a great variety of different products, Celia's collage echoes the disorganization theme of her layout and Laura's letter to scrapbooking showcases the breadth of the hobby. Celia said "When I saw this paper, I was immediately inspired to create a chaotic layout on how I'm NOT organized! I just piled it all on this layout on mimicking my junk drawer. And those chipboard phrases were just too perfect for what I wanted to say! What can I say, this collection is just so versatile!"

Celia's Supply List: Looseleaf Ledger Black, Penmanship Practice Ivory, Great Grid Pink, Cool Columns Black, Cool Columns Ivory, Striped Slicker, Rings of Approval, Casual Day Jumbles, Calendar Corners B/W.

Laura's Supply List: Great Grid Black, Maggie White Rub-Ons, Oda Mae Black Rub-Ons, Amanda Rub-ons

Posted by Kayla

Today we have another non-office Office Supplied layout by design team member and new CK Hall of Famer Vivian Masket.

Vivian says, "I was so pleased that I got these three photos of similar-colored flowers at the Botanic Gardens. I knew I wanted to pair them with a patterned paper with a small-scale print so as not to draw attention away from the photos, and the Great Grid paper was perfect! By cutting apart the Cool Columns paper, I was able to create a matching lined journaling block. The coaster photo corner worked perfectly as a faux ribbon add-on to the title coaster circle."

Supply List:
Great Grid Paper Pink
Cool Columns Pink
Mixed Dates Black
Calendar Corners Black & White

Posted by Kayla

Today's layout was designed by design team member Scott Cotner-Young using the white papers from the Office Supplied line. Scott says: "I was truly inspired by my son. He is in the “habit” lately of telling us we are interrupting him when he is on the computer or watching TV! Not sure where he gets that from! But, when he is on the computer he calls it his work, since Daddy works on the computer and of course I am ALWAYS on the computer (message boards) doing my “work”.

This idea immediately came to me when I sat down with the office line, and I just love it. The paper and coasters are all just so versatile!"

Size: 6" X 12"

IP Project Essentials line:
* Office Supplied Lucky Ledger White
* Totally Dated Calendar Corners
* Office Supplied - Did You Get the Memo Signs (Coaster)
* Gin-X Express-ons - Maggie White
* Cardstock - Bazzill

This week we are focusing on our new Office Supplied collection by Project Essentials. All of the elements in the Project Essentials collections were designed to be staples, papers and embellishments that can be reached for time and again, mixed and matched with all different types of product, and never get dated.

Today's layout is by Design Team Jane Hasty. She used Looseleaf Ledger Ivory, and Penmanship Practice Ivory papers, Mixed Dates Ivory, Save the Date Ivory, Calendar Corners Ivory, and Standard Calendar Jumbles Ivory coasters in addition to the basic cardstock. Classy and simple.

Today's stunning mini album was created by Jane Hasty. It's always fun to see what different people create using the same basic supplies.

Jane built the album using the Coaster Tag Book from Gin-X as a base and then accented with Circus Rose's debut line Playlist as well as a few things from Office Supplied by Project Essentials and then some paint & rub-ons.

I love how she took a line that has a pretty dominant theme and pulled out elements that worked with what she was doing. Just because a collection is themed doesn't mean it can't be used to scrap a different subject.

So here's today's challenge...find some themed paper in your stash and use it for something completely different. If it's Christmas cut out an element and use it on a spring page, or use something fall-ish with your summer pictures. Have fun & get creative!

P.S. - Make sure and stop by next week, we're rolling out a new blog program and you'll be seeing a lot more work from our fabulous Design Team, as well as fun challenges and giveaways, but you'll have to check in often because if you miss one day you may miss a lot!

Posted by Kayla

On many of our products you'll see our new "Bright Idea" logo where you find a simple tip on how to use our products better. This is something you'll be seeing more and more on products, our website and more!

Our goal at Imagination Project is to always make products that are useful. However, because we're always creating new and different things, sometimes we'll create something that's function is not completely understood or has some non-obvious uses. When we think of a new and an exciting use for it, we'll try to show how you can use it too.

Here's an example of an idea on our coaster rings. We're working on upgrading our website and you'll see some of the "Bright Ideas" on it soon!


Posted by Morris

I wanted to share another new class today that I will be introducing in Canada later this week. This minibook is named StarStruck and was built around the concept of designing with shapes and doodles.

About the only thing hotter than a circle right now is a star and this little book has plenty of them! Gin-X's shape coasters in solid colors are a must for virtually every project you could dream up.This features the stars and fun flowers in red, and the Super Steno Book in black which was backed with some of our black office papers from Project Essentials.

Another fun element of this little book is created by Gin-X's playful doodle rub-ons. Natalie, Maggie, Seaver & Mallory are all sets that can create this whimsical effect. With 600-700 characters per boxed set of rub-ons, they're well worth the investment!

The adorable child in the sample book is my friend Ashley's daughter, Ella. To see the entire StarStruck album click here.
Posted by Emily

Circles are very "hot" in scrapbooking right now. I was looking at our catalog and noticed a lot of circles in our existing collections and decided to make a class out of them. This eclectic mini album is from a new class called "Crop Circles".

The coaster rings are one of my {many} favorites. Once popped out you can place one over a picture or use it on its own as a decorative element to your page. Twenty-four rings come on each punch out sheet!
Posted by Emily

The Project Essentials lines were designed to be fundamental supplies that you can reach for time and again, can be used with a variety of different colors and collections, and not get dated. Today we're featuring the rest of our home office projects the we designed for the ad. We used the same Playlist and Office Supplied lines that were used in the perpetual calendar but integrated them with some of our older lines (Cotton Art Tape from Gin-X Say What? Say Anything! & Chloe's Closet Carnival, Coaster Rings from Gin-X Party-On, and Maggie rub ons and Coaster Stars & Circles from Gin-X).

Have you noticed strange images sneaking into the scrapbook industry? Tattoo inspired art is all the rage right now. One way to get that look without buying all new supplies is to mix and match with elements you already have.

Several companies came out with wings and crowns at CHA. When combined with Gin-X's heart coasters and a word coaster jumble, you get a super hip accent that will be just the right touch of cool. Try doodling your own wings & see how you like it!

This custom chalk board used: Gin-X Coaster Hearts and Black & White Jumbles, Circus Rose's Jammin' Jumbles, Hambly Studios' rub-ons, MAMBI bling and Ranger's white acrylic paint.

Posted by Emily

With the new Project Essentials collections, it's easy to create projects that not only look nice on the wall but are quite functional! We designed this perpetual calendar for our May/June Simple Scrapbooks ad integrating the Playlist, Totally Dated, and Office Supplied collections. In order to be able to make the base magnetic I got a sheet of punching tin from a craft store and then covered it with our Edgy Tunes paper and the Monthly Glance transparency. So not only will the different pieces stick to the metal (with magnetic tape) but the transparency also allows the use of a dry erase marker! The extra pieces can be stored in magnetic tins if you adhere a strip of the punching tin behind the paper you use to cover the frame.

Not every scrapbook supply is destined for a scrapbook page. When I designed my Playlist collection, I had Gin-X's coaster stars in mind to mix and match with it. This cork board can jazz up any room and was embellished with star and alphabet coasters as well as jumbles & signs from Playlist. I challenge you to look around your home or next time you go to the store look for something unique to alter!

Posted by Emily

Guess what we've been doing all weekend? Packing boxes, lots of boxes. What does that mean for you? Well, it means that we're starting to ship out our new releases and stores should have them soon! The collections we're shipping are as follows:

• Gin-X: As You Wish
  
• Chloe's Closet: Singin' in the Rain
• Chartreuse Dream: Spring Fever
• Circus Rose: Playlist
• Project Essentials: Totally Dated and Office Supplied

Posted by Morris

This week, among other things, I've been writing up paper techniques and an approach to patterned paper for beginners. It really opened my eyes to a lot of things I take for granted that come as second nature by now. It was a lesson worth remembering.

Don't be afraid to be a bold mixer of pattern. Pay attention to the scale of the pattern and mix large and small scale prints together. If you're overwhelmed, hold your patterns down to three and break it into the rule of thirds - a primary pattern, a secondary & an accent. Ground your prints with at least one solid.

I looked at this tag card by Jane Hasty and I was surprised to see it all the patterned paper "rules" illustrated so clearly. The blue floral is her primary, the brown is her secondary and the orangey-red is her accent color. I love the mix of patterns and textures on here and that she echoed the use of pattern by stamping a border in brown on her round blue tag.
Posted by Emily

Today's beautiful layout was created by Sharon Laakkonen. I never cease to be amazed at what a little exacto knife work and a piece of patterned paper can create.

This layout features the patterned paper and a coaster from Gin-X's new As You Wish line. I especially like the way Sharon punched holes around the perimeter of the scalloped cardstock to give it a more lace-like appearance. I also like the mix of red, orange, ivory and blue against that stark black background.

So here's today's challenge...cut a pattern out of your paper. Whether you're more comfortable with a knife or with scissors, just do it and experiment adding thatdesign to different color backgrounds. See how different the pattern looks from the original? Sharon took the accent color and brought it out to be the dominant color in her layout. Have fun & get creative!

Posted by Emily

Sara W. from Wasilla, Alaska - YOU ARE OUR WINNER! Congratulations!

Please e-mail me at ginger@imaginationproject.com with your address so we can get your prize pack out to you! (In the event that Sara doesn't e-mail by Friday, March 9th, I will redraw a winner)

Thanks to everyone that entered and don't forget - we're going to be holding RAKs throughout the month here and there on a consistent basis. Make sure to keep checking back to see what we're going to do next!

posted by Ginger

We just received two copies of "Oodles of Doodles" from Design Originals which features our very own Emily Adams and we are going to RAK an extra copy along with some of our latest papers that were featured in the book. With this RAK, you can either re-create some of Emily's cool stuff or complete your own awesome projects!



To enter, simply post your first name and last initial and the city you're entering from. Example - I would be Ginger R. from Cincinnati, Ohio.

I'll announce a winner tomorrow! Don't forget to check back to claim your prize!!!!!

posted by Ginger

Well, this has been the week of the raw staggered tag book. I wanted to bump it up a notch and show you our soon to be released preprinted staggered tag books from our Office Supplied line. These "Super Steno Books" are SO MUCH FUN to work with and, just like the raw book, sell for $2.99.

Another day, another staggered tag creation. I chose one of my own staggered tag albums to put up today. This was actually a class I taught called Hopeless Romantic which was built on a set of raw white staggered tags.

These are great for teaching with & make super affordable gifts as well. I "dressed" the raw tags with papers from Blue Cardigan's Ornamental collection, Ornamental coasters and some old ledger paper. The cost of this album if I had to buy all the materials from scratch would've been right at $5 {still reveling in the cheapness of it all!}.

So, here's my challenge to you - go get a staggered tag book and cover it to suit your personality and style! Whether you're hip & retro or clean & simple or collage artist extraordinaire this little book was made for you!

Posted by Emily