Love in the New Year!

How did this happen????? Where did the last few months of 2010 go??? Where did all of 2010 go?? I really thought that after we sold our business that I would be a woman of leisure, but that hasn't happened. Between teaching classes, golf outings with my daughter, college searches, family trips, helping injured family members and joining the Dreamweaver Stencils Dream Team, I seem to have kept myself busy! How did I ever have time to run a store? Oh well, it's been a fun year.

Here we are at another Dream Schemes Thursday Challenge. This week's theme was "Love in the New Year", which , of course, gets you thinking about Valentine's Day that is right around the corner! This darling new Lovevirds Heart stencil (LL3011) from Dreamweaver Stencils is the perfect image for our challenge this week. I've paired it with one of Dreamweaver's older background stencils LJ833. This card moves away from the traditional red and pink of Valentine's Day to a beautiful combination of Glossy Blue Embossing Paste and Wisteria Ultrafine Glitter (very pale purple). Photos never do justice to glittery cards, but hopefully you get the picture! The shimmer ribbon adds to the over all sparkle of the card.


How did I do it...easy! Tape down your stencil on white linen cardstock, apply Glossy Blue Embossing Paste, remove your stencil and immediately sprinkle with the glitter. The larger palette knife works great on the background stencil.

Here's a close up of the new Lovebirds Heart stencil. The detail in it is just wonderful, and makes it easy to use.

Don't forget to hop on over to all the other Dream Team blogs. Just click on the team member names on the left side of my blog, and the DREAM it UP! blog too!

Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe New Year!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe it's almost Christmas! So much has been happening lately, that it is easy to forget why we celebrate this glorious season. This card was inspired by one of my very favorite Christmas carols. Can you guess which one?
This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Schemes was Designer's Choice, so I wanted to share this beautiful angel stencil with you and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
The angel is Dreamweaver's LJ871 and uses the Pearlescent Embossing Paste on white cardstock. After it is dry, cut it out and mount it on beautiful background paper, add some pearl gems to the halo and across the card to compliment the pearl finish of the paste. So easy!

D0n't forget to stop by all the designer's blogs to check out more great ideas, and, as always, hop on over to the DREAM it UP! blog.

Merry, merry Christmas,
Louise

Thursday's Dream Schemes

I can't believe it's Thursday already! The weeks seem to fly by, but especially so at this busy time of year. But it is so important to take the time for friends and family. That's why this card is so perfect! It is simple, fast and a beautiful way to pay homage to this glorious season. The colors are fit for royalty.

Our Dream Team challenge this week was to create using the Glossy Blue Embossing Paste. I used two Dreamweaver Stencils (LM2007 Hallelujah, LL554 Nativity Scene), Glossy Blue Embossing Paste, and Metallic F/X powder Purple Satin FX14.

Here's how its done:

Tape both stencils to white cardstock, butting the edges together. This will take a little extra tape to make sure all the seams are covered. Apply the Glossy Blue paste and sprinkle with the Purple Satin F/X powder but don't cover up all the blue paste. Remove your stencil, let it dry, then polish away the excess powder with a soft cloth. You end up with a blue and purple marble affect. Here's a close up to help you see what I'm talking about:

You can do each stencil separately if you prefer, but I'm always looking for shortcuts! Hope this inspires you to try this on your own. Truly it couldn't be easier.

Don't forget to stop by the other Dream Team blogs too. They are all filled with "Blue-tiful" creations. Just click on their names on the left hand side of my blog. And, of course, you won't want to miss the DREAM it UP! blog.

Happy Creating,

Louise

Any Occasion

This is one of those designs that can truly be used for any occasion. Make several of them at a time, leave the inside blank, and then pull one out when you need a last minute card for virtually Any Occasion! Here's how it's done:

• Tape Dreamweaver Stencils LG625, to dark brown paper
• Apply Glossy White Embossing Paste
• Remove stencil and immediately sprinkle with Crystal Glitter
• Let dry and cut out image along the right side of the design only
• Mount into a beautiful card!

Another simple creations with wonderful results. Don't forget to stop back on Thursday for our Thursday's Dream Scheme ideas. This week we have been challenged by Lynell to create with the Glossy Blue Embossing Paste, so the results should be Blue-tiful!

Happy Creating,
Louise

Black and Gold

As promised, here is another wonderful idea for Dreamweaver Stencils LG625 stencil. I just love the beautiful washi papers by Hanko Designs, and the black and gold branches running through this beautiful paper were my inspiration for this combination. The cut edges on each side of the flower just seemed to blend perfectly into the oriental theme. While this looks a little more complicated than my Christmas design, it is not. This card is a standard A2 size (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") perfect for any occasion. Here are the steps:

• Tape your stencil to white cardstock (3 1/2" x 4 1/2")
• Apply Glossy Black Embossing Paste
• While the stencil is still on, use a small brush to pick up some Metallic F/X Gold Dust powder and tap the brush over the black paste so the powder falls randomly over the design. Keep doing this until you have as much gold powder on as you think looks nice
• Remove and clean the stencil
• When the paste is dry, use a 3/4" stencil brush to brush off any excess powder
• Measure in 1" from the bottom right corner and make a little mark. Do the same at the top right.
• Place a ruler over the design at the two marks and use a pencil to draw a light line from the bottom or top along the ruler until you reach paste.
• Cut away all the white paper along the right side following the paste outline (be sure to leave a little white edge)
• From the new bottom right corner, measure over 1 1/2" and make a mark, do the same at the top
• Now cut away the extra white on the left side of the design
• Cut a piece of black cardstock 1 5/8" x 4 5/8" and adhere it to the cut out flower
• The decorative washi paper was 2" x 5", with a black mat of 2 1/8" x 5 1/8"

A nice black mat under a colored layer always helps the layer really stand out. Hope you'll give this a try. The Metallic F/X powders can be sprinkled on, mixed it, or brushed on to any of the paste products...Mix 'n' Match!

Happy Creating,

Louise

Thursday's Dream Schemes

Here it is, the card you've been waiting to see! This week's challenge was Designer's Choice. We could use whatever stencil, products, and layout we chose. I love the versatility of this particular stencil. It is Dreamweaver Stencils LG625. Isn't it gorgeous. I believe Lynell calls it a peony, but I say it is whatever you want it to be depending how you use it. Today, I want it to be a Christmas flower! This is an amazingly simple card. Here we go:

• Tape the stencil to white or light colored cardstock
• Use stencil brushes to add color to the design (I only used Brilliance Rocket Red, Thyme, and just a touch of Ivy)
• Clean and dry your stencil and tape it over the colored design
• Apply Translucent Embossing Paste
• Remove and clean your stencil, and let the paste dry
• Mount on coordinating layers and beautiful background paper

That's it, I told you it was easy! This is a 5" x 7" finished card, perfect for the Christmas season. Check back on Saturday for another simple idea for this great stencil.

Don't forget to check out all the other designer's blogs by clicking on their names on the left hand side. And of course, you won't want to miss the DREAM it UP! blog as well.

Happy Creating,

Louise

Is it Thursday already????

Not quite, but here's a little sneak peak of the card I'll be posting on our Thursday's Dream Scheme challenge this week. Be sure to check out the DREAM it UP! blog for chances to participate, and of course all the other team blogs. See you Thursday!

"Thursday's Dream Schemes"

Welcome to "Thursday's Dream Schemes"! This week the Dream Team was given a sketch challenge to use for inspiration. For those who aren't familiar with a sketch challenge, it means we are given the basic layout for the card and are free to use any colors, papers, images we want to create a card in the format provided. Here is this week's sketch


As you can see, it just provides the basics for you to use as inspiration for your design. I'm still trying to design my Christmas card so I chose a simple Christmas design for this week.


I started with Bo-Bunny's beautiful Noel Holly paper for my background. The reverse side of the holly paper is just as gorgeous, so I used that to paste emboss the Dreamweaver Stencils Holly Flourish (LG731) with Glossy Red Embossing Paste and set that aside to dry. The reverse side has some areas with pine boughs which worked perfectly to use for the Season's Greetings (LS91) sentiment also done in Glossy Red Embossing Paste. When both pieces were dry, I put the clean stencil back over the red paste and used a sponge dauber to apply Palette Stamp and Stick to the surface of the paste. I then used a small paint brush to apply Dreamweaver's Metallic F/X Rose Berry (F/X 08) over the image. This helped to take away some of the brightness of the red paste so the image matched the Holly Paper better. Next time, I think I will put the powder in the paste before I apply it, so I can control the color even more. The dark green layer is also from Bo-Bunny, it is Noel Stripe using the reverse side. Use the Tonic Dual Corner Punch to punch the ticket corners on all the layers. I don't like white edges of paper showing, so I used a COPIC marker to edge all my layers (G29 Pine Tree Green). Adhere the Holly Swirl to the dark green layer, then to the background holly paper. Add a ribbon down the right side and adhere to the front of your card. Use foam mounting tape to apply the sentiment to the left side of the card front. Very simple, but elegant.
Don't forget to visit the other Dream Team members today to see all the beautiful projects. Just click on their names on the left side of the blog. And don't forget to stop by every Thursday for more great ideas from the Dream Team.
Happy Creating,
Louise