Ringing in the New Year!

Christmas is over, the cookies are almost gone, the kids have headed home, mountains of towels and sheets have been washed, the house is almost back to normal, wow how I miss it all!   I just love having my family home for the holidays.  But now it's time to ring in the New Year, so that's the theme I used to create this week's design for the Thursday Dream Scheme free challenge from Dreamweaver Stencils.
Enjoy:

I started by taping the Vertical Bells (LL497) to blue cardstock and applying Metallic Silver Embossing Paste (DSP). After removing the stencil, sprinkle the wet paste with Crystal glitter. While the paste is drying, emboss another piece of blue cardstock with Swirls (LJ863) through a die cut machine. Remove the cardstock and gently sand the design so the image shows. Layer the dark blue pieces on metallic silver pieces and mount them on a dark blue card.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year in 2012! Thank you for your support this past year. I can't tell you how much it means to me to read your supportive comments. Keep watching for some changes coming in the new year. I'll be adding Twitter and Facebook links to make it easier to follow our great team whenever you have a minute. We've also welcomed our new team members, so be sure to stop at their blogs for even more great ideas.
Here's our new list of members, just click on their names to hop to their blogs:

DREAM it UP!

Pam Hornschu

Wendy Jordan

Laura Drahozal

Liz Martin

Georgia Sommers

Lee Kellogg

Cyndi Bundy

Kristi Van Doren

Jessie Hurley

Cherylynn Moser

Terrece Siddoway

Watch the DREAM it UP! blog for monthly opportunities to win some great prizes too!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe that Christmas is only 3 days away! It has been a wonderful week with all of my kids home for the holidays. With them spread all over the country, it is fabulous to have everyone together for 10 days. However, it definitely means that I don't get quite as much time in my craft room.
This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme was a burgundy and gold challenge. I took a little liberty with this one and used one of my favorite cards from a Christmas past. I hope you enjoy it.

This was very simple.  Apply black matte paste on a metallic shimmer cardstock over the Partridge in a Pear Tree stencil (LG695). Let it dry about 10 minutes then brush with metallic FX powders to color the image. Mount on decorative papers, and tada! a beautiful card in no time at all. Can you see my burgundy and gold? The pot is burgundy and the background is gold, that counts, doesn't it!
Be sure to stop over at the DREAM it UP! blog to see another great creation, then to the other designer blogs for even more. Stay tuned for the announcement of our new team members starting in January.
I hope you have a wonder Christmas with family and friends.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Vintage Christmas

Welcome to this week's Dream Scheme Thursday sponsored by Dreamweaver Stencils. This week we were given the challenge of using a specific sketch with a Vintage Christmas theme. Sounded easy enough right? Ha, there's a reason they call them challenges! Although I had several ideas for Vintage Christmas, they did not fit the sketch challenge very well. But I have to say, I'm pretty happy with what I finally designed.
The sketch looked like this:

Here's my version of Vintage Christmas using the sketch (well, all the elements of the sketch anyway!):

I started by taping the vertical ornament stencil (LL468) to white cardstock and applying Glossy Red Embossing Paste. After removing the stencil I sprinkled Crystal glitter on three ornaments, and Metallic FX Kimono Red on three, then set those aside to dry.
The Long Merry Christmas (LL557) stencil was paste embossed using Metallic Gold Embossing Paste and set aside to dry.
I wanted to have some small holly leaves at the tops of the ornaments so I used the new Color Solution Alcohol Inks (Pine Bough, Citron, Gold Star) on a piece of felt along with a few drops of cleaning solution and pounced it over vellum. It dries pretty fast so I was able to keep creating by laying the 3 Xmas icons stencil (LL469) on the now green vellum and use an Extra Fine Black Sharpie to trace the small holly leaves several times. Cut them all apart, but put them in a little container until you're ready for them or they magically disappear!
By this point my pasted images were dry and ready to assemble. Buff the ornaments that had the FX powder on them to get the excess off, then cut the ornaments out to get three sets. I used a gold Krylon pen on the edges and the "caps" of the ornaments. The gold stripe paper behind the ornaments was left over from a previous project using Memories Mist Gold on the Plaid maker stencil (LX 7002).
To assemble, cut three pieces of striped paper and three black mats for behind them. Attach two ornaments to each striped piece using foam mounting tape behind the ornaments. Place another piece of foam mounting tape at the top and apply a group of holly leaves in a cluster (you may need to use some additional adhesive once the foam is covered. Attach a small red bow to each as a finishing touch. Mount the three sets of ornaments toward the left side of the card (5" x 7") staggering them slightly. Cut apart the Merry Christmas leaving the holly attached to each piece. Use a COPIC marker to color the holly and berries. Mount the words on black cardstock with foam mounting tape, and trim around the image leaving a small black border all the way around. Add additional holly leaves between the words to cover the black. Use red stickles for berries. Adhere it on the right side of the card. There you have it -- Vintage Christmas.
I hope you have time to check out all the team blogs for more beautiful samples of Vintage Christmas using Dreamweaver Stencils great products. Be sure to check out the DREAM it UP! blog too, and play along with the fun if you can.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Dream Scheme Thursday

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas...no snow yet, but decorations are up, presents are almost all purchased, parties have begun...I just love the Christmas season, it is so inspiring.
Today's Dreamweaver Stencils Dream Scheme Thursday challenge is designer's choice (a free week). Like almost everyone in the crafting industry, I love to follow Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas blogs, and yesterday's tag (Day 7 click here to see it) was my inspiration for my post today. Sharing concepts is what blogging is all about, and then creating your interpretation of the concept. Sounds complicated, but it really isn't!
Today's post isn't for the faint hearted, this one was a little work, but I love how it turned out.

Supplies: Dreamweaver Glossy Black Embossing Paste, Dreamweaver Glossy Green Embossing Paste, Dreamweaver Stencils LJ863 & LM254, LJ896 & LM134, LL3005, Stampers Anonymous TH Joyful Song CMS119, Dreamweaver Metallic F/X Gold Dust, Palette Stamp & Stick, Xmas Red Stickles, VersaFine Onyx Black ink, Distress Ink Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, 1/2" stencil brushes, cream cardstock, dark green cardstock, blending foam, finger dauber

Here we go:

• Cut a piece of cream cardstock 5" x 7"
• Lay the Swirls stencil (LJ863) along two edges, and use a 1/2" stencil brush and Tea dye ink to color the image
• Move the stencil, matching up the design, and continue adding color until the swirls fill the card
• Clean and dry the swirls stencil
• Randomly stamp the music image from the Joyful Song set using Versafine Onyx Black ink
• Tape the angel with dove stencil (LM254) in the upper right corner and emboss using Glossy Black Embossing Paste (tape off the dove so it does not get pasted)
• Remove and clean the angel stencil, and let the angel dry
• Power paste the Holly and swirls stencil (LL3005) on dark green cardstock with Glossy Green Embossing Paste three times so you'll end up with nine holly leaves
• Remove and clean the holly stencil after the last pasting
• Set the holly aside to dry
• Tape the Large flourish stencil (LJ896) to a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of cream cardstock and stencil with a 1/2" brush using the black ink
• Remove and clean the flourish stencil
• Tape the Merry Christmas stencil (LM134) toward the lower right side of the flourish
• Apply Glossy Black Embossing Paste to the Merry Christmas
• Remove and clean the stencil, let image dry well
• When the angel is dry, use blending foam and Distress Ink vintage photo to rouge deeper color around the edge of the card
• Apply Stamp and Stick to the angel using a finger dauber
• Let the glue sit for a minute to get tacky, then use your finger to rub a little Gold Dust FX powder on the angel
• Add a star charm in the upper left corner
• When the holly are all dry, cut out all the leaves so you have nine individual holly leaves
• Apply Stamp and Stick to each leaf and let sit until tacky
• Apply Gold Dust FX powder to each leaf using your finger to spread it around
• Cut around the flourish and Merry Christmas to form an interesting shape, making sure it will fit the card front
• Use the blending foam and Distress Ink vintage photo to add color around the edge of the design
• Determine the placement of the saying and holly leaves before attaching them
• Use foam mounting tape behind the Merry Christmas to add some dimension
• Adhere the holly leaves around, using double sided tape, or tacky glue
• Adhere the design to the front of an A7 card
• Apply your "berries" using the Xmas Red Stickles, let dry well

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of Tim's Day 7 tag and that it will inspire you to apply any techniques you learn to your stencils.  They truly are so versatile.
Don't forget to check out the DREAM it UP! blog to see what Lynell has dreamed up this week, and the rest of the team too!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Dream Scheme Thursday

Well, the countdown to Christmas officially starts today! Only 23 shopping days left to find all the right things that you know they'll love. I love giving presents to family and friends, I even love giving presents to people I barely know, it just makes me happy to make someones day.  Needless to say, I tend to go a little overboard at Christmas, but someone has to keep the economy moving!
This week the Dreamweaver Stencil design team was given a colorway challenge for our Dream Scheme Thursday. We had to use silver and turquoise with the stencils and supplies of our choice. With Christmas right around the corner, I decided to make a quick and easy card that would be easy to make in larger quantities.. Here's what I created for this week's challenge:

This was created using the Gothic snowflake stencil (LL396) and the double glitter technique. The simple version is: soap the back of the stencil brushing away any flakes of soap in the openings; apply a square of double sided mounting paper to a larger square of silver mirror paper; remove the release paper from the mounting paper and place the stencil soap side down onto the sticky surface; tap the stencil in place especially along all of the small bridges; apply ultrafine opaque silver glitter, pressing it down with a piece of the release paper; tap off the excess glitter then use a brush to clean any glitter on the stencil; turn the stencil face down on a clean paper towel and gently pull the paper off the stencil (be sure to hold the stencil flat with your free hand); apply ultrafine opaque Ice glitter to the background, pressing down firmly with release paper; tap off all excess. The image is very pretty at this point, and you could stop there and mount it onto a card, but it wasn't popping as much as I wanted, so I place the stencil back over the glittered image, taped the edges, and applied Dreamweaver Metallic Silver Embossing Paste over the snowflake, removed the stencil and sprinkled the wet paste with the silver glitter again. This gave it a little more dimension. Here's a close up of the finished image:

Glitter is hard to photograph, but I hope you can see what I'm talking about! While the silver paste was drying, I put glue on a white 3" embellishment pin from Dreamweaver and sprinkled it with the same Ice glitter that is in the background of the snowflake. You only need a thin coat of glue to hold the glitter and it dries in just a couple of minutes. I made a square card from silver mirror cardstock, added a layer of beautiful Hanko washi cardstock (Seafoam, but I think it is pretty "turquoisy"!). When the snowflake was dry, I mounted it to the front of the card with foam tape, added a silver bow and the glittered pin for a beautiful holiday card, or even a winter birthday card. One last thing, I put a turquoise gem in the center of the snowflake as a finishing touch.
Hope you've enjoyed this week's design. For more great Silver and Turquoise creations, stop over at the DREAM it UP! blog and the rest of the team blogs listed at the side.
Happy Creating (and shopping!),
Louise

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I know that I have a lot to be thankful for this year. My kids, my wonderfully supportive husband, family and great friends to name just a few. Every day I remind myself not to complain because I don't have anything to complain about when I hear and see what others around me are going through. Today I am with family and friends enjoying good company and good food, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, relax and enjoy it because Friday starts the mad rush to Christmas!
This week's Dream Scheme Thursday, sponsored by Dreamweaver Stencils, has a "Thanksgiving Day" theme (no big surprise there!). Here is the card I sent to family and friends this year:

Luckily, I still had a couple of jars of Dreamweaver Matte Orange Embossing Paste left in my stash, but even if you don't, it is simple to mix the yellow and a little red embossing paste to make a lovely shade of orange. The stencil is LJ832 Cornucopia from Dreamweaver Stencils.  To create the pasted image, use removable tape to tape the stencil to cream colored cardstock, then use the new paste spreader (LM2010) to apply the orange paste. Remove and clean the stencil. Let the paste dry for about 10 minutes before using a small, soft brush to apply Metallic FX powders to parts of the design.They give a little shimmer to the image and just a soft touch of color to set off the pumpkins. The cornucopia is layered on two pieces of kraft cardstock that were sprayed with Memories Mist Iridescent Spray (MM28) to give it a matching shimmer. Layer the image onto an orange cardstock embellished with some green ribbon, attach it all to a 5" x 7" base card that has a nice saying stamped inside and it's complete!
If you love working with stencils too, or have always wanted to work more with them, think about joining our Dreamweaver Stencils design team. It is challenging and fun, and you get to work with all the great Dreamweaver products! If you'd like to know the details about joining our team click HERE. It is a wonderful, supportive group who love sharing ideas with whoever will listen! Good luck.
I hope you have time to hop over to the DREAM it UP! blog for more inspiration, then on to all the other designer's blogs too.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

The air was crisp and cold today, winter is defiantly creeping up on us. But the sun was bright and still warm, trying to hold winter at bay just a little bit longer! Thanksgiving is only a week away, then before we know it Christmas is here! So much to do, so little time...but somehow it all works out.
This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme is a sketch challenge created by fellow team member Wendy Jordan. Here's what she came up with for us:

This is what I created from the sketch:

The small fern frond stencil (LM2006) is so beautiful and creates a peaceful focal point for your card. For this one I used Glossy Green Embossing Paste on kraft cardstock. When it was almost dry, I gently brushed Metallic F/X Amber Glow (FX02) over the frond. When completely dry, I tore the edges around the design. The other two layers of kraft cardstock were sprayed with Memories Mist Iridescent spray to create a shimmer to match the shimmer of the FX powder. The three brads are antique paper fasteners I found on one of my journeys, I only found three boxes so I rarely use them because I really like them! Do you have things like that, you buy them because you like them, but then you can't make yourself use them because you don't want them to be gone! I have a whole room full of things like that!

Be sure to check out the creations at the other designer's blogs, as well as the DREAM it UP! blog for more inspiration.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Welcome to another Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme! If this is your first visit, thanks for joining us! Every Thursday the Dreamweaver Design Team posts creations using the beautiful products from Dreamweaver Stencils. Sometimes we are given a challenge (usually either sketch challenges or color challenges), and sometimes we are free to create whatever we choose. This week is a free design week, so be sure to check out all the wonderful ideas from the whole team.
Lynell recently released some beautiful new stencils that are 6" x 6" and were inspired by Hawaiian quilt patterns. Check them all out by clicking on this link. Aren't they fabulous! This week I am sharing with you a piece of framed art that I created using the Torch Ginger (LX7008) stencil.

The technique was simple. Tape the stencil to a piece of white linen cardstock (6" x 6"). Use stencil brushes, the Picasso (LL332), and Brilliance Inks to color the design. Remove the stencil, clean and dry it, then tape it back over the colored image.  Apply Dreamweaver Translucent Embossing Paste (DEPT) over the image using the Paste Spreader (LM2010). This new tool is just perfect for these large stencils! Remove the stencil, clean and dry it, always making sure you keep your stencil flat while you wash and dry it. While the paste was drying, I cut my other layers: a small black layer to edge my design (6 1/4" x 6 1/4"); a lighter green layer to compliment the image (7 1/4" x 7 1/4"); another small layer of black (7 1/2" x 7 1/2"); a dark green layer (8 1/2" x 8 1/2"); and a final layer of black (8 3/4" x 8 3/4"). The white mat around the image came with the black frame (10" x 10"), so I used it as my final layer. I removed the glass from the frame before adding my artwork (the translucent paste will protect the image). This could be a great gift for those quilters in your life (or just for you!).

My schedule for the next few weeks is:
Saturday, November 12, 2011 - 1:00 pm Stampology Chicago - Dreamweaver Class
Thursday, December 1, 2011 - 6:30 pm The Cottage Stamper - Dreamweaver Class
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - 12:30 pm and 6:00 pm The Cottage Stamper - Christmas Mirror
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - 12:30 pm The Cottage Stamper - Dreamweaver Class (repeat of 12/1)

Hope to see you in a class if you are in the area.
Now head over to the DREAM it UP! blog for more inspiration, then off to the other team members to see what they came up with this week!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

WOW! It's hard to believe it's November already. The weather here has been incredibly mild and sunny, which has been just delightful, but it really makes you wonder what's in store for winter! Hope everyone in the northeast is surviving the snow storm and that your electricity is back!
This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge came to us from fellow team member Deborah March. We were given a colorway this week to use black and white.  I knew right away the look I wanted to create, then it was a matter of finding just the right stencil. Here's what I came up with this week:

Glossy Black and Glossy White Embossing Pastes were the obvious choice for my project, and the Crested Mum stencil (LL582) worked out great for the focal point image. Simply paste emboss the image on a square piece of black cardstock using the Glossy White EP, then on a square piece of white cardstock using the Glossy Black EP. When both images are completely dry cut each image in quarters, but try to make sure you cut both colors the same way. Cut two black and two white squares that are 1/4" larger than the image pieces. Adhere each piece of the Crested Mum to the opposite color matte, aligning the image so only two sides have a border. Tape them down to a slightly larger square white cardstock, then trim each side to even them all up. Go around the edge with a black marker. Emboss two pieces of white cardstock through a die cut machine using the Herringbone stencil (LJ914). Trim along one side of each Herringbone image to fit the front of a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" card.  Use black ribbon to cover the seam. Cut a black and a white square mat to center on the card, then use foam tape to mount the Crested Mum to the center of the card.  This technique actually gives you the images for two cards, which is always great.
Black and white images are so crisp and clean, and great for many occasions. Be sure to check out more black and white ideas at the DREAM it UP! blog and at the other team member blogs. Take special note of Lynell's posting for new Dream Team Members, click here to go directly to that post for all the info on how to join this great team.
Here's another sample using the same technique, but only cutting the images in half:

I'll be teaching at Stampology Chicago on Saturday, November 12th. Click here to see the samples and class information.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Dreamweaver Thursday Dream Scheme

Welcome to Thursday Dream Scheme sponsored by Dreamweaver Stencils. This week the Dream Team has been given a sketch challenge created by fellow team member Kim Parkinson. Here's the sketch

And here's what I came up with for the sketch:

I just love the new backgrounds, they add such texture and dimension to your creations.  They emboss great through a personal die cut machine, which I did with the Opto Checkerboard (LJ915) and Triangle Weave (LJ912) stencils. After embossing, use a 1/2" stencil brush to add color to the embossed designs. The Hot Air Balloon (LL3003) was paste embossed with Dreamweaver Embossing Paste (white matte paste) on a small checkered patterned cardstock. When the paste dries, put the stencil back over the paste and use small stencil brushes to color the balloon. Cut out the balloon, mount it onto black cardstock using foam tape then cut out around the balloon.  Cut the backgrounds into strips and mount on black cardstock then on checkered cardstock that matches the balloon. Add the balloon to finish it off. Lots of patterns, lots of color, but they create a fun, upbeat card.
Enjoy more creations at the other designers' blogs and at the DREAM it UP! blog too!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Welcome to our Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge. This week is designer's choice, allowing us to any stencils and products. Halloween is right around the corner and I haven't even started my cards yet, so I thought I better come up with something appropriate that would be easy too! Isn't that what we are always looking for every time we need to make cards! Here's what I came up with this week:

I had to get a little creative with my stencil choices. The background was easy, the Spider web (LJ816) on black paper using White Glossy Embossing Paste (DGWP) and sprinkled with Crystal glitter on the wet paste after the stencil was removed. Let the paste dry, trim to the edge of the web, and mount on an orange card base. The jack-o-lantern would have been easy too, if only I had the jack o lantern stencil (LL531)! But, I don't have that YET, so I looked at what I did have and chose the Fall borders (LJ874) stencil instead. The pumpkin was a nice shape and size, so I taped off the leaves that I didn't want to use at the top of the pumpkin and the small ones on the lower right to create the  perfect image. I used Matte Yellow Embossing Paste(DMYP) and a small amount of Glossy Red Embossing Paste (DGRP) mixed together to create a great orange color just right for my pumpkin (about 1 Tbsp yellow plus about 1/2 tsp red). I paste embossed one pumpkin on acetate and one on white because I wasn't quite sure what look I was going for yet. I had plenty of paste so I kept pasting more images until I ran out of orange paste. The paste goes a long way, so don't mix up too much at a time.  The paste on acetate takes much longer to dry than the one on paper.
While those were drying, I looked through my stencils to see what I had that would help me create my jack-o-lantern look. The Small fern frond (LM2006) stencil was just the thing! I simply chose the size of the frond I needed and taped off the others, here's what it looked like:

Once the orange paste on the white cardstock was dry, I put the pumpkin stencil back over the dry paste and put the "mouth" stencil over that. Black ink and a stencil brush made it easy to add the mouth to the pumpkin. I used a super fine point Sharpie to add the eyes and nose, plus put some detail on the stem and leaves. It was still a little stark, so I used a piece of foam to rouge a little black around and on the image. Edge the white cardstock with a black marker, mounted it onto a piece of orange cardstock (also edged with black) and used foam tape to mount it onto the web background. A simple Happy Halloween sentiment stamped inside will complete the card.
The acetate image was almost dry when I added some Metallic F/X Kiwi (FX10) to the leaves and a little Cocoa (FX18) to the stem. When it was completely dry, I added the face the same way as the other one. I trimmed around the image and used foam tape hidden behind the pasted areas to mount the jack-o-lantern to the web background.  Then I really wished that I had Lynell's great Spider (LS28) stencil, but I don't so I use a black spider button that I had instead.
I had a lot of fun creating these Halloween cards for you, I hope you've enjoyed them. Just remember, try to look at your stencils different ways, you might be surprised by what you see!
This is a busy weekend for me, I'm leaving tomorrow for St. Louis where I'll be teaching 4 classes at  Checkered Cottage. It should be a lot of fun (exhausting, but fun) and I can hardly wait to get there!  If you're in the area, stop by to say hello and to visit the Dreamweaver Stencil Trunk Show they are hosting in conjunction with my classes.
You definately want to stop over at the DREAM it UP! blog for information on how to join our great design team. Lynell has all the details for you. She has been posting Pink and Black images every day this past week so be sure to take the time to look back at them, they are fabulous!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Wow is it Thursday already!! Each week is flying by so fast. We have been having absolutely glorious weather here in northern Illinois. Every day is sunny and warm with just a little cool breeze to keep you comfortable. Aaaahhh, we are going to miss this very soon!
Halloween is my second favorite holiday (Christmas being the first) so I found a little time this week to get out my fall and Halloween decorations. The colors of fall are so beautiful and warm and fit into my decor just beautifully. So it may seem a little out of season to learn that our colorway challenge for this week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme was to use Pink and Black! They are a stunning combination, but for me bring more romantic thoughts to mind than ghosts and goblins! Here's what I created for this week's challenge:

The new Cameo stencil (LL3017) and Damask background (LJ907) immediately came to mind when I got this challenge. I knew exactly what I would create (I love week's like this!). To create my card I followed these simple steps:

• Emboss LJ907 Damask on a rose colored cardstock (I used my BigShot)
• Use a 3/4" stencil brush and Memento Rose Bud ink to sweep color over the embossed damask design
• Trim to 3 7/8" x  5 1/8"
• Use a piece of foam to darken around the edge of the damask
• Cut a matching piece of rose colored cardstock to 2 3/4" x 3"
• Tape the cameo stencil to the cardstock and apply Glossy Black Embossing Paste (DJKP)
• Remove and clean the stencil, set the cameo image aside to dry or use a warming tray on the lowest setting to speed the drying process
• Cut a piece of light pink cardstock to create a card base for a 4 3/4" x 6" card
• Ink the edges with the foam and Rose Bud ink
• Cut a piece of black cardstock 4" x 5 1/4" and adhere the Damask layer to it with double sided tape
• Wrap a black ribbon around the Damask layer the tie a bow
• Adhere the Damask layer to the front of the card
• Cut a piece of black cardstock 2 7/8" x 3 1/8"
• When the cameo image is dry, use the foam and Rose Bud ink to rouge some color around the paste, but try not to get any inside the image
• Adhere the Cameo to the small black layer
• Use foam tape to mount the Cameo onto the Damask background
• Color a Dreamweaver 3" white Embellishment Pin with a COPIC marker to match your design
• Insert the pin through the ribbon and catch the tip in the layers of cardstock

Ta da! a beautiful card to send to a dear friend for any or no occassion, just because.
What can you come up with for our pink and black challenge?  If you would like to share your  creation with us, you can use the Mister Linky tool over at the DREAM it UP! blog or email it to Lynell at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com  and she will post it for you.  We love to see what everyone is creating out there!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Dreamweaver Thursday Dream Scheme

October has come in like a lamb here in northern Illinois. We have had several beautiful, sunny, warm fall days in a row. I've even opened the windows again it's been so nice outside! But we know it won't last long at this time of year. The mums are planted and blooming in a wonderful array of fall colors, the trees are spectacular, and I've been collecting acorns whenever I'm out walking for my fall table.
But with fall comes the reality that Christmas is not far behind and I better start thinking about Christmas cards.  This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme is designer's choice so I'm sharing two cards using the new Nativity (LL3019) stencil released this summer. It is perfect for holiday card making when you are looking for a design that is beautiful but easy to make in large quantities!  Here they are:

The first card uses the Matte Black Embossing Paste with Metallic F/X powders applied after the paste dried. To do this, put the clean, dry stencil back over the dry paste and use a finger dauber to apply Stamp 'n Stick glue over the dry black paste. Remove the stencil and use a soft brush to apply the F/X powders on the glue.
The second card is the Metallic Gold Embossing Paste with Metallic F/X powders applied after the paste had dried for about 15-20 minutes.  The paste is not completely dry yet so you have to be careful when applying the powders. The effect is very subtle, but eye-catching up close.  I purposely took the middle picture with a flash to get the reflection of the powders. It's hard to capture properly, but looks very pretty in person.
Beautiful background papers always add the finishing touch. Good quality papers will make all the difference when putting together your final design.
Stop over to the DREAM it UP! blog for more inspiration, then on to the rest of the team blogs.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Welcome to this week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme.  This week we have been given a sketch challenge to create our designs. Here's what the sketch looks like:

And here's what I created from it:

October is right around the corner and Halloween will be here before we know it, so I chose to create a "Fall-o-ween" card.  The colors of Halloween, but more of a fall theme for the image rather than a jack-o-lantern. The dotted paper is from my left over collection of A Muse papers. I edge the pieces with black COPIC marker to make them stand out from the card front better. The pumpkin is from LL515 Pumpkins stencils. There are three pumpkins on the stencil, so I just taped off the other two pumpkins and paste embossed the single small pumpkin with Matte Black Embossing Paste. After I removed the stencil, I sprinkled the image with fine black glitter. The pumpkin is matted on a black layer then adhered to the front of the card with foam mounting tape. A little black ric rak down the side finished it off! Simple and fun!
Hope you've enjoyed today's challenge. Look for more great ideas on the other team members blogs by clicking on their names on the left side of my blog, but first check out the DREAM it UP! blog to see what Lynell  has come up with for the challenge.

Happy Creating,
Louise

Fall is in the air!

There is defiantly a chill in the evening now, but I love this time of year! Bright, sunny days and crisp, clear nights, fall is a beautiful season! The trees here in northern IL have started to turn colors and the days are getting shorter and shorter (it's the one part of fall that I don't like). Fall is all about colors. The beautiful shades of reds, oranges, golds, browns and greens, with a little purple here and there, blend together into a gorgeous collage everywhere you look!

This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme is a designer's choice week, so I just had to use some of those great fall colors when I created this week.  Here's what I came up with for you:

I know you don't normally associate a fern with fall, but this beautiful Sm fern frond (LM2006) stencil just seemed perfect for the serene feel I was going for on this project. The backgrounds were done with alcohol inks on glossy cardstock, the fern was paste embossed with Glossy Black Embossing Paste, edged with a black marker and it was all layered onto a black card. VERY easy!

Check out more great ideas on the Dream Team blogs, just click on their names on the left side of my blog,  Click here for the DREAM it UP! blog.

If you are in the Chicagoland area here's my upcoming schedule:

• Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 - 10am - 12n Dreamweaver Demo and Trunk Show at Stampology Chicago
• Saturday, Sept 24, 2011 - 1pm - 3pm Zentangle Class at Stampology Chicago
• Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011 - 12:30pm - 3:00 pm Dreamweaver Mirror Class at The Cottage Stamper
• Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011 - 6:30pm - 9:00pm Dreamweaver Mirror Class at The Cottage Stamper
• Thursday, Sept 29, 2011 - 6:30 pm - 8:30pm Dreamweaver Demo and Trunk Show at Stampology Chicago
• and if you're feeling adventurous, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011 - 12n - 3pm Dreamweaver Demo at Artist and Display in Milwaukee for National Card Making Day.

Hope to see some of you there!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Well, we definitely are having fall weather here now. The trees aren't changing yet, but I know they will be soon. I was in northern Minnesota this weekend and it was absolutely gorgeous weather, high 80's during the day, 60's at night. We were southwest of the boundary waters fire, so we didn't get the smoke, that headed east.
This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme is a colorway challenge given to us by fellow team member Lee Kellogg. We had to use gray and lime green in our creation this week. I chose the Ginger Jar (LG626) stencil with the Fan Pattern (LJ813) as the overlay. Here's what I came up with:

Instructions:

• Dry emboss the jar on white linen cardstock, by hand or with a machine
• With the stencil still over the embossed jar, use a 3/4" brush to add gray around the edges and top of the jar (I used Versafine Smokey Gray)
• Leave the jar stencil in place and tape off the cover of the jar with removable tape
• Put the Fan Pattern stencil on top of the jar stencil and tape in place
• Mix  a small amount of Kiwi Metallic F/X (FX10) in a small amount of Glossy White Embossing Paste and apply over the jar using the new Paste Spreader (LM2010)
• Remove and clean both stencils
• When the paste has dried for 10 or 15 minutes, use a soft paint brush to apply more of the Kiwi Metallic F/X powder on the Fan pattern, this gives it a much shinier finish
• Place the Fan Pattern stencil on a piece of gray cardstock and stencil with the large brush and Versafine Smokey Gray all around the edges of the card (it's easy to move the stencil and line back up the pattern as you go around the card)
• Cut three 1/4" x 4 3/4" strips of lime green paper, and adhere them near the bottom of the card
• Layer the Ginger jar on a piece of gray cardstock, then on lime green
• Adhere to the background layer and you're finished!

Hope this inspires you to create  your own lime green/gray card this week! Check out all the other great ideas on the team's blogs, and don't miss the DREAM it UP! blog too!

Happy Creating,
Louise

Dream Scheme Thursday

We had a great time last week hopping with our friends from the UK. If you missed the fun, you can still go back and look at all the great creations. Lynell posted a complete list of links on her blog at the beginning of the fun.  Click here to go back and check them all out! If you joined in the fun, be sure to check the list of winners posted on Lynell's blog too, just click here.
Now on to this week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge.  This is a designers choice week so we got to choose whatever we wanted to share with you.  This gives us a chance to share some creations that don't fit into a specific challenge. Lynell came out with some great stencils this summer at CHA, and the new Stockings by the fire (LG739) stencil really bursts with Christmas spirit! Here's one of my cards using it:

There are a few steps involved, but none of them are difficult, and it turns out sooooo sweet! Here we go:

• Use removable tape to tape the stencil to white cardstock
• Apply Glossy Red Embossing Paste (DGRP) using the new Paste Spreader (LM2010)
• Remove the stencil and let the red paste dry
• Clean and dry your stencil
• Use removable tape to mask off the bottom of the stockings and the two side "irons"
• Tape the stencil back over the dry red paste and use a regular palette knife to apply Glossy White Embossing Paste (DGWP) to the top of the stockings, then use the knife to tap on the paste and give it a little texture (like you would to frosting)
• Clean your palette knife and apply Crackle Embossing Paste (CEP) to the fire and logs area
• Remove the stencil, remove all tape from it before washing and drying it
• When those pastes are dry, put the clean, dry stencil back over the design and use small stencil brushes to add color to the fire and logs and the side irons
• Carefully sprinkle the side irons with embossing powder while the ink is still wet, then heat set the embossing powder.
• If you got white paste on the little stocking hangers, you can use an X-acto knife to scrape the white off so they are red again
• Mount on decorative paper for a great holiday card.

Hope you've enjoyed this week's creation. Don't forget to stop over at the DREAM it UP! blog for more great ideas, and then hop over to the other designer's blogs too.  Have a great week.

Happy Creating,
Louise

Winner of Blog Hop goodies!

SherylH was kind enough to relinquish one of her prizes, so I redid Fridays selection and came up with:
scrappybetty said...
I have this stencil and never thought to use it like you did. Thanks for showing 3 ways to use the same stencil. Wonderful ideas.
September 2, 2011 9:37 AM
 
So scrappybetty congratulations! Just send your address information to Lynell at the email listed below to receive your prize.
We all used http://www.random.org/ to select the winners for each day's post based on the number of comments we received. I'm happy to announce that my new best friend must be SherylH because she came up BOTH times on my postings!!! Congratulations SherylH!! Just send your address to Lynell at Dreamweaver Stencils and she will send your winnings! Her email address is: lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com

Day 5 of the HOP!

WE HAVE A WINNER FOR TODAY's POST!! it is SherylH  AGAIN!! who wrote:
SherylH said...

I enjoyed all three of your projects but the framed picture is gorgeous. The use of the Jungle leaves and flourish make a fantastic mat for the eye-popping lotus.
September 2, 2011 2:27 PM
Thanks Sheryl for your kind words, I gave the framed art to my son and his wife this weekend and they just loved it!!
Email Lynell  your snail mail address to: lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com and she will send your your blog winnings.

Boy this week is flying by. Hope you've enjoyed our first Dreamweaver Stencils/Woodware Craft combination blog hop. We have had a wonderful time sharing our ideas for additional ways to create with your stencils. But we're not finished yet! Keep hopping today and tomorrow for even more creative ideas to add to your list! Today's hop started with Francoise at: http://www.francoisecollection.blogspot.com/  If you missed her's, hop back there so you don't miss any of the fun!

When I teach a Dreamweaver class, I usually use one stencil and teach three different techniques to use with that stencil. It helps to see a stencil used several ways so you don't get in a rut and keep using it the same way all the time.  So I thought I would use the same approach for today's post. The focal point of my three designs uses LG720 - Lotus flower.

First as a piece of jewelry:

                                                                                                                                                        

 

This was so much fun. I used Grungepaper and put a light coat of white acrylic paint on it. Then I stained it with Distress Stains Spun Sugar and Fired Brick and let it dry. Place the stencil on the colored surface and use a Black Micron pen to outline the petals. I did five different sizes. The largest layer uses all the petals except the very outside row, I thought it might seem too big if I started with that row. The next layer starts one row in from the previous size, then two rows in,then one, and the smallest layer is the center.  Cut them all out, ink the edges a little and assemble using hot glue. I used my finger to wipe on some Worn Lipstick Distress Stickles on the outside layer and a little in the middle, just to give it a little sparkle.  The leaves are from LG625 - Flower and leaves stencil and are also on grungepaper that I stained with Peeled Paint Distress Stain.. They are attached with hot glue.  Add a pin back, and voila a beautiful pin to adorn a blouse, scarf or purse (or really anything!).

Second as a piece of art:

Here's how I did it. Tape the stencil to a square of white cardstock and apply Matte Yellow Embossing Paste, remove and clean the stencil and let the paste dry.  Place the clean, dry stencil back over the dry yellow paste and use small stencil brushes to apply inks (I used Brilliance Orange and Rocket Red). Remove the stencil and sprinkle with clear embossing powder, tap off all excess powder and heat set. Return the stencil to the design and apply a second coat of ink on top of the first. Remove stencil, and sprinkle with embossing powder again and heat set.  The mat came with the frame and had a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" opening. I stenciled LJ825 - Jungle leaves all around the edge using a 1/2" brush and Brilliance Thyme ink, but I kept it on the light side. After that I decided the the corner swirls we've been seeing all week are so beautiful that I would add one as an accent in one corner, so I chose LJ896 - Flourish and embossed it with Matte Black Embossing Paste.  I trimmed the Lotus flower layer to 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" and mounted it onto a 5" x 5" square of black cardstock, this gave me some "wiggle" room when I centered it in the opening of the decorated mat. I think the black frame really sets off the design and now I have a beautiful piece of art hanging in my craft room!

Last but not least, the third design is a greeting card, because that is what we "normally" do with our stencils right?

For this I used 1/2" stencil brushes, this not only puts the color down a little faster when you don't have to be really precise, it also keeps the color a little lighter. I stenciled on the front of a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square card using Brilliance Sunflower Yellow, Coral, and Lime. You can see I only used the Lime to add a few "leaves" here and there. I put the stencil and a square of white cardstock through my Big Shot to emboss the image.  Leaving the stencil over the image, I used the large stencil brush to add color to the flower. After removing the stencil, I brushed a little color in along each edge, sweeping in from the edge to the center. That was adhered to a 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" piece of lime green cardstock, and then mounted with foam mounting tape to the front of the card.

Well now you have it, three very different ways to use one stencil. Hope you've enjoyed today's post. I had so much fun creating these projects for this hop.  Leave me a comment for a chance to win a stencil then hop on over to the next stop
Lynell's blog at DREAM it UP! to continue your Hop Across the Pond!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 4 of Dreamweaver Stencils Hop Across the Pond!

WE HAVE A WINNER FOR TODAY's POST!! it is SherylH who wrote:

SherylH said...

Very nice -- love all the new background stencils.
September 1, 2011 7:13 PM

Thanks Sheryl for your kind words, it is always fun and rewarding to receive all the comments about our work!
Email Lynell your snail mail address to: lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com and she will send your your blog winnings.

Woodware Craft Collection design team to bring you innovative ways to use our wonderful Dreamweaver stencils and supplies all week long! Woodware is Dreamweaver Stencils' exclusive distributor in the UK. By the end of the week, you'll have seen stencils used in inspirational ways you just couldn't have imagined, and you'll see that, although our stencils are wonderful for paper crafting, they have SO MANY other uses too! We'll have several posts a day for you, from Monday August 29th to Saturday September 3rd. At the end of our celebration, each designer will randomly select a winner from all blog comments to receive a free Dreamweaver stencil. We are looking forward to sweet comments from you and we will send blog candy your direction. We look forward to you partying along with us! Go to the DREAM it UP! blog if you get lost, the whole schedule is listed there.

You should have hopped here from Laura at: http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com/, if not, "hop" back over there for more inspiration.
Today's project was inspired by all the new background stencils that Dreamweaver recently released at Summer 2011 CHA. I fell in love with them all, so how could I choose just one to work with!! I wanted to come up with a project that would show off several of the new designs, plus incorporate some embossed metal to promote the MercArt Metal that Dreamweaver now supplies. Here's what I did:

Though it is a little time consuming, it's really the original concept that takes the time, once you know what you want to do it comes together pretty fast.  Here are some close ups of the squares and embellishments:

The basic steps are:

• Emboss each of the four background stencils on a piece of white cardstock (emboss 2 of each design in order to get the 8 squares of each that you need)
• Use a 1/2" or 3/4" stencil brush to color each pattern whatever colors you want, any inks will work, I used Ranger Distress Inks . By using a larger brush the color goes on pretty fast. Remember to start off the edge and sweep the color in towards the center
• Trim around the edge of the design, then cut four 1 1/2" squares out of each piece of colored paper
• Adhere the embossed patterns to piece of 1 1/2" chipboard, then use a piece of foam to add more color around the edges
• You should have 8 squares of each pattern with each pattern being a different color
• Adhere them to a 10" x 10" black mirror (I got it at IKEA) in a pretty pattern.  The black between the squares really makes them stand out
• The butterflies were done with Dreamweaver stencils Heliconia Butterfly stencil (LM257) and small piece of colored aluminum. I used a Big Shot to run the metal and stencil through to emboss it, sanded the raised aluminum then colored them with alcohol inks.
• The butterflies were cut out then mounted using foam mounting tape
• The Tall Vase stencil (LM196) was first paste embossed with Glossy Blue Embossing Paste
• After the blue paste was dry, I put the stencil back over the paste and applied Dreamweaver's Crackle Embossing Paste
• If you've never used the Crackle Paste, you are in for a treat. It crackles on its own as it dries and is white so any color you want can be applied with stencil brushes after it dries.  Sometimes I hurry the process a little by heating towards the end, but you won't get as small of cracks if you do that
• I cut out the crackled and colored vase, adhered it to black cardstock and cut that out leaving a small black edge around the whole vase
• Use a guillotine cutter to cut some black strips and tape some to the back of the vase
• Mount the vase onto the squares at the lower left using foam mounting tape

These make great gifts for any occasion and you can customize the colors and embellishments to your own home decor. I'll be teaching this in a class at The Cottage Stamper in St. Charles IL on September 27th, and at Checkered Cottage in Kirkwood MO on October 22nd.  Call either store to sign up.
Here's a list of the supplies used:
Stencils:
LJ912 - Triangle Weave
LJ913 - Houndstooth
LJ914 - Herringbone
LJ915 - Opto Checkerboard
LM257 - Heliconia Butterfly
LM196 - Tall Vase
Embossing Paste:
Glossy Blue - DGBP
Crackle - CEP
Tools:
1/2" natural handle brush - NHB-1/2"
Palette Knife - DPK
Wide Palette Knife - WDPK

All this, and LOTS more can be found HERE and in the UK HERE.

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a free stencil. Then hop on over to the final stop of the day at Wendy's blog. Just click on the link below:
                Wendy at: http://www.papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com/

Thanks for hopping with us today, I hope you've enjoyed everything so far, but don't forget we have two more days to go full of great ideas and prizes!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Dreamweaver and Woodware Craft Blog Hop!!

Don't miss the great HOP that started today over at the DREAM it UP! blog! Great ideas and lots of opportunity to win prizes! Click on the link above to hop over to Lynell's blog to start your journey of inspiration!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Another week has flown by, my daughter is finishing up her first week of college! When did this happen!! But, she is happy and excited so I guess I can handle it!
This week at the Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme we have a free week. These are great because we create so many things that we don't always get the chance to share if we have a specific challenge.  Here are a couple of  cards using new stencils that were released at CHA this summer:

This card couldn't be easier. Tape the new Silhouette stencil (LL3017) to navy blue cardstock, apply Pearlescent Embossing Paste, let it dry, and mount it on coordinating  papers to create a wonderful card.
Here's a bonus for the week. It's not to early to be working on Christmas cards and Dreamweaver released some beautiful new designs, this is one of them:

This was done using the new Holiday Greeting stencil (LJ917) and the cloisonne technique. Tape the stencil to white cardstock and apply Matte Yellow Embossing Paste. Let the paste dry, then place the clean dry stencil back over the paste and use small stencil brushes to apply pigment inks to the paste. Remove the stencil and sprinkle with clear embossing powder, heat to set. If you would like the color to be deeper, put the stencil back over the design, add more color, and repeat the steps to emboss.
Hope you've enjoyed these ideas, don't forget to check out the DREAM it UP! blog and the other designer's blogs too!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge is a colorway given to us by fellow team member Wendy Jordan. The challenge was to use red, ivory, and kraft together in our creations. This turned out to be very challenging to me today, you know how some days nothing you create really gets you excited, but then when you look at them a little while later they don't look so bad after all! After I finished the challenge for today, I realized that I used the same stencil as last week, I guess that means I really like it!  Here's my card for the challenge:

Very simple. Pearlescent paste on kraft cardstock, sprinkled with Fauna Ultrafine glitter. Layer it up, and you're finished. I love easy cards.
Be sure to stop by the DREAM it UP! blog and the other team members for more creative ideas.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

It's Thursday already and time for our Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge. This week is designer's choice so I'm am sharing a card I made using the new Skates stencil (LL3016) and one of the new background stencils (LJ913). Here it is:

The blue metal from MercArt is just perfect for this. It gives it a silvery, icy look for a beautiful winter card. To start I cut a piece of blue metal so it was larger than my skate stencil. Then I placed the stencil on the blue side of the metal and taped it in place. Turn the whole thing over to the back and use a large paper stump to rub over the design until you can see the image pretty well. I then took a nylon tip embossing tool for metal and refined the design around all the edges. Use the paper stump to smooth out the larger openings. Remove the stencil and place the design blue side up on top of the background stencil. Use the paper stump to rub the metal into the stencil openings creating a debossed image of the background.  Sand the skates and background with a fine sanding block and refining with a fiberglass brush to really clean the blue off the skates. Use the paper stump to smooth the background flat again. Place the image on a piece of suede (blue side down) and roll a decorative embossing wheel around the edges to create a border. Use strong double sided adhesive to mount the metal onto a metallic silver mat, then on blue. Pop onto a card front with foam tape, and embellish with silver brads.

Hope you've enjoyed today's card and are inspired to try some metal embossing of your own. It is fun and beautiful! Here are a couple of other metal projects I've done.

Don't forget to check out the DREAM it UP! blog as well as the other designer's blogs, just click on their names listed down the left side of my blog.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Time for another Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme. This week we were given a sketch challenge to follow. Here it is:

And here is what I created:
Sorry this sample had to be removed. Watch for great samples of Zentangling with stencils in Design Originals upcoming Zentangle book.

The balloon stencil was outlined with a Micron pen then the Zentangle technique was used to "fill" the balloon. Mount the balloon on a black mat. The background patterns were created by embossing four of the new background stencils on white paper with my Big Shot. I used a large stencil brush to add color to each background and cut them to the needed size and mounted them on a black mat. Use foam mounting tape to add the balloon to the backgrounds.
These new backgrounds are wonderful and so versatile! You'll be seeing a lot of them in the future.
Now check out the other team member blogs and don't miss the DREAM it UP! blog as well.
Happy Creating,
Louise