Class on Sunday, March 6th

This Sunday, March 6th, I will be teaching a Dreamweaver Stencils class at Stampology Chicago using the beautiful new Owl on Oak stencil (LL3014).  We'll be creating three cards using three different techniques and you get to keep the stencil. Give Donna or her staff at Stampology a call to register for class.  Hope to see you on Sunday.
Here are the cards:

Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

It's time for another Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge! This week we were given a great sketch challenge from fellow Dream Team member Terrece. Sketch challenges are always fun and you'll be able to see lots of creative interpretations of this sketch on all the other team members blogs too. The DREAM it UP! blog will have another great version of this as well.

This is the sketch we were given:

and here is what I created.


This is the Grape Cluster stencil (LL568) from Dreamweaver Stencils. It works great for many techniques, but today I kept it simple. Tape the stencil to green cardstock and apply the Matte Black Embossing Paste (DMBP). Remove and clean your stencil. Allow the paste to dry for about 10 or 15 minutes, then use a small soft brush to gently apply Metallic F/X powders to the grapes and leaves. Let the paste dry completely. Use a black Micron pen to add some fine lines to the leaves for that finishing touch. They are hard to see in the picture, but those veins really give the leaves dimension. I mounted the green square on a small black mat, then on a larger purple mat. The background paper looks like crumpled paper and had veins of purple running through it so I just add some Distress Dusty Concord around the edges to tie it all together. The four strips are from the same purple paper that I used for the mat, they are 1/4" wide. The finished card is 5" x 7" (A7) because by the time you layer up the grapes it gets a little large for an A2 size card. I used a black COPIC marker on the edges of all the purple paper and around the outside edge of the card. I have found that this really helps each layer to stand out more and gives the edge of the card a more finished look.

Hope you try to create something from this challenge, it's a great layout for lots of different images.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Upcoming Class

Aren't these little owls wonderful! They are called Owl Pair (LL3013) and are part of the new release from Dreamweaver Stencils. We'll be working with this great stencil in my class at The Cottage Stamper in St. Charles, IL on March 15th. If you're in the area, give Nancy at The Cottage Stamper a call to sign up to be part of the fun!

Check back on Thursday for more great samples from the Dream Team, we'll be sharing our creations based on a sketch challenge we've been given.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Valentine's Day Hop, it was so much fun! Tracey was the lucky winner from my blog. Congratulations Tracey!

Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Wow!! What a week! The Valentine Blog Hop was a blast with over 40 participants and lots of "hoppers"! If you haven't had time to check out all the great ideas, you have until 6:00 pm today to leave some comments to be eligible to win some great prizes. Click here to find out the details See my previous posting for my entry into the hop.

Today is Thursday, so you know what that means...another challenge from Dreamweaver Stencils! This weeks challenge is a designer's choice, so in keeping with the whole February/Valentine/Love theme that we've had going, I chose another beautiful heart design.

This is Dreamweaver Stencils' Floral Heart (LG712), just perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, a special someone...well you get the idea! I used Dreamweaver Embossing Paste (DEP basic white matte) on yellow cardstock. After the paste was dry (about 20-30 minutes or less on a warming tray), I put the clean stencil back over the dry paste and used small stencil brushes to add color to the flowers and foliage, pretty much any ink will work. Ticket punch the corners, mount it on coordinating layers, add a ribbon and gem to finish the design. This design works particularly well for a square card, but looks wonderful as a standard A2 size as well.

The rest of the Dream Team would love for you to click over to their blogs too. Just click on their names down the left side of my blog, and don't forget the DREAM it UP! blog! If you sign up as a follower on Lynell's blog by 6:00 pm EST tonight, you're eligible to win an additional prize!

Happy Creating,

Louise

Happy Valentines's Day!

Exciting news today! Dreamweaver Stencils is a sponsor for a Virtual Valentine's Day Blog Hop. There are over 40 participants just waiting for you to leave them a little "love" comment! If you do, you'll have the chance to win some great prizes from the various sponsors.
The hop starts over at Taylor Usry's blog where you'll find a complete list of participating designers who just love sharing ideas with you! It's quite an impressive list, but don't worry, you have until Thursday, February 17th at 6:00 pm EST to leave a comment on the various blogs. Taylor will use random.org to select the winners from the various blogs and all winners will be announced on Friday. This is a great way to get new ideas and inspiration from all these talented artists! You probably reached my blog from fellow Dream Team member Laura's blog, if not, check it out then hop back here to continue the fun!

We are, of course, posting ideas with a Valentine/Love theme. The card I chose for the hop is one of my favorites from the new Dreamweaver Stencils designs that were just released at CHA. I've shown a similar card before, but this one just has such a romantic feel to it, that I couldn't resist using it for this hop.

It's very easy. Run the Small Damask (LJ907) stencil and white cardstock through your Big Shot (or any personal die cut machine) then trim it around the edge of the embossed design. Round the corners, use a 1/2" or 3/4" stencil brush to sweep Brilliance Beige ink from the edge toward the center, making sure you keep turning the design until all four sides have been done. Do the same technique using the new Tole Heart (LL3010). Mount the damask layer onto dark brown cardstock, and use foam mounting tape to layer the heart on the background. Add a beautiful wide red ribbon for the finishing touch. Who could ever doubt that you love them if you gave them this beautiful card!
So, keep hopping to Dream Team member Wendy's blog for more great ideas! Go to Taylor Usry's blog for the complete list, but don't forget to check all the Dream Team blogs as well as the DREAM it UP! blog.

Happy Creating,
Louise

Thursday Dream Scheme

Well, it has stopped snowing, but baby it's cold out there! It was -17 degrees F when we got up this morning! The sun is glistening on the blanket of snow luring you into thinking it would be a beautiful morning for a walk...then you walk out to get the paper and WHAM!!! the cold hits you in the face. But sitting inside it truly is a beautiful day, I love any day the sun shines.

It's time for the Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge again. This week's challenge was given by Terrece and is a Valentine's Day colourway challenge of pink and brown. I love these two colors together, they are a perfect match. My interpretation brings in a little yellow and blue too, but the main focus is pink and brown.

This technique is called "Joseph's Coat". It is easy and fun. I chose LM148 Birdhouse stencil because it has detail, but some nice open spaces too that let the pattern of the paper come through. Choose a patterned paper, stripes or small patterns work the best. Tape your stencil on the paper and use Translucent Embossing Paste over the image. When it is dry, rub a dark ink over the whole image using a 1/2" stencil brush to help get the color into the lines, this takes patience to get a nice coat of ink. Don't worry about the ink on the paste, it will come off. and don't worry if it looks awful at this point, it's supposed to look like that! After you have enough ink, place the clean stencil back over the pasted design and use a damp paper towel (just barely damp) to wipe the ink off the paste, keep turning to a clean spot on the paper towel until you have the whole image cleaned off. Remove the stencil and cut out your image leaving a little edge around the design. When you cut your background paper (that matches the paper your image is on), try to cut it so you will be able to line up the designs on the image and background. You can't always to that, but it looks really great when it works! I usually use foam tape on the back of the image to make it pop out. Now click on over to the DREAM it UP! blog and the other Dream Team blogs to see what they've come up with for this fun challenge!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Creating,

Louise

Good Morning!

Yesterday morning we awoke to a winter wonderland! All the dire predictions for the Chicagoland area came true as the blizzard swept through our town. Our side of the street got the big drifts, which made it a challenge to even get out of the garage to start shoveling! Our poor little snow blower got quite the workout. Normally it can handle the small snowfalls we get throughout the winter, but this was quite a bit deeper than it is used to handling. You could almost hear it saying "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" (remember "The Little Engine that Could")!! It took several hours and some help from a neighbor, but we have a cleared driveway. Oh well, it is winter.


This week's Dreamweaver Stencils Thursday Dream Scheme challenge was a designer's choice so I wanted to share this great new stencil design that was just released at CHA. It's the new Rooster (LG732) design from Dreamweaver Stencils and you can just see that he is crowing with delight at the break of a new day!

There are so many great ways to use this new design. For this one, I used several different colors of inks and small stencil brushes to apply color to the image on white cardstock. I used the Picasso stencil (LL332) to help on small areas. After cleaning the stencil, tape it back over the stenciled image using painters tape and apply Translucent Embossing Paste. Let it dry, then mount it on decorative papers for a wonderful all occasion card.

Stay tuned for lots more samples with the new designs. Don't forget to click over to the DREAM it UP! blog to see more great samples, and, of course, check out the rest of the Dream Team blogs as well!

Happy Creating,

Louise