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