Day 10 Tim's Online Class

Well, I'm a day late, but it's not Monday yet so there's still time to post my Day 10 sample from Creative Chemistry 101 with Tim Holtz.  It's been ten wonderful sessions and tons of fun playing with our inks and stamps to create 25 beautiful technique tags. Here is the last one, enjoy!

Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 9 Tim's Online Class

For my weekly Dreamweaver Stencil post click here.

Today in Day 9 of Creative Chemistry 101 with Tim Holtz, we worked with Perfect Pearls and Distress Inks to add a little shimmer to our work. The results are beautiful up close and personal, but  not as stunning in photos. But...photos are all I have, so here they are:

Happy Creating,
Louise

Spring Clean (& Simple)

Our final posting for the Dreamweaver Stencils March challenge is here already. Don't forget you have a couple of more days to link your Clean & Simple (CAS) creation on the DREAM it UP! blog to be eligible to win a prize. We have lots more fun coming up in April that you won't want to miss. The second week of April the Dreamweaver Design Team will be doing a week long blog partnership with the team over at Stampendous.  We'll be combining our products and theirs into our creations that week so mark your calendar, you won't want to miss a day of it!
The weather here in  northern IL has been unseasonably warm this month. Our spring season usually lasts several weeks with something new in bloom every week. This year it seems like it has all been crammed into 2 weeks with everything in bloom at once!  While it is lovely, it is pretty hard on the sinuses, and will be over much too quickly.  As I was going through my samples trying to decide what to share this week, I came across this beautiful sample of the newly re-released Plum blossom shape (LM219) that I don't think I've shared with you yet. This card reminds me of all the beautiful cherry blossoms we used to see when we lived near Washington, D.C., they were spectacular.

I used a modified version of the double glitter technique to create this card. Here's how it's done:

• Hold the stencil on a piece of Dreamweaver Double-sided Mounting Paper and do a rough cut around the design coming out about 1/2" to 3/4" from the stencil (you are cutting it slightly larger then the actual design)
• Cut a second piece the same way as the first
• Remove one side of the release paper and stick the mounting paper to a piece of white cardstock
• Repeat for the second piece
• Use Dreamweaver handmade Hawaiian Soap to lightly coat the back of the stencil, use a larger stencil brush to brush off any large flakes, especially in the openings
• Remove the remaining release paper from the first piece of cardstock and place the stencil, soap side down, in the center of the sticky paper making sure you have a border of sticky paper all the way around the stencil
• Cover the design with black fun flock and use your fingers to rub it into the openings and around the edge of the stencil (you can rub pretty hard) making sure you get good coverage in all the openings
• Use a larger stencil brush to brush off all the excess, then wipe across it with a Swiffer cloth to get the last of the loose flock
• Turn the design upside down on a clean piece of paper and carefully remove the paper from the stencil (be sure to keep the stencil flat)
• Sprinkle pink glitter on the exposed sticky paper, use the release paper to help rub it in a little
• Trim around the design leaving about 1/8" of black flock all around the edge
• Check the back of the stencil to make sure there is no black flock stuck to the soap, if there is, wash a dry the stencil and reapply the soap, if not,  just see if you need a little touch up of soap
• Working with the second piece of cardstock, remove the release paper and place the stencil soap side down on the sticky paper
• Sprinkle with Opaque Gold glitter, using the release paper to help you rub it into the openings and around the edge of the stencil
• Brush off any excess
• Turn it stencil side down on a clean surface and remove the paper from the stencil
• Sprinkle with Opaque Black glitter, rubbing it in with the release paper
• Trim around the design leaving about 1/8" of gold glitter all around the design
• Emboss the Art nouveau flourish (LJ919) on pink paper (either by hand or with a machine)
• With the stencil still in place, use a small stencil brush to add a deeper pink ink on the design
• Mount the pink layer on a black card
• Adhere the black and gold flower near the upper left corner, above the flourish
• Use foam mounting tape to add the pink flower below the black flower

I hope you've been inspired to try this technique, it is so easy and always looks wonderful. Now stop over at the other team members blogs to see what they have created this week.

DREAM it UP!

Pam Hornschu
Laura Drahozal
Wendy Jordan
Terrece Siddoway
Kristi Van Doren
Georgia Sommers
Lee Kellogg
Liz Martin
Cyndi Bundy
Cherylynn Moser
Jessie Hurley

Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 8 TIm's Online Class

This week is flying by, I can't believe we only have 2 more classes for Creative Chemistry 101 with Tim Holtz. Each day has been truly unique and even though I have been using Distress products for years, it is amazing what I didn't know! But that is why classes are so important, you pick up little hints that make working with a certain product easier or better or both!
Here are my Day 8 tags:

Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 7 Tim's Online Class

Three more cool techniques from Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry 101 class. Thank goodness for the scrubbie for cleaning hands because we certainly are getting inky! Here are my samples for Day 7:

Stay tuned for more samples tomorrow!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 6 Tim's Online Class

Well another week of fun has begun in Creative Chemistry 101 with Tim Holtz. Each day we learn more and more about how important the right products are to get successful results. Not all papers are created equal!
Here are my samples from today:

Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 5 Tim's Online Class

Hard to believe the first week of Creative Chemistry 101 with Tim Holtz is over, it has been a blast! Here are my tags from Day 5. Enjoy.

Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 4 Tim's Online Class

For my Thursday Dreamweaver challenge post click here.

Day 4 of Creative Chemistry 101 with Tim Holtz was another day of inky fun. I'm sad to say that I couldn't do the third technique today because I don't have all the supplies with me, but when I get home I'll try it and post it. Here are my creations for today:

Enjoy the fun.
Happy Creating,
Louise

Spring Clean (& Simple)

This week the Dreamweaver Stencils design team continues our March challenge of creating CAS designs (clean and simple). Clean and simple is wonderful when you need a great card in a hurry, or to really highlight one our beautiful stencils. This is my favorite way to create, I just love letting the stencils speak for themselves. Of course, it really sets them off when you use beautiful papers too. Good quality cardstock and decorative papers "make" the card.  Here's my design for this week:

Clean and simple often equates to "simple elegance".  I think this card has that elegant feel not only from the stencil, but the colors and textures too...the sparkle of the glitter on the silver paste, the smooth satiny look and feel of the ribbon, the shimmer of the background paper...they all combine to create a simple but elegant card. Perfect for weddings, anniversaries, showers, really any special occasion.
Here are the simple steps for this design:

• tape the Heart bouquet (LL425) stencil to white cardstock with removable tape
• use the Paste spreader (LM2010) to apply Metallic Silver Embossing Paste over the design
• remove the stencil and put in a pan of water (you can clean and dry it later)
• sprinkle the wet paste with Ultrafine Crystal glitter from Art Glitter
• set the image aside to dry (about 40 minutes, less on a warming tray)
• cut a piece of white shimmer paper to match the front of an A6 (4 3/4" x 6") card
• punch two holes near the bottom center of the shimmer cardstock, about 1" apart
• from the front, thread an end of the silver ribbon through each hole
• criss-cross them in the back (keeping them as smooth as possible) and bring the ends back through the opposite hole
• wrap the extra ribbon around the edge and tape in the back (cut off excess)
• layer the dry Heart bouquet on a metallic silver paper
• use foam tape to mount the heart a white and silver layer
• tape to the front of the card

Stop over to the other designers blogs to see more great ideas. Just click on their names to spring to their blogs. 

DREAM it UP!

Pam Hornschu
Laura Drahozal
Wendy Jordan
Terrece Siddoway
Kristi Van Doren
Georgia Sommers
Lee Kellogg
Liz Martin
Cyndi Bundy
Cherylynn Moser
Jessie Hurley

We would love to have you join our fun this month, just create a CAS card using the wonderful products from Dreamweaver Stencils, take a picture and load it on your blog or forum, go to the DREAM it UP! blog to add your link using the Mr. Linky tool, sit back and enjoy the praise!

Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 3 Samples Tim's Online Class

Well our fingers are getting inkier and inkier as we continue the fun in Tim Holtz's online Creative  Chemistry 101 class. Here are my samples for Day 3. I was a little limited on supplies because I am out of town, but I'm fairly pleased with how they turned out! I had to improvise on a couple of things as you can see.

Happy Creating,
Louise

Day 2 Samples Tim's Online Class

Here are my samples from Tim Holtz's online class Day2.

What fun we are having getting inky!
Happy Creating,
Louise

Spring Clean (and Simple) week 3

March is flying by already. Here we are at week three of the Dreamweaver Stencils March challenge to create Clean and Simple (CAS) cards or projects. This week I am bringing you a VERY CAS card featuring the new Festive Thank You stencil (LL3022), Matte Yellow Embossing Paste and Orange Crush Ultrafine glitter from Art Glitter. Put all that together with some fun paper and you have a great card in no time at all. Here's my design:

• Start by taping the Festive Thank You stencil to a raspberry colored paper with removable tape
• Apply Matte Yellow Embossing Paste with the Paste Spreader (LM2010)
• Remove the stencil and immediately sprinkle the wet paste with the glitter, tap off excess
• Clean and dry the stencil
• Let the paste dry (about 15-20 minutes)
• Mount on coordinating decorative papers for a fun Thank You card

Hope you've enjoyed today's creation. Don't forget that you are always welcome to join in our fun with your own creations. Just hop over to the DREAM it UP! blog to add a link with Mr. Linky to your creation. Each month two luck winners are chosen from all participants to win a prize. Remember, you can only win if you play! If you don' have a way to post your creations, that's not a problem, just email Lynell a photo of your card and she will post it for you. So... GET BUSY CREATING!
The rest of the team has some great ideas to share with you too. Here are the links to their blogs for even more inspiration.

DREAM it UP!

Pam Hornschu
Laura Drahozal
Wendy Jordan
Terrece Siddoway
Kristi Van Doren
Georgia Sommers
Lee Kellogg
Liz Martin
Cyndi Bundy
Cherylynn Moser
Jessie Hurley

Happy Creating,
Louise

Spring Clean (and Simple) week 2

I'm off to Florida this week to watch my daughter's college golf team play in some tournaments. The talent of all the young ladies participating is amazing. But I wouldn't leave without scheduling another creation for this month's Dreamweaver Stencils challenge. Remember, this month we are all featuring "clean and simple" designs. I love this style, as you probably have noticed, most of my cards follow this theme.
This week I used another new stencil, the Cherry Blossom shape (LL3024). This is an unusual stencil because it is actually the shape of the blossom, which can make it challenging to work with depending on the technique. Here's my creation:

This is VERY simple.

• Emboss the design on a square of natural cardstock by running the stencil and paper, along with a rubber embossing mat, through a personal die cut machine (I use the Big Shot)
• The flower "petals" will be "de-bossed", while the stamens, center and edges will be embossed (raised)
• Use either a 3/4" or 1/2" stencil brush to sweep colors in from each side (stria), I used Brilliance Gold and Beige
• Mount the flower on a slightly larger square of natural cardstock
• Adhere to a brown card on the diagonal and trim away the points hanging over the edges
• Add a coordinating ribbon for a beautiful finishing touch

I hope I've inspired you to try a creation of your own to enter into our challenge this month. Remember, you have to play to win! For more inspiration, check out the rest of the team creations by clicking on their names below.

DREAM it UP!

Pam Hornschu
Laura Drahozal
Wendy Jordan
Terrece Siddoway
Kristi Van Doren
Georgia Sommers
Lee Kellogg
Liz Martin
Cyndi Bundy
Cherylynn Moser
Jessie Hurley

Happy Creating,
Louise

Spring Clean (and simple)

The "extra" day of February didn't seem to help me catch up with everything I wanted to accomplish last month! But here we go with March and a new challenge from Dreamweaver Stencils. Thank you to everyone who play along with us last month, it definitely was challenging to come up with multiple creations using the "Green" theme! During the month of March our theme will be Spring Clean (and simple), meaning keep your design simple with clean lines (well, that's how I'm interpreting it at least).
Spring is one of my favorite times of year (fall's my other). I love the longer days, the warmth from the sun, the bulbs starting to grow, new life everywhere. Spring also brings the Easter season, and the beautiful new Open cross (LJ918) from Dreamweaver is the perfect design for your Easter cards. Its clean, simple lines fit the challenge theme perfectly. Here's  what I created with it:

With a little touch of Zentangle added to the open design, this cross suits the clean and simple theme of this month's challenge. Here are the steps:

• Tape the Open cross stencil to white cardstock
• Use an 01 or 02 black Micron pen to outline the design
• Remove the stencil
• Use a pencil to lightly form the curves of the vine
• Use the Micron to create your vine and add leaves all along it
• Add some scrolls to each section of the cross
• Color with COPIC markers
• Mount on a small black mat, then onto a green card
• Simple but beautiful, the perfect Easter card

I hope you will take the time to play along with us this month. Don't forget, you have all month to add a link to your creation or email Lynell a photo and she will post it for you. And, of course, you won't want to miss the other designers' blogs to see what Spring Clean(ing) they have created today. Just click on their names below to "spring" over to their sites (sorry, I just had to say it!).

DREAM it UP!

Pam Hornschu
Laura Drahozal
Wendy Jordan
Terrece Siddoway
Kristi Van Doren
Georgia Sommers
Lee Kellogg
Liz Martin
Cyndi Bundy
Cherylynn Moser
Jessie Hurley 

My upcoming classes are at The Cottage Stamper in St. Charles, IL on Tuesday, March 13th, and at Stampology Chicago on Saturday, March 17th. Both classes are featuring Zentangle with Dreamweaver Stencils. Check out their websites for samples.

Happy Creating,

Louise