Thursday, January 30, 2014

Clean and Simple!

Well, we have almost made it through January! I will be so happy to have some days with above zero temperatures!
The Dreamweaver Stencils design team has an extra week this month to share more great samples from the new release of stencils. This week I'm sharing a fun card that could be used for a boy or man's birthday, or for someone you know who loves elephants!

This is very easy, here's how it's done:

  • Tape the Pop Rectangles stencil (LJ929) along the left side of an A6 (4 5/8" x 6") piece of  green cardstock with removable tape
  • Use a palette knife and paste spreader to apply Glossy White Embossing Paste over the design
  • Remove and clean the stencil, let the paste dry
  • While that is drying, tape the Open Elephant stencil (LG756) to white cardstock with removable tape
  • On a piece of freezer paper place a small dollop of Glossy White Embossing Paste and about 1/4" tsp of Pewter Metallic F/X Powder, mix them together using a palette knife
  • Apply the colored paste to the Elephant stencil 
  • Remove and clean the stencil, let the paste dry
  • Cut a small green mat (1/4" larger than the elephant layer) for behind the elephant and a white layer for behind that (1/8" larger than the green layer)
  • Cut a white card A6 size (6" x 9 1/4")  and fold in half
  • Round the corners of all the layers
  • Mount the Pop Rectangles layer on the card front
  • Mount the elephant on the small green and white layers
  • Use foam tape to adhere the elephant to the card front
The Open Elephant is also great for Zentangle. I will be teaching a Zentangle class featuring this great stencil at Memories and Beyond on Tuesday, February 4th. Call the store to sign up! Here's what we will be creating:

Now hop on over to these other team member blogs for other samples.

Louise Healy

Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Lose Some Weight!

That's right, that's the theme of this month's Dreamweaver Stencils challenge! Of course, we mean it in conjunction with card making!  The team is still sharing the new designs recently released at CHA. There are TEN new stencils and SIX new die cuts! They are available and shipping so be sure to tell your local store to hurry up and get them ordered!
This week I am featuring the new Open Fish (LL3038) and Large Scales (LX7023) stencils on a Zentangled card. Here it is:

I just love how the Large Scales make the perfect bubbly waves when they are turned upside down! The great thing about both stencils is they already have nice "sections" to do your tangles in so you really don't need strings (a technical term used by Zentanglers!)

  • I started by using my Black Micron 01 pen to outline the Open Fish stencil on white cardstock
  • The tangles were added with a Black Micron 005 pen, and shading with a pencil and blending stump
  • Copic markers were used to ad a little color 
  • I trimmed close to the design and edged with a black marker, mounted it on a blue mat edged with black, and added foam tape to the back 
  • The "bottom of the sea" was created by outlining three rows of the Large Scales stencil with the Black Micron 01 on blue paper (matches the mat on the fish layer)
  • Add some seaweedy-looking tangles, color them, edge the layer with black
  • Mount the scales on the front of your card, add the fish, and there you have it, a fun, colorful card perfect for birthdays, graduations, "have a Fin-tastic day!", you'll think of something!
The B team has more great creations to share with you this week. Check it out!




Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Clean and Simple Cards

During the month of January, the Dreamweaver Stencils design team was given the challenge "Lose Some Weight!" (AKA Clean and Simple). Clean and Simple is one of my favorite ways to create because it allows you to say "no, it doesn't need that, it's pretty just how it is!". Sometimes when we get new toys to play with, that is hard to remember! The team has been creating with the beautiful new stencils just released this last weekend at CHA, and today in the mail I got my box of the new die cuts! I can hardly wait to play with those! If you haven't seen the new products yet, here's a peek at them.



Like I said, it has been fun, fun, fun, with new fun just beginning!
It's hard to choose which to share with you and still follow our theme, so I decided to share multiple images of one design to show the versatility of these wonderful stencils.
Here is the card I created for Lynell using the beautiful new Swirly Hearts stencil (LJ928):
LJ928 - Swirly Hearts Letterpress Technique

And here are the cards for my upcoming class at Memories and Beyond in Downers Grove using the same stencil:
LJ928 Swirly Hearts - Sludge Paste Technique

LJ928 Swirly Hearts - Double Glitter Technique

LJ928 Swirly Hearts - Dry Embossed with the Strie Technique applied
The class is on Tuesday, January 28th at 1:00 pm and repeated at 6:00 pm. Give Memories and  Beyond a call to reserve you place!
The other team members have more great samples for you too!


Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Clean and Simple (CAS)

It seems like everyone always pledges at the New Year to simplify life and lose weight. Well we decided we would make that our Dreamweaver Stencils challenge for the month of January - create Clean and Simple (CAS) cards with not too much froo froo (you know, all those extras we always think a card needs). It is also CHA weekend this weekend, so we are sharing some of the latest designs from Dreamweaver too! CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 10 NEW STENCILS!!
Each week this month I will be posting with the new release stencils, and by the end of the month with the new DIE CUTS! Yes, that's right Dreamweaver has added more die cuts. CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM!
This week I used two of the new stencils to create a modified Zentangle card, we call them "sten-tangled" because we use another stencil to make our design. Confused yet?  It's obvious once you see it:

LL3037 - Zen Butterfly with overlay
LX7025 - Crusade
Isn't the new Zen Butterfly (LL3037) gorgeous!! It is especially striking with the new Crusade background (LX7025) as an overlay to create that Zentangled look! It was like they were made for each other.

This is very easy.

  • Dry emboss the butterfly stencil on white cardstock that is slightly larger than the stencil (so you get the outside border when you emboss it)
  • Carefully turn the embossed image over to the front leaving the butterfly stencil in place
  • Overlay the Crusade stencil so the design is symetrical, tape in place with removable tape
  • Use a Black Micron pen (01) to trace the openings of the Crusade stencil
  • Remove the overlay and outline the butterfly openings
  • Remove the butterfly stencil and use a Black Micron 005 to add little lines to each opening and to fill in the body and antennae
  • Lay the crusade  stencil on white cardstock and use a Micron 01 to trace a strip of the design
  • Trim all the piece to fit your card, layering the butterfly and strip on black mats
  • Place the strip down the far left side of the card, use foam tape to apply the butterfly
  • Embellish with some small black gems
Be sure to go to the other team blogs to see how they have used the new designs!

Happy Creating,
Louise
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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy Birthday!

Happy New Year!

Did you know that we're celebrating the Queen's birthday this week? Well...the Queen of Stencils, Lynell Harlow, that is. Actually, her birthday is on Saturday, but we're surprising her by posting birthday cards in her honor today. Nothing like making you feel OLD sooner than necessary, right Lynell? You'll even see a few familiar names in our lineup, as some of the teaching team are whooping it up for her as well.
 
In addition to our birthday party, we are also beginning a new year and a new monthly challenge. In honor of all those resolutions we hope to achieve, our challenge is "Losing the Weight...AKA Clean and Simple (CAS)". If we all try really hard to simplify our design-work without losing our creativity, we can all say at the end of the month that we've lost some weight! Maybe not off of our waistlines, but at least off of our cards! Gotta start somewhere!
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