Friday, April 25, 2014

Dreamweaver-Stampendous Blog Hop Grande Finale!

Wow, what a fun week filled with so many creative ideas from the Dreamweaver Stencils and Stampendous design teams. Wonderful work everyone! Thank you for all of the comments our "viewers" have left us, I can't tell you how inspiring they are to me! Who knew a theme of "Faces of art" could be so much fun!
So for the Grand Finale, I wanted to create something really unusual. Then I realized, I'd done that on Wednesday, with my canvas project (well, it was unusual for me anyway!). So what to do, what to do...some days it is more challenging than others to come up with ideas. Here's what I came up with for today:
Bald. Bold. Beautiful.
I told you it would be unusual! I created this in honor of my little 8 year old great-niece who has Alopecia Areata. She is one of the bravest and most beautiful people I know! They recently had a walk in MN to help raise research money and awareness. It's not life threatening, and she leads the normal life of an 8 year old, just a bald 8 year old. Their theme was "Bald. Bold. Beautiful." Here she is with the walk organizer.


This year in second grade, she went around to the other classrooms with the school nurse to explain why she is sometimes allowed to wear a hat in school (on the days she doesn't feel like wearing a wig). She told her Mom that it was OK, she could do it herself and didn't need her to come to school! The nurse said she did a great job explaining it and answering all the questions the kids had! We are so very proud of her. So to all the people with Alopecia Areata  and those who have gone bald due to cancer or other reasons, this one's for YOU!

To learn more about Alopecia Areata go to www.naaf.org

  • The Stampendous Blossom Beauty stamp  face was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, the head template was placed over it and I lightly traced the top of the head with pencil, cut the whole thing out, colored it with COPIC markers.
  • The Open butterfly stencil (LG740) was pasted embossed with glossy red embossing paste (you can make red by putting red tube acrylic paint into the Translucent Embossing Paste). Let the red dry.
  • Place the clean, dry stencil back over the dry red paste and paste emboss with Crackle Embossing Paste, let dry.
  • The crackle paste dries with a slick white surface, great for coloring on top of with COPICs.
  • Cut out the butterfly, edge with a dark marker and mount everything into a great card.
I think I will be sending this to my great-niece to congratulate her on a successful walk!


We hope you've enjoyed your week of inspiration as much as we have! It's a big list today, so hang on tight for a BIG HOP!



Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, April 24, 2014

Dreamweaver-Stampendous Blog Hop Day 4!

It's been a great week of creativity between the Dream Team and the Stampendous Team! Welcome to Day 3 of the Dreamweaver Stencils and Stampendous Faces of Art blog hop! 

We were challenged to create using Dreamweaver and Stampendous products, and based on the name of the hop, "Faces of Art".   Here's what I created for you today:
LX7018 -Steampunk clock

"Face" is a word that can describe a number of different things. Today I am sharing  a clock "face" with you. It is a very simple technique that could be used on a wide variety of stencils. This particular card would be great for a masculine birthday, graduation, well really anything!Simply paste emboss the Steampunk clock stencil (LX7018) with Metallic Silver Embossing Paste, remove the stencil and place in water for cleaning, sprinkle the wet paste with Stampendous aged silver embossing enamel, and heat set. It's as easy as that!
We hope you've been enjoying our creations this week. Be sure to stop at each blog and leave a comment for a chance to win some great prizes!



Happy Creating,
Louise
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Dreamweaver-Stampendous Blog Hop Day 3!

Welcome to Day 3 of the Dreamweaver Stencils and Stampendous Faces of Art blog hop! The Dream Team always loves incorporating the great products from Stampendous into our creations.


We were challenged to create using Dreamweaver and Stampendous products, and based on the name of the hop, "Faces of Art".   Here's what I created for you today:

 Today's creation has a more modern feel, I think so anyway. It's almost minimalist in that there are only three images used (plus the ric rak), but I really like how it turned out. From a distance, when it's hanging on a wall, it looks like a vase of flowers on a ledge and a couple of flowers have fallen. 







Up close, you see the detail of the Stampendous Blossom Beauty stamp shine through the acetate flowers.  I was going to add a flourish on the edges, but the more I looked at her, the more I liked her just like this!
Here's how I did it:

  • Stamp the Blossom Beauty face with black ink on white cardstock
  • Color her lips and eyes
  • Place the open plastic template the comes with the stamp set over the stamped face and tape down with removable tape
  • Use a 3/4" stencil brush and light green ink to stencil a little color over the whole face
  • Lay the Fan pattern stencil (LJ813) over the face and tape in place with removable tape
  • Use a 3/4" stencil brush to add more of the same color through the Fan stencil, repeat with a slightly darker shade of green
  • Remove the fan stencil and wipe off the ink with a soft cloth
  • Return the fan stencil over the green then shift it up so the openings are now between the first openings
  • Use a clean 3/4" stencil brush to add a pink ink through the stencil
  • Remove and clean the stencil and the plastic mask
  • Stamp the Blossom image on acetate with Black StazOn ink six times
  • Use the three different size dies to cut two flowers of each size
  • Use Dreamweaver Color Solutions inks on the back of the acetate ( I used Lemoncello, Paprika Red, and Cosmo Pink), you can use an applicator to apply the ink or I just dropped some color around and let it spread, let them dry well
  • Coat a 10" x 10" canvas with white Gesso, let dry
  • Ink edges with stencil brush and the same light green ink from the face
  • Draw a black line 2" up from the bottom edge of the canvas
  • Stencil the fan pattern below the line with the light green color, you will have to move your stencil over, but this is an easy design to line back up
  • Add a little of the pink color above the line
  • Stencil the fan pattern on a piece of white cardstock that is slightly larger than the face, edge with a black marker
  • Layer the face on a black mat, then on the larger stenciled piece and glue to the center of the canvas, lining it up along the black line
  • Glue down the flowers (I use a liquid glue that dries clear and brush it all over the acetate, it does not show that way
  • Add black ric rak around the edge
NOTE: when cutting the acetate flowers, I put the acetate flower on a piece of cardstock and die cut it, otherwise the acetate is too thin and doesn't cut cleanly. (but that could be my acetate, so you should experiment with yours first)


Be sure to hop over to the other designer's Faces of Art postings:


Happy Creating,
Louise
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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Dreamweaver-Stampendous Blog Hop Day 2!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Dreamweaver Stencils and Stampendous Faces of Art blog hop! The Dream Team always loves incorporating the great products from Stampendous into our creations.


We were challenged to create using Dreamweaver and Stampendous products, and based on the name of the hop, "Faces or Art", I have decided to incorporate a few different faces.  Here's what I created for you today:
LG706 - Monstera shape, and LS1014 - Kitty face

 Yesterday's tropical face was serene and dreamy. Today's face is a little sly, like he's waiting to jump out at you from behind those leaves! The beautiful Monstera shape stencil (LG706) add a jungle feel to the card, and the Kitty face (LS1014) gives a hint of suspense. I used an ink transfer technique to make both leaves, one on the base card and one on a second piece of paper so I could cut it out. Distress inks were rouged into the background, then the Kitty face was paste embossed with Matte Black Embossing Paste. The flower from the Stampendous Blossom Beauty stamp set was stamped with VersaMark in the lower right corner and sprinkled with Stampendous shabby pink embossing enamel, heat set, then colored with Distress markers. The upper left corner was embossed with Stampendous aged silver embossing enamel.  As a final touch, I added some Stampendous taupe Color fragments in the other corners.
Hop on over to see what the other team members have created for you today!
Louise Healy
Happy Creating,
Louise
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Monday, April 21, 2014

Dreamweaver-Stampendous Blog Hop Day 1!

Welcome to Day 1 of the Dreamweaver Stencils and Stampendous Faces of Art blog hop! The Dream Team always loves incorporating the great products from Stampendous into our creations.


We were challenged to create using Dreamweaver and Stampendous products, especially two new products from Stampendous, the beautiful Cling Blossom Beauty stamp set that includes the face outline and a large flower, and the matching Blossom Beauty Die Cut Set,  Here's what I created for you today:

LS1003 Dream and LL379 Tall palm trees
This beautiful set from Stampendous was so much fun to work with, and merged perfectly with our wonderful Dreamweaver products! I felt like my girl had a real tropical feel, so I paired her with the Tall Palm Trees stencil (LL379) and the Dream stencil (LS1003). I think this would make a great graduation card. The face and flowers were colored with COPIC markers, and both stencils were paste embossed with Matte Black Embossing Paste. I was a little disappointed in how her cheeks turned out, but for a first try she's not too bad.

Here are our "hoppers"  for Monday:
Louise Healy

Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, April 17, 2014

Happy Easter!

The Dreamweaver Stencils design team continues with our April Inspirations theme. Be sure to stop over at the DREAM it UP! blog to meet our newest team members and welcome back some returning players!
More BIG news, next week we will be having a blog hop with the Stampendous folks. So be sure to stop back by starting Monday, April 21st to be inspired ALL WEEK!


We are challenged this month to create something based on something that inspired us. Spring has finally started to show its colors here in norther Illinois, so my inspiration came from the daffodils that have started blooming in my garden. Here they are:

And with Easter coming up on Sunday, I knew the perfect stencils to use for my creation.


Here's how it was done:
  • Start with a white window card  and place your Long Daffodil stencil (LL428) on the inside of the card, centered in the window
  • Tape the stencil in place with removable tape
  • Use a palette knife and paste spreader to apply a coat of Matte Yellow Embossing Paste over the stencil
  • Remove the stencil and place in water for cleaning
  • Let the paste dry
  • Place the clean, dry stencil back over the dry paste, tape in place
  • Use 1/4" stencil brushes to apply pigment inks on the flowers and leaves
  • Remove the stencil and sprinkle the ink with Clear Embossing Powder, tap off excess powder
  • Heat set the powder with a heat tool
  • Let the image cool, then return the stencil and add another coat of inks in slightly deeper tones
  • Remove the stencil and sprinkle the ink with Clear Embossing Powder, tap off excess, heat set
  • Place a piece of printer paper inside the card and close the front
  • Use a 3/4" stencil brush to brush some yellow ink on the front of the card
  • Edge the opening of the window with a gold Krylon pen
  • Tape the Happy Easter stencil (LM234) to a piece of white cardstock
  • Apply a coat of Matte Yellow Embossing Paste
  • Remove and clean the stencil
  • Let paste dry
  • Mount on a yellow cardstock mat that is edged with Gold Krylon pen
  • Mount it under the daffodils on the front of the card
I hope you've enjoyed learning about my inspiration and take the time to see what the other team members have been inspired by this week!


Happy Creating,
Louise

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Thursday, April 10, 2014

April Inspirations Week 2!

The Dream Team has a spectacular month planned for you...filled with exciting news and inspiration for all of your crafting dreams! The exciting news will be announced in the Dream It Up! post on April 17th, but the "April Inspirations" challenge will run for the entire month. Each team member will post what inspires them in their creative life...maybe a Pinterest pic, a magazine pic, a quote, a book, a place, an artist, a crafter friend...along with their creation. We are hoping that you will feel inspired as well, and link your projects (and inspiration) to the inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog. 
One thing that not many people know about me is that I have a BS in Horticulture and taught high school horticulture for a couple of years. I spent many hours traipsing around the woods in MN looking for various plant materials we were required to learn in our MN Plant Life class. We often would see beautiful mushrooms and shelf fungus during our walks. I still look for them where ever I go. This week I found some beautiful pictures on Pinterest as my inspiration to create this for you:
Here's the Pinterest picture it's based on:


Aren't they both fabulous! Mine was pretty easy to create:

  • Tape your Mushroom stencil (LL3025) to white cardstock with removable tape
  • Apply Dreamweaver Regular Embossing Paste (DEP) to the image
  • Before removing the stencil, use the edge of your palette knife to make some ridges in the stem areas
  • Remove the stencil and place in water for cleaning
  • Let the paste dry thoroughly
  • Place the clean, dry stencil back over the dry paste, tape in place
  • Use small stencil brushes to apply inks over the image as desired ( I used Memento Inks - Lady Bug and Rhubarb Stalk in the caps, Desert Sand and Rich Cocoa on the stems and grass, and a little Bamboo Leaves on the grass)
  • Remove the stencil and sweep some Rich Cocoa around the edges
  • Use a paintbrush or toothpick to add some small dots of the paste around the caps
  • Let the dots dry 
  • Use a large stencil brush and the Rich Cocoa to stencil some mushrooms around the background of a kraft card base
  • Add some May Arts netted ribbon across the bottom (I cut it in half so it wasn't so wide)
  • Mount the mushrooms on a black mat and use foam tape to add the mushrooms to your card
Be sure to check out what inspired the rest of the team this week:



Happy Creating,
Louise


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Thursday, April 3, 2014

April Inspirations

Well we have finally finished with that wintery March and April is showing promises of Spring! My daffodils are about 6" high, and the pansies are starting to perk back up too. The water in my pond is running again and the birds are loving playing in it!

 The Dream Team has a spectacular month planned for you...filled with exciting news and inspiration for all of your crafting dreams! The exciting news will be announced in the Dream It Up! post on April 17th, but the "April Inspirations" challenge will run for the entire month. Each team member will post what inspires them in their creative life...maybe a Pinterest pic, a magazine pic, a quote, a book, a place, an artist, a crafter friend...along with their creation. We are hoping that you will feel inspired as well, and link your projects (and inspiration) to the inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog. 
I love hats, so one day I did a search on Pinterest for "vintage Easter hats". Wow, there are a LOT of images out there! Here's a few I found:

Sooo sophisticated!
Ok, maybe this one is a little over the top!
Perhaps you prefer the "Downton" look, very classy
The matching purse makes the ensemble!





Ok, these last three are a little more "normal" and really did inspire me to work with Dreamweaver Stencils' Hats stencil (LG671). Here's what I came up with:

LG671 - Hats stencil

Dreamweaver Basics class I will be teaching this weekend up in Door County
at the crafting workshops
Check out what our Guest Designer and the "A" team have been inspired by this week...

Louise Healy


Happy Creating,
Louise

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