Quick and Cute Week 3!

In a flurry of a hurry? This month the Dream Team are all about the Quick and Cute...whether that be cards, gifts, wrapping, or tags...we have sleigh-loads of ideas! Play along by posting your creations using the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog, for a chance to win the stencil of your choice, and a possible bonus stencil for using Dreamweaver products in your Quick and Cute project! Here's what fun I've been up to this week:

FJ922 Christmas Borders folder, DD001 Nesting frames die, DG692 Nesting Stockings die

This looks more complicated than it is, here are the simple steps:

• Use a fine mist spritzer to mist the blue paper before putting it in the Christmas Borders embossing folder (the moisture helps get a deeper image and prevents the paper from tearing)
• Run the blue paper through your die cut machine
• Use a heat tool to dry or let it air dry
• Rub a silver metallic ink pad over the raised design
• Heat set
• Use the second smallest frame die from the Nesting frame set to cut a "window" in the blue layer
• Cut small pieces of kraft cardstock and die cut the second smallest frame from the Nesting frame set
• Emboss the kraft frame with the Christmas borders stencil, lining it up in the folder to match the "window" you cut from the blue layer
• Brush the edges of the embossed kraft frame with brown ink
• Use the smallest stocking die from the Nesting stockings set to cut small stockings from the blue piece cut out of the "window", use kraft cardstock to cut the top of the small stocking (edge with brown ink)
• Attach the stocking to the embossed kraft frame with foam mounting tape, I added a little loop of twine to the left corner of the top before applying the mounting tape
• Put a small brad in the twine loop
• Adhere the blue layer to kraft cardstock that has been edged with brown ink
• Adhere the kraft frame with the stocking in the "window"

I'd love to receive a comment from you before you head on to the rest of the "A" team:

Dream It Up!

Leadonna Kimmel

Louise Healy

Laura Drahozal

Lynn Mercurio

Pam Hornschu

Jamie Martin

Happy Creating,

Louise
An InLinkz Link-up

Thankful and Thoughtful

As we officially head into the holiday season, the Dream Team are challenging all of our followers to be especially "Thankful and Thoughtful" during the month of November. We hope that you will link your creations with this theme in mind on the Dream It Up! blog using the Inlinkz tool. Our "thanks" to you is providing you with the opportunity to win the stencil of your choice, and a bonus stencil of our choosing could be yours for using Dreamweaver product(s) in your artwork.

This time of year always reminds me to be thankful for my family and friends. I love creating cards for all the various holidays throughout the year and sending them to the special people in my life. What I have discovered over the years is that people LOVE getting handmade cards and most of them appreciate the time and love we put in to making them. The card I'm posting today has several steps but creates such a serene image perfect for this reflective season. It would be great for fall birthdays, sympathy, or Thanksgiving cards. Here's what I created for you today:

How to:

• Emboss a piece of smooth cream cardstock (4" x 5 1/4") using the LX7002 Plaid stencil
• Lightly brush over the embossed image with Distress Ink Vintage Photo ink
• Mount on the front of a black A2 card
• Place the LX7027 Quatrefoil stencil on cream cardstock (2" x 4")and stencil on Vintage Photo ink, mat on a piece of black cardstock (2 1/8" x 4")
• Add a beautiful ribbon from May Arts across the Quatrefoil design
• Adhere over the Plaid layer
• Cut a cream mat 2 5/8" x 3 3/8" and a black mat 2 3/4" x 3 1/2"
• Rouge edge of cream mat with Vintage Photo ink
• Adhere the cream mat to the black mat, use foam tape to attach over the band of Quatrefoil
• Use the DD001 Nesting frames die to cut a frame from smooth cream cardstock using the second smallest frame die
• Rouge edges with Vintage Photo ink
• Adhere to the cream mat
• Tape LG754 Oak leaves stencil to smooth cream cardstock using removable tape
• Apply Matte Black Embossing Paste using a palette knife and paste spreader
• Sprinkle wet paste with Distress Embossing Powder in a combination of brown tones, press in lightly
• Remove and clean the stencil
• Heat emboss the powder using a heat tool, let paste dry completely
• Cut out one of the leaves and adhere on the small frame

By the way, the Dream Team are very THANKFUL when our followers are THOUGHTFUL enough to leave us a nice comment on our posts! Here's the "A" team lineup for this week, as well as our very special guest designer, Linda Neff!

Dream It Up!

Linda Neff (GD)

Leadonna Kimmel

Louise Healy

Laura Drahozal

Lynn Mercurio

Pam Hornschu

Jamie Martin

Happy Creating,

Louise

An InLinkz Link-up

March Madness Final Week!

Well March came in like a lion and it's going out like one too! I thought it was supposed to go out like a lamb, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature! I feel like I WILL go mad if it doesn't warm up soon. Tomorrow is my daughter's first golf match of the spring season...if they can get a tee in the ground!
The project I'm sharing with you this week for the final Dreamweaver Stencils March Madness Anything Goes theme just kind of came to me as I was trying to come up with ideas for samples using the new Dreamweaver Die Cuts.  I had shared my class samples using the new Sailboat stencil (LG755) with you back in February, and I had a couple of extra images left over from the letterpress technique that I had decided not to use for the class, so I decided to use the new Nesting Frames dies (DD001) to create a layered sailboat image and really give it dimension. Here's how it went:

Start with a Letterpress image of the Sailboat stencil . To get that, spray the back of the stencil with Memories Mists inks, I used two shades of blue, and carefully move the stencil to a paper towel on the thick platform of your die cut machine. Place a piece of white paper over the ink, then your rubber embossing mat, and two cutting plates. Run it through the machine and this is what you get!

Place a piece of removable tape face up and line the three smallest frames over the tape, cutting edge up

Carefully pick up the taped dies and place them over the image where you want them, cutting side down, Press the tape

down lightly to prevent the dies from moving during cutting

Sandwich the die and image between two cutting plates, cutting edges up (you won't see the die, just the back of your image) and run it through your die cut machine

Now your layers have been cut into frames

Trim along the edge of the Sailboat design, edge with a dark blue marker, and mount that to a piece of white cardstock that is slightly larger then the trimmed image using double sided adhesive, be sure to put adhesive around the inner edges of the frame openings so this layer stays flat all the way around

Apply one layer of foam tape to the largest frame, two layers to the middle frame, and three layers to the center layer

Go around the edge of each layer with a blue marker, then assemble them back where they belong.  Add them to a matching card embellished with some May Arts white rik rak and you have a beautiful, dimensional card!

I hope you enjoyed being "mad" with me this month, it has been a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone who has been playing along with us over at the DREAM it UP! blog, your creations have been wonderful.

Now check out the rest of the team's craziness....oops, creations!

Dream It Up!

Georgia Sommers (guest designer)
Lea Kimmel
Louise Healy
Cherylynn Moser
Terrece Siddoway

Wendy Jordan
Pam Hornschu

Happy Creating,
Louise