Thursday, February 28, 2013

Love and Friendship

Here we are in the final week of February already!  Where do the weeks go. This is the last posting for our Dreamweaver Stencils theme of CAS Love and/or Friendship. We hope you've enjoyed our creations this month and remember we especially love when you play along with us or leave us comments.
This week I created a simple card that could easily be used for any kind of note you wanted to send, Thank You, Thinking of You, Birthday, Anniversary, Sympathy, etc.  It is always wonderful to receive a handwritten note from a friend.


Here are the simple steps:
The rest of the team has more great designs to share with you so be sure to hop over to see them all.

Happy Creating, Louise

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Friends Forever

Welcome to the third week of our Dreamweaver Stencils February design challenge. Our theme this month is Love and/or Friendship and the team has come up with some beautiful creations to share with you. We would love to have you join our challenge, click here to link your creation to Lynell's DREAM it UP! blog using the Mr. Linky tool, or email a picture of your creation to me, Louise,at louisehealy@sbcglobal.net  and I will post it on Lynell's blog for  you for a chance to win a great prize!
If you haven't heard, Dreamweaver Stencils is looking for a few talented people who love to share their creations with others. Our new Design Team Call runs until the end of February.  See Pam's blog for all the details on how to apply.
This week I am blessed to be spending time with my beautiful grand-daughter and lovely daughter-in-law while my son is traveling. I cherish these times especially because we live pretty far apart so I don't get to be with them very often. Thank goodness for Skype! Family means the world to me, but so do friends, so this week I dedicated my card to three very dear friends of mine, or "The Ladies" as my family calls them. We all met when our kids were in high school (over 15 years ago!), and still meet regularly for lunch and to share family news. I know they will be my friends forever.


This is not exactly a CAS (clean and simple) card, but it's really not very hard to create. Here's how you do it:
  • Emboss the Butterfly stencil (LJ916) on white cardstock using a personal die cut machine
  • With the stencil still in place over the embossed butterfly, use small stencil brushes to add various inks to the wings and body
  • Use a finger dauber to apply a coat of VersaMark ink over the colored image
  • Remove the stencil and sprinkle the butterfly with Stampee Bonding Powder, tap off excess powder
  • Use a heat gun to gently heat the powder
  • Place a sheet of Stampee Water Clear  Foil over the butterfly
  • Place the image in a paper folder and insert the folder into a laminator and let it feed through
  • Quickly peel off the foil sheet. The foil will stick to the butterfly where you had the bonding powder, but release where you didn't
  • Trim around the butterfly and edge with a coordinating marker, set aside
  •  Emboss the Triangle Weave (LJ912) stencil on white cardstock through a die cut machine
  • Remove the stencil and use a 3/4" stencil brush to brush color over the embossed image from all four sides.
  • Trim close to the design, and layer onto a light yellow mat
  • Layer those two onto a darker yellow mat
  • Place the Forever Friends stencil (LM2013) on white cardstock and use a small stencil brush to add ink to the design
  • Cut the words apart and brush the remaining ink from the brush into the background of the words
  • Mount them on light and dark yellow mats
  • Place small strips of foam tape behind the body of the butterfly
  • Place a  Dreamweaver Embellishment Pin (green) through the head area of the butterfly and then into the front of the card, dont' forget to take the release paper off the foam tape first
  • Add a pretty bow with glue dots
  • Add the stenciled words
  • Write a little note inside and share it with a wonderful friend!
The rest of the team has more ideas to share with you too, just click on their names to jump to their blogs.

Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

The timing of today's posting for the February Dreamweaver Stencils challenge of Love and/or Friends is perfect! What better day than Valentine's Day to express your love and appreciation to your family and friends. I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with love, friendship, and, of course, chocolate!
Do you love creating art using these wonderful Dreamweaver Stencils products? Then you should apply to be part of the Dream Team! We have a new Design Team call that just started, so there's still time to submit your work. Check out the details over at our leader Pam's blog for all the details and deadlines.
Today I am sharing a card that I will be teaching in an upcoming class so I can't share all the details yet, but I think you'll be able to figure it out. Here it is:
LL374 - Long Stem Iris

Wouldn't this be a lovely wedding, birthday, anniversary, thinking of you....well, you get the picture! Simple, yet elegant, right in line with the Clean and Simple (CAS) style that is also part of our February challenge.

I hope you'll join our fun this month. Just link your creation on the DREAM it UP! blog using the Mr. Linky tool, or email a picture to us and we'll post it on Lynell's blog. Lynell and Pam are off to the big show in the UK for the next couple of weeks, so use my email, louisehealy@sbcglobal.net and I will post it. There are prizes involved, so get busy!

The other team members have more wonderful samples to share with you, enjoy!
Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, February 7, 2013

February Dreamweaver Stencil Challenge Begins Today!

The new Dreamweaver Stencils monthly challenge for February has the theme "CAS Love and Friendship!". That means keep it Clean and Simple, my favorite kind of design.  We have also kicked off a new design team call, see Pam's blog for the the details. Being part of the Dream Team is fun and challenging!
This week I thought I would use the challenge to create a Valentine for my husband. I know it's not until next week, but we'll be celebrating this weekend instead. He is a horticulturalist, so I decided I would use the beautiful Pansy stencil (sorry this is retired) with the You & Me (LS1004) and part of the Forever Friends (LM2013) stencil.
Front of the card

Inside of the card

This could not be any easier and fits the challenge of Clean and Simple challenge along with Love and Friendship too.

  • Tape each stencil to a piece of Hanko Sea Foam cardstock (one of my favorite!) with removable tape (mask off the friends part of the forever friends stencil)
  • Use a palette knife and paste spreader to apply a coat of Matte Black Embossing Paste (DMBP) across each stencil
  • Remove stencils, let paste dry, and clean your stencils
  • Mount each pasted image on a small black mat 
  • Adhere the You & Me to upper left corner of the card
  • Tie a black ribbon around the bottom portion of the card
  • Adhere the Pansy layer to the lower left corner with foam mounting tape
  • Adhere the forever inside the card
Clean and Simple doesn't mean it can't look great. Beautiful papers can really help create an elegant card!
Now go check out the rest of team's creations for our new challenge. Don't forget you can enter your own creations by linking your designs on the DREAM it UP! blog or by emailing a picture of your design to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com and she will post it for you. 
Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Fresh as a Daisy!

It's hard to believe that January is over already! Every year seems to go by faster than the last, man I must be getting old! I have really enjoyed our Dreamweaver Stencils January challenge theme of "A Fresh Start", it has gotten creative juices flowing for a lot of people other than just our Dream Team. Click on this link to see the list of people participating in this month's challenge, then click on their name to go to their blog and see their wonderful creations. Thanks to all who played along with us this month.
When I hear "fresh start" it reminds me of that old saying "fresh as a daisy", so this week I have used two of Dreamweaver's beautiful daisy stencils, LL548 - Daisies, and LL549 - Tall daisies to create my card. Winter has definitely made an appearance this week, so this card offers the promise of Spring right around the corner!

Here are the easy steps:
  • Tape both stencils to pieces of Authentique "Gifted" paper (PUN006) with removable tape
  • Use a palette knife and paste spreader (LM2010) to apply Dreamweaver Regular Embossing Paste over each stencil (this is a matte finish white paste)
  • Remove and clean the stencils
  • Let the paste dry completely (about 20 minutes should be fine)
  • Place the clean dry stencil back over the dry paste and use small stencil brushes to apply ink to the centers of the daisies and leaves
  • Use a 3/4" stencil brush to rouge a little pink ink around the edges of the paper
  • Layer each of the daisy images onto a piece of pink Bazzill cardstock
  • Tie a small white ribbon around the smaller daisies and tie a bow
  • Make a 5" x 7" card and attach a piece of the pink Bazzill paper to the front
  • Rouge some pink ink around a piece of coordinating decorative cardstock (I used an older collection from American Crafts called I Do - Amaryllis, but any pretty paper will do!)
  • Adhere the decorative paper, then add the Tall Daisies near the left side of the card front
  • Use foam tape to attach the smaller Daisies image
The matte white paste is perfect for coloring on top of so it is easy to create in any of your favorite colors. We hope you will consider joining in our challenges. It gives you a reason to get creative, it's fun, and best of all - you might win a prize! Just create a card or project using stencils and add a link on the DREAM it UP! blog using the Mr. Linky tool, or email a picture of your design to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com, it couldn't be easier.
The rest of team has some more "fresh" ideas for you, so check out their blogs too.
Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, January 24, 2013

A Fresh Start

January is flying by, how can it be so close to Valentine's Day already! I feel like we just finished mailing Christmas cards and now I need to get working on Valentines, but I love a good excuse for spending time making cards.  Next week I'll show you the results.
For this week's Dreamweaver Stencils challenge, we continue the theme of "A Fresh Start" for the new year. Here is a card I created for CHA using the Stars stencil (LX7017), along with the Electric Guitar (LL3028) and the newly released Guitar Words stencil (LG750). It's perfect for the "rocker" in your life!


Follow these easy steps to create your own card:
  • Tape the Star stencil to black cardstock with removable tape
  • Use a palette knife and paste spreader to apply Metallic Gold Embossing Paste across the Stars
  • Remove the stencil and place in water for cleaning later
  • Sprinkle the wet paste with a variety of Metallic F/X Mica Powders (I use a soft paint brush to pick up some powder and tap it off over the wet paste)
  • Use a heat gun to heat the paste and powders until the paste is bubbly all over
  • Let cool, then wipe gently with a Swiffer cloth
  • Tape off the "You Rock!" words on the Guitar Words stencil
  • Repeat the steps above to apply paste and powders to the words, heat until bubbly
  • Tape the Electric Guitar stencil to black cardstock with removable tape
  • Apply Metallic Gold Embossing Paste, remove stencil and let paste dry
  • Clean and dry the stencil
  • Place the clean dry Guitar stencil back over the dry paste
  • Use a foam applicator to tap Palette Stamp and Stick glue over the Gold Paste
  • Remove the stencil and clean
  • Let the Stamp and Stick sit for several minutes to get tacky
  • Lay a sheet of  Red Leafing over the Guitar and use a 3/4" stencil brush to tap the leafing in place
  • Use the brush in a rouging motion to remove any extra leafing
  • Cut out the Guitar
  • Layer the Stars and words on purple mats
  • Use foam tape to pop the words and Guitar on top of the Stars
Stop over at the rest of the team blogs for more fresh ideas! Submit your own creations for the chance to win a great prize, just follow the instructions on the Dream It UP! blog.
Happy Creating,
Louise
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Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Fresh Start Week 3

CHA is over and fresh ideas are swarming around in my head! It is always so inspirational to walk the aisles and see new products and ideas everywhere. Exhausting, but exhilarating at the same time. We met a lot of new contacts to work with this next year to bring you "fresh"  ways to use your Dreamweaver Stencils with other great products on the market! Here are a few pictures from the show.
Louise & Pam, Pam & Georgia
Rebekka, Jennifer
One piece I did for CHA was using the beautiful canvas pieces from Canvas Corp LLC. Here's what I came up with using Dreamweaver's fabulous new Leafless tree stencil (LX7020) and canvases from Canvas Corp. They worked perfectly together.

LX7020 - Matte Black Embossing Paste
with Distress Embossing Powders

Here's how to do it:
  • Use a foam brush to apply a coat of claudine hellmuth Studio gesso from Ranger to the 10" x 10" canvas
  • Let dry
  • Tape the Tree stencil to the upper left corner of the canvas with removable tape
  • Use a large stencil brush to apply brown ink over the image
  • Use a smaller stencil brush to apply some black ink over the brown
  • Move the stencil to the lower right corner and repeat the inking steps
  • Rouge the edges of the canvas with the ink remaining in the brown brush, you may need to add more ink
  • Set aside to dry
  • Apply Ranger Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber Pebble to a 6" x 6" canvas, not completely covering the surface
  • Dry gently with a heat gun or let air dry
  • Tape the Leafless Tree stencil (LX7020) to the painted canvas with removable tape
  • Use a palette knife and paste spreader (LM2010) to apply Dreamweaver Matte Black Embossing Paste (DMBP) across the stencil
  • Remove the stencil and lightly sprinkle the wet paste with a mix of Distress Embossing Powders Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain
  • Heat gently to set the powder, then let dry completely
  • Wrap black twine from May Arts at angles around the larger canvas attaching in the back
  • Attach the tree canvas to the larger canvas with Tacky Glue
Please take some time to enjoy more fresh ideas from our other team members.
Happy Creating,
Louise
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