LIzzie Anne Designs' Weekly Sketch Challenge #167!

This week, I was in charge of the Lizzie Anne Designs' weekly sketch challenge. You can see the sketch design at left, and my version above. Actually a very simple design needing just one focal image and one sentiment. The focal images is repeated three times. I used the "Tweens and Teens" set for this card, repeating the guitar on the panels, and stamping and embossing the sentiment on the circle at the bottom. Come play along with us this week and post your own creation to the Lizzie Anne Designs Facebook page HERE using the LAD-WC167 tag.

Lizzie Anne Designs "Tweens and Teens"
Rich Cocoa Memento ink
Versamark ink
Stampendous Baby Blue Pastel Embossing Powder
MME patterned paper
light blue cardstock
foam adhesive
circle punch

Oops...I Collaged it Again!

Since this is a free week for the Dreamweaver Stencils' Dream Team, I chose to post this card that is the perfect example of how to cover up errors. While Lynell, Lee, and I were at the NAMTA show in Phoenix in April, I was demo-ing various techniques with the stencils (in other words...playing the whole time!), and this card was the result of some experimentation. I wanted to play with the Copic "denim" technique with the Apron stencil, so I airbrushed the apron on the white panel with various shades of blue. To get the texture, you are supposed to use a scrap of denim fabric, which I did NOT have with me. However, I did have this piece of plastic that Lee had and was throwing out. It had a cool texture to it, so I thought that I could spritz it with the Colorless Blender solution and press it on the blue apron. The problem is that on denim it will soak in slightly, whereas on the plastic
  it just sits on the surface, so as I pressed it on the surface and it "noodged" the ink, it picked it up and smeared it as well. Not what I was going for, but the texture on the apron actually did look pretty cool. Rather than toss it, I went into collage-mode. I deliberately smeared some more around the edges. I used the Stripes/Plaid stencil to create a blue border around the side and top. Then I paste-embossed in Matte Yellow the Tall Daisies and the Summer stencils. Here was another error to fix. The paste seeped under the edge of one portion of the daisies. I waited until it was dry, and covered that area with a couple of Prima flowers with a glittery brad center. I added a doily border along the left edge. A Glossy Blue paste-embossed Hello (from Birthday Words) on a tab/clip was tucked in the side with a ribbon tie. I highlighted all the yellow embossed areas with dots of white ink. The whole effect is bright and summery, and you'd never guessed that it started from an "oops"! The next time you have an "oops", set it aside. You never know when you can use a portion of it for something else, or collage over the mistake to create something totally unique. Speaking of unique, be sure to visit the blogs of the rest of the team (as listed at right), leave all of us some love, create your own bit of fun and link it to the Dream It Up! blog with Mr. Linky.

Dreamweaver Stencils:
LG736 Apron
LL549 Tall Daisies
LM294 Summer
LG704 Birthday Words
LX702 Stripes/Plaid
DMYP Matte Yellow Embossing Paste
DGBP Glossy Blue Embossing Paste
DPK Palette Knife

Plus:
Copic Air-brush System
Copic Sketch Markers
Copic White Ink
Copic Colorless Blender Solution
Prima flowers
Bazzill and Mohawk White cardstock
brad fastener
some type of textured fabric, preferably denim
Staples Tab/Clip
ribbon

This Card is a Crack Up!

Another quickie post. This time featuring the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Vases set again. What a  versatile set! To create the "cracked vase" effect, I stamped and embossed in various shades of embossing powders from the Razzleberry Kit the vase. I stamped and embossed it again in Bark on textured brown cardstock. I cut this one in several pieces and adhered them to the original one slightly separating the pieces to reveal the colors beneath. The rest of the card is fairly self-explanatory. To look back at other creations I've posted using this same set, click HERE and HERE.

Painting with Powder and Proud as a Peacock!

Quickie post today featuring the Blockart Peacock image from Stampendous. I used the "Painting with Powder" technique for this card in that I covered the main panel in Wild Plum Embossing Powder, stamped and embossed in black the focal image over the top, and using a Versamarker and the other three colors in the Stampendous Razzleberry Embossing Kit (my fave!), I filled in and added more color to the image. The end result is sort of a faux cloissone look. The border at the bottom is one of the Class A' Peel Scrollwork Border velvet stickers in Olive, highlighted with a sprinkling of the Dot Sparklers in Holographic black. These same bits of sparkle are also added to the "eyes" of the peacock feathers. Pull out all of your fun Stampendous colors of embossing powders and play with this technique. The results are unique and gorgeous! Happy Monday!

MIxin' It Up with Lizzie Anne Designs Sketch #165!

Quickie post today featuring my version of Lizzie's sketch for Lizzie Anne Designs this week. I've been dying to break out this "In the Kitchen" set, so here was my opportunity! I love the mixer...just like my Kitchen Aid that my hubby bought for me over twenty years ago and is still going strong, mixing up cookies, and cakes, and muffins, and bread. I have the cutest pictures of my kids helping mom mix batches of goodies and licking the beater or the spoon. Of course, my mixer is the traditional white version rather than a wild red patterned one with a yellow bowl. Artistic license...and too much cute paper from October Afternoon and American Crafts to play with! I added little buttons on the top of my muffins and used the fun "Love Muffin" saying to finish it off. I can hardly wait to play with this set again! Now is your opportunity to play along with this week's challenge and post your creation to the Lizzie Anne Designs' Facebook page HERE.

Dreamweaver Stencils' Sketch #6-Good Girl or Bad Girl?

Deborah from the Dreamweaver Stencils' Dream Team provided quite a challenge with her sketch for this week. She told us we could take creative license with it and either have both "sides" on the front of the card, or create a fold down the middle. Every time I looked at it without the fold, it reminded me of a corset or leather bustier! Lol. Hmmm...what does that say about me? Anyway, I decided NOT to go that route, and went with the folded version instead. The shape reminded me of a cathedral window (biiiiggg difference, eh?), so I went with the Large and Small Cathedral Window stencils. I used the edge of the new Paste Spreader as a template to recreate the top of the card, and lined the card with some new paper I bought recently. The pattern mimics slightly the pattern of the stencils, and I love the colors. The card front was machine embossed with the larger version stencil. I folded the top over to show off the fun paper inside, and paste embossed the flap with the smaller stencil. While that was drying (about twenty minutes), I punched a circle of the double-sided mounting paper and a applied it to a cardstock circle. What I did next is similar to the "Double Glitter Technique"*. I rubbed coconut soap over the stencil, brushed off any excess, and placed it on top of the sticky circle. I then rubbed in metalic leafing, brushed off the excess, and then carefully removed the circle from the stencil. (Keep stencil
flat while you remove the sticky portion to prevent bending the metal.) I used Sea Green glitter to fill in the rest of the areas. This circle was matted with a purple cardstock circle and is used to hold the flap down on the front of the card. The sentiment was a ribbon banner from JoAnn's Craft Essentials and couldn't be simpler to use. Be sure to scurry around to the rest of the teams' blogs as listed at right, and check out what fabulous ideas they had from this sketch. I wonder if any of them thought of a corset? Hmmm. Maybe YOU will be the one with enough nerve for that? Be sure to play along and link your creation on the Dream It Up! blog.
*This fantastic technique and many, many more are featured on Dreamweaver Stencils' latest two new DVD's, "Embossing Paste Techniques for Artful Cardmaking" and "Tips and Tools for Creating With Metal Stencils".

Dreamweaver Stencils:
LJ808 Large Cathedral Windows
LJ909 Small Cathedral Windows
DMOP Matte Orange Embossing Paste
DMP Double-sided Mounting Paper
DHHS Handmade Coconut Soap
VBL Variegated Black Leafing
LM2010 Paste Spreader
DPK Palette Knife

Stampendous Sea Green Jewel Glitter
Bazzill cardstock
Gibson "Mandarin Modern" patterned paper
JoAnn's Craft Essentials "Birthday Ribbons"

Nesting Spirit

My post today features one of my favorite images from Stampendous, "Bird Frame". This images fits in perfectly with the new Fran-tage theme from Stampendous. You can see a wide variety of amazing samples with these images on the Stampendous web site. For my version, I took a few colors of cardstock panels and stamped the image on each with Rich Cocoa Memento ink. Then I cut them into several pieces, numbered them on the back for easy reassembly. The end result is a process to create several of the same card. The sentiment was stamped on twill ribbon, and a feather was tucked in for the perfect simple embellishment. All of these new images from Stampendous make you feel like the ultimate artiste, even when you are just creating a pile of quickie cards! What will you do with these great collagy stamps? Leave me a comment letting me know what you would like to do with this image.

Lizzie Anne Designs' Team Challenge and 50% Off Sale!

 This month for Lizzie Anne Designs' team challenge, we have a color inspiration as seen at left. Don't you love these colors? I'd love to have this room! Predominantly mint and beige, with touches of pink and yellow. My card was slightly more than "touched" with pink, but I'm still happy with the result. This was my first opportunity to break into my "Vintage Birthday" Little Bits set, and I used one image and two sentiments from this set. I also created a pink "lace" border using the border stamp from "Timeless Textures" Sixlets set. Unbelievable, with all the paper I happen to have, I didn't have a true mint green, just a darker jade green. So I created my card base from this and dry-brushed ivory acrylic paint over it to tone down the color and add some texture. I stamped the birthday sentiment over the MME plaid border, and paper-pieced the hot air balloon from the same paper. This was popped up on layers of Nestie die cut scalloped ovals that were run through the Big Shot with the Cuttlebug embossing folder. Another Nestie die created the ribbon banner with the appropriate sentiment. I love that all the sets of Lizzie Anne Designs images have a variety to work with and make sense with each other at the same time! Go check out their site to see what I'm referring to. BTW, the are running a huge 50% off retired images sale right now. Trust me...you'll want them all! Be sure to check out the rest of the team blogs for more LAD inspiration. You'll be saying "WOW" on each page! Don't forget to leave comments for all of us. We live for validation! LOL

It's Raining New Dreamweaver Stencils' Releases!

The Dream Schemers have a free choice this week, so I chose to post this card that I created for the Dreamweaver Stencils' newest release. I loved the idea of paper-piecing the Umbrella with hounds-tooth patterned paper, and of course, had to put my pom poms on there as well! The background of the umbrella panel features the Rain stencil paste-embossed with Translucent Paste. I used the fun paper on the background card as well. This time I covered the Umbrellas background stencil with clear ink and ran it through my Big Shot with the paper. I then embossed with black embossing powder the transferred ink on the panel to show off the great outlines of the umbrellas. The sentiment is one of many Rain Words to choose from, and was paste-embossed in white. Now is your opportunity to play along. Soak up some more inspiration from the Dream It Up! blog as well as all of our fabby Dream Team members as listed at right. Link up your creation to inspire us!

Dreamweaver Stencils:
LG737 Umbrella
LJ908 Umbrella Background
LJ905 Rain
LG738 Rain Words
DEPT Translucent Embossing Paste
DEP Embossing Paste
DPK Palette Knife

Stampendous Midnight Black Embossing Powder
Versamark ink
Recollections patterned paper
black linen, bright pink cardstock
pompoms, ribbon
Micron pen

Dream Schemes Mother's Day Colorway

Our Dream Team member, Georgia, gave us a double-challenge this week...Mother's Day and an orange/blue colorway. I knew that I wanted to use the Apron stencil again...love, love, love it! I love that it has all the open spaces that leave so many opportunities to play in different ways. For this card, I ran a panel of ivory cardstock through my Big Shot with the Apron stencil to emboss it. I placed the stencil back over the embossed image and taped it down. Then I used sections of the Fringe Border stencil with a small stencil brush and the Splendor "Circus" ink pad. I rouged a little of the orange and the blue on the edges for shading. The sentiment was 
stenciled in the same manner on a new Nestabilities Ribbon Banner which I layered for more dimension. The background of the card was Core'dinations cardstock run through the Big Shot with the Fringe Border and then sanded to highlight the embossed detail. Cute patterned paper, a little lace, a few flowers, rhinestones, pearls, and brads, and now...it's a Pampered Stamper card! Lol. Now is your opportunity to visit the rest of the team blogs and see how they have been inspired to create with orange and blue for Mother's Day. Play along with us and attach to Mr. Linky on the Dream It Up! blog. For all of you mothers out there...milk this holiday for all it's worth!

Dreamweaver Stencils:
LG736 Apron
LG704 Birthday Words
LG608 Fringed Border
KS10 Circus Splendor inkpad
GHB Gold Handled Brush

Yellow Cadmium ColorBox Chalk ink
Core'dinations cardstock
ivory cardstock
MME patterned paper
Nestabilities Ribbon Banners
flowers, lace, brads, rhinestone and pearl stickers
double-sided foam tape
Big Shot
sanding block

Super TWEET Garden Lantern

Quickie post with a super cute, super simple project featuring Perfectly Clear "Block Art Tweet Friends" from Stampendous. A garden lantern was created with a Mini Pail within a Short Pail. A flameless tea lite was placed inside the Mini Pail with a strip of vellum slipped inside to soften the light. A strip of acetate stamped and paper-pieced was placed inside the Short Pail. A Ric Rac Class A' Peel border, ribbon bow, and layered Prima flowers are the embellishments on the outside. One of these makes a nice little touch on a patio table, or several can be created to be hung as a garland for patio parties through the summer. This project was created for the January 2011 catalog which can be seen HERE. Visit the Stampendous web site, blog, and the rest of the team blogs for more inspiration.

Stampendous:
SSC1091 Perfectly Clear "Block Art Tweet Friends"
Short Pail
Mini Pail
AC653VW Class A' Peel Ric Rac Borders
PC75 Thermo Acetate

Tsukineko Black Stazon ink
American Crafts City Park patterned paper
Prima Flowers
Creative Impressions ribbon
flameless tea-lite

Published Online Again! Going iTech!

 My fourth ARTICLE with Scrapbooking.com Magazine was published online May1st, featuring these three projects that I have previously posted HERE.

Hey! It's May! And Lizzie Anne Designs Singles Day!

 Wow. May 1st. How did that get here already? It really is not fair that the older you get, the faster time seems to fly by. But, along with growing older also comes the joy of having good, true, friends. The kind that stand by you through thick and thin (and I'm not just referring to weight fluctuations!), the kind that just...get you. Know what I mean? Lizzie Anne Designs has two new Singles releases today, which both refer to the comfort of a good friend. "Favorite Jeans" and "A Good Friend" are perfect together. The jeans image is really fun to play with. For this card, I
used the Copic "denim technique". Super easy. Just color the image with the various shades of blue you select to create the color and shading of jeans. Let dry for a few minutes. Place some Copic Blender solution in a spray bottle and spritz on a scrap of denim fabric. Press this on the colored image for a few seconds. When dry, the solution will have "nudged" the color to create the look of the denim texture. This same process can be used with various textured fabrics...terrycloth, burlap, tulle, etc. The patches on the jeans were paper-pieced with the plaid Pinecone Press paper which was distressed around the edges. To create the look of jeans cuffed at the bottom, I stamped the bottom of the image on a scrap, colored, cut, and adhered to the hem of the jeans upside-down. The extra "patches" on the card were created from stamping the herringbone texture from the "Timeless Textures" set. I snipped around the edges and distressed them slightly as well. As I was playing with "Favorite Jeans", I started to think of all the fun ways to create with this image...so be sure to check back for more ideas. Meanwhile, check out what the rest of the Lizzie Anne Designs' team has come up with using these new releases. Pick up your own set, and create something fabulous for your closest pals as well.

Plus:
Tsukineko Paris Dusk Memento ink
Copic Sketch Markers: B21, B24, B37, B45
Copic Blender Solution
Pinecone Press "Scout"
kraft cardstock
Corrugator, Nestabilities Circle
twine, rivets, clothespin, denim scrap
sanding block