A Sweet, Sweet Smile

As children are going back to school, and parents are doing the "happy dance" after dropping them off, I thought I'd give one last salute to summer with my "Sweetie Pop" card. This week's challenge at Woodware was to "send a smile". Yep. This covers that base. Who can't smile at a ice pop treat? One of the challenges over at Split Coast Stampers was to post a summer treat theme...yeah, I got that one, too. And finally, another challenge at Split Coast Stampers (and I've got to wonder if they are on the same calendar as Woodware), is to create a card that makes you smile. Feeling pretty smug now.

I created this with the Stampendous Cling Ice Pop image, which I paper-pieced in strawberry, blue-raspberry, and lime flav...uh, I mean...colors. I used an embossed lime cardstock card, a crimped panel of polka dot paper, and a couple of stamped (Stampendous Perfectly Clear Hey There Cupcake) lolly sticks to back up my treat dude. To add to the icy feel, I added a couple of dew drops.

If you haven't already, head over to the Woodware UK blog to check out the links to all of this week's smiles. Remember you can purchase all of the products linked at your local store listed on the Woodware UK site, or in the US, you can purchase the Stampendous products from their website.

Have You Played with the New Dreamweaver Christmas Toys Yet?

Did you have fun with the Dreamweaver/Woodware UK hop last week? We sure did! Those WW girls are amazingly talented! Are you wondering if you won any of the great prize packages? Check this past Sunday's post on the Dream It Up! blog.This week we are finishing off our Christmas in August challenge, which means this will be your final week to send us links (or email pics) for them to be considered for the prize we are offering this month, the brand new Heart Ornaments stencil. More info on the Dream It Up! blog.

For my card today, I'm featuring last year's Ornate Christmas Tree along with this year's Christmas Borders (yes, they match!). I love the border patterns, very Scandinavian-inspired. I used the new Molten Magic technique on this, with one slight change. I did not sprinkle any Metallic F/X over the wet glossy pastes. So, when I went to heat the pastes with my heat tool, it bubbled wonderfully, but it also toned down the shine of the metallic copper on the background, and the glossy shine of the red paste on the front panel, giving it a burnished/aged look. The technique is very simple to do. I've posted previously with it HERE, or you can check out Laura Drahozal's tutorial with this technique on Paper Craft Planet HERE.

Do the run-around and check out what the rest of the team is playing with now:

Dream It Up!   

Laura Drahozal
Cherylynn Moser 

Louise Healy 

Cyndi Bundy  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg

Liz Martin

You know you want that new Heart Ornaments stencil, so hurry and link your Christmas Dreamweaver creations to the mr. linky on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com for an opportunity to win!

Christmas in August with Dreamweaver and Woodware UK

All of this week, the Dream Team and the Woodware UK teams have been celebrating the release of the new holiday designs from Dreamweaver Stencils. Of course, no celebration is complete without prizes...and there are some fabulous ones for those commenting on both sides of the "pond". 

Each team will be providing the opportunity to win four prize packages of stencil designs, perfect for the holidays. Just leave your comments each day on each players' post as well as the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs, and the Dreamweaver and Woodware Facebook pages. Two random commentors  will be chosen from the batch of weekday posts, one each from the DW and WW Facebook pages, and from the big hop on Saturday...from each side of the pond!* That's a total of eight prize packages up for grabs! Here's what you could win:

Feeling the need for something frosty?

You can't get much frostier than this card without the help of dry ice! For this card, I paste-embossed the new Heart Ornaments on a panel of acetate with the Regular Paste. While wet, I sprinkled two shades of green glitter on the pine needles, and deep red into pink shades on the hearts. When completely dry I ink-stenciled over the branch with Splendor, and added dollops of the Regular Embossing Paste over the branch for snow. I used my EK Edger punch that "drips", and punched a piece of acetate. I used the reverse portion as a stencil to add "icy" drips of embossing paste on the hearts, too. Because there were several covered areas on the acetate, I was able to use foam tape to pop up the panel over a light blue panel that was machine-embossed with the Hills stencil. The sentiment was also pasted, and red and crystal glitters were added to continue the frosty theme.

Don't forget to leave me some holiday cheer as you move on to the other players for today:

Woodware UK  
Dream It Up!   
Lee Kellogg
 Cherylynn Moser
 Dorothy Adam
 Louise Healy
Debs Frost
   Laura Drahozal 
  Terrece Siddoway
 Cyndi Bundy
  Wendy Jordan
  Francoise Read
 Liz Martin
 Georgia Sommers
 Siobhan Fyffe 
  Pam Hornschu
 Kristi Van Doren
 

Remember to follow along with the challenges on the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs for more prize opportunities, and more crafty inspiration, as well as "liking" DW and WW on Facebook.

*Winners selected must be from USA/Canada/UK only.

Dreamweaver and Woodware Day Five: Prince of Peace

All of this week, the Dream Team and the Woodware UK teams are celebrating the release of the new holiday designs from Dreamweaver Stencils. Of course, no celebration is complete without prizes...and there are some fabulous ones for those commenting on both sides of the "pond". 

Each team will be providing the opportunity to win four prize packages of stencil designs, perfect for the holidays. Just leave your comments each day on each players' post as well as the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs, and the Dreamweaver and Woodware Facebook pages. Two random commentors  will be chosen from the batch of weekday posts, one each from the DW and WW Facebook pages, and from the big hop on Saturday...from each side of the pond!* That's a total of eight prize packages up for grabs! Here's what you could win:

And now for something completely different:

You have to admit this card is very different from my post yesterday! So you've seen The Zentangled version of the new Peace on Earth design, but this one is a bit different. I used the ink-transfer technique by spraying three Memories Mists inks (Blueberry Shake, Strawberry Daiquiri, and Mango Lemonade) directly onto the back of the Peace on Earth stencil. Placing this on the base plate of my Big Shot machine, I then layered on top: 1) ivory cardstock panel, 2) rubber embossing mat, 3) TWO clear plates...and ran it all through the machine to emboss the design into the cardstock as well as transfer the inked design.

Then I placed the Prince of Peace stencil over the panel, and using a large stencil brush, I applied Splendor Antique ochre ink over the original panel.

The final step was to paste-emboss in Copper the Peace on Earth portion of the stencil for more texture. The rest was just layering and adding some ribbon.

Don't forget to leave me some holiday cheer as you move on to the other players for today:

Dream It Up!

  Woodware UK

  Louise Healy

 Debs Frost 

  Lee Kellogg

  Terrece Siddoway 

Georgia Sommers

  Pam Hornschu 

 Cyndi Bundy

Remember to follow along with the challenges on the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs for more prize opportunities, and more crafty inspiration, as well as "liking" DW and WW on Facebook.

*Winners selected must be from USA/Canada/UK only.

Dreamweaver and Woodware Day 4: Merry Mittens

All of this week, the Dream Team and the Woodware UK teams are celebrating the release of the new holiday designs from Dreamweaver Stencils. Of course, no celebration is complete without prizes...and there are some fabulous ones for those commenting on both sides of the "pond". 

Each team will be providing the opportunity to win four prize packages of stencil designs, perfect for the holidays. Just leave your comments each day on each players' post as well as the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs, and the Dreamweaver and Woodware Facebook pages. Two random commentors  will be chosen from the batch of weekday posts, one each from the DW and WW Facebook pages, and from the big hop on Saturday...from each side of the pond!* That's a total of eight prize packages up for grabs! Here's what you could win:

Before you go on your merry way, see what I have to show today:

I am so in love with this new Mittens stencil! There are so many fun ways to play with it! If you've been to the Dream It Up! blog today, then you've seen how it can be pasted and Zentangled. Now, I'm showing how you can paper-piece it! This is a great way to use up scraps of papers, or break out those special new ones. All you have to do is trace the reversed stencil openings on the back of your papers and cut out. I generally like to machine emboss the panel that I will adhere the pieces to as it makes them stand out more. For my mittens, I used the dotted cardstock from BoBunny and the plaid from Pine Cone Press, and you'll never guess what I used for the cuffs. If any of you have taken a class from Lynell Harlow, you know that she highly recommends using Swiffer dusting cloths for cleaning up or off all the extra glitter from a project. I had one pretty much covered in Stampendous Crystal glitter sitting on my desk. The brain clicked, and I thought, "Why not?", so I cut it up for the fluffy cuffs. It's hard to tell in the pics, but they are sparkly, too! The card was finished with some Hemptique twine (love their stuff!), a big red button, and epoxy sentiment, and "hand-stitching" with a Sakura White Gel Pen.

Don't forget to leave me some holiday cheer as you move on to the other players for today:

Dream It Up!
  Woodware UK
Louise Healy
Laura Drahozal
Lee Kellogg
Terrece Siddoway
Pam Hornschu
Liz Martin
 Kristi Van Doren
Cyndi Bundy 

Remember to follow along with the challenges on the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs for more prize opportunities, and more crafty inspiration, as well as "liking" DW and WW on Facebook.

*Winners selected must be from USA/Canada/UK only.

Dreamweaver and Woodware Day 3: Foiled for the Holidays

All of this week, the Dream Team and the Woodware UK teams are celebrating the release of the new holiday designs from Dreamweaver Stencils. Of course, no celebration is complete without prizes...and there are some fabulous ones for those commenting on both sides of the "pond". 

Each team will be providing the opportunity to win four prize packages of stencil designs, perfect for the holidays. Just leave your comments each day on each players' post as well as the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs, and the Dreamweaver and Woodware Facebook pages. Two random commentors  will be chosen from the batch of weekday posts, one each from the DW and WW Facebook pages, and from the big hop on Saturday...from each side of the pond!* That's a total of eight prize packages up for grabs! Here's what you could win:

Here is my post for today:

This card features the new Christmas Borders design, and I've paired it with the Oval Ornament stencil. The background was paste-embossed in silver. When dry, individual strips of colored foils were placed over the surface. The entire panel was placed between a folded sheet of printed paper, and run through a hot laminator to adhere the foil perfectly. The torn away pieces of the carrier still had the reverse of the images, which of course, could not be wasted. These were laminated onto the oval ornament panel. Some purple crystals were added, some white EK edged borders, and a ribbon bow, finished off this card.

Don't forget to leave me some holiday cheer as you move on to the other players for today:

Woodware UK
Dream It Up!  
Louise Healy
Lee Kellogg
Jane Gill
Terrece Siddoway
Wendy Jordan
Pam Hornschu
Liz Martin 

Remember to follow along with the challenges on the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs for more prize opportunities, and more crafty inspiration, as well as "liking" DW and WW on Facebook.

*Winners selected must be from USA/Canada/UK only.

Dreamweaver and Woodware Day 2: Molten and Merry

All of this week, the Dream Team and the Woodware UK teams are celebrating the release of the new holiday designs from Dreamweaver Stencils. Of course, no celebration is complete without prizes...and there are some fabulous ones for those commenting on both sides of the "pond". 

Each team will be providing the opportunity to win four prize packages of stencil designs, perfect for the holidays. Just leave your comments each day on each players' post as well as the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs, and the Dreamweaver and Woodware Facebook pages. Two random commentors  will be chosen from the batch of weekday posts, one each from the DW and WW Facebook pages, and from the big hop on Saturday...from each side of the pond!* That's a total of eight prize packages up for grabs! Here's what you could win:

Here is my post for today:

The Dream Team have been playing with a brand new technique just in time for our newest designs...Molten Magic! So simple, and yet so cool in appearance. I used it on this card by doing these steps:

1) I paste-embossed the Heart Ornaments design with Metallic Gold Embossing Paste. (The technique works best with the glossier pastes.)

2) While still wet, sprinkle the surface with a few Metallic F/X powders.

3) Apply heat tool over the surface until it puffs up and bubbles.

4) Here's where you can do a couple different things:

          a. Let it cool for a bit, and then press with finger tips
for interesting texture.
          b. Ink a texture stamp with Versamark, and impress into puffed up surface. 
5) I followed the second process and impressed one of the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Elegant Borders into the surface.
I used the same border stamped with Versamark for borders on the focal panel on the card.

Note: Each of the products used can be purchased in the UK through stores listed HERE on the Woodware site.

Don't forget to leave me some holiday cheer as you move on to the other players for today:

Woodware UK
Dream It Up!
Louise Healy
Lee Kellogg
Francoise Read
Pam Hornschu
Liz Martin
Terrece Siddoway
Cherylynn Moser 

Remember to follow along with the challenges on the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs for more prize opportunities, and more crafty inspiration, as well as "liking" DW and WW on Facebook.

*Winners selected must be from USA/Canada/UK only.

Dreamweaver and Woodware Week: A Season of Joy

All of this week, the Dream Team and the Woodware UK teams are celebrating the release of the new holiday designs from Dreamweaver Stencils. Of course, no celebration is complete without prizes...and there are some fabulous ones for those commenting on both sides of the "pond". 

Each team will be providing the opportunity to win four prize packages of stencil designs, perfect for the holidays. Just leave your comments each day on each players' post as well as the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs, and the Dreamweaver and Woodware Facebook pages. Two random commentors  will be chosen from the batch of weekday posts, one each from the DW and WW Facebook pages, and from the big hop on Saturday...from each side of the pond!* That's a total of eight prize packages up for grabs! Here's what you could win:

Here is my post for today:

I am so excited about this week's collaboration between the Dreamweaver and Woodware teams. I just love the new Christmas designs, and had so much fun creating with them. Today's card features the "Season of Joy" stencil, another one of the perfect all-in-one designs that Dreamweaver is known for.

I used the Color Solutions Alcohol Inks to create  a splotchy background of blue...Iceberg, Blue Velvet, and a bit of Sizzling Silver. I sprinkled kosher salt over the surface, and spritzed with the Color Solutions Cleaner/Thinner (in a Ranger misting bottle), and let this sit to create a more mottled appearance.

When this was brushed off and dry, I paste-embossed the Season of Joy over the surface with Glossy White paste, removed the stencil, and covered the surface with a mixture of both ultra fine and fine crystal glitters. While this was set aside to dry, I created the background panel by running a panel of white cardstock through my Big Shot with the Stripes/Plaid stencil in both directions. Then I brushed Tsukineko's Pearlescent Sky Blue and Ice Blue inks over the embossed surface.

I also pasted the Season of Joy sentiment on a torn strip of vellum with Glossy Blue, and sprinkled more of the mixed glitter. When everything is dry, I put the card together, and added a single rhinestone on the star.

Don't forget to leave me some holiday cheer as you move on to the other players for today:

Woodware UK
Dream It Up!
Laura Drahozal
Lee Kellogg
Pam Hornschu
Dorothy Adam
Terrece Siddoway
Wendy Jordan
Louise Healy 

Remember to follow along with the challenges on the Dream It Up! and Woodware UK blogs for more prize opportunities, and more crafty inspiration, as well as "liking" DW and WW on Facebook.

*Winners selected must be from USA/Canada/UK only.

Do You Wobble When You Hop?

'Dem bones, 'dem bones gonna...wobble around! As a matter of fact, all of this week, numerous Stampendous images have been wobbling. Stampendous has paired up with Action Wobbles to scare up a little action! Today's hop is your final opportunity to leave comments for all of the team players, for a chance to win some great prizes from both companies! More info on that below.

Meanwhile, I'll tell you a little about "Mr. Bones". He's stamped and ready for the next Halloween party, top hat and all. The glowing eyes tell you that he's already been into the "witches brew", but he intends to keep his head...wobbly as it may be. A generous sprinkling of Trick or Treat Color Fragments are the confetti he's bringing along for fun. Just so you invite the correct bony dude to your party, he's known on the Stampendous web-site as Cling Skeleton Poem 'cuz he comes with his very own entertainment!

Here's all the info so you know what great prizes we are giving away and what you need to to do to get them:

 6 Action Wobbles Springs

and CRV265 Cling Hula Kiddo to one lucky Blog Hopper! 

AND

6 Action Wobbles Springs

and CRW076 Tree Trim Kiddos 

 to a second lucky Blog Hopper!! (because we want to see that top Kiddo wobbling with that star!) 

How can you win? Comment on the blogs below! At the end of the weekend (yes, you have until Sunday night) we'll choose two of the blogs below at random. They will then choose a random winner and we'll notify you here! Here's who is playing today:

Stampendous Impressions Blog

Action Wobbles Blog

April Derrick

Cyndi Bundy

Mary

Jan Garber

Janelle Stollfus

Kate

Jennifer Ingle

Krissy Fossmeyer

Julie

Kristine Reynolds

Lea Kimmel

Sherri

Melinda Gleissner

Pam Hornschu

Theresa

Stephanie Lee

Susie Moore

Jenny

Suzanne Czosek

Taylor Usry

Janis

Tenia Nelson

Wendy Jordan

Tricia

Wendy Price

Tobi Crawford

Monica

Heather

Midge

Missed the beginning of our week of wobbles??? Check them out here - MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY

Playing with the Paper Craft Planet Sketch

I'm in charge of the sketch challenge this week over at Paper Craft Planet, and I'd love to encourage all of you to come play along. The layout is simple, as you can see at left. Just remember when you upload your creation to the Paper Craft Planet Gallery, to add the SK081712 tag to your link.

My version features the Stampendous Pensive Portrait cling stamp, along with the Perfectly Clear Corset Ladies and Timeless Tags sets. Stamped with Rich Cocoa Memento on shades of pink and kraft, embellished with only ribbon and a key, this is the type of card that can be done in mass quantities!

Just a Note...

If you're here for today's Dreamweaver post, please scroll down.

Party with Paper

Paper-piecing is the challenge for the Woodware UK design team this week. I chose to use this fun Stampendous Cling Cupcake XL image to my Celebrate card. I layered the paper-piecing on top for the icing, and the bottom paper was run through a Crimping Tool to mimic an actual cupcake liner. Using several Stampendous Dot Sparklers as a base, I colored them with Identipens to have a variety of colored "sprinkles". A wooden pick with an attached stamped sentiment and sparkle pompom makes you just go, "Mmmm. Yum."!

The background incorporates more of the fun patterned paper with a few Stampendous Velvet Rick Rack Peel Offs stickers.

If you haven't tried paper-piecing yet, you are in for a lot of fun. Plus, it's a great way to use up scraps!

Check out what the rest of the team has been piecing this week over at the Woodware UK blog, and remember...you can get these products from any of the stores listed on their website!

Summer Hues for Christmas?

Yes, it's Christmas in August with the Dreamweaver Stencils' design team. But, sometimes it's fun to think out of the traditional holiday color box. This was exactly what I was aiming for when I created this card. First, I paste-embossed in Glossy White the new Star Dream Christmas Tree. While the stencil was still in place, and the paste still wet, I sprinkled a selection of Metallic F/X over the surface. Then I removed the stencil to clean it, and set aside the pasted and sprinkled piece to dry. When dry, I used a piece of "Swiffer" sheet to wipe away the excess powder. The panel was layered with a pretty mint green mat atop a machine-embossed panel with the Waves and Dots stencil. A pretty sheer pink bow was the finishing touch.

For some amazing inspiration and opportunities to win some  great prize packages, come back starting next Monday, August 20th, for a week long celebration of the newly released Dreamweaver designs, with a collaboration between the Dream Team and the Woodware UK design team:

Can't wait until next week? Then pull out your Christmas designs and play along with the team. Link your creations on the Dream It Up! blog, or email your designs to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com for a chance to win one of the new Heart Ornaments stencil shown here:

Pretty cool opportunity, huh? Need some more great ideas? Check out the team blogs:

Dream It Up!   

Laura Drahozal
Cherylynn Moser 

Louise Healy
Wendy Jordan 

Cyndi Bundy  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg

Liz Martin