Dreamweaver Stencils: A Moody Mixed Media Post

This week I literally played with the Dreamweaver monthly challenge of "Mists, Drizzles, and Showers". I hauled out all kinds of goodies...the new Leafless Tree stencil, the Rainy Words, several shades of Metallic F/X and Tsukineko Splendor and Versamark ink pads, Matte Black and Pearlescent Embossing Pastes, stencil brushes, palette knife, spreader and the picture in my head. Scary, huh? I had this idea of trying to recreate the look of a rainy day when the sun just begins to peek through the clouds and creates that gorgeous prismatic rainbow arc. Not the happy-dappy rainbow done by a small child with a box of crayons, but that misty unknown mood...will life get stormy again, or will it be a brighter and shinier, more hopeful vision? Waxing a bit philosophical this week, but life is like that...and sometimes you just have to take a step back and reaccess your life and where it's going. Kwim? To achieve the look I was aiming for, this is what I did:

I coated my white cardstock panel with Versamark ink before using a large stencil brush to swipe Pewter Metallic F/X over the panel, predominantly the upper left side. I also used the cloud-shaped side of the Picasso tool to add to the cloudy/stormy affect. Then I used a couple larger stencil brushes to swipe a rainbow of colors from the Splendor ink pads in an arc from the right, and added a hint of the sun at the top corner. I wanted a bit more shimmer and layer, so I swiped similar rainbow colors of Metallic F/X over the inked areas (the ink acts as a fixative to hold the powders). Using another portion of the Picasso stencil, I ink-stenciled a hint of ground and hills. To emphasize the mood, I stenciled several rain inspired words on the side, before pasting the Leafless Tree in Matte Black. When the panel was dry, I stenciled a bit of silver ink through the Rain stencil, and a bit of Pearlescent paste over the top. I removed the stencil, and with a brush, swiped down through the pasted rain to spread it a bit. Once this was dry, I stenciled a few birds in the tree, and I adhered the panel to the card, added some ink-distressing, and scraped along the edge of the panel for more texture. I strung several buttons with some wonderful burlap twine from May Arts (this is not your average cord... it has just the right amount of rustic charm without being too thick and bristley.

Now is your time to head around to check out the rest of the "A" team's blogs, plus our April guest designer, Alison Heikkila, for more of the misty and mystical. Don't forget to leave some love as you go, and play along with us for a chance to win a fabulous stencil prize. Just link your creation on the Linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com.

Dream It Up!
Alison Heikkila
Laura Drahozal
Lyn Bernatovich
Pam Hornschu
Heidi Erickson
Louise Healy
Jessica Griffin
Cyndi Bundy
Cherylynn Moser

Still need more inspiration? Check out the Dreamweaver Thursday Tutorials on Paper Craft Planet, and like us on Facebook (pssst...more prize opportunities on both!).