Thursday, September 26, 2013

Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter: Awesome in Autumn, Week Four


Ready to be sparkly? This month is our annual collaboration between Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter, and we promise double the glitter and double the fun! Follow the trail of bling all of this month on the Art Glitter blog, and the Dream It Up! blog. Play along with the monthly challenge of "Awesome in Autumn" and link your creations to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! Thursday posts for a chance to win some stupendous stencils and glamorous glitter! As if that wasn't cool enough, Art Glitter is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code DW20, and the Stencil with Style site is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code SWS20!

Here's what I've created for today's post:



Yes, I'm back showing off more of my mixed media book. If you've missed any of the previous posts regarding it, you can find them HERE, HERE, and HERE! Lol. This page is definitely multi-layer. The base of the page is canvas covered. I spritzed various Memories Mists over the page...Amaretto, Teal, and Pale Ale. The main panel was done in steps...as the panel is clear acetate, I applied drops of Color Solutions alcohol inks on the back, with a several drops of the Thinner/Cleaner and used a can of "Air Spray" to blow the puddles around a bit. I poured a bit of Glossy Accents over the colored surface, and tilted it in all directions to coat the entire piece. While wet, I sprinkled Bananan, Sand, and White Gold Art Glitter over it, and then placed a section from an old dictionary on top of it, and set it aside to dry. Once dry, I paste-embossed in Matte Black the Dreamweaver Leafless Tree on the front. Once this was dry ( I told you there were many layers!), I added this old torn photograph (actually a print) of my Gran (on the left), her sister Lorna, and my Great-Gran (who looks very much like Glenn Close). This is probably my favorite photo of the three of them. I edged the photo with some White Gold glitter, added punched oak leaves covered in the same glitter to the tree. I wanted just a bit more dimension, so this ruffled piece of green crochet lace from May Arts was the final addition.

Check out this week's awesomeness which includes our super sparkly guest designer and previous Dream Team member...

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Woodware UK: Making Stamps with Magic!

Occasionally it is great fun to step back in time, and play with a product or technique that you've completely forgotten about. This week was such an occasion! The Woodware team was challenged to see just what they could do with Pen Score Magic Stamps from Clearsnap. These are a thick, squishy moldable foam that you heat with your heat tool until quite warm. Then you press it into whatever dimensional surface you want, and it creates a stamp of it. You can use this stamp as much as you want, and when tired of it, you reheat it and create something new.

For my background, I pressed the Magic Stamp foam into the surface of this woven wood basket that I've had forever, and suddenly...the front of my card is complete!

For my focal panel, I pressed the hot foam onto a stained glass dragonfly that a friend had given me years ago, and suddenly...I have a great dragonfly stamped image!

For a more finished design, I stamped one of the Delightful Verses from a Woodware Clear Magic set created by Jane Gill, matted the panel with aqua cardstock, added a few aqua Card Candi, and a wrapped twig in aqua from one of the Woodware Craft String Medleys for an added nature element.

The fun with this product is never-ending. Pour a handful of buttons, paper clips, Legos, rubber bands, chippies, etc. onto a flat surface, and press your hot Magic Stamp into the surface to create whatever background design that you want! Bored? Reheat, and play all over again! Now that I've played with this again, I think I need to keep it out, and make magic more often!


Saturday, September 21, 2013

Dreamweaver and Quietfire Design: Grand Finale!


Get ready for an amazing week of Awesome in Autumn! This week we are playing with the Quietfire Design team, and are so excited to play with their amazing images and sentiments. In their beautiful calligraphic style, their quotes and thoughts are the perfect addition to our Dreamweaver designs. Follow along with us, and leave your comments for an opportunity to win one of two wonderful prize packages:


Here's what I've created for today's post:

This card features the Dreamweaver Leafless Tree, spritzed with a resist medium on top of the stencil, and a piece of glossy white cardstock placed face down on top to transfer the medium and the design. I let that dry for a few minutes, and then rubbed various Memento inks over the surface...Rich Cocoa, Teal Zeal, Nautical Blue, Potter's Clay, and Bamboo Leaves. The tree took the most color, and the spattered background took just enough to be interesting. I used the Treasured Memory sentiment (love, love, love) from Quietfire Design once again (when you have the perfect sentiment, why waste it?), and stamped and embossed it in Stampendous Bark Embossing Powder on torn vellum. With a fine glue pen, I was able to add a bit of Blue Water Art Glitter for a hint of sparkle.



Check out this week's awesomeness which includes...

Quietfire Design Members...
Sherry Cheever
Holly Eastabrook
and
Dream Team members...
Jessica Griffin
Cyndi Bundy
and the
and

Friday, September 20, 2013

Dreamweaver and Quietfire Design: Day Four

Get ready for an amazing week of Awesome in Autumn! This week we are playing with the Quietfire Design team, and are so excited to play with their amazing images and sentiments. In their beautiful calligraphic style, their quotes and thoughts are the perfect addition to our Dreamweaver designs. Follow along with us, and leave your comments for an opportunity to win one of two wonderful prize packages:


Here's what I've created for today's post:


I went a little more simply for this card. I pasted the Dreamweaver Dragonflies in Matte Orange Embossing Paste. When dry, I applied some Palette Glue inkpad with a cotton swab over just the wings of the dragonflies, heated it to activate the adhesive, and applied Glacier Lake and Goldfinch Metallic F/X for the magical color that dragonflies always seem to have. I absolutely love dragonflies, so as soon as I saw this wonderful quote stamp from Quietfire Design, I just knew that I would use it with some of the Dreamweaver dragonfly designs. "Follow your dreams till they take wing and fly" -Joanne A. Ross. What a great message of hope and inspiration in such an ephemeral world.







Check out this week's awesomeness which includes...

Quietfire Design Members...
and


Dream Team members...
and the
and

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Dreamweaver and Quietfire and Art Glitter, Oh My! Day Three

Get ready for an amazing week of Awesome in Autumn! This week we are playing with the Quietfire Design team, and are so excited to play with their amazing images and sentiments. In their beautiful calligraphic style, their quotes and thoughts are the perfect addition to our Dreamweaver designs. Follow along with us, and leave your comments for an opportunity to win one of two wonderful prize packages:


Oh, and in case you forgot...we are also covered in Art Glitter for the month of September...
  

Ready to be sparkly? This month is our annual collaboration between Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter, and we promise double the glitter and double the fun! Follow the trail of bling all of this month on the Art Glitter blog, and the Dream It Up! blog. Play along with the monthly challenge of "Awesome in Autumn" and link your creations to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! Thursday posts for a chance to win some stupendous stencils and glamorous glitter! As if that wasn't cool enough, Art Glitter is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code DW20, and the Stencil with Style site is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code SWS20!

Here's what I've created for today's post:


I'm featuring another page in my new Give Thanks mixed media/scrapbook. This is page seven, and the final page of the book...so far. For this page, I used a yummy piece of BoBunny cardstock, cut to fit the page, and aged and distressed with Cocoa and Tuxedo Black Memento inks. I also used Memento inks (Bamboo Leaves and Pear Tart) to color the Dreamweaver Branch and Pear stencil designs. Before the next step, I stamped this wonderful Walt Whitman quote* from Quietfire Design which is perfect with the pear, even if my pear is green and not red. Artistic license! I love the calligraphy that Suzanne uses for her thoughts and quotes...elegant and perfect for every project!

The really fun part of this page was that, once again, I mixed a small amount of Beacon Fast Finish with a little Bananan Art Glitter, and brushed this over the pear and leaf for subtle sparkle and highlights, and then I sprinkled some Stampendous Color Fragments over the wet surface. When this was dry (doesn't take long...that's why it's called Fast Finish), I pasted the pear with Translucent paste. The PEARfect way to add texture and dimension!

There are still a couple of pages that I haven't shown you yet, so be sure to check back for more!

Meanwhile, check out this week's awesomeness which includes...

Quietfire Design Members...
and
Dream Team members...
and the
and
Quietfire Creations Blog

*One thing that I particularly love about this Walt Whitman quote, is that it reminds me of one of my favorite movies, "Little Women" (1994), where Jo (Winona Ryder) and Professor Bhaer (Gabriel Byrne) both share that particular quote together. Sigh.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Dreamweaver and Quietfire Design: Day Two

Get ready for an amazing week of Awesome in Autumn! This week we are playing with the Quietfire Design team, and are so excited to play with their amazing images and sentiments. In their beautiful calligraphic style, their quotes and thoughts are the perfect addition to our Dreamweaver designs. Follow along with us, and leave your comments for an opportunity to win one of two wonderful prize packages:


Here's what I've created for today's post:



I played with my new resist technique for this card. I spritzed the Dreamweaver Maple Branch stencil with Beacon Fast Finish Decoupage Medium (which I poured into a spray bottle), and placed a panel of glossy cardstock face down on top to transfer the design, and the medium. Let it dry for a few minutes, and then the fun begins. I rubbed various Memento inks over the surface. The leaf portions had no medium on them for the most part, so they took the most color. The background took very little, but enough to add interest.

In keeping with our Art Glitter collaboration for the month of September, I used a glue pen to then apply lines of Sand glitter over the panel, and as part of the striping on this luscious ribbon from May Arts. For more sparkle, I placed a strip of adhesive tape along the bottom and covered it in Canadian Blue glitter, and used the same to cover the head of my Dreamweaver Embellishment pin.

After the fun I had playing with all of these supplies, the accompanying Quietfire Design sentiment stamped on a tag was the perfect finishing touch. Everyone should "Create Without Limits"!


Check out this week's awesomeness which includes...

Quietfire Design Members...
Debbie Sherman
and
Dream Team members...
and the
and

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Dreamweaver and Quietfire Design: Day One



Get ready for an amazing week of Awesome in Autumn! This week we are playing with the Quietfire Design team, and are so excited to play with their amazing images and sentiments. In their beautiful calligraphic style, their quotes and thoughts are the perfect addition to our Dreamweaver designs. Follow along with us, and leave your comments for an opportunity to win one of two wonderful prize packages:


Here's what I've created for today's post:


Last week as part of the Dreamweaver/Art Glitter collaboration, I posted the cover of one of my latest mixed media creations, my Give Thanks book. This week, I plan on sharing a couple pages from this book in order to inspire you to break out your Dreamweaver Stencils, Art Glitter, and Quietfire Design sentiments and quotes. This page is all about my mom. The photo is of her when she was about 10, so around 1936. At this age she was taking piano lessons from a neighbor, which she loved...music and art were everything to my mother. She majored in art at the University of Minnesota, where she met my dad on a blind date, and they married in 1947. She was a music teacher off and on while I was growing up, but my favorite memory is of her playing piano during the holidays with all of the family singing along.

The background of this page, like most in this book, is canvas covered, and I spritzed it with Memories Mists through the Dreamweaver Damask stencil using Copper, Teal Metallic, and Amaretto. I randomly added the Petite Fern over the page ink-stenciled in Teal Mememto ink, and embellished with Art Glitter White Gold glitter. I love the sentiment that I stamped and embossed with Stampendous Bark Embossing Powder on vellum. A thank you to Quietfire Design for providing this perfect thought..."May each treasured memory bring you comfort and peace".


Check out this week's awesomeness which includes...

Quietfire Design Members...
and
Dream Team members...
and the
and

Monday, September 16, 2013

Woodware UK and Crafty Cardmakers Challenge Takes Wing!


Welcome to another Woodware UK post with the Crafty Cardmakers! Our challenge from them for this month, was to create "Things with Wings", and oh, do I have a beauty for this one!

This card features the Dreamweaver Butterfly which I machine-embossed/debossed into Mercart turquoise aluminum. I then sanded off the color from the raised areas and off the edges to reveal the silver under the turquoise. Placing several drops of Color Solutions inks (Citron and Sugarplum) onto the applicator felt, along with a few drops of the Thinner/Cleaner, and pounced it over the surface to add the lime and purple tones. All that was needed next, was to cut the panel, mat it with white cardstock, and adhere it over a gorgeous bow onto my card. A very simple card to create, with such a wow impact!


Thursday, September 12, 2013

Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter: Awesome in Autumn, Week Two



Ready to be sparkly? This month is our annual collaboration between Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter, and we promise double the glitter and double the fun! Follow the trail of bling all of this month on the Art Glitter blog, and the Dream It Up! blog. Play along with the monthly challenge of "Awesome in Autumn" and link your creations to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! Thursday posts for a chance to win some stupendous stencils and glamorous glitter! As if that wasn't cool enough, Art Glitter is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code DW20, and the Stencil with Style site is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code SWS20!

Here's what I've created for today's post:

I'm really excited to show you my Give Thanks book that I created for this month's challenges and collaborations. Partly mixed media, partly scrapbook, and all texture and color! Here's the front cover. The basic book is a canvas covered book that I picked up at a big box craft store recently. And then I added Pam to it! I spritzed Dreamweaver Memories Mists Amaretto ink through the Damask stencil, and added more mists including Copper, Teal, and Pale Ale. The focal panel features the Dreamweaver Give Thanks Cornucopia, paste-embossed in Metallic Copper, and given a liberal sprinkling of Art Glitter White Gold and Sand. I mixed Bananan glitter in a small amount of Beacon Fast Finish Decoupage Medium, and brushed it over the surface, to add shimmer without it being overwhelming. While the medium was wet, I added a sprinkling of Stampendous Color Fragments as well. Oh, and that great May Arts burlap ribbon? It was natural in color until I spritzed it with Copper and Amaretto Memories Mists. The picture below provides a sneak peek at the pages to be featured in days to come...



Check out this week's awesomeness which includes our super sparkly guest designer and previous Dream Team member...

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Woodware UK: SMILE! It's the September Sketch Challenge!

It's now your turn to play along! The Woodware UK team have been challenged to created with the sketch above, and we want you to show us what you've done as well! Just email your link to dorothy@woodware.co.uk for a chance to win!

My version features the Dreamweaver Black Eyed Susans, paste-embossed in Translucent Paste on acetate. I colored from behind with Color Solution Alcohol Inks (using a cotton swab) in Lemoncello, Pumpkin, and Darkest Brown. The stems and leaves were colored using a green Permopaque Marker. The background panel was run through the embossing machine with the Plaid/Stripes stencil, and the embossed surface brushed with yellow ink. The green panel was machine-embossed with the susans stencil as well, and the finishing touch was a green paper flowers, with a punched circle sentiment from the Woodware Clear Magic Just To Say set.



Thursday, September 5, 2013

Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter: Awesome in Autumn, and Sparkly, Too!


Ready to be sparkly? This month is our annual collaboration between Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter, and we promise double the glitter and double the fun! Follow the trail of bling all of this month on the Art Glitter blog, and the Dream It Up! blog. Play along with the monthly challenge of "Awesome in Autumn" and link your creations to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! Thursday posts for a chance to win some stupendous stencils and glamorous glitter! As if that wasn't cool enough, Art Glitter is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code DW20, and the Stencil with Style site is offering a 20% discount this month if you use the code SWS20!

Here's what I've created for today's post:

This card features the Dreamweaver Maple Branch and Script Thank You stencils, a few Memories Mists spray inks, and plenty of fun Art Glitter! The square panel was done in the double-glitter technique, but using a mix from the Carnival Pee Wee set, with Sand, and the background covered with Transparent Crystal. To tone down the fluorescent colors a bit, I lightly misted with Pale Ale and Amaretto Memories Mists. I used the Amaretto to spray through the Maple Branch stencil for additional fall leaves. The finishing touch was pasting the Thank You in Copper Embossing Paste over the card, sprinkling with a bit of the same glitters, and heating it similar to the Molten Magic technique. The end result is shimmery texture.


Check out this week's awesomeness which includes our super sparkly guest designer and previous Dream Team member...



Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Woodware UK: Piling on the Layers with Wear Crafts!


Did someone mention layers? Oh, boy! The Woodware UK team are posting along with Wear Crafts UK, and our challenge is layers...lots of layers! Perfect time to pull this one out of my hat (or cyber file). There are so many ways to create layers...inks, papers, paste, embellishments, etc. I have used a bit of all of these on this card.

Layer #1-The base is a square black card. I've added a layer of teal cardstock that has been watermark inked all around the edge, and embossed with Stampendous Aged Gold Embossing Enamel.

Layer #2-A torn black panel which I paste-embossed Dreamweaver Stencils' Gold Embossing Paste with the Gears stencil. The wet paste was sprinkled with Aged Teal and Aged Gold Embossing Enamels, and heated with the heat tool. Heating the paste while wet causes it to bubble and puff up a bit, and of course, the powders melted, so the result is very chunky and textural.

Layer #3-A small panel of copper metal was run through my embossing machine with the Gears stencil and no rubber mat, just to get the faint impression. Then it was placed upside down on the Dream stencil, and hand-embossed with a paper stump tool and a stylus tool. A cord is wrapped around this panel and the second.

Layer #4-A panel of acetate was liberally coated with Glossy Accents and drops of Colour Solutions Alcohol Inks, smeared a bit, and a sprinkling of Stampendous Mica Flakes was added before a piece of tissue paper covered the entire wet backing and allowed to dry. Once dry, The Stampendous Patent Man Cling stamp was stamped on the front of the panel with Black StazOn ink, and the panel adhered to a black cardstock mat. This was then adhered to the card front with foam tape.

Layer #5-Two punched circles...one of chipboard and one of metal, were machine embossed with the Gears stencil. The metal one was ink distressed with StazOn, and the chipboard one was covered with Versamark ink and embossed with Aged Gold Embossing Enamel.

Layering can be so much fun, in small amounts or large! Hope you have fun layering this week as well!