Woodware: Sketch 38 Playtime

I had fun with Woodware's Sketch 38, using one of my favorite techniques, in my favorite colors, and using a favorite stencil, die, and background stamp! The background "Many Christmases" stamp from Woodware's Jane Gill was stamped in Versamark ink on a white panel, and embossed in Stampendous White EP. Then I took a selection of Clearsnap ColorBox Chalk inks in French Blue, Pastel Lime, Aquamarine, Ice Jade, and Blue Lagoon, and stamped blocks of the pads overlapping. You can then take a paper towel or rag and wipe the ink off the embossing as it resists the ink. I did an extra panel as well, but inked the Dreamweaver Antler Snowflake and embossed it for the resist. I used the Dreamweaver Nested Ornaments die to cut out the shape, and matted it with lime green mirrorboard before adhering it with foam squares over a corrugated strip of the mirrorboard, along with the sheer dotted bow and a crystal.

Dreamweaver: Still Playing with New Toys for the Holidays!

How many of Dreamweaver's newly-released toys are you hoping for in your stocking this year? How about adding the new Nested Stockings set of Dies, along with the matching stencils? Here's how you can use them to create the card shown here:

1) Tape down the Stocking stencil on black cardstock, and paste it with Matte Black Embossing Paste. Set aside to dry.
2) Meanwhile, fold Bazzill Dotted Swiss red cardstock to create card. Layer a black and light blue panel of cardstock together, and adhere to the card.
3) Paste over the top of dried black paste with Crackle Embossing Paste. Let dry.
4) Meanwhile, ink-stencil in black the Happy Holidays stencil on a scrap of light blue, and round corners.
5) When surface is dry and crackled, tape the stencil back over the top, and using the Tsukineko Splendor inkpad as your palette, along with medium and large stencil brushes, ink color over the background, the cuff, and the heel and toes areas. Heat set ink a bit.
6) Continue to ink your design elements (Antler Snowflake and Christmas Borders), and heat set these as well.
7) Use the large Stocking Die to cut out your stocking, and adhere it to the black panel on your card, except at the top. Insert sentiment into the top of stocking.
8) Embellish with May Arts polka dot ribbon, velvet ric rac, and a sparkle pompom (trim a bit off of the back to help adhere to the flat surface.

The "B" team, as well as out September Guest Designer, have been busy as well playing with the new toys, so check them out and leave some love!

Dream It Up!
Wendy Price (GD)

Lyn Bernatovich

Louise Healy

Alison Heikkila

Kristine Reynolds

Pam Hornschu
Gill Wilson

Kristi Parker Van Doren

An InLinkz Link-up

Woodware: In Case You Weren't Aware...Christmas is Coming!

This is our challenge for Woodware this week...Christmas is Coming? Every store is full of holiday decor, gifts, and inspiration abounds. If you are a regular cardmaker for Christmas, then you know you need to start planning well in advance. This week will be a great beginning for creating that stack that you'll need.

My card features the new Cardinal Elements cling stamp from Stampendous. One of those all-in-one images that you can stamp it and be done, or in my case, stamp it once on the craft cardstock in black ink and emboss it in black, and again on patterned paper. Color and cut out the image, and paper-piece it. An extra patterned panel, some ink smudges, and some striped twine, and you're on the next card! Easy peasy!

Be sure to check the Woodware Blog all week for more Christmas inspiration!

Stampendous: Shaking It Up With Skulls and Skeletons

Blogging is very confusing this time of the year! One post is Christmas. The next is Thanksgiving! Yet another is Halloween! This is one of those...obviously! This week, the Stampendous team are being challenged to feature skulls and skeletons. My card has both, 'cuz I'm an over-achiever.

I created a shaker card first, by stamping the Tomb Elements in Versamark and embossing him (Or her? Is that a gravestone, or are you just glad to see me?) in white on black cardstock. I used a Sakura Fluorescent Gelly Roll pen to  color just the skeleton. I ink-stenciled the Dreamweaver Stone Wall on a long orange panel, scored in the center 1/8" space between the two lines, and folded. Now, I used a Spellbinder Nestabilities die to cut a window opening, and adhered acetate behind it. I placed long, thin strips of foam taped on the inside, to completely cover the perimeter of the window. Before adhering to the other side, I sprinkled some Stampendous Trick or Treat, Lime, and Purple Color Fragments inside, and sealed it up.

This piece was then adhered over a card created from Core'dinations cardstock, along with strips of patterned paper, and a layered bow of May Arts Polka Dot and Chevron ribbons, with jute twine.


My final addition was the Stampendous Skull Roses, stamped and embossed in black on lime green mirror cardstock, and in embossed in white on black cardstock. The rose was cut from the last one, and adhered over the entire skull, after having cut it out. These were layered and adhered to the card with foam tape.

Stampendous: A Dazzling Finale!

Hope you're enjoying all the inspiration featuring Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets and Stampendous Stamps and Essentials this week! We know you'd love to win some goodies to try yourself! If you missed the earlier posts, here are the links for you. MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY The team over at Add a Little Dazzle has created a special featuring the metals from this blog hop for those of you who have already realized you're going to need these products. You can find it here - Add A Little Dazzle Stampendous Hop Special. 

Of course you might win some, too! We're giving away three prize packages this week for comments on the blogs. A nice package of Metal Sheets, Stamps and Cutting Dies!

Here's my creation for today:

I had soooo much fun creating this apothecary jar! I have five of these jars that are on my shelf in my studio to display buttons, pompoms, rhinestones, flowers, etc., but I just had to steal one from the set. So now my flowers are in a Ziploc bag, lol. But it was worth it!

I originally started to make a card featuring Stampendous and the metal from Add A Little Dazzle. I cut a panel of the black aluminum, and wiped the surface with talcum powder (Johnson & Johnson to be exact). This acts as an anti-static medium before working with embossing powder or glitter on a staticky surface. I stamped and embossed in silver the Stampendous Mirror Mirror Cling Stamp, and stamped and embossed her in black on a purple metal panel. I cut out that oval, and used a tool to smooth the metal out, which caused it to curve a bit. When I did it to the other panel, I realized this would be cool curved over a jar...so the mad experiment continued! Bwhahahahaha!

I prepped the jar by spritzing the outside with irRESISTable Spray from Tsukineko in Lilac and New Sprout. It dripped down the sides and  base, looking a bit gory...heeheehee. When dry, I cut slits in the sides of my Witch panel, and tied it around the jar with wonderful May Arts reversible polka dot ribbon. I used foam tape to attach the purple witch oval. I wanted a label for the jar, so I used the Poison Labels Perfectly Clear set, and stamped one of the ornate designs on the back of the purple metal scrap. I used some of my metalworking tools to manipulate the metal and emboss the stamped design into the front. I sanded and inked it a bit to age it before stamping and embossing in silver the label...Poison No. 9.

I wanted to fill the jar with creepy stuff, and all I could find at my local Target store was some black net bags of spider and bat rings, and some bags of foil-wrapped chocolate balls that were printed to look like eyeballs. All of this was dumped into my jar, and then my eyes fell upon the black net bags! They were perfect to wrap around the lid and the base of the jar, giving it a webby feel. I dribbled some Gem Tac from Beacon Adhesives over both, and sprinkled heavily with Lime, Purple, and Trick or Treat Color Fragments. Oh, and I almost forgot, I adhered a flameless tealite inside the knob of the lid with Quik Grip from Beacon Adhesives to create a candle-lit effect, as well as the metal-worked label on the outside. A bat and a spider made it onto the netting as well...they're tricky that way!

Remember to visit and leave a comment at each of the teams' links below:

Wendy Price

 Vicki Dutcher

 Keren Baker

 Janelle Stollfus 

 Add a Little Dazzle

  Lea Kimmel

  Cathy Parlitsis

  Kristine Reynolds

  Lee-Anne Cross

  Graciela Chavez

  Jamie Martin

  Lydia Brooke-Evans

  Asia King

  Lee Ann Barrett

 Amy Hurley-Purdie 

 Kate Capper

  Pam Hornschu

  Martha Lucia Gomez

 

P.S. If you click on a blog link and receive a notice that says, "this post is not here", or something similar, just click on the blog header or look for a link that says Home. That should take you to the home page of that blog and the correct post should be near the top. Thanks for your patience. Happy hopping!

Dreamweaver: Power Pasting for the Holidays!

Where did the summer go? Kids are back in school, with all the insanity that goes with it, vacations are a not-so-distant memory, and it is once again time to get busy with the important things in life...crafting for the holidays! Yay! All of September the Dream Team will be featuring all the new goodies we have for the "Most wonderful time of the year", the fall and winter holiday season. New stencil designs, new dies, and...brand new, soon-to-be-released embossing folders featuring some of our top-selling designs, all to be found on-line through the Stencil with Style web-site, or your local papercrafting store.

Here's my holiday inspiration for this week:

This card features our new Chevron background stencil, embossed in Glossy Red paste on a white cardstock panel. Over the top is a red panel with the Ornament Joy stencil paste-embossed in Glossy White. So simple. The perfect design for "power pasting"! "What's that?", you say? Here's a short tutorial:

Supplies: Paste, stencils, palette knife, spreader, removable tape

Place one strip tape on one edge, then...

second strip back to back to create hinge.

Tape on remaining sides over cardstock.

Use palette knife to place paste on edge of spreader the same width as stencil.

Pull paste across with one motion at slight angle. Fill holes if necessary, and make a second pass to remove excess.

Lift stencil away using hinge-piece. Place new panel underneath, and continue.

You can get 4-5 panels before needing to stop and clean your tools.

Once your panels are dry, just layer them and embellish!

Be sure to leave some love for our "A" Team, as well as our wonderful guest designer for September! Remember to link your  creations on the Dream It Up! blog for a chance to win the monthly prize. Got questions? Join the Dreamweaver Stencils Enthusiasts Facebook group for great ideas, tips, inspiration, and fun!

Dream It Up!
Wendy Price (GD)

Leadonna Kimmel

Louise Healy

Laura Drahozal

Lynn Mercurio

Pam Hornschu

Jamie Martin

An InLinkz Link-up

Woodware: Froufrou For the Holidays!

The Woodware team is breaking into Grandma's attic for this post! Our challenge is using lace, ribbon, and pearls...so much fun! My card features the Clear Magic Nutcracker image with comes with some lovely snowflake designs. I used a mottled ivory cardstock, which I aged a bit with ColorBox Graphic 45 Venetian Lace ink. I stamped the Nutcracker in black ink on the card front, as well as a couple of sheets of the Cardmaker Christmas Post 8 X 8 paper pad that I keep using for everything! I stamped one more in white ink on one of the black patterned sheets. Then I decided how I wanted to dress my Nutcracker, and proceeded to cut out the various pieces and adhere them. I swiped a bit of white ink over him just to wash him out a bit. Now for the froufrou! I gave him a nice layer of Stampendous White Flock for his hair, beard, and mustache. He received a nice smattering of adhesive pearls on his jacket and hat. Now that he was all dressed up for the occasion, I stamped and embossed in white a few of the snowflakes from the set, and added adhesive pearls in their centers. I finished off the card with top and bottom borders of natural cotton ribbon and ivory cotton self-adhesive lace...all of which got a ink smudging to keep in the vintage feel.

Stampendous: Adding a Bit of Holiday Dazzle!

This week we're playing with the wonderful Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets and all of our terrific Stampendous products. We hope you're enjoying the inspiration so far! If you missed yesterday's post, here's a link for you. MONDAY The team over at Add a Little Dazzle has created a special featuring the metals from this blog hop for those of you who have already realized you're going to need these products. You can find it here - Add A Little Dazzle Stampendous Hop Special. Of course you might win some, too! We're giving away three prize packages this week for comments on the blogs. A nice package of Metal Sheets, Stamps and Cutting Dies!

Here's my creation for today:

My little holiday gift box is a base of unfinished wood box from the local big box store for one dollar, which I've swiped Tsukineko Toffee VersaFine ink over, and sealed with a brushed coat of Beacon Fast Finish Decoupage medium. During the very few minutes this took to dry, I quickly stamped out the Stampendous Cardinal Elements onto thin white tissue paper. I tore around the edges before decoupaging it onto my box. Do this by brushing one coat of the Fast Finish onto the box, and while wet, place the tissue as desired. Then brush more of the medium over the top and let dry.

Meanwhile, I stamped the image again onto a piece of the gold-color of aluminum from Add a Little Dazzle with Tsukineko Jet Black StazOn ink. The only portion I wished to work with now was the bird. I used some of my metalwork tools...a paper stump to begin manipulating the metal over a piece of suede, then a teflon-tipped tool to define the stamped design more, and a ball-tipped stylus to push the metal some more, creating more indented areas. I turned it over, and from the back on the hard surface of my desk, I traced the outside again with the Teflon tool to refine a bit more. I used a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol to remove color from the areas that I intended to add color to. I used a sponged with some Black StazOn refill ink to push black color into the surface, and quickly used a damp paper towel to wipe away the excess, going for an antiqued look. Then I placed drops of Dreamweaver Stencils' Color Solutions Alcohol Inks in Winter Red and Mojito Green to fill in the indented design work and set it aside to dry. Once I cut it out, I smoothed the edges with a sanding block before adhering it to the box that I'd decorated. Embellished with a lush May Arts ribbon bow, a stained wood button, a twig with a sprinkling of Stampendous Shaved Ice, my gift box was ready to fill with whatever treat I chose...in this case, leftover candy canes from last year! Lol. Hey, I had to add something for the photograph!

We love to hop and here are today’s featured blogs with Stampendous and Add A Little Dazzle

Stampendous

Lea Kimmel

Add a Little Dazzle

Pam Hornschu

Cathy Parlitsis

Vicki Dutcher

Kate Capper

Amy Hurley-Purdie

PS. If you get to a blog and it says something like "that post isn't here", just click on the blog header or look for a link that says Home near the top. That will take you to the blog home, and the blog hop post should be somewhere near the top. Thanks for your patience!

Woodware: Playing with Punches

The Woodware challenge this week provided me with another opportunity to add to my stock of Christmas cards, and to do it quick and simply. Our challenge is to use punches, and Woodware has a huge variety...all shapes, sizes, borders...amazing selection! I chose the Woodware Snowflake punch which was punched from plain white cardstock, and layered over a panel of Cardworks Christmas Post collection of papers, with a mat of white, and a card base of craft cardstock. To brighten it up a bit, I added buttons layered with Card Candi in Holly Berries, and sentiments from the Peel Offs. The size of this card fits nicely into a regular letter size envelope to use with normal postage.

Dreamweaver Stencils: Being Positive and Negative for the Holidays!

Where did the summer go? Kids are back in school, with all the insanity that goes with it, vacations are a not-so-distant memory, and it is once again time to get busy with the important things in life...crafting for the holidays! Yay! All of September the Dream Team will be featuring all the new goodies we have for the "Most wonderful time of the year", the fall and winter holiday season. New stencil designs, new dies, and...brand new, soon-to-be-released embossing folders featuring some of our top-selling designs, all to be found on-line through the Stencil with Style web-site, or your local papercrafting store.

Here's my holiday inspiration for this week:

Here I am again featuring the positive and the negative in my design-work. Rather than being a glass-half-full-or-empty type of person, I think I use both! Dreamweaver has just released a new Chevron background which I used to paste-emboss in Glossy Black a full panel on red cardstock. I used the also-new Oval Ornament Nesting Dies that have matching stencil designs to purchase separately. The larger size was perfect to be the focal point of this card, as well as the one below. I just love when I can knock out two cards with half the effort! The Happy Holiday sentiment on this card is new as well, and is a perfect bold statement for my card. Nothing frou frou about this card or the one below, just crisp, graphic design.

Obviously, this second card incorporates the Chevron panel with the cut out as a window to the small Happy Holidays sentiment, embossed in Glossy Red Paste with Stampendous Red Micro Glitter on top. The panel has been popped up with foam tape for more dimension, and both cards feature a black and white May Arts ribbon embellishment.

We'd love to see your holiday creations for the month of September, so link them up on the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog for a chance to win the stencil of your choice! Meanwhile, here's more inspiration from the "B" Team as well as our Guest Designer for September:

Dream It Up!
Wendy Price (GD)

Lyn Bernatovich

Louise Healy

Alison Heikkila

Kristine Reynolds

Pam Hornschu
Gill Wilson

Kristi Parker Van Doren

An InLinkz Link-up

Stampendous: Sweet Treats for the Mouse in the House!

Welcome to a haunting week with House-Mouse Designs® and Stampendous! My card features the Monica and Amanda "Dino Treats" duo sharing their sweets. The focal image was colored with a multitude of Copics (C1,3,5,7; BV0000,00,23; RV00; Y06,15,17; YR04,07; B00,05,06,99; YG11; G14), with a sponged cloudy background created with a Tsukineko dauber, London Fog Memento, and the Dreamweaver Picasso tool's scallop edge, as well as a dauber swiped bit of Tsukineko Dandelion Memento
ink for the moon glow. Mounted on a background of Authentique paper from the Latest & Greatest 6 X 6 square pad, and to a Bazzill cardstock base, with the addition of a Dreamweaver Leafless Tree die cut, a sprinkling of Stampendous Trick or Treat Color Fragments, and finally, embossed in black the new Halloween Wish sentiment! I just love coloring these little critters. House-Mouse Designs® have been a favorite of mine for at least fifteen years! I promise they'll be a favorite of yours as well! Look for them at your local stamp store, or online at Stampendous.com.