Merry and Chilly

I love all things snowy and winter sparkly. Probably because I live in California, and see very little snow. For the holidays, I tend to decorate with a plethora of pine garland, with sparkly white fake snow on it, and pine cones, and plenty of snowflakes as well. So, you know that I just love this stencil from Dreamweaver called Heart Ornaments.

The entire design was paste-embossed in Regular Embossing Paste on a light blue panel, and set aside to dry. When dry, I replaced the stencil over the design and sponged ink over the surfaces. I created a "stencil" from a border punch of drips from acetate, and used that to mask off the hearts except where the "snow" would be pasted on. Dabs of more paste were added to the branch and needles, and sprinkled with Stampendous Multi Crystal Glitter.

Once dry again, the panel was matted in white and layered onto a red card, with the addition of a simple red bow. The sentiment was pasted similarly, and can be found on the Stencil with Style site HERE.

And that is how I play in the snow!

Visit the Stampendous Blog and these ladies for more frosty ideas:

Laura Drahozal

Lea Fritts

Pam Bray

Pam Hornschu

Louise Healy

Tenia Nelson

Chilly and Quick-Change Artist

Do any of you remember this little project that I did a little over a year ago for my guest bathroom? The walls in that bath are painted a beige/mocha color which was very popular until recently. Nowadays the "neutral d' jour" seems to be in the gray realm, which I really like. I. HATE. TO. PAINT! (Except on canvas.) So rather than paint the bathroom, I chose to find a way to bring in the gray in a way that will still coordinate with this light mocha color. I found a shower curtain with white, beige, blue-gray, and gray in it, along with patterned towels in those colors. The frame that I had purchased (above) is a slate-blue-gray color, with a beige linen matting. Originally I had decorated it with die cuts of the Dreamweaver Stylized Dahlia design from a pad of DCWV Gauze paper, layered. Great for the rest of the year, but not for the holidays, and especially not when we were having a holiday party. So...this is what I did...

I went with a vintagey winter theme with silver and gold and the blue-gray, lots of sparkle as you can see in the pictures above and below. I changed out the inserts of the frame with machine-embossed panels of Core'dinations cardstock in beige, sanded, and brushed with silver Delicata ink from Tsukineko®, paste-embossed Dreamweaver Antler Snowflakes on Stampendous die cut Snowflakes in gold paste and Gold Halo Glitter. The center panel was a soft blue-gray panel, paste-embossed in silver using the Dreamweaver Leafless Tree, and covered in Silver Halo Glitter. At the base was Versamark ink daubed on and covered with Stampendous Sparkle Puff Embossing Powder, and a sprinkling of Shabby Blue Embossing Enamel heated from underneath for "snow".

A super simple project, and so beautiful to see in person. Below is a pic of the opposite wall decorated in the same colors, with the same winter theme.

Bring a little winter into YOUR home, but in a way that is cozy and not cold. For more inspiration, visit the Stampendous Blog this week!

It's Finally Christmas Eve!

I know that most of my regulars (and irregulars) are super busy today, but just in case you've finished wrapping, baking, visiting, and ELF watching, and finally have a moment for yourself, grab your peppermint mocha, pull up a seat, and view the team's posts for Dreamweaver Thursday.

I'm featuring my gingerbread house that I created two years ago, and stenciled. Yes, stenciled. I had purchased a pre-baked gingerbread house kit from IKEA, and went at it with everything in my stash of Dreamweaver products...which is a LOT!

Each wall was ink-stenciled using the Stone Wall stencil with Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa Memento inks. The chimney pieces were paste-embossed with a mix of Regular Embossing Paste and red acrylic paint. The leftover mix was painted over the window frames and the door.

The roof pieces were were paste-embossed with the Small Scales stencil design using Regular Embossing Paste, and covered with Multi Crystal Glitter Mix from Stampendous. The window "panes" were each paste-embossed with Translucent Paste using the Dreamweaver Hawaii Quilt Combo design. I added dabs of the same paste along the edges of the "eaves" for icicles. All items were set aside to dry overnight.

To adhere all of the pieces together, I used more of the Regular Embossing Paste, dabbed on with a palette knife, and covered with more glitter. I added a few dabs to the window sills as well, and bank of it around the base of the house. The entire house was adhered to a slate plaque that I had in my crafting stash, and just happened to be the perfect size. The roof pieces were pasted together at the top, but not attached to the house. Instead, I stuck straight pins through the top edge of the walls so that the roof/lid would rest on top, but I could still access the inside. I placed flame-less tealights inside for display purposed. Though this project looks good enough to eat, no one would want to, but it does smell nice and ginger-bready. After the holiday, I sprayed the outside with a satin finish to seal it for display in years to come

Check out how our team is "wrapping up Christmas" for today. Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas to those who celebrate, and a happy holidays to everyone!

Stampendous Stamps

Laura Drahozal

Pam Hornschu

Louise Healy

Asia King

Tenia Nelson

Sing Joyfully with House Mouse Designs

These two wonders of the season are singing and playing their hearts out in celebration of the Lord, just as the Stampendous team have been doing all this week.

This darling House Mouse Designs® Joyful Noise was stamped in black Memento ink, and colored with Copic Sketch Markers. Beacon Adhesives' Tacky Glue was brushed over the robe and wings of our little "angel", and a bit on the berries before sprinkling with Micro Crystal Glitter. The sentiment from Joyful Phrases was stamped on the panel before matting it in blue, and adhering it to the red card base and the white glitter cardstock panel.

Check out the sweet inspiration from these ladies...

Stampendous Blog

Pam Bray

Kristine Reynolds

Lea Fritts

Dreamweaver Thursday: Celebrating the Reason for the Season

You see those three wise men on camel-back being led by that beautiful star to the city shown below? They were being led there for a reason...and that reason was the birth of the child on which so many religions base their faith...and the reason for the Christmas season.

Over the years, people have incorporated their own beliefs and traditions into the celebration of what this child represented for all...HOPE.

The Stampendous/Dreamweaver team have been sharing their own thoughtful creations in this celebration, and for today, I'm sharing this piece that I made for the July 2015 Stampendous catalog.

The base is a 12 inch square Bazzill Board in black. VersaMark has been dabbed around the edges, and then sprinkled with Aged Gold Embossing Enamel before heating to add a shiny and textured bit of dimension.

Adhered to the top of this, is a panel of Bazzill black canvas cardstock, on which the side has been ink-stenciled with a large
stencil brush and VersaMark ink, before brushing Sapphire Metallic F/X mica powder over the surface, and adding a few self-adhesive crystals and a border strip of ribbon.

The final panel features the Dreamweaver Peace on Earth all-in-one stencil design, paste-embossed in Matte Black on the same black canvas cardstock. When dry, the stencil was place over the design again, inked with VersaMark, and brushed with Sapphire and Goldfinch mica powders, before being popped up with foam tape over the previous layers. The end result is a beautiful reminder to all that can be enjoyed each year.

For more inspiration for the reason for the season, please visit the team links below:

Stampendous Blog

Laura Drahozal

Lea Fritts

Pam Bray

Louise Healy

Pam Hornschu (you're here)

A Child is Born

Feeling the need to keep the "spirit" in Christmas? This is our blog challenge for this week, and there will truly be some amazing inspiration from our wonderful team.

My card features some perfect stencil designs from Dreamweaver by Stampendous. On the right side of the gray cardstock base, I've paste-embossed the Quatrafoil stencil in Metallic Silver. A pretty blue ribbon has been wrapped and tied around the card base, with the addition of a Dreamweaver Nested Frames die cut tag, stamped with one of the Perfectly Clear Joyful Phrases.

The focal panel is a beautiful blue Core'dinations cardstock square, machine-embossed with the Dreamweaver Prince of Peace design, and sanded to reveal the raised image. Finally, the Nativity stencil was paste-embossed in silver on the panel, and set aside to dry thoroughly. A piece of silver foil was placed on top, shiny side up, placed inside a folded piece of copy paper, and run through my laminator to adhere the foil to the pasted image. A bit of ink distressing was added around the edges of both the panel and the card to finish it off.

Please visit these blogs today...

Stampendous Blog

Amy Hurley-Purdie

Jamie Martin
Tenia Nelson

Pam Hornschu

A Bestie Birthday

We're having a party today, and all of you are invited! Our Grand Poo-Bah, and one of my besties, Laura Weed, is having a birthday. So, I'm posting one of my abso fave cards I've created. So much texture, shine, and pretty colors. Oh, and a dragonfly...I LOVE DRAGONFLIES! I've always felt that when creating or choosing a card and/or gift, that it should represent a special part of yourself, as well reflecting what you know and love about the recipient. In reality, then, this card should be in shades of purple (Laura's favorite color), and somehow incorporate great music, wonderful art, amazing literature, and various other ephemera in keeping with Laura's "Renaissance Woman" personality. Despite the massive quantity of knowledge stuffed in her brain, she still loves to know and learn from everyone and everything else, and as a result is the most open-minded and loving person that I know...and am still getting to know.

Love you, Sweetie!

You can visit more of our party goers here...

Janelle Stollfus Alison Heikkila Pam Hornschu Laura Drahozal Kristine Reynolds Pam Bray Wendy Price Jamie Martin Lea Fritts Tenia Nelson Amy Hurley-Purdie Louise Healy
Asia King

A Carousel of Fun for the Holidays!

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Feel like you're going round and round and getting nowhere this holiday season? Little Monica Mouse doesn't mind that at all! She's on her favorite steed, the House Mouse Designs® Carousel Ornament, which has been stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Chameleon Markers. For an old-fashioned feel, all parts of the card have been stamped with the crackle image from Andy Skinner's Industrial Set by Stampendous, using Rich Cocoa Memento ink. A frame has been die-cut from the Dreamweaver Nested Frames set, and popped up with foam tape. Finally, a strip of kraft cardstock that matches with the card base, was stamped with one of the adorable House Mouse "Berry Mice" Sentiments.

To celebrate our final day of the celebration challenge week, head on over to these blogs...

Stampendous Blog

Pam Bray

Kristine Reynolds

Lea Fritts

Amy Hurley-Purdie

Pam Hornschu (you're here)

Christmas Party Animals!

It's hard to keep a sense of proper decorum with these party animals! The House Mouse Designs® Christmas Characters are preparing for the holiday performance, but one of them has "eyes" only for playing around. The image was stamped in Tuxedo Black ink, and colored with Copic Sketch Markers. With the application of a glue marker, sprinkles of Micro glitter were added to the leaves and berries.

A strip of Double-sided Mounting Paper was used to create a double-glitter technique strip of the Dreamweaver Graduated Dot Stencil. Another panel of the DSMP was covered in green Micro Glitter, and die cut using the Dreamweaver Holly and Berries Die. Red crystals were added as berries before adhering to the card.

Here's the link list of my teamies that are participating...

Stampendous Blog

Laura Drahozal

Kristine Reynolds

Lea Fritts

Louise Healy

Pam Bray

Pam Hornschu (you're here)

A Smoochy Celebration

No traditional Christmas celebration is complete without smooching under the mistletoe, and it's obvious that these cute mice agree. With a bit of conspiracy, there will be smooches all around! Featuring the House Mouse Designs® Mistletoe Mice, stamped in black Memento ink, and colored with Copic Sketch Markers, the focal point could almost steal the show on this card, but the background is a pretty-in-pink accompaniment. The panel of Bazzill Basics cardstock was placed inside the Dreamweaver Christmas Borders Embossing Folder, and run through my embossing machine. A pink VersaColor inkpad was swiped over the surface to highlight the designs. A bit of lace, a couple of blue crystals, tinsel trim, and a bow complete the cute factor.

Visit the links to the players for today...

Stampendous Blog

Louise Healy

Alison Heikkila

Pam Hornschu (you're here)

Janelle Stollfus

Woodware UK: I Got Sunshine on a Winter's Day

   

Want a winter play day? One where the air is crisp, the sun is warm on your face, and there is piles of fresh snow to play in? Apparently Gruffie the House Mouse Designs® bear is in total agreement with you! You can just hear him going, "Wheeeeeeeeeee!", as he flies down the hill in his favorite blue sled. 

Gruffie has been stamped in black dye ink, and colored with markers. Dabs of "snow" have been added using a palette knife with a bit of Dreamweaver Regular Embossing Paste. Stampendous Sparkle Puff Embossing Powder has been sprinkled over the top, and heated for a extra puffy sparkle. The same has been added to his hat, and used to paste the Dreamweaver Antler Snowflake as well. A panel of blue cardstock, inkpressed with black ink on the Pop Squares stencil, and run through an embossing machine to transfer the ink, and emboss the design at the same time. Finally a blue crystal, a pompom, and a great Stampendous sentiment finish off this fun card.

Sugarplum Wishes and Angel Kisses for Dreamweaver Thursday

The team has been busy this week with the Patty PopOns hop, and our weekly challenge of "Sugarplum Dreams and Angel Kisses". Now it's Dreamweaver Thursday, so I think you can guess just what challenge I went for today! I created this card for our July catalog where this lovely "Standing Angel" stencil was introduced to the Stampendous product line. I think she is so elegant, so I simply pasted her in silver on a panel of Core'dinations glitter cardstock. The card base was the same cardstock, but machine embossed on the front with the "Crusade Background" design. Teal aluminum was also machine-embossed with the same design, but without the embossing mat, so the design is there, but smooth. The center of the design was traced out, and metalworking tools were used to emphasize the embossing in that area...a paper stump, a large ball tool, a Teflon tool, and a decorative edge wheel for a more finished look. Now the center section could be sanded to reveal the design more intricately.

You can tell easily what my team members are playing with this week, so go for a look-see!

Stampendous Blog

Jamie Martin (puzzle)

Alison Heikkila (puzzle and DW)

Louise Healy (DW)

Laura Drahozal (DW)

Pam Hornschu (DW and sugar plum)

Kristine Reynolds (DW)

Pam Bray (DW and sugar plum)

Lea Fritts (puzzle and DW)

Tenia Nelson (puzzle, DW, weekly theme)

Stampendous and Patty PopOns...Creating Magic from Puzzle Pieces

The Stampendous team is playing with Patty PopOns Puzzle Pieces all of this week, in a challenge to put a new spin on an originally child-oriented product. And we are up for the challenge! Lol. I have to admit, these foam puzzle pieces stumped me a bit in the beginning, but I'm loving the end result. A bit "childlike", but not at all "childish".

I had this wood banner/plaque that I'd purchased from a "big box store". Originally, the hanger was stapled on the back to hang horizontally, not vertically. So I pulled it loose on one side, brushed it with white paint, and stapled it to hang vertically.

I also gave it a few light washes of paint, using Ranger Distress Paints (Cracked Pistachio, Weathered Wood, and Picket Fence). I stamped the Stampendous Cling Delicate Snow set in Versamark ink randomly over the plaque, and embossed them in the new Stampendous Sparkle Puff embossing powder.

While the Sparkle Puff and Versamark were out, I used them to cover my three PopOns pieces in sparkly white textural goodness. I only wish you could see the end result...sooooo much sparkle! I noticed as I heated the embossing powder, that the foam puzzle pieces tended to curve a bit, which was perfect for what I wanted! Each piece was also stamped with the snowflake designs using Black VersaCraft ink, and heated slightly to set the ink. I tried other inks on a sample piece, but none would be crisp and dark enough over the embossed base. The fact that the pieces were curved presented a challenge for adhering them to the board. I didn't want to flatten them. So I broke out my favorite glue for projects like this...Quick Grip by Beacon Adhesives! I only needed to add a small dab where each piece would touch the board and/or each

other. Instant perfection!

I found some of these Chip Chatter chipboard letters, and spelled the word "SNOW". Each was painted in the same wash of colors. Micro teal glitter was sprinkled over the wet paint, and a light spray of cheap hairspray set it so that it couldn't be wiped off. Each of the letters was adhered with Quick Grip as well, as I knew that the self-adhesive pieces on the back of the letters would not adhere over the Sparkle Puff embossed pieces.

For a bit of fun, I stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento, and colored with Copics, the House Mouse Designs® Sledding Santa. I dabbed Dreamweaver Regular Embossing Paste for snow at the base, and sprinkled it with Fran•tagé Spoonful of Snow, a wonderful combination of various sizes of crystal glitter, white embossing powder, and Shaved Ice. Once again, I only wish you could see how much sparkle achieved! Obviously, it was necessary to heat this, which caused it to puff up even more, and heating the Shaved Ice produces a gorgeous iridescence.

The image was cut out, and adhered to the PopOns with Quick Grip again, adding his flying knit cap to the "O" on the design. The end result is sparkly, sweet, light weight for shipping, and a wonderful bit of decor for the whole magical winter season.

For more magical fun, visit the Stampendous Blog HERE.