Dreamweaver Stencils: March Madness with Color Solutions

MAD I tell you! We're all going MAD! That is...MAD for Dreamweaver Stencils! Lol. Welcome to our "March Madness" challenge! Anything goes, and the more outside-of-the-box, the better. This year, we're aiming to play with non-traditional challenges whenever possible. So, break out all of your I-never-quite-knew-what-to-do-with-these-products stash, look at your Dreamweaver stencils in a whole new creative light, and get crafting! Oh, and don't forget to link those creations to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog for one of THREE chances to win the stencil of your choice!

For our second week, here's my personal act of madness:

This card went in a rather wild direction for me, and was never one of my personal favorites...a bit too busy. However, Lynell seems to love it. So...I think this month is the perfect time to finally post it.

This card is a perfect example of several ways to use Dreamweavers' Color Solutions Alcohol Inks. For the background, I applied drops of the various colors over the Large Cathedral Window stencil, and ran it through my Big Shot machine to Letterpress the design into the cardstock.

The smaller, framed panel (machine embossed with the Small Cathedral window), is a panel of acetate in which I laid the Large Cathedral Window on top, and dropped the inks over the stencil...obviously, there was quite a bit of running under the design, which  blurs the pattern, yet the colors are beautifully vibrant.

 Finally, we have the Rooster, which I paste embossed in Metallic Gold. When dry, I applied various Color Solutions over the surface using the Applicator designed for this process. A stitched grosgrain May Arts' ribbon and button add some more punch to the project, and bring it all together.

So, what do you think? Was this mad enough for March? Let me know, in your comments below! Hopefully, it was wild enough to have you jump outside of your comfort zone, and play along with us this month! Meanwhile, here's the B Team to inspire you more:

Dream It Up!
Lea Kimmel
Louise Healy
Stacey Rumsby
Terrece Siddoway
Wendy Jordan
Pam Hornschu

Color Solutions Inks Just Make My Heart All a Flutter!

I love a challenge. Especially when I happen to already have a completed project that fits the challenge! For this post, the Woodware UK team have been challenged to use "Anything but a Stamp". For me, that means breaking out the Dreamweaver Stencils (which, yes, you can get from Woodware!). Amazingly enough, this card also works for this month's Dream Team challenge with the Dreamweaver design team..."Getting Inky with Stencils". So for that reason alone, I think I'll use this post for Thursday as well.

This card is one of those that comes together so easily, yet still has the "wow" moment. Using the Dreamweaver Butterfly shape stencil, and Mercart colored aluminum in Teal, I machine-embossed the butterfly into the metal with my Big Shot (need a refresher on the "sandwich" for this? Click HERE). I then used a sanding block to removed the color from the embossed portions, which left the actual butterfly design still teal. I placed the stencil back on the metal, which now shows only the exposed aluminum. Using the Dreamweaver Color Solutions alcohol inks in Iceberg, Citron, and Sugarplum, with the Color Solutions Applicator (you NEED one of these...they are so cool and clever), I applied splotches of the colors over that exposed metal. Once the area was covered well, I used the edge of the still damp applicator to swipe the color out onto the surface of the metal around the edges of the design. Pretty cool, huh? So simple and fun to do. With the addition of some textured Core'dinations cardstock, a gorgeous fluffy bow from May Arts ribbon, and a punched edge, you have the "wow" moment that every designer "weaves dreams" of (Get it? Weaves? Dreams? Dreamweavers? Yeah, I know...bad pun).

For more inky ideas, without the use of a stamp, check out what the Woodware girls will be posting this week on the Woodware UK blog site HERE. And, on Thursday, check out what the Dream Team are posting in the list at right.

I'm pretty excited. This coming week I'll be flying off to Minnesota to visit relatives, and go play at the Mall of America at Archiver's Scrapfest 2012. Lots of make and takes, a Tim Holtz class and a 7Gypsies class, a fab dinner with a good friend. It's going to be soooo fun. I'll try to take lots of pics to post here next week...so stay tuned!

While I am away, I expect you to break out your stencils and inks and create something fab to link to the challenges on both the Dream It Up! blog and the Woodware Uk blog!