Woodware UK: Art in Words

This week the Woodware team were handed quite a challenge! We were only to use words in our projects...no images! Yikes! I don't mind making a sentiment be a focal point, but to not have even a background of images was very difficult for me. Fortunately, Stampendous has some wonderful sentiments in beautiful fonts, that truly become everything necessary in a design. And even more fortunate is the fact that you can purchase them from any of the stores listed on the Woodware site, or from the Stampendous site if you live in the USA.

 I used two cling designs...Color Outside the Lines and Life is Art. The first was stamped and embossed in white on a white panel to act as a resist for the layers of Clearsnap ColorBox Chalk inks in French Blue, Pastel Lime, Aquamarine, and Jade. For more visual interest, I cut and matted this panel asymmetrically, and layered it over a white panel which had been textured with a Corrugator.

The blue strip was created by first using removable tape to mask off everything but the "art" portion of the sentiment. Then I inked only that portion with Versamark, removed the bits of tape, and stamped and embossed just that word with Stampendous Aged Teal Embossing Enamel. After cleaning the stamp, I taped over the "art", and inked the rest with Onyx Versafine, removed the tape, lined up the sentiment over the embossed word, and stamped the rest of the sentiment. It sounds complicated, but really it is not.

Before adhering all of the layers, I sprinkled bits of the Aged Teal around the edges, and heat them from underneath. This is part of the "Fran•táge" technique which is so popular. The end result of this card is plenty of color, bits of bling, great texture, and fabulous words...just words!

If you haven't had the opportunity to check out the wordy creativity from the rest of the Woodware ladies, I recommend that you head over t o the Woodware blog now!

Woodware UK: A Clearly Challenging Clear Challenge!

If you are here for the Dreamweaver post, please scroll down!

 

It should be quite "clear" what the Woodware challenge is for this week's post...acetate! Such a fun way to add dimension and interest to any project. All you need is a few tips to follow for absolute success!

For my card, I started with a white card base, on which I stamped a few of the Clear Magic Mini Flowers in black ink. Then I added drops of bright Dreamweaver Color Solutions Alcohol Inks in Cosmo Pink, Lemoncello, and Pumpkin, randomly over the surface.

I cut a panel of clear acetate, and stamped the Clear Magic Huge Thanks in Versamark ink...but first I used this easy tip...simply wipe the front and back of the acetate with a Magic Anti-Static Pouch, so that nothing sticks to your acetate except for what you intend. In this case, I wanted to emboss the sentiment in Stampendous Midnight Black embossing powder. Pour the EP over your stamped design, and flick the back of the acetate to remove the excess. After heating to melt, and letting cool, just take a slightly damp paper towel and wipe off the excess anti-static medium.

Adhering acetate to your project can be tricky as, obviously, anything shows through. I also wanted the acetate raised up from the surface of the card. So, I used 3D Mounting Pads to adhere to the card, and glued bright buttons to cover them up!

Be sure to take the opportunity to check the Woodware blog all week for more creative uses with acetate!

Dreamweaver Stencils: March Madness Goes Magical

Dreamweaver's March Madness theme has been our way of stepping outside of our comfort zone, and playing with new techniques, new media, and new surfaces. For this card, I decided to play on a new surface...a piece of bark from the birch tree in my front yard. I used the Buck stencil, and ink-stenciled with Clearsnap's Mixed Media inks in Jasmine, Leather, and Vintage. Because these inks have a creamier pigment consistency, I was able to work them into the surface of the bark easily. I used a fine Copic Multiliner to trace the outline, helping the image to pop. I daubed some of the darker shades of the inks in Noir and Truffle, to help this further. The base card was the Bare Trees stencil, ink-stenciled as well, with the same inks, aiming for the colors of dusk. The end result is a bit magical...almost the feeling of Harry Potter's Stag Patronus in "Prisoner of Azkaban".

Have you had a chance to link your own "madness" this month? You can find the info on the Dream It Up! blog! Meanwhile, take the time to visit our fabulous Guest Designer, Georgia, and our B team to see what they've been creating this week!

Georgia Sommers

Dream It Up!
Lea Kimmel
Louise Healy
Terrece Siddoway
Pam Hornschu
Cherylynn Moser

Woodware UK: Happy Spring Showers of Flowers!

Have you thawed out yet? Are you still sloshing through mud puddles. Are you ready for Spring? Winter seems to have broken records this year freezing snow in the USA, and an overabundance of rain in the UK. We all could use some Spring Flowers! The Woodware team has been challenged this week to provide you with just that form of cheery inspiration.

My post features this beautiful Flower Corner stencil from Dreamweaver, along with the Merci sentiment. Both have been ink-stenciled with wonderful Dreamweaver stencil brushes and a Tsukineko Splendor Inkpad in Circus colors. Once all of the color and shading have been applied, I daubed clear Versamark ink through the stencil onto the design, and embossed it in Stampendous Crystal power...leaving a beautiful clear and sparkling finish.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the team's posts from this week, linked from the Woodware blog. Shower us with some love, please. That is one bit of rainfall that we won't complain about!

Dreamweaver Stencils: March Madness Goes Heavy Metal

Ready to get brutal? Are the sounds of screaming-in-a-trash-can pummeling your ears? In honor of my oldest son, Bryan, and his penchant for heavy metal music, I'm cranking up the madness to 11 (inside joke from the movie, "This is Spinal Tap"), as it was his 28th birthday last week. I created this card for him (and totally forgot to give it to him!), and really had fun going outside of my comfort zone. I embossed the Dreamweaver Electric Guitar on Red Aluminum using my Big Shot and several Mercart metal-work tools to expand the detail. I sanded the embossed areas to reveal the silver, and grunged it up with some black StazOn ink. I used a pointy tool to scratch the design randomly in the background. Another small strip of metal was embossed and distressed with the Heavy Metal segment from the Guitar Words stencil. These panels were adhered over a black glitter card and one of my favorite ribbons from May Arts.
I have a feeling Bryan will think this card is awesome. What do you think?

We'd love to have you play along with our March Madness challenge and link your creation to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog. How far can you create outside of YOUR comfort zone? Show us!

For more inspiration, here's the rest of the crew, including our guest designer for this month:

Georgia Sommers

Dream It Up!
Laura Drahozal
Lyn Bernatovich
Heidi Erickson
Louise Healy 
Cyndi Bundy

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

Woodware UK: Play Along with Sketch 32!

I always enjoy playing with a sketch challenge, and this month's Woodware Sketch #32 was no exception. The main panel features this beautiful Stampendous King's Teapot (only in this case it is for the queen mum in every family's household). Colored and shaded with markers, and with some shimmery Mark Richard's lavender adhesive pearls, it makes a perfect focal point...just like Mum!

The background triangles were cut from pretty shades of Woodware Color Cardstock packs. I stamped in rows images from the Woodware Clear Magic stamps designed by Francoisé Read called, "Time for a Cuppa", in lovely Clearsnap Archival Dye inks.

To finish it off, I created my own banner from a strip of white cardstock, stamped with one of the new Woodware Just Words for "Mother's Day". Mother's Day in the UK is March 30th, and in May for the USA, so this card is fun inspiration to cover both
occasions!

I hope you'll take the time to create something following Sketch 32, and link it up to the Woodware blog. Meanwhile, you have all of this week to see what the rest of the team have been playing with!