Dreamweaver Stencils: A Moody Mixed Media Post

This week I literally played with the Dreamweaver monthly challenge of "Mists, Drizzles, and Showers". I hauled out all kinds of goodies...the new Leafless Tree stencil, the Rainy Words, several shades of Metallic F/X and Tsukineko Splendor and Versamark ink pads, Matte Black and Pearlescent Embossing Pastes, stencil brushes, palette knife, spreader and the picture in my head. Scary, huh? I had this idea of trying to recreate the look of a rainy day when the sun just begins to peek through the clouds and creates that gorgeous prismatic rainbow arc. Not the happy-dappy rainbow done by a small child with a box of crayons, but that misty unknown mood...will life get stormy again, or will it be a brighter and shinier, more hopeful vision? Waxing a bit philosophical this week, but life is like that...and sometimes you just have to take a step back and reaccess your life and where it's going. Kwim? To achieve the look I was aiming for, this is what I did:

I coated my white cardstock panel with Versamark ink before using a large stencil brush to swipe Pewter Metallic F/X over the panel, predominantly the upper left side. I also used the cloud-shaped side of the Picasso tool to add to the cloudy/stormy affect. Then I used a couple larger stencil brushes to swipe a rainbow of colors from the Splendor ink pads in an arc from the right, and added a hint of the sun at the top corner. I wanted a bit more shimmer and layer, so I swiped similar rainbow colors of Metallic F/X over the inked areas (the ink acts as a fixative to hold the powders). Using another portion of the Picasso stencil, I ink-stenciled a hint of ground and hills. To emphasize the mood, I stenciled several rain inspired words on the side, before pasting the Leafless Tree in Matte Black. When the panel was dry, I stenciled a bit of silver ink through the Rain stencil, and a bit of Pearlescent paste over the top. I removed the stencil, and with a brush, swiped down through the pasted rain to spread it a bit. Once this was dry, I stenciled a few birds in the tree, and I adhered the panel to the card, added some ink-distressing, and scraped along the edge of the panel for more texture. I strung several buttons with some wonderful burlap twine from May Arts (this is not your average cord... it has just the right amount of rustic charm without being too thick and bristley.

Now is your time to head around to check out the rest of the "A" team's blogs, plus our April guest designer, Alison Heikkila, for more of the misty and mystical. Don't forget to leave some love as you go, and play along with us for a chance to win a fabulous stencil prize. Just link your creation on the Linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com.

Dream It Up!
Alison Heikkila
Laura Drahozal
Lyn Bernatovich
Pam Hornschu
Heidi Erickson
Louise Healy
Jessica Griffin
Cyndi Bundy
Cherylynn Moser

Still need more inspiration? Check out the Dreamweaver Thursday Tutorials on Paper Craft Planet, and like us on Facebook (pssst...more prize opportunities on both!).

Dreamweaver Stencils: Memories Mists for Mixed Media

If you remember, the Dream Team challenge for the month of April is "Mists, Puddles, and Showers", and any possible spin you can put on that theme. Last week I went quite literal in using the Dreamweaver Umbrella, Rain, and Rain Words stencil designs. This week, I'm thinking misty...as in Memories Mists. Yes, I know, every crafting company out there has a mist, so what makes these special? A huge selection of colors available, including some iridescent and metallic, a choice of extremely saturated color, or less vibrant in hue. They don't get sopping wet. They dry fairly quickly, but not so much that you can't work with them first. I've tried several companies' mists, and I still come back to the Memories Mists. I'm done with the sales pitch, now, lol...so onto the main info...

I've had the jumbo butterfly stencil out for other projects this week, so I thought that I'd incorporate it into this mixed media card. I layered a few papers from the Cosmo Cricket Pixie-licious pad, die cut a couple of them to add on, and then started to play. I misted the butterfly on the right, using Lavender Tea Memories Mists. I mixed up a couple of paste concoctions. Did you know that you can mix various color mediums into the Dreamweaver embossing pastes? Yep. In this case, I used the MMs again. I used a bit of the Pink Lemonade and the Strawberry Daiquiri mixed into the Glossy White Paste to create the coral color that I used to paste the tiny butterflies and the "Hope" sentiment, but the real fun had come when I created the paste mix for the Kimono. I mixed a few drops of the Lavender Tea MM in with some Glossy White paste, just barely swirling the color into the white. I used my palette knife to apply a generous pile of the paste along my Paste Spreader. Of course, I had taped my stencil onto a cardstock panel with removable tape, as usual. Now for the pasting...as I spread the paste (working down the bridge lines, instead of against them), I sort of "serpentined" the motion to get the fabulous swirls of color in the design. I did this once again as I went back over it to remove the excess paste (save this in a covered container or bag for using another time!), carefully removed the tape and stencil (to clean immediately!), and set the kimono aside to dry. When dry I added the butterflies on top. When completely dry, I cut out the kimono and adhered it to the contrasting coral panel which I had machine embossed with the design. I was really pleased with the way the swirled paste had turned out...very marbled in appearance, and easy to do! Boy, do I love these mists! You will, too!

Don't forget to visit the rest of the team's blogs this week. Our "B" group is posting today, so you'll see a whole new spin on the challenge from last week. Once again, our guest designer, Alison Heikkila, is posting along with us as well:

Dream It Up!
Lea Kimmel

 Alison Heikkila
Louise Healy
Stacey Rumsby
Terrece Siddoway
Caroline Duncan
Pam Hornschu
Cherylynn Moser 

Be sure to play along with this month's challenge and link your creations to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics of your projects to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com. Oh, and by the way, did you know that you can find Dreamweaver Stencils' on Facebook and Pinterest, and our tutorials on Paper Craft Planet? Take advantage of the many social media ways to be creative with Dreamweaver!

Dreamweaver Stencils: A Shower of Talent with the Dream Team!

Welcome to a new monthly challenge with the Dream Team, and welcome to our new Dream Team! Today's a big day for all of us, as we introduce the wide variety of creative inspiration from our talented ladies...so wide in fact that we've divided our team of twelve into two teams, who'll post twice per month each. In addition, we have a guest designer this month to provide a unique take on creating with Dreamweaver, Alison Heikkila!


The Dream Team, as well as Dreamweaver, are heading off to new challenges and new horizons...all aimed at providing more and more crafters the opportunity to learn and share and experience the art of stenciling in its many forms. Paper-crafting, scrapbooking, home decor...there is virtually nothing in life that can't be made a little brighter, and a lot more beautiful with the addition of some wonderful Dreamweaver stencils and products.

Our challenge, and YOURS as well, is to create whatever inspires you with the theme of "Mists, Drizzle, and Showers". Now, open your minds up to the possibilities! Yes, you can think literally of rain, or you can think of the figurative. Maybe add Memories Mists to your project. Create a misty, drizzly mood. It could be on the edge of creepy, or just that relaxed feeling of a rainy day, curled up with a cup of tea, and a good book. It's up to you. But WE want to see what you come up with, so please post your creations on your  blog, an online gallery, and link it on the Dream It UP! blog, or email pictures of your projects to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com.

My card for today is more literal. I used the Dreamweaver Umbrella, Rain, and Rain Words, in a pointillism technique with my Copic markers. I then pasted Translucent Embossing Paste over the umbrella for more shine and dimension. I inked some "rain drops" over the panel, and paste-embossed in yellow the sentiment on some wonderful May Arts cotton ribbon. For more info on the steps of this card, please check out my tutorial on Paper Craft Planet this week.

Speaking of May Arts...look forward to seeing great quantities of their line of ribbons, and trims, and cords, oh my! We will be working as partners in craft for the next year. This means that WE will get to play with their fabulous product, and their team will play with ours!

Here's the list of our team players for this week including our guest designer:

Dream It Up!
Alison Heikkila
Laura Drahozal
Lyn Bernatovich
Pam Hornschu
Heidi Erickson
Louise Healy
Jessica Griffin
Cyndi Bundy