Woodware UK: Creating in the Round

Woodware's "Circles" challenge for this week provided me with the opportunity to post one of my favorite cards. Featuring the Stampendous Cling Elephant Ascent, I created a fun tent card following a tutorial that I found on Split Coast Stampers HERE.  I used a Super Duper circle and Huge scalloped circle punch to create the opening in the front of the card. Fun polka dot papers inside and stitched outside, and plenty of colorful buttons added to the theme. Colored and shaded with markers (notice the appearance of transparency where the balloons overlap? Just think of what color the two overlapping would make!), cut out, and adhered to the front to dangle in the window, this cute elephant appears to be flying! The sentiment is one of Stampendous' Class A' Peel type Peel Off stickers from the Friendly Greetings set. Twine and ribbon bows finished off the front. This style of card is great for displaying all year round, yet folds nicely to put in the post.

Remember the whole Woodware UK team is playing with this challenge...so be sure to visit the Woodware blog each day for more circular fun!

Woodware UK: The Earth Laughs in Flowers!

Our Woodware UK team guru, Dorothy Adam, sometimes has just a little too much fun coming up with our weekly challenges. On the face of it, "Earth" doesn't seem like it should be a problem, but I was a bit confused as to her original intention. Considering Dorothy's quirky sense of humor, it was entirely possible that she could been begging for aliens landing on earth, so I thought that I'd better ask first. Her reply? Earth colors! Yep. Just that simple. Of course, she's pretty exhausted as she and three others of the Woodware UK group  completed the "Moonwalk", of over 26 miles all through the night in "support" of breast cancer warriors, survivors, and researchers. How awe-inspiring!

Back to earth...I thought that I'd post this card that I created a couple of years ago for the Stampendous catalog. Ralph Waldo Emerson once remarked that "The earth laughs in flowers", and I think that is fitting for this challenge...and it's in earth colors!

The focal stamp is from the Perfectly Clear Daisy Thanks set, which includes the daisies, the swirl image, the butterfly, and the "thanks a bunch" sentiment that I repeated across the bottom using colors from the Stampendous Coastal Express Embossing Powder Kit. I used markers for all of my color and shading on the flowers, added some ink-distressing around all of the edges, and then for a bit of glitz and glam...I covered the focal panel with Versamark ink, and embossed the entire panel with Stampendous Crystal Embossing Powder. You can still see clearly all the gorgeous color and detail of the design, with the addition of clear shine and transparent sparkle. Yum!

Remember that the entire Woodware UK team are posting with their "earthy" creations this week, so check back daily for more inspiration!

Flowers are Poppy-ing Up at Woodware UK

Not only is the Dream Team going floral for the month of March, but this week the Woodware UK team is blooming with spring as well. It doesn't matter that they are up to their eyeballs in rain and snow across the pond, they are still charged up for some happy flowers. And who can blame them? Especially, when you have such a wonderful selection of floral supplies as Woodware carries!

It was a tough decision, but I chose to work with this beautiful, whimsical Poppies Field Clear Magic set, designed by Francoisé Read for Woodware UK. It's been a while since I've done any form of watercolor, so I broke out my Aquarel Watercolor Pencils and my Sakura Koi Waterbrush, and colored madly in and out of the lines created by embossing the design with Stampendous Shabby Pink Embossing Enamel. I added a bit of a Fran•táge flair with a spattering of Shabby Green Embossing Enamel as well, heated from underneath to not lose all the bits. A wonderful slender sentiment comes with this clear design, and stamped with StazOn ink on vellum, was a pretty overlay over the Woodware UK Self-adhesive White Lace. And of course a little bling from Mark Richards Crystal stickers.

Have you seen what the rest of the Woodware UK girls have been up to this week? You can check out each day's post on the Woodware UK blog.

Remember, all of these products can be purchased at the stores listed on the Woodware UK website. In the USA, both Shabby Enamels can be purchased through the Stampendous website as well. So...get shopping!

Laughing in My Sleep

It's sketch week time again on the Woodware UK team...number twenty to be exact, which you can view at left. A nice simple layout.

My post features a newly-released image from Woodware's own line of Clear Magic stamps, and designed by the Flower Lady, Jane Gill. Amazingly enough, there are no flowers on this card.

However, there is a great sentiment, perfect for cheering up a friend, a get well card, or just as a fun note (without inking the bottom portion of the expression).

I used Bazzill Dotted Swiss cardstock, which I highlighted the dots by running my dark yellow dye ink pad over the surface. This same color was used to stamp the final portion of the focal image. The main portion was stamped with teal dye ink to match the scrap of beautiful paper on the side. As an added highlight, I added a strip of Mark Richards Nailheads on the right side.

The team would love for you to play along with the sketch challenge. Just add the links to your creations on the linky tool HERE. While you are there, check on the latest daily creations from the rest of the Woodware UK girls.

The Art of Resisting Iresistible Ink!

Today is a Twofer post...two team posts in one...double the fun! All of the month of September, the Dream Team have been playing with ink and our wonderful stencil designs. This week for the Woodware UK team, our challenge is to create with a resist technique.

This card features one of my favorite creative techniques...mixing stencils and stamps. I stamped the Stampendous Cling Follow Your Art image on a white cardstock panel with Versamark ink, and embossed in clear. Then I had fun with several of the Dreamweaver Memories Mists inks...Mango Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Daiquiri, and Diet Cola. The Open Heart stencil was placed on before some spritzing with ink and water, and allowed to drip dry. The stencil was removed, and the Jigsaw stencil placed over the panel and spritzed with Mango Lemonade and Pink Lemonade. Then I replaced the heart once again, placed the Hexagons over partially, and spritzed with Diet cola. This same ink was sprayed thoroughly through the same stencil on the orange card at the bottom. I used a paper towel to wipe away the ink from the embossed area. The embossing enamel makes a perfect resist. The remainder of the card was completed by layering and adding a beautiful May Arts ribbon bow.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Woodware UK team posts...they are sure to be "irresistible"! And here's the list of the Dream Team that are playing today:

Dream It Up!   

Laura Drahozal
Cherylynn Moser 

Louise Healy
Wendy Jordan 

Cyndi Bundy  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg

Liz Martin

Remember to play along with both team's challenges for opportunities to win some great prizes. Woodware UK has a monthly sketch challenge to play along with. The Dream It Up! blog provides the opportunity to link your inky creations, or to email your pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com for a chance to win the stencil of your choice! Winners will be selected and announced along with the next challenge on the Dream It Up! blog next week. It could be YOU!

A Splash of Blue

The Woodware UK girls are adding a splash this week...of blue! The challenge is to use black & white with a splash of blue, so of course, my splash is aqua blue. The design of the card follows the Split Coast Stampers' sketch challenge, so I'm covering more than one base this week.

For the background, I stamped the newly-released Stampendous Cling Lacy Background with Onyx Versafine ink on a white base. For the focus panel, I used the Perfectly Clear Chandelier set, and glitzed it up a bit with aqua crystals.

The sentiment is from the Perfectly Clear Cherub Wishes set, and is stamped inside one of the ornate frames from the Chandelier set. Very CAS, and perfect for many occasions. Try this challenge on for yourself. Meanwhile, check out the rest of the team blogs linked through the Woodware UK blog all this week.

Shrinking London?

I get so excited about the Olympics, and this year I am particularly excited as they are being held in London, and I took my first trip there in February...not to be my last! I've really enjoyed watching the Opening Ceremonies and the background images, knowing that I've been there!

My card for the Woodware UK challenge this week...using shrink plastic...celebrates my love of the Olympics and London. Featuring the new Stampendous Cling London image, with the addition of a Union Jack Peel Off sticker in the background, I really had fun with this.

I die cut a large square shape from the Polyshrink white. I wiped both sides with talcum powder to prevent the piece from sticking to itself during the shrink process. Then I stamped the image with Black StazOn ink. When dry, I used markers to color the image. Remember that this will shrink approximately 50%, and colors will concentrate, so keep your coloring lighter than you want it to be. I punched a slot at the top for the ribbon band, and a hole in the bottom to hand the beads. Once again, remember this will shrink, so make your holes much larger than you will want. You can use your toaster oven to shrink, but I use my heat tool and it works perfectly. Once it curls and shrinks, I place an acrylic stamp block over the top to keep it flat.

I was really pleased with the end result, especially when I embellished with a few Britannia Card Candi to finish it off.

Remember, you will want to see what has been shrinking on the rest of the team blogs this week, and you can find the links to all on the Woodware UK blog. As for me...I'm back to the "telly" to watch more of the Olympics!

Woodware UK Goes Zen!

Well...maybe not "Zen" precisely, but Zen-tangling can be peaceful and relaxing, especially if you use stencils to create the basic shape to add your patterns inside. Today, for the Woodware UK team, I am posting two cards created with Dreamweaver Stencils using the Zentangle, or Zendoodle technique (as Francoise refers to it).

The first card features one of the many gorgeous butterfly stencils that Dreamweaver carries, and just happens to have a couple extras on the same stencil. The process goes like this:

1) Using Sakura Micron pens in the 6 pack selection of sizes, trace the insides of the stencil design on good quality cardstock.
2) Create "sections" inside.
3) Doodle or make patterns inside. There are a wide variety of ideas for patterns online. Or, better yet, check out the wide variety of Zentangle books from Design Originals, including the sixth book in the series, "Zentangle 6: Terrific Stencils and Cards", featuring works of art from Suzanne McNeil, and several of the Dreamweaver Design Team, including me!

Because Zentangle is so striking in its simplicity, very little needs to be added to it. I did add two border strips cut from a panel of paste-embossed in glossy white Zebra Texture, and a simple Peel Off sentiment.

Traditionally, Zentangle is done in black & white, but sometimes it's fun to change it up and add some color...

 This second card follows the same basic steps using the Huma Huma Fish stencil, but was colored with a Sea Blue marker for the ocean feel. The background uses the Mosaic Swirls stencil, paste-embossed in matte black. The web ribbon from May Arts, and the little charm were all the embellishment needed.

Check out the Woodware UK blog for more Zentangle inspiration this week! Remember, those of you in the UK can purchase these products through stores listed on the Woodware UK website HERE. Those of you in the US can purchase Dreamweaver products HERE.

Supplies:

#1-
LG620 Butterflies
LJ815 Zebra Texture
DEPGW Glossy White Embossing Paste
PO XSDK-06 Micron Pen 6-pk
926982 S Silver Tiny Text

#2-
LL371 Huma Huma fish
LJ901 Mosaic Swirls
DEPMB Matte Black Embossing Paste
PO XSDK-06 Micron Pen 6 pack
Sea Blue Tombow Dual Tip Pen

Gray and Chartreuse? Yep, It Works!

Sometimes it is just so fun to work with something out of your comfort zone. This week's challenge with the Woodware UK team, is to work with gray and chartreuse. Amazingly enough, I was the one that suggested this combo, and I wonder how many of my team mates are wondering what the "yank" was thinking. This combo intrigued me. I've seen several design sites that have used this combo, and I thought that it was cool. What do YOU think?

For this card, I used the Dreamweaver Stylized Dahlia, which was embossed on Co'ordinations' cardstock, sanded, and paper-pieced
with this dotted paper from Bo Bunny. I inked around the edges of each piece for a more dimensional appearance, and added Stickles dots and Card Candi for embellishment.

The card base was also Co'ordinations cardstock, embossed with the Dreamweaver Waves & Dots stencil, and sanded to reveal the design. A sentiment oval was added to finish this off.

Remember to check out the rest of the Woodware UK team as they post their creations in gray and chartreuse this week.

To purchase the products in my post in the UK, visit any of the stores listed on the Woodware UK site. In the US, visit the Stencil with Style site.

Woodware UK: Thinking Outside of the Box

The Woodware UK team was challenged this week to create a card in any shape but a square or rectangle. Fortunately, I had recently done this pocket watch card for the Altered Alice challenge back in March.

This card was created by using circle templates to create the card base, the ring at the top, the hole in the face, and the acetate piece to fit inside. The card base was run through my embossing machine with the Dreamweaver Stencils' Large Damask for texture. Versamark ink was wiped around the edges and embossed with Stampendous' Aged Gold and Aged Black Embossing Enamels.

The other details were all images from the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Wonderland set, plus a few numbers from the Perfectly Clear Altered Typewriter set. All pieces were embossed, distressed, and adhered to create a very vintage Alice creation.

Be sure to see what the rest of the Woodware UK girls have been creating "outside of the box" this week by checking the Woodware UK blog.

For purchasing these products in the UK, visit any of the stores listed on the Woodware UK site HERE.

For purchasing in the USA, you can visit the Stampendous site HERE, and for Dreamweaver's, visit HERE.

Woodware Sketch #14 Tied Up PURRfectly!

Love sketch challenges? Woodware UK has a fun one this week...#14 as seen at left. You have all month to play along with an opportunity to win a great prize! For more info, visit the Woodware UK blog HERE.

My version of the sketch features Jane Gill's wonderful clear designs for Woodware...Forbes & Friends. I'm guessing that she names these fun kitties after one of her own. My "Forbes" is into mischief, and has gotten just a little "tied up" with red and white Baker's string. He was colored with markers, cut out, and popped up with foam adhesive.

The papers are London Design, with the addition of the balls of yarn, paw prints, and the fun sentiment from the clear set as well. On the inside, the wish is for a "Purrfect Birthday"!

The whole team is playing with this sketch throughout the week, if you missed any of the previous posts, just go to the Woodware UK blog.

Woodware UK: Positively Regal with Purple and Gold

I'm kicking off the week for the Woodware UK team challenge of using a purple and gold colorway, by posting one of my absolute favorite cards that I've ever created.

This card features the Stampendous Cling Baroque Bouquet image stamped on Bazzill Dotted Swiss cardstock using purple ink. The image was stamped again on scrap pieces, and the flowers were cut out and adhered to the original image on the card, along with some matching paper roses, and an intertwining of May Arts leaf trim. I added a few crystals to the flower centers in a matching green.


Slits were added along the sides of the bouquet to lace and tie a yummy purple ribbon (also May Arts). If that weren't regal enough, I added a stamped with Versamark and gold embossed Stampendous Perfectly Clear Vintage Crown on purple cardstock, at the base, curved and held in place with gold brad fasteners for more dimension. A little distressing with the ink pad direct-to-paper finished this off.

Not a bad start to this regal week with the Woodware UK team. Be sure to check their blog daily to be inspired by the rest of the team!

If you are in the UK, you can purchase these products through the stores listed on the Woodware site HERE.

If you are in the USA, you can purchase the Stampendous images through their website HERE.

Teachers...Are You Ready for the Summer?

I love it when I can fulfill two challenges for the creativity of one. The Woodware UK team was challenged this week to create a teacher gift. Stampendous is challenging everyone to create something with a summer theme. Ta dah! I haven't met a teacher yet who didn't celebrate the end of the year and look forward to the summer. And my children's teachers loved to receive gift cards to buy a good, juicy, relaxing book to read through the summer.

 I chose to use the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Summer Cuties. The girl looks as though she's waving goodbye, and the sentiment is perfect. I followed this great tutorial on Split Coast Stampers to create this great pop up gift card holder. Super simple, and fun to receive. The Barnes & Noble gift card just tucks right into the envelope slipped in between the two pop up boxes.

The summer cutie that I chose was colored with markers and a blender pen. A few highlights were added with a Sakura White Gel Pen. The happy paper is by London Design, and the gingham ribbon is the perfect summery touch.

All items in this project can be purchased at your local craft stores listed on the Woodware UK site. Check out what the entire Woodware UK team has been creating for teachers this week on the Woodware UK blog.

In the USA, these images can be purchased through the Stampendous web site. Check the Stampendous Impressions blog for more summer fun.

WW Sketch 13: Queuing Up for the Tofu Barbecue!

OMG! Is this not just the CUTEST piggy ever? He is a Francoise Read design for Woodware UK, and I love, love, love him. He comes as part of a This Little Piggy clear set with two fun sayings..."This little piggy..." and "hogs and kisses". Seriously, you know you have to have this! While you are at it, you need to get his pal, Chubby Kitty!

Following the Woodware UK sketch challenge #13 this week, I thought I'd create a Father's Day card for the hubs. He loves to grill and barbecue (yes, there is a difference!), so I thought a BBQ related card would be fun for him.

Don't panic, though! This little wobbly-eyed piggy is going to the TOFU BBQ! He's too cute to become anyone's chops and ribs! Notice how he's dressed for the Q? He has his denim jeans on (stitched and all), and his napkin pinned around his neck...so bring on the sauce!

He was stamped and embossed with Stampendous White EP on kraft cardstock and cut out. The two background panels for the sketch match, and I added a cute belt and buckle with the sentiment added. I punched out the BBQ letters using Sizzlits. This could easily become a great invite for a summer occasion, or as in my case, a Father's day card for the "piggy" in my life!

Come play along with the Woodware UK team this week. Link your own version of this sketch for June, and you might win a fabulous prize!