Dreamweaver: I'm Thinkin' That I'm Thankful

As we officially head into the holiday season, the Dream Team are challenging all of our followers to be especially "Thankful and Thoughtful" during the month of November. We hope that you will link your creations with this theme in mind on the Dream It Up! blog using the Inlinkz tool. Our "thanks" to you is providing you with the opportunity to win the stencil of your choice, and a bonus stencil of our choosing could be yours for using Dreamweaver product(s) in your artwork. I'm posting this for you today:

Ssssh, don't tell, but I've posted this card before, about three years ago. Since it is appropriate for this month's Thankful and Thoughtful challenge, I thought I'd show it again. Men, too, appreciate receiving a handmade card once in a while, and a bit of thanks is always thoughtful.

The base of this card uses the Dreamweaver Stripes stencil machine embossed in both directions on Core'dination cardstock, and then sanded to reveal the plaid pattern. A large panel was ink-stenciled in  brown on kraft cardstock with the Houndstooth design. I love the houndstooth stencil...in fact, all of the menswear-inspired patterns that Dreamweaver carries...Plaid/Stripes, Houndstooth, and Herringbone.

I used small scraps of Mercart copper-colored aluminum, machine-embossed with the Gears background, sanded, and slightly ink-distressed, to wrap around squares of cardboard as a focal point. Finally, I paste-embossed in Copper the sentiment...this "Thanks" has such wonderful font.

By the way, the Dream Team are very THANKFUL when our followers are THOUGHTFUL enough to leave us a nice comment on our posts! Here's the "B" team lineup for this week, as well as our very special guest designer, Linda Neff!

Dream It Up!
Linda Neff (GD)

Lyn Bernatovich

Louise Healy

Alison Heikkila

Kristine Reynolds

Pam Hornschu

Gill Wilson

Kristi Parker Van Doren

An InLinkz Link-up

Woodware UK: Tools of the Trade

The Woodware girls are breaking out the tools this week, so you know we take our crafting seriously! And Woodware has an amazing selection of tools to help anything that you envision become a reality. The tools that I played with this week are the Mercart Metalwork tools, of which there are several.

I created a base card, and added sprinkles of Stampendous Aged Copper Embossing Enamel over the surface, and heated from underneath to melt (using another great tool...a heat tool!). I also used the Dreamweaver Comfort Words stencil to ink-stencil in Versamark the selected word, and embossed that with the same embossing enamel.

Now for the fun...I cut a panel from a sheet of Woodware Copper and placed it over the top of the Dreamweaver Celtic Cross stencil. Then I used my fingertip to push around the design, slightly indenting the design for the next step. I used a Teflon tool to refine the design a bit before using a larger ball tipped stylus to really work the metal, pushing it to puff out a bit. At this point, I could take the Teflon tool once again, turning the panel over and removing the stencil, and trace around the edge of the design to define it some more. You can go back and forth at this stage until your piece is how you want it. I cut it out, and to age it, used a sponge dauber to really push Black StazOn ink into the design. Then I used a sanding block over the surface to remove the ink from just the embossed areas. If you were fortunate enough to have a really puffy design, you can fill it with the Mercart filler from the back. When dry, it will hold it's shape. Or you can just adhere the cross to the card with foam squares as I did here. The end result is a work of art, but the tools simplify the process sooooo much!


Remember, the entire team posts through the week, so check back to the Woodware blog for daily inspiration!

 

Dreamweaver April Inspirations: Framed Fabulousness by a Fab Friend!

We're already into April, and no foolin', the Dream Team has a spectacular month planned for you...filled with exciting news and inspiration for all of your crafting dreams! The exciting news will be announced in the Dream It Up! post on April 17th, but the "April Inspirations" challenge will run for the entire month. Each team member will post what inspires them in their creative life...maybe a Pinterest pic, a magazine pic, a quote, a book, a place, an artist, a crafter friend...along with their creation. We are hoping that you will feel inspired as well, and link your projects (and inspiration) to the inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog, or at the bottom of this post.

My inspiration picture features this fabulous creation by one of my favorite designers, and she just so happens to be on the Dream Team...Louise Healy! Check out this wonderful frame from IKEA, decorated with tiny chipboard squares of Dreamweaver designs...

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/166492517444980953/

I picked up one of these plain wood framed mirrors from IKEA, and proceeded to create my own version using Mercart colored aluminums, Dreamweaver's new leaf dies (Monstera, Petite Fern, and Small Branch) as well as several Dreamweaver background designs (Crusade, Large Scales, Small Scales, Op Art, Wavy Lines and Dots, Large Cathedral Window). I have to admit that the process took a bit of time, but I was really pleased with the end result...

Each panel was die cut with a leaf. Each leaf was embossed. And each panel was embossed and sanded. Then the parts and pieces were assembled together, and adhered to the frame with Beacon Quik Grip adhesive.

Check out what our Guest Designer and the "A" team has been inspired by for this week...

Janelle Stollfus (GD)

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

Pam Hornschu

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Dreamweaver Stencils: Mysterious and Magical and Steampunk-in!

Are you ready to be spooked, mystified and magically transported to the land of Halloween and holidays? Hop on board the Dream Team train as we journey through all things Mysterious and Magical through the month of October. Our guest "engineer" is Miss Eerie herself, Alison Heikkila. October promises to be a very bumpy ride...

Lately I've been playing with the new Great Pumpkin stencil, and I've really enjoyed the wide variety of techniques I've used. Nothing screams fall more than a pumpkin, with or without the scary face. I played around with the idea of a "semi-steampunk-in" (haha) using silver colored aluminum machine-embossed with the pumpkin design, and embellished using several Mercart metal-working tools...I scratched in texture, I traced the design, I pushed at the metal with ball tools and paper stumps, added a border with one of the wheels, and some faux "screws". Then I rubbed the entire piece with Black StazOn re-inker, let it sit for a minute, and rubbed away the excess and polished a bit...leaving that aged/industrial look that I was going for.

Since the metal panel was ornate enough on its own, I kept the rest of the card quite CAS (clean and simple) with some fun paper and sticker sentiments.

If you're having a hard time finding Dreamweaver Stencils in your local stores, remember that you can purchase any of the Dreamweaver line online at Stencil with Style. Let those local store owners know that you'd love the convenience of being able to purchase Dreamweaver from them. They won't know if you don't ask!

Meanwhile, follow the "A" team this week, along with our Guest Designer Alison for more inspiration, and come play along with us by linking your own Mysterious and Magical creation to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog.

Dream It Up! 

Alison Heikkila 

Laura Drahozal 
Lyn Bernatovich 
Pam Hornschu 
Heidi Erickson 
Louise Healy 
Cyndi Bundy

Dreamweaver Stencils: A Cameo Appearance!

This week I'm multi-tasking once again, and mixing both my Dream Team challenge (Tiny Treats) with my tutorial on Paper Craft Planet. I'm not going to provide many details in this post, because I really want you to go over to the Planet Blog and check out the tutorial. Bonus...those that go over there have the opportunity to win a Dreamweaver stencil just by following the directions on that post. Of course, those of you that play with the Dreamweaver monthly challenge and link their own creations on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics of their "Tiny Treats" to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com, have yet another opportunity to win, as well as be featured on the Dream It Up! blog and the Dreamweaver Stencils Facebook Page!

Below this post is a picture of all the supplies used for this project, which looks like quite a lot, but seriously...you probably have most of these items in your craft bins now, and if you haven't, I highly recommend that you purchase them all. These are all products that I personally use all the time and LOVE!

Obviously, I've used the Dreamweaver Cameo stencil, and the Damask stencil as well. I've also used some tiny charm size images from Stampendous, luscious ribbon from May Arts, some Mercart colored aluminum and tools, and lots and lots of products from Beacon Adhesives!

What qualifies this project as a "Tiny Treat", is that the focal point is actually a brooch that can be removed from the card and worn, or even turned into an ornament for the holiday season.

Hop around and check out Dream Team "A" for some amazingly bright and fabulous ideas, play along with us this month, oh...and don't forget to check out my tutorial for this project on the Paper Craft Planet!

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

 

Woodware UK: Memories in Metal

My Woodware UK post is making me feel sentimental this week. I'm remembering how much fun I had in the UK in February when I had the wonderful opportunity to travel over with Lynell Harlow of Dreamweaver Stencils. We were there to teach some projects and demonstrate new product and techniques at the "Stitches" show in Birmingham. What a treat to visit a show dedicated to all things crafty in the UK, and to be with, and make great friends along the way!

One of the items we were demonstrating was the Mercart metals which come in a wide variety of colored aluminum...silver on one side, and a color on the opposite. I chose black for my Thistle design here. Mercart also provides a wide variety of tools for working the metal and adding your unique touch to your artistic endeavors.

Embossing on metal can be as simple or as involved as you want to make it. This one was fairly involved as I was working on it occasionally over a few days. I started by placing the metal piece color side down on top of the stencil design (Long Thistle), adding a small piece of removable tape to hold in place. Then you use a large paper "stump" (available at most art supply stores), rubbing over the surface to get the general impression of the design. Now you can switch over to the Teflon tool to add more precise delineation to the design, and if desired, you can use the large ball end tool to really push the metal as far as it will go. You can also use the fine tip of the Teflon tool to delineate the design on the opposite side (without the stencil in place). I used another tool to add the tiny, swirly design in the background for more texture, and one of the design wheels to finish off the edge all the way around.

When you have just the amount of embossing that you want, you can use a sanding block to remove the color from the raised surface, or you can use a cotton swab (Q-Tip) to remove color with the Color Solutions Blender/Cleaner. When dry, you can use Ranger Cut and Dry Pen Nibs to apply Color Solutions to the plain areas. I used Citron and Sugarplum for my punches of color.

To finish my card, I ran the white cardstock through the embossing machine with the Stripes stencil for a soft embossed texture, a border punched from the Woodware Craft Collection's Crafty Edger. This is a fabulous gadget! A huge variety of great design borders in cartridge form can be purchased to go with, for infinite possibilities.

For more ideas on working with the Mercart metals, visit the Woodware UK blog, and click on the sidebar for all the wonderful posts from this past week!

Remember, in the UK, these products can be purchased through any of the stores listed on the Woodware UK website HERE.

In the USA, most of these products can be purchased through stores that carry Dreamweaver and Mercart products, or through the Stencil with Style site.