Playing With the Woodware UK Sketch Challenge

This week on the Woodware UK team, we are creating with a sketch challenge, as seen at left. For my version, I machine-embossed the Dreamweaver Stencils' Stripes on the front of my pine green card. Such an easy way to add texture and dimension to your projects. Just spritz the back of your cardstock with rubbing alcohol (do the British call that something different?), place it face down on top of your stencil, which is on top of the bottom platen of your embossing machine (my personal choice is the Sizzix Big Shot Pro), place one rubber embossing mat and two clear platens over this, and run it through to emboss. (An important note: never place warped platens on top of the stencil, or the stencil will become warped as well. Always place stencils with predominant lineage through the machine with the "grain" so to speak. In the case of the Stripes stencil, make sure stripes are vertically going through machine.) Back to the card...I added a panel of Dotted Swiss cardstock over the stripes, with the Stampendous Star Greetings sentiment to the right. The Holly and Swirls stencil was inked with darker green ink, placed on the platen. The green panel was placed face down, and the whole thing run through to emboss just as the Stripes had been. Leaving the stencil in place, I flipped it over and applied some gold ink from the Tsukineko Splendor Antique ink pad, sprinkled around the edges with Stampendous Gold Embossing Powder, and heated to melt. I embellished this panel with some Stampendous Red Dot Sparklers before adhering to the card. A sheer and crinkled ribbon bow was added. The end result is an elegant, traditional card. Come play along with the Woodware UK team and this week's sketch. I'd love to see what YOU do! Meanwhile, prepare to be inspired by the rest of the team as they post each day of this week, one at a time. You can find the links on the Woodware UK blog.

A Mish Mash of Holiday Stenciling

Since the Dream Team has a free week once again, I thought that I would showcase and handful of similar cards. These cards were all done using Dreamweaver Stencil's new holiday releases this year. They feature the Nativity and the Isaiah scripture background in various techniques. For the first card, I stenciled the scripture  background, ran it through the Big Shot with the Cathedral Window stencil for texture, and inked around the edges. This was adhered to the card. The Rejoice stencil was ink-stenciled, curled and inked before adding to the card. The focal piece is the Nativity which I first paste-embossed in black...let dry...Crackle pasted it...let dry...and stenciled antique colors of inks over the top.
The second card features the Nativity distress-foiled (crumple the foil before adhering), plus a collaged background of the Fleur de Lis embossed on metallic cardstock, the Holly Flourish and the Angel stencils inked on the background. The sentiment is the reverse portion of the Peace portion of the Comfort Words stencil foiled.
The third card features the Nativity once again, foiled once again, but a combination of gold and copper foils. The background was once again ink-stenciled and distressed around the edges. The sentiment is the foil piece that created the reverse for the second card.
These cards are a great example of how you can pull out several stencils and products to mix and match...never wasting any of the bits and pieces as you go! Check out what the rest of the team have done with their free week, as well as the Dream It Up! blog...oh, and while you're there, link your own creation!

Santa Gets Snarky

 I love the idea that even that "jolly old elf", Santa himself, can get a little cranky during the holidays. Murray's Law (from Gourmet Rubber Stamps) is full of humorous images, several with Santa in snarky mode. Since the "Santa Pony" image is obviously the focal point of this card, I kept it simple...I colored the image with Copic markers, added some highlights with Copic White, matted the image and adhered it to a Bazzill Maraschino card. I ran a strip of Bazzill Parakeet through my Big Shot Pro with Dreamweaver Stencils Christmas Lights, and finished it off with a ribbon tie. Oh, yeah, and of course I added a pompom on his hat!

Woodware UK Post

If you are here for the Woodware UK post, please scroll down. Thanks!

A New Stampendous Monthly Challenge!

It's the first Saturday of the month again, and that means that the Stampendous team is playing along with a NEW monthly challenge!  This month we are playing with a color challenge...to use pink, cream, gold, and/or brown in a card or project.  The colors can be by way of papers, coloring implements, inks, and/or any of the fabulous Stampendous Essentials.  If you've been stuck in a traditional holiday color mode, this is your opportunity to think outside the Christmas crayon box!

My version of the color challenge features the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Reindeer Swirls. I started by layering pieces of the various papers that I chose to go with the color theme. Then I simply stamped the images with Versamark ink and embossed in the new Fran•tage Essentials Aged Gold Embossing Enamel. I love these new embossing enamels...chunky, varied color and texture, just enough shine without going over the bling side! I added a few swirls and the sentiment stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink, which was also used to ink around the edges. This card was simple enough to do in multiples...so I did. The unique color scheme will stand out next to all the myriads of red and green cards given during the holidays.

Please join us in our challenge this month, and link your creation(s) to the InLinkz located on the Stampendous Impressions' blog (or any team member's blog post that has the collection at the bottom). You don't have to use Stampendous images and/or products on your designs...but we sure love it when you do!  You have until January 5, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST to enter your creation, for the opportunity to be the one lucky random winner to receive this fabulous Stampendous prize, the Amore Frame Perfectly Clear set:

Here's a list of the fabulously talented Stampendous team members playing along today:

Stampendous Impressions 

Taylor Usry   

Pam Hornschu   

Wendy Jordan 

Jennifer Ingle

Jenn Dove 

Melinda Gleissner 

Suzanne Czosek
Cyndi Bundy

Krissy Fossmeyer  

Lynn Mercurio  

Stephanie Lee  

Cyndi Bundy  

Kristine Reynolds

Janelle Stollfus

Jennie Black

Add your link below to enter our challenge! (A note about the link tool: you can add your direct link from this post, or any Stampendous team member's post with this collection, as well as directly on the Stampendous blog. All of the collection tools are the same one, and all entries will show up wherever you put them!)

Holiday Tags by the Dozen

Woodware UK's challenge for the team this week was to create tags for the holidays...in multiples. When making anything in multiples, simplicity is the by-word, but ordinary is not an option! For the first batch of tags, I worked with Stampendous' Perfectly Clear Holiday Home set. There are several images in this set to work with, and a few varied sentiments. I selected two patterned papers, two colors of cardstock, and three inks...sepia, red, and green. Using my Spellbinders' Nestabilities, I die cut several shapes and sizes to create layered tags. Images and sentiments were simply stamped, some ink distressing around the edges to add to the homey feel, a few Stampendous Dot Sparklers for a touch of bling, and ordinary twine ties.

 This second batch of tags features Dreamweaver Stencils' Pine Cone and Season's Greetings stencils. Once again, I used my Spellbinders' die to cut dark green and kraft cardstock "labels". The kraft ones were run through my Big Shot embossing/die cutting machine with the Pine Cone stencil. The stencil itself was spritzed with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and Metallic F/X Gold-dust in a spray mist bottle. This breaks down the fibers in the cardstock just enough to create a perfect emboss of the design with a little shimmer to highlight. A little green and sepia ink was sponged around the edges, the sentiment was simply stenciled with a brush and red ink. The pieces were adhere together, and the ordinary twine ties inserted through a punched hole on the corners. This particular set works well with ordinary kraft gift bags or paper mache gift boxes. All of the Woodware UK team are creating fabulous tags for this week's posts, so check the Woodware UK blog for the links to each blog!

Dream Schemes Colorway...Feeling Frosty

Have you finished making all the holiday cards that you need to send this year? Yeah. Me neither. So, that's why for this week's Dreamweaver Stencils' Dream Scheme Colorway Challenge to use turquoise and silver, my thoughts immediately went to snowflakes and finishing some more cards. Since I wanted to do multiples, I kept it pretty simple. The first and third cards in the photo above, were paste-embossed in silver with the  Antler Snowflake stencil. On the first one, the sentiment was also paste-embossed. This one was kept CAS...only a few rhinestone embellishments were added. The third card was run through my hot laminator with the Stampee Turquoise Foil over it for the shiny snowflake. I used the leftover carrier from this foiled piece to cover a piece of silver cardstock for the negative image of the snowflake to be foiled. This square was covered in Versamark ink and embossed with Stampee Stuck on You Bonding Powder before running through the laminator. This panel was layered with glitter cardstock and mounted on a glitter card. All the cards were from the DCWV Winter Box of 

 Cards...great colors, several with glitter. The center card also has the addition of partially punched snowflakes on the edges. Both the second and third cards have the Merry Winter sentiment embossed on silver cardstock, and the rhinestone embellishments as well as the first. See what the other girls have done this week in turquoise and silver, as well as the Dream It Up! blog. By the time you are done, you should be all fired up to finish (or start) your Christmas cards! Link one or more up to the Dream It Up! blog for all of us to see.