Preparing for a New Bundle...of Stencils, That Is!

 This week has been an absolute whirlwind! This weekend begins CHA 2013 in Anaheim, California, and boy has the Dream Team been busy preparing for this how. Several new stencil designs will be introduced, as well as new techniques for playing with them. If you are one of the fortunate few who have the opportunity to go to this show, be sure to come by the Dreamweaver Stencils' booth and say, "Hi"! We'd love to meet you, and show you what amazing new ideas we've been creating with. This is not a retail show, it is for trade only, so it provides us with an exciting view of the crafting world as we head toward spring.

Anyway, back to my post for today. No, this is not one of the new stencils, this is actually a card that I posted a couple of years ago, but I think it is perfect for the team challenge this month..."A Fresh Start"! Both the background card, and the focal panel were done with an ink transfer technique. The Leopard Skin stencil was inked with ColorBox Cadmium Yellow Chalk ink, placed face up on the base of my Big Shot. A soft yellow card was placed face down on top of the inked stencil. The rubber embossing mat was the next layer, followed by two clear plates, and then run through the machine. The ink transfers to the card like a stamp would, but bonus...it also embosses or debosses into the cardstock (depending whether you use it up or down). The Baby Bib panel was done the same way, and matted on a Nestie die cut scalloped square in a contrasting color. An epoxy sentiment as well as some bright buttons and the card is complete. Ready to welcome that new little bundle into your world.

Be sure to play along with the team, and link your own Fresh Start creation to the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com, for an opportunity to win a wonderful prize package at the end of January. For more inspiration, check out the team:

Dream it UP  

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser
Wendy Jordan 

Feeling the Amore for Woodware UK

Now this was a fun and easy sketch to work with for the Woodware UK team challenge this week. I think this card maybe took me twenty minutes to throw together (which was a good thing as once again I'd forgotten to get my post up! Geeesh!). I know there are plenty of you out there who could throw together a card in five minutes, and now that this card is designed, so could I, but really... twenty minutes is amazing for me! Lol.

Woodware UK carries these great coordinating papers from GCD Studios, so I chose this one (Cloisonne) which uses the same pattern on both sides, one with a white background and pink design, and the other reversed. For my focal point, I stamped the Stampendous Scroll Heart* with Versamark ink on a Bazzill Dotted Swiss square, and embossed in white. Because of the raised dots, the embossing showed off that texture. I added a pretty sentiment from their Perfectly Clear Amore Frame set, a few Mark Richards Crystal Elements rhinestones, and matted the panel in white cardstock. This was when I realized that on the original sketch, the focal panel was more of a rectangle than a square, so I added a couple "banner" pieces from the reverse side of the paper to fill that space. Cheating a bit, but I was happy with the end result. Hopefully, Dorothy (our team slave-driver) will be happy as well!

Be sure to catch all the versions of this fun sketch from the rest of the team via the Woodware team blog. Remember, you can purchase most of these products from your local stamp stores as listed on the Woodware UK site. For those of you in the USA, you should know that the Scroll Heart is no longer available on the Stampendous site. You should be able to find it still in your local store, or online.

Here for the Dreamweaver post?

Welcome! If you are here for the Dreamweaver challenge post for today, please scroll down, or click HERE.

A bit of Love for Woodware!

Oh, wow! Big goof this week! After two months off from the Woodware Design Team, I felt confident that my life was partially settled in the new home, and I could continue on playing with the Woodware product line and sharing with all of you. This post was supposed to go up yesterday (actually on Tuesday to be in line with the UK time). So...I'm scrambling today!

This week's challenge is Hearts and Love, and this is one of my all time faves that fits the part. It appears to be complicated, but really, it's quite simple.

You use a basic card base (5 1/2") square, tent fold, add a metallic silver panel. Then you'll run another metallic silver panel, a white panel, and a lavender panel through your embossing machine (Big Shot, Cuttlebug, etc) with the Dreamweaver Damask stencil, and layer all of these onto the card. Tie a beautiful bow around all.

Now here is the fun part. It will make no sense at all, and when I did it, it was strictly by accident, but using a black StazOn ink pad, daub it over the top of the Heart, Lock, and Key stencil. Place the stencil face up on the base plate of your embossing machine. Spritz with isopropyl alcohol (or alcohol ink thinner). Place your cardstock on top, along with the rubber embossing mat, and two clear plates, and run it all through. Something about thinning out that ink on the stencil with the spritz, makes it appear lavender and splotchy and a bit like watercolor. Plus, the embossed heart and key really stand out! Now all that is left to do is to tear around the edges of that panel, apply some pearl stickers, and adhere it to your card. If there is still ink left on the stencil, spritz again, and run another panel through for another card. (When you are finished, clean the stencil immediately with the same product that you spritzed with.)

The sentiment on the inside was simply a small scrap of the metallic cardstock with the Celebrate machine-embossed. Note: Remember when embossing a word, that the stencil needs to be placed upside down on the base plate in order read correctly.

So, did I do a pretty good job of making up for my lack of planning this week? Please say yes! If you haven't yet,  be sure to visit the Woodware blog each day this week for more Hearts and Love!

Celebrating a Fresh Start

Welcome to another great year with the Dream Team! Yes, we are still playing with our monthly challenges, but we're planning on throwing some surprises in along the way. Check the Dream It Up! blog for more info on that, and a teaser for those creative dreamers out there. Hmmm, what could that mean? You'll just have to follow along for yourself. 

As for today's post, our challenge for January is "A Fresh Start". With the new year obviously in mind, it is a great time for some big changes, or small changes.  How about something less obvious? My card was created with the Stars stencil and the Birthday Words combo stencil. I machine-embossed the Stars on Core'dinations cardstock and sanded the surface to reveal the design. A few cutout stars, fun paper, a "candle", and the perfect sentiment complete this card. 

I think birthdays are also a great time for a fresh start.This is the perfect time to take the wisdom you've learned along the way (willingly or unwillingly), and look at life with new eyes. Where did you expect to be at this point? Do you still need to be there? Then make a few changes to get there. Remember, it's not the miles. It's the journey! Make it spectacular!

A spectacular journey is precisely my birthday wish for my bestie, Lynell Harlow, the Queen of Stencils! Her birthday is tomorrow, and the Dream Team are partying in her honor today. Want to help us make her day? Create your own version of a "fresh start", and provide the link to your creation on the mr. linky on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com. There is an extra special prize waiting for the winner of this month's challenge. Will it be YOU?

 

 

Hop on the party train and make your stops through the Dream Team blogs:

Dream it UP  

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser
Wendy Jordan 

 

Frosty Fun Finale

Here we are at the final week of December, and the final month of 2012, with all its joys and sorrows. The Dream Team is celebrating one final week of Frosty Fun, and we really want you to play along! Create something with our theme in mind and link it on the mr. linky on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com, for an opportunity to win one of two prizes. Those who enter usually have their cards featured on the Dream It Up! blog and/or our Facebook page, which is always fun to see what everyone else is creating.

My creation here featured the Skates stencil once again, and was paste-embossed in silver on a die cut blue panel, to show off the shiny blades. Then I paper-pieced the actual skates in a fun plaid (I love plaid...must be the Scot in me!) The cute sentiment brad moves us away from a Christmas themed card, and just celebrates the fun of playing in the snow and ice.

Blessings to all of you in the new year. May 2013 be bountifully filled with love, laughter, and joy, with only a smidgen of sorrow to remind us of how fortunate we really are, and how important it is to care for those who are not.

For more Frosty Fun, please visit the coolest chicks in Stencildom:

Dream it UP  

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser
Wendy Jordan 

Frosty Hearts for the Holidays

Once again, I am reposting a previous creation for the Dreamweaver challenge this month...Frosty Fun! This card is one of my favorites from this year's new designs. The Heart Ornaments was paste-embossed on acetate. When dry, I replaced the stencil over the image and ink-stenciled with Tsukineko Splendor inkpads and a good stencil brush. Then using the tip of a palette knife, I added some fluffy "snow" (regular Embossing Paste), and sprinkled liberally with Crystal Glitter. Remember, you have until the end of December to play along with our monthly challenge. Just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky on the Dream It Up! blog, or email us pics of your frosty creations, for an opportunity to win one of two stencil prizes. For more great ideas, check out our Dream Team blogs:

Dream it UP  

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser
Wendy Jordan