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If you are here for the Dreamweaver and Ranger Hop, either scroll down through the next post, or click HERE.

If you are here for the Woodware UK post, scroll down to the next post. Thank you!

Woodware UK: No Paper? No Problem!

The Woodware UK team had a little different challenge for this week, and from a different source...Jill Tuck from The Stampman. The theme for this week is, "No Paper? No Problem!"...in other words, starting from scratch without the patterned papers and pre-made embellishments.

I chose this opportunity to post this creation that I had done for a Stampendous catalog. The base of it was a plain white chipboard frame. I created an easel card base for it from plain black cardstock, with a border punched edge.

I covered the entire frame with Versamark ink, and embossed it with Stampendous White Embossing Enamel, adding a couple of coats. Then I wiped talcum powder over the surface as an anti-static medium so that I could stamp and emboss the designs over the top without having spatters of embossing powder everywhere else.

Using the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Vases set, I created a montage of heights, textures, and shades in black and white embossing enamels, that crossed over and contrasted with the center design. I call this my Beatnik Jugs frame, as it reminds me of the decor from the late fifties/early sixties. I did add a stamped clear tag and ribbon for this to be given as a gift. I have to admit, it is a bit of a challenge, and yet fun to create with only the basics of paper crafting. The entire team are playing with Jill's challenge this week, so visit the Woodware UK blog to see how everyone goes back to the basics.

Dreamweaver Stencils and Ranger's Stickles Dry Glitter...We Just Sparkle Together!

The Dream Team has a big day today! Not only are we into week three of our Pinterest Inspired challenge, we are also playing with Ranger's Stickles Dry Glitter in the mix! We've had so much fun playing with jars of sparkly goodness, that we want to share the fun with two lucky crafters!

 

Just visit everyone on the list below, and leave comments for everyone. Two winners* will be randomly selected and announced Thursday, July 4th...what a great day for a celebration! Each prize package includes a mix of five Ranger Stickles Dry Glitter, a mix of six Dreamweaver Stencils, and jar of Dreamweaver Translucent Paste, and a Palette Knife for spreading. If you want to add to the fun, play along with our Pinterest challenge and link your own creation to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog before July 1st for a chance to win this month's stencil prize. Here's the list of sparkly-Pinteresting players:

Dream It Up!

Cherylynn Moser

Leadonna Kimmel

Laura Drahozal

Louise Healy

Jessica Griffin

Caroline Duncan

Stacey Rumsby

Pam Hornschu

Heidi Erickson

Cyndi Bundy

Terrece Siddoway

Lyn Bernatovich

The Ranger Blog ( post live later today)

Now, let me share my creation with you!

Such a happy color!

You can find my Pinterest  inspiration piece for this project HERE. I love the look of colored glass, glowing from an inner light...in this case, a flameless votive candle. My creation began its life as a Starbuck's Frappuccino bottle, which if you check out Pinterest, is a frequent inspiration for others. I pasted the Dreamweaver Black-eyed Susans stencil in Translucent paste over a couple of acetate sheets. Once dry, I used Q-tip precision applicators to apply Dreamweaver Color Solutions to the designs. I used a glue marker to apply the adhesive that would adhere the Ranger Stickles Dry Glitter to the back side of the panels. These panels can be curled up and tucked inside the bottle, along with some Dew Drops (or glass marbles), and a flameless votive light. I die cut a portion of the panel for the circle on the lid, and completed the look with a Ranger Stickle Dry Glitter embellished paper flower, and gorgeous May Arts ribbons (which by the way, were spritzed with Memories Mists ink through the flower stencil). Quick, easy, and cheap...the perfect housewarming or hostess gift. If you are on Pinterest, and you'd like to follow Dreamweaver, you can view our board HERE, and you can pin your own Dreamweaver creations HERE. If you'd like to follow my creations on Pinterest, you'll find it HERE.

Completed panel ready for inserting

Woodware UK: We Pause for Paws!

Woodware is going to the cats and dogs this week! This provided me with the perfect opportunity to Cattus Librum. "C.L." loves to read, just like me, and he is always amazed by how quickly time goes by when you are in the throes of a great story. Therefore, he has his pocket watch by his side to remind him...Tempus Fugit (time flies)!

pull out one of my favorite cards that I had done for a Stampendous catalog featuring one of my favorite kittehs*...

The panel that he is stamped on is textured, and was sanded a bit first to make the stamped image really pop out. A section of an old encyclopedia is added, portions and sentiments from the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Time Flies set is added to the card, along with the pocket watch being stamped with Black StazOn on acetate, cut out, and attached with a jumpring and old key to a leather cord.
The inside panel is an embossed piece of canvas, the corners have been torn, and the card has been ink-distressed to mimic something you'd find tucked away in an old desk drawer by a previous kitteh*.

Enjoy the week of cats and dogs by visiting the Woodware UK blog daily for more PAWSitively inspiring creations from the team. Remember, you can purchase the products mentioned at your local store or online...links can be found here.

*Curious as to why I refer to my four-legged-furry-friends as "kittehs"? Follow the cat antics daily HERE.

Dreamweaver Stencils: Hang Around for the Fun!

I have been having so much fun with the Dreamweaver Pinterest-inspired challenge this month! I'm thinking that I may just continue challenging myself for one day each week. I love Pinterest, and I can kind of justify the amount of time I spend "pinning", with the fact that my work involves staying on top of trends. One trend lately, is organizing and decorating your closet to suit your own personality. No more ugly shoe boxes and no more boring hangers!

I found several Pins for decoupaging on wood hangers, but the one at the left was my favorite. At first, I thought, "Darn. I just got rid of all my old wood hangers when we moved." And then I was wandering through TJ Maxx (love that store!), and found these awesome turquoise painted wood hangers on clearance for $2! Wow. Five hangers for $2, and my favorite color as well!
I sanded and distressed them a bit. Then I daubed some Ranger White Acrylic Paint Dabber where I intended to place the flowers. I used the Stylized Dahlia stencil with Memento inks on tissue paper. The tissue makes it easy to wrap around objects. I used my favorite decoupage medium...and no, it's not the one that everyone thinks of first...I use Beacon's Fast Finish Decoupage Medium. It is somewhat thin, so I put it in a cup and brush it over the surface to wet it. Then place the tissue pieces on the wet surface and brush more of the medium over it until is smooth and completely covered before setting it aside to dry...which doesn't take long! Maybe 10-15 minutes depending on how much the tissue is soaked. When dry, I used the Small Cathedral Window stencil with Memento Teal Zeal and a stencil brush to add the background details. You could leave it at that, but I did brush another coat of the Beacon Fast Finish over the entire hanger for a little extra shine. Of course, I couldn't just stop there! I added a May Arts Chevron striped ribbon bow, tied with twine and a fun button to the hanger.

Just think of all the fun Dreamweaver designs that could be used to decorate these hangers. They could even be personalized with the Monogram stencils, or the alphabet stencils. They could be a wonderful gift for a bride and her bridesmaids on the big day for those gorgeous dresses (in which case, I would definitely recommend adding that extra coat of the medium so no ink would rub off!)

So, obviously these could be used as garment hangers, duh! But what about a ribbon holder for all those scraps of luscious May Arts ribbon? Check out the picture below! Yep. Think I'm going to need to create some more hangers for all of my ribbon!

 Let's go check out what wonderful inspired pieces the rest of the team have created this week, as well as our amazing guest designer for June, Jennifer Dove! Leave some love for everyone, and then get working on your own Pinterest-inspired pieces. Link your creations to the linkytool on the Dream It Up! blog for an opportunity to win the prize for this month, as well as having your project featured on the Dream It Up! blog and the Dreamweaver Stencils Facebook page. Here's the roll call this week:

Dream It Up!

Jennifer Dove
Laura Drahozal
Lyn Bernatovich
Pam Hornschu
Heidi Erickson
Louise Healy
Jessica Griffin
Cyndi Bundy

If you'd like to view my complete tutorial on this project, please visit Paper Craft Planet!

Woodware UK: Feeling Blue?

Awwwwww. Are you feeling blue? Well, the girls on the Woodware UK team certainly are this week! Of course, the color blue never makes me feel down, as I love all shades, especially in the aqua/turquoise range! But, I do think it can be a wonderful color for a card of encouragement, like on my tweet card here. I created three background panels from one cardstock panel (it was royal on one side, and sky on the other) that I machine-embossed with the Dreamweaver Stencils' Small Cathedral Window. Cut into three panels, with the embossed and debossed sides alternating, it made a colorful backdrop to the little robin from Francoisé Read's Clear Magic "Tweet Friends" set. I inked the "tweet tweet" portion of the accompanying sentiment, and stamped that on the circle as well. My little robin was colored using a technique that I learned from Francoisé...watercoloring with a Sakura Koi Water Brush and Sakura Glaze and Star pens. Because they stay wet a few seconds longer, you can use a water brush to spread the color for highlights and shading. I used the Clear Magic Jane's Script sentiments to stamp the cute gingham ribbon with Clearsnap Mixed Media Black ink. I've found that particular ink works really well on fabric without bleeding. Give it a try!

You can see what shades of blue that rest of the team have been playing with this week by checking out the Woodware UK blog each day! You can purchase any of the product mentioned above through the stores listed on the Woodware UK website!

Sketch and Hop Info

If you are here for the PCP Sketch Challenge and Crafter's Companion Hop, scroll down or click HERE.