The Last Week of Frosty Fun

Welcome!  As 2012 comes to a close, so does the Dreamweaver Frosty Fun Challenge.  There is still time to enter and win a brand new stencil!  So new, in fact, that it won't be released until CHA!  All you have to do is interpret the Frosty Fun Theme any way you would like and email a photo to Lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com. You could win!
Here is my interpretation of the theme for the week

It is another metal creation--this time Double Embossed.

MATERIALS:
Dreamweaver Stencil LJ 923 Mittens
Dreamweaver Stencil LJ 922 Christmas Borders
Mercart Beginners Tool Kit
Mercart Metal Tool ADWF Flat Squares
Mercart Green Coated Aluminum
Blending Stump #6
Mercart Embossed Metal Backing Paste
Large Acrylic Block
A Piece of Suede, about 5" x 7"
Sanding Block
Black Cardstock
Adhesive

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Place mitten stencil face down on a flat surface and put metal green side down on top of it.
2)  Rub back of metal with blending stump until you can see the edges around the design.
3)  Push on back of metal with Mercart teflon tool (in beginner kit) until the edges of the stencil design are well defined.
4)  Remove metal from stencil and place green side down on suede.
5)  Push out raised areas with the ball end of the cup and ball tool (in the beginner tool kit).  You may want to use the smaller ball for the tie areas.
6)  Flip metal over and place on acrylic block.
7)  Use the teflon coated tool to go all the way around the raised design, sharpening the edges and flattening any raised areas outside the design.
8)  When metal looks the way you like it, flip it back over and fill the wells with the Metal Backing Paste.  It squeezes in like paste and is self levelling, so it doesn't have to go on perfectly.  LET DRY.
9) After backing paste is dry (time varies depending on the weather and the depth of your mittens, but will be at least a couple of hours), flip project over and place on right side up Christmas Borders Stencil. 
10)  Rub the backing with blending stump to create texture on the background.
11)  Place project on the suede, and, working on the top, run the Flat Squares Wheel tool all around the border of the project.
12)  Sand the project to enhance the texture and raised areas.
13)  Adhere to black cardstock card.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into double embossing.  Check out all the blogs for inspiration, and create a little Frosty Fun!  Check back next week to find an all new challenge!  See you then!

A Frosty Fun and Simple Snowflake Box

Frosty Fun, perhaps....but simple?  Absolutely!  Let me tell you how.

MATERIALS:
Dreamweaver Stencil Snowflakes LJ819
Dreamweaver Stencil Gothic Snowflake LL 396
Mercart Metal in AC10 Navy Blue
Mercart Beginner Tool Kit
Mercart Embossing Backing Paste
Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat
Manual Die Cut Machine (I used the Cuttlebug)
Sandpaper
Suede, approximately 4"x4"
Dark Blue Paint
Paint Brush
Small Premade Wooden Box
Two Small Pieces of Mat Board sized to fit into cut out area
Adhesive (I used Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear)
Scissors

DIRECTIONS:

1)  Run two pieces of metal through the die cut machine with the Snowflake Background Stencil and the rubber embossing mat.  The Cuttlebug sandwich is:  A Plate, stencil face down, metal face down, rubber embossing mat, and two B Plates.
2)  Repeat step one with the Gothic Snowflake Stencil.
3)  Put metal from step 2 blue side down on top of suede and use ball tool from the beginner tool kit to "pouf out" the snowflake areas.
4)  Flip metal over and place on a smooth, hard surface.
5)  Use teflon tool from basic kit to define edges around the snowflake.

6)  Squeeze embossing backing paste into the back of snowflake.  Let dry.
7)  Paint the box with dark blue, inside and out.  Include the latch.
9)  Hold metal up to sides of box to measure and cut out metal.  Be sure to cut around latch.
10)  Adhere metal to box.

11)  Place small mat pieces into the open square on the top (if there is one).
12)  Adhere snowflake to lid.  Trim around edges.
13)  Sand to reveal snowflakes and distress edges.

You are done!  So, now it is time to consider entering our Frosty Fun Challenge.  Take a look at what Lynell said:
Ahhh...December! Brrrr....!!! This month we are challenging you to design a wintery delight. It can be something other than paper, but again we will have two winners: "Best interpretation of the challenge" and "best usage of Dreamweaver products". This last month of the year we will award each of these winners a brand new stencil design we are releasing at CHA. (It's a secret until the very end of the month!)
So, if you have a minute, check out all the blogs and get inspired!

More Frosty Fun With Dreamweaver

More Frosty Fun this week.  The official word from Dreamweaver Stencils is this:

"Ahhh...December! Brrrr....!!! This month we are challenging you to design a wintery delight. It can be something other than paper, but again we will have two winners: "Best interpretation of the challenge" and "best usage of Dreamweaver products". This last month of the year we will award each of these winners a brand new stencil design we are releasing at CHA. (It's a secret until the very end of the month!)"
This week, I am presenting another metal creation.  This one is done with two different techniques.  Here is how it goes.

MATERIALS:
Dreamweaver Stencil LJ 849 Bare Trees
Dreamweaver Stencil LL 430 Buck
Mercart Metal--any color
Mercart Metal in Black
Mercart Beginners Tool Kit
Mercart Filling Paste
Stamping Details Rubber Mat
Manual Die Cut Machine (I used the Cuttlebug)
A Small (at least 4" x 5") piece of suede
Sandpaper
Cardstock
Adhesive
Alcohol Inks in a variety of blues
Alcohol Ink Applicator

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Use the manual die cut machine and Stamping Details Mat to run deer stencil through with black metal.  This is the Cuttlebug sandwich:  A Plate, stencil face down, metal black side down, rubber embossing mat, two B Plates.
2)  Remove the metal from the stencil and place face down on suede.  Push the metal out to create a 3D deer using the ball ended tools from the basic tool kit.  You are working from the back of the metal, so push out a little harder in the areas that you want to have more dimensional.
3)  Remove the metal from the suede and place on a flat surface, silver side down.  Use the teflon tool from the basic tool kit to define and flatten the areas around the deer.
4)  When deer looks the way you like it, flip it back to black side down and fill with the Mercart Filling Paste.  Let dry.
5)  Repeat step one, using the bare tree stencil.  Make sure to put whatever the colored side of the metal is down on top of the stencil .  You will be using the silver side of the metal and debossing.
6)  Leave the stencil in place.  Use the teflon tool to define any areas that you would like sharper and more pronounced.
7)  With the stencil still in place, use the applicator to apply alcohol inks all over the bare trees.  Let dry.
8)  With the stencil still in place, sand the metal.  It will remove the blue from the trees.
9)  Sand the deer.
10)  Trim around the outside of the deer.
11)  Assemble card.

This card was really fun to make, and I just love the look.  The best thing about it is that it can be used for the holidays, or every day and has appeal to both men and women.
Now it is your turn to try and make something. First, go to the other Dream Team sites (they are listed on the left), get inspired, make your project, photograph it and email it to Lynell@Dreamweaverstencils.com.  You could be featured on her blog and maybe even win a prize!  Give it a try!

A Simple Connie Crystal Ornament

This is a busy time of year for all of us, so when it came to my Connie Crystal post, I decided to make something simple.  Does it look simple?  Well, it is!  The secret is the ruffle yarn.  I spent less than an hour making it, including coming up with the idea!  If you would like to know to make it, check out the post HERE, on the Connie Crystal Blog.  Hope to see you there!

Snow Much Fun!

Welcome to December at Dreamweaver, otherwise known as "Frosty Fun" month!  This card, however, would have worked perfectly with last month's CAS challenge.  Here is the easy way that it was done:

MATERIALS:
Dreamweaver Stencil LJ 819 Snowflakes
Dreamweaver Stencil LL 396 Gothic Snowflake
Mercart Metal in Medium Blue
Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat
Manual Die Cut Machine (I used the Cuttlebug)
White Card
White Brad
Ribbon
We R Memory Keepers Big Bite
Adhesive
Sanding Block
Detail Scissors

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Run stencils and metal through the manual die cut machine.  This is the sandwich for the Cuttlebug:  A Plate, stencil face down, metal blue side down, rubber embossing mat, two B Plates.
2)  Remove metal from stencil.  Sand.  This will expose the silver of the aluminum underneath.
3)  Fancy cut around the snowflake.  Any small scissors will do.
4)  Position ribbon around the metal. Place snowflake on top.
5)  Use Big Bite to punch a hole through the snowflake and ribbon.
6)  Add brad to secure snowflake and ribbon.
7)  Adhere to card.

That is it, folks.  This is definitely one of the easiest cards that I have ever posted.  You could make an easy "Frosty Fun" project, too.  If you photograph it and send the picture to Lynell@Dreamweaverstencils.com, you could be featured on their blog and possibly win a prize!  Looking for a little more inspiration before you begin?  Check out the blogs on the left side of mine.  I look forward to seeing your creations soon!

A Glittering Gift

My grandma lives in an assisted living home.  She has always been hard to buy for, but now that she has limited space and her needs taken care of, it is almost impossible to think of something she can use. Fortunately, she has a bird feeder outside her room, that our family is responsible for filling.  She has always loved cardinals and glitter, so when I spotted this beautiful cardinal stamp, I just knew it would be perfect to use with this glitter painting technique!  Check out how I made it at the Art Glitter Blog.
By the way, my Dreamweaver fans, I also used a Dreamweaver Stencil on the lid.  See here: