Thursday, December 18, 2014

Quick and Cute Revisited

In a flurry of a hurry? This month the Dream Team are all about the Quick and Cute...whether that be cards, gifts, wrapping, or tags...we have sleigh-loads of ideas! Play along by posting your creations using the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog, for a chance to win the stencil of your choice, and a possible bonus stencil for using Dreamweaver products in your Quick and Cute project! Here's what fun I've been up to this week:

This is actually a three year old project, but it was very popular in classes, and I don't think I have ever posted it.  This card was so simple, that many of my students used it as their Christmas card! 
It was created with one of my favorite stencils, LL3009 Christmas Script.  I also needed Double Sided Mounting PaperCoconut Soap and a Large Stencil Brush.  I used the Double Glitter Technique with Microfine Opaque Art Glitter in Rouge and Ultrafine Transparent Art Glitter in Lion's Mane.  The striped paper is My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas collection, but you could use any paper that appeals to you.  Also, you could match the glitter and ribbon to that paper.
Thanks for stopping by.  It really isn't too late to make a last minute Double Glitter card for someone special!
Now, check out the other members of the team to see what fun they have been up to.  Here is this week's link list:
 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Quick and Cute Week One

In a flurry of a hurry? This month the Dream Team are all about the Quick and Cute...whether that be cards, gifts, wrapping, or tags...we have sleigh-loads of ideas! Play along by posting your creations using the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog, for a chance to win the stencil of your choice, and a possible bonus stencil for using Dreamweaver products in your Quick and Cute project! Here's what fun I've been up to this week:


If you follow the blogs regularly, you might wonder if this is REALLY "Quick and Cute".  After all, I have used four different stencils:  LX 7002 Plaid, LL 3005 Holly and Swirls, LL 589 Musical Christmas and LM 139 Happy Holidays.  It also uses a couple of different techniques:  Double Glitter with a pigment ink enhancement, simple die cut machine embossing with the Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat, metals (copper coated aluminum) and Color Solutions Alcohol Inks (in Crème Brulee and Darkest Brown), and paste embossing with Silver Embossing Paste.  Happily, this actually was very quick for me.  You see, I save all the left over pieces from classes and rejected ideas and cards.  I simply had to sand down the metal on the musical piece and cut it with the Dreamweaver Die Cut DD001 Nesting Frames and then trim things up and assemble.  So, I guess what I am saying is that you, too, should save your rejects and extras.  You never know when you can put them to use.  It is quick and cute.
 
I'd love to receive a comment from you before you head on to the rest of the "A" team:
 
 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Thankful and Thoughtful November

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:
 
Here, I have put together an easy, French themed thank you card.  Aside from some Graphic 45 paper, I used some black coated aluminum, Stencil LS1011 Merci and Stencil LL 447 Fleur De Lis.  I simply ran them through my Cuttlebug with this sandwich:  A Plate, stencil face down, metal colored side down, Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat, and two B Plates.  I then used my Teflon Tool from the Metal Beginner Tool Kit to push the metal out a little on the Fleur De Lis.  I filled the back with Mercart Metal Filling Paste.  I let it dry and then sanded all of the metal and attached it to the card.  Done!  So, this week, I was able to make it thankful AND easy!
 

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 "A" team lineup for this week, as well as our very special guest designer, Linda Neff!

 

Thursday, November 6, 2014

A Thankful and Thoughtful November

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:
 
I just love fall, and Dreamweaver Stencils has some gorgeous fall stencils.  Sadly, I don't get to post with them often, because our monthly themes don't always lend themselves to leaves.....so, can we just pretend that this one is Thanksgiving? 
For the background, I ran LG616 Leaf Texture Stencil through my Cuttlebug with the Rubber Embossing Mat and two B Plates.  I used Core'dinations Cardstock and sanded it for added texture.  I had to run it through twice because the stencil was a little small for the area I wanted to cover.
I used the Molten Magic technique on the main image.  First, I used Copper Embossing Paste on the LG754 Oak Leaves Stencil.  While the paste was still wet, I sprinkled on some Metallic FX Mica Powders in Ivy Garden, Kiwi, Goldfinch, Kimono Red, and Cocoa.  (You know, the fall colors).  Then, I heated the paste until it bubbled up and dried.

 Here is the shimmer from an angle.
I hope you enjoyed this card.  Thanks for letting me pretend that it was a Thanksgiving card.
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 "A" team lineup for this week, as well as our very special guest designer, Linda Neff!


Thursday, October 30, 2014

HallowThanksMas Week 5

We are back to the original theme of the month, HallowThanksMas!  Yes, Halloween, Thanksgiving AND Christmas, but not all together, mind you.  As usual, we'd love for you to play along with the challenge and link your creations to the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog. Just in case you are wondering...NO, YOU DO NOT NEED TO POST SOMETHING WITH ALL THREE HOLIDAYS ON IT! However, you get bonus points for actually using Dreamweaver stencils and product on your creations! And bonus points might actually earn you an extra stencil as our monthly winner...just sayin'!
 
Here's my creation for today: 
 
This is another metal creation.  I used both the green coated aluminum and the red coated aluminum.  I cut the ornaments out first using the DG674 Nested Ornaments Die and my Cuttlebug.  I then placed them on the LX7026 Chevron Background and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the stencil face up, the metal face up on the red and face down on the light green, the Rubber Embossing Mat and two B Plates.  I used the same sandwich with the red metal (face up) and the LM 283 Vertical Celebrate Stencil.  I dripped Color Solutions in Mojito into the "wells" on the lighter green ornament.  I sanded all of the metal projects to remove the coating on the raised portions.
 The background was created much the same way, but with paper in the sandwich and both the LX7025 Crusade Background Stencil and the paper face down.  I left the stencil in place as I sprayed it with Memory Mist MM25 Gold. 
The holly ornament was created with the FJ917 Holiday Greetings Embossing Folder. I put a couple of drops of Winter Red Color Solutions into the berry sections.  I then lightly sanded the whole thing.
I attached the two chevron ornaments and the celebrate word with Double Stick Mounting Paper.  Then, I pasted the LL3045 Small Oval Ornament Stencil with Glossy White Embossing Paste and attached the holly ornament while it was wet.

Remember to visit the entire Dream Team for more inspiration:

 
An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, October 27, 2014

A Creative Blog Hop

My friend, Linda Neff, invited me to participate in a Creative Blog Hop.  Apparently, I have only to answer a few questions and pass along a great name for you to check out next week.  That is all I HAVE to do, but I have been dying to share this project for some time, so bear with me, please.  If you are only here for the answers to my questions, just zip past all the pictures, okay?
So, here is the project that I wanted to share:
It was so much easier than it looks.  I used Dreamweaver Stencils (I am on their Design Team), metals, my Cuttlebug, some alcohol inks, May Arts ribbon and some cardstock and adhesive.  Let me tell you how I did it.
1)  I ran the Dreamweaver Stencil LG758 Jellyfish through my Cuttlebug with the following sandwich:  A Plate, stencil face down, blue coated aluminum face down, Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat, and two B Plates.
2)  I ran the Dreamweaver LM248 Happy Birthday Stencil through the Cuttlebug the same way, except that both the stencil and the metal were face up.  For this one, I temporarily left the stencil attached.
3)  I dripped Color Solutions alcohol ink on both pieces, staying towards the outside on the jellyfish and inside of the letters on the word.  Since the metal was already blue, I didn't worry about covering every singe area.  I used the colors Aquarius and Blue Velvet and just a Q Tip wherever I felt I needed to smear the colors.  I let them dry.

4)  I sanded both pieces.  The words were sanded completely with the stencil still under the piece.  The jellyfish was just lightly sanded.

5)  I used a Q Tip to apply Color Solutions in Pearl White to the top of the jellyfish, blending it with the blues a little.
6) I assembled the card.
Thanks for being patient with me.  I hope you enjoyed it.
Now, on to the questions:

1)  What are you working on at the moment?

Honestly, when I am not working on blog posts or design team work, I never, ever make cards.  I primarily scrapbook.  I also do plenty of things that would be considered home decorating.  I am working on a Halloween place setting for two right now, relying heavily on my Silhouette Cameo.

2)  How does your work differ from others in your genre?

I think my work differs from others because I enjoy using a variety of materials, especially metals.  They are so easy and fun to use that I am surprised the more people don't work with them.  I have always had a soft spot for specialty materials like metal, wood, vellum, fabric, glittered, holographic, mulberry, velvet and handmade papers.
 
3)  Why do you create?

I am inspired by most things that I see.  I can't imagine what life would be like without the creative process.  When I imagine things in my head, I am excited to try and breathe life into the ideas.

4)  How does your creative process work?

Sometimes life inspires the creativity, and sometimes it is a challenge or competition and yet other times it is the materials.  Whatever inspires the ideas, once I get on a roll I fill pages of notebook paper with sketches and scribbles.  Every now and again, I get lucky enough to come up with a fully formed idea, but generally there is a lot of revision before something actually comes to fruition.  I usually have to have a pretty complete idea before I start a project.  Then, of course, it changes, often entirely, as I work.

For your exploration next week, I present Kristi Parker Van Doren of Kristi's Creative Café.  She is absolutely fearless.  She combines various styles and materials in very creative ways.  I hope you enjoy her work.

I am also going to have you take a look at Pam Hornschu, the fearless leader of the Dreamweaver Design Team.  She posts as 1Pampered Stamper.  Her work never fails to astound me with how ingeniously she creates.  I would never think of such creative ways to use stencils and stamps.  She inspires me.

Check those out next week.  You won't be disappointed.  I hope you come back again soon!

Have a great time looking!  I hope to see you back.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Sandy Claus is Coming to Town--Day Five


SANDY Claus is Coming to Town!

Yes...SANDY Claus! All of this week, the Stampendous and Dreamweaver teams are playing with a mix of their products, along with some wonderful, SAND-ABLE papers from Core'dinations. Join us as we sand our way to the "core" of all things Christmas and the Holiday season. Of course, there will be prizes, and we give away the best...this time with a mix of fun Core'dinations products as well. To be one of three prize package winners, follow the posted link lists each day, leave a comment, and winners will be selected from these comments at the beginning of next week. Here is what you might win:


Here's what I'm showing off today:
 
This card was much easier than it looks.  The LS 92 Merry Christmas Stencil and the LX7027 Quatrefoil Stencil were run through the Cuttlebug with my Rubber Embossing Mat and sanded.  It took a little effort, but Wow! did I ever love that chalk effects Core'dinations card stock!  It really made everything pop. 
For the flower, I stamped the Stampendous Jumbo Cling Rubber Poinsettia Stamp three times on the alcohol ink friendly variety of  Core'dinations Card Stock with Momento Ink.  I also stamped it once on smooth green card stock.  I cut the leaves out of that and colored them (and the yellow flower insides) with Derwent Inktense Pencils.  The flower itself was colored with Spectrum Markers.  I them fussy cut it and adhered it down, allowing the tips of the petals to overlap the card edges.  I cut additional petals from the second and third image and raised the outside edge of the petal with foam while adhering the insides flat.


 
 
I added a May Arts ribbon and I was done.
 

Leave a comment for me, and head to the next on the list:

Dreamweaver:
*On Stampendous team as well

Core'dinations:
(will not be posting on their company blog, but individual posts only)

Head on over to the Stampendous blog for links to their posts:

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Sandy Claus is Coming to Town--Day Four



SANDY Claus is Coming to Town!
 
 
Yes...SANDY Claus! All of this week, the Stampendous and Dreamweaver teams are playing with a mix of their products, along with some wonderful, SAND-ABLE papers from Core'dinations. Join us as we sand our way to the "core" of all things Christmas and the Holiday season. Of course, there will be prizes, and we give away the best...this time with a mix of fun Core'dinations products as well. To be one of three prize package winners, follow the posted link lists each day, leave a comment, and winners will be selected from these comments at the beginning of next week. Here is what you might win:
Here's what I'm showing off today:

 
 
First, I sprayed the back of the Large Damask Stencil LX7001 with Strawberry Daiquri and Metallic Gold Memory Mists and ran them through my Cuttlebug with Color Core Core'dinations Card Stock and the Rubber Embossing Mat.  (Sadly, you can't see the shimmer it created in this photo).  I waited for the card stock to dry before I sanded it to reveal the beautiful core color. 
As I waited, I used Metallic Gold Embossing Paste on White Canvas Textured Core'dinations with the LL 3009 Christmas Script Stencil. This had to dry as well.
 I used the DL3005 Holly & Berries Die Cut with Color Silk Card Stock.  The flourish is from the gorgeous Stampendous Jumbo Cling Rubber Poinsettia stamp set.  I used Gold Delicata ink and Stampendous Clear Embossing Powder on vellum.  I stamped it twice, using the extra edges on the sides of another piece.  I attached it to the white card stock and fussy cut the edges.  After that, it was a simple matter of assembly, using May Arts Ribbon and a few rhinestones.  
Leave a comment for me, and head to the next on the list:
 
Dreamweaver:
*On Stampendous team as well

Core'dinations:
(will not be posting on their company blog, but individual posts only)

Head on over to the Stampendous blog for links to their posts:

Thursday, October 2, 2014

HallowThanksMas?

Can you tell that sometimes Dream Team's "Fearless Leader", Pam Hornschu, has a hard time deciding on monthly challenges? Since the team will be taking turns all month with the Smeared and Smudged 31 Days of Halloween, and we are doing a Christmas collaboration with Stampendous and Core'dinations the 13th - 17th, the confusion should be understandable. Therefore...happy HallowThanksMas! As usual, we'd love for you to play along with the challenge and link your creations to the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog. Just in case you are wondering...NO, YOU DO NOT NEED TO POST SOMETHING WITH ALL THREE HOLIDAYS ON IT! However, you get bonus points for actually using Dreamweaver stencils and product on your creations! And bonus points might actually earn you an extra stencil as our monthly winner...just sayin'!
 
Here's my creation for today:
 
 
I really wanted to share this project, even thought it is REALLY an autumn card, so I am calling it "Thanksgiving".  I am hoping that everyone is okay with that!
On this card, I used Stencil LX7027 Quartrefoil , Stencil LL3043 Oak Leaf, Stencil LL3044 Maple Leaf and Stencil LM295 Autumn.  I used the my manual die cut machine (in my case, a Cuttlebug) and the Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat on all of them.  The real difference in the components is in the materials and finishing.
The background was created with Core'dinations card stock that was sanded after it was embossed.  The word Autumn was "debossed" by running it through the machine with the stencil face up and the red coated aluminum, also face up.  It was sanded afterwards with the stencil still in place underneath.
Now, the leaves.......First, I embossed the mustard colored aluminum. I put the stencil and the metal face down in the machine.  After I removed it, I used the metal tool beginner's kit to "pouf" out the metal, making it further embossed.  Then, I flipped it over and used the Teflon tool in that beginner's kit to make vein lines.  After I fussed a little while, I finally had it the way I liked it.  Then, I filled the back with Mercart Filling Paste.
After a couple of hours, when the paste was dry, I used regular scissors to cut around the leaves.  I then dripped several colors of Color Solutions Alcohol Inks onto the leaves and smeared the colors around with Q Tips.  I used Paprika Red, Christmas Red, Crème Brulee, Aspen, Pumpkin and Mojito.
 
 
I love the shine under the colors.  It looks almost like the leaves were cut from fire opal. 


 
It was the combination of the metal color and the Color Solutions that excited me so much about this card.  I hope you enjoyed it, too.

Remember to visit the rest of the team, as well as our guest designer, as confusion takes rein...could be interesting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday, September 18, 2014

More Christmas in September

The kids (and I, the substitute teacher) are back in school, with all the insanity that goes with it, vacations are a not-so-distant memory, and it is once again time to get busy with the important things in life...crafting for the holidays! Yay! All of September the Dream Team will be featuring all the new goodies we have for the "Most wonderful time of the year", the fall and winter holiday season. New stencil designs, new dies, and...(coming soon) brand new embossing folders featuring some of our top-selling designs, all to be found on-line through the Stencil with Style web-site, or your local papercrafting store.
Here's my holiday inspiration for this week:
Once again, I relied heavily on the easy embossing technique of running things through the manual die cut machine.  In this case, it was the Cuttlebug.  First, I used the Small Cathedral Windows Stencil LJ909 and white card stock for the background.  I sprayed the back of the stencil with Memory Mist MM26 Silver.  Then, I placed the stencil face down on my A Plate and covered it with the card stock, Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat and two B Plates.  You can see how shimmery it turned out in this picture:
Then, I cut the ornament out of green coated Mercart aluminum with the Nested Ornament Die DG674.  The sandwich was A Plate, die cut, metal, C Plate and B Plate.  I set aside the top and ran the ornament through the Cuttlebug with LX7026 Chevron Background.  I also ran the Happy Holiday Stencil LL3047 through with the green metal.  Both of these were debossed.  That means that I used the sandwich A Plate, stencil face up, metal face up, Rubber Embossing Mat and two B Plates.  I left the stencils under the metal until after sanding in both cases.  The ornament had some extra colors added.  First, I used a Q Tip covered in the Color Solutions Thinner to remove the green from the larger chevrons.  Then, I dripped some Christmas Red Color Solutions in the wells.  I sanded all of the metal pieces and removed the stencils.  Finally, I used a Q Tip to add some Mojito Color Solutions on the raised large chevrons.
To attach the Happy Holidays, I used Double Stick Mounting Paper.  To attach the ornament, I pasted the LG674 Oval Ornament Stencil with White Glossy Embossing Paste (glossy is stickier than the regular, but any color would work). and put the metal on while it was still wet.  You can see a little white peeking around the metal here:
 
Then, it was just simple assembly.
 

Of course, we have our monthly challenge for you to play along, so post your own holiday creations, and use the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog (or in my last post), for a chance to win the prize at the end of the month. We also have our fabulous Guest Designer for the month of September, Wendy Price! Here's the list of our "A" Team with their links for the week:
 

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Christmas in September?

Where did the summer go? Kids are back in school, with all the insanity that goes with it, vacations are a not-so-distant memory, and it is once again time to get busy with the important things in life...crafting for the holidays! Yay! All of September the Dream Team will be featuring all the new goodies we have for the "Most wonderful time of the year", the fall and winter holiday season. New stencil designs, new dies, and...(coming soon) brand new embossing folders featuring some of our top-selling designs, all to be found on-line through the Stencil with Style web-site, or your local papercrafting store.
 
Here's my holiday inspiration for this week:
I created it using metal and velvet paper, which means that it did not photograph as well as I would like to (the only thing about these two materials that I don't like), but perhaps a couple of closer shots and some more detailed explanation would be helpful.
For the flowers, I started by running green metal through my Cuttlebug with this sandwich:  A Plate, Stencil LL3046 Tall Poinsettia (face up), Green Coated Aluminum (face up), the Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat and two B Plates.  You might wonder why I have those little lines through the metal.  Well, true confession time, I was all out of the Mercart Metal, so I used a different brand in the same color.  If you use the metal that I linked, you won't have that problem.  Anyway, I then left the stencil under the metal as I gently pressed the metal against the inside of the stencil with the Teflon Tool in the Basic Metal Kit.  You can skip this step if you want to, it just won't have as crisp of edges.  Then, I used the Color Solutions Remover on a Q Tip to remove the green inside the flower and seeds.  I left just a little in the edges so that it would darken the tips.  I dropped a little Christmas Red Color Solutions inside the wells of the flowers and Lemoncello inside the seeds.  I did not worry too much about it going over the edges because I knew I would sand it later.  I enhanced the colors a little with Q Tips and Paprika Red in the flowers and Gourd Green in the leaves.  I then sanded the top and brushed of the dust with a stencil brush.  I pulled the metal off the stencil, and placed it on Double Stick Mounting Paper, burnishing it down with my fingers.

 
For the background, I repeated the embossing process I explained, except that I put Stencil LX 7027 Quatrefoil face down and the velvet paper face down on top of it.  Other than that, I used the same sandwich.  For the letters, I used the new Dual Alphabet Dies in my Cuttlebug with green metal.  The sandwich for this was A Plate, dies face up, metal face down, C Plate and B Plate.  If you have any trouble cutting all the way through the metal, a slight shim of cardstock should fix it. Then, I sanded just the outside of the letter and reassembled them on Double Stick Mounting Paper.
Finally, I assembled the card, using the other side of the Double Stick Paper to attach the metals.

 
Of course, we have our monthly challenge for you to play along, so post your own holiday creations, and use the Inlinkz tool on the Dream It Up! blog, for a chance to win the prize at the end of the month. We also have our fabulous Guest Designer for the month of September, Wendy Price! Here's the list of our "A" Team with their links for the week:


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